Alejandro Cremades Montesinos, Spanish Literature teacher at « Colegio Inmaculada de Alicante » in Spain shares a new Erasmus+ experience.

A new Erasmus+ experience took place in our school during the 24th and 30th of October. This time, a group of students spent a week at the Røyken Videregående Skole center in Norway living with other Norwegian students and their families.

It all started at the beginning of the month with the selection of the participants. There were many candidates, so a lottery was held to determine the 17 lucky ones who would enjoy this international experience. After the selection, it was a few weeks of organization and a lot of
nerves.

The days passed and the day of departure to Norway arrived. On the first day, Monday 24th October, teachers and students met at Alicante airport to take the plane to Sandefjord-Torp. There was a lot of excitement and nerves. The participants already knew their hosts as they
were already in contact by mobile phone. But they wanted to get to know their new home for the next 7 days. They arrived at night and the welcome could not have been better: all the host families were waiting for them with open arms. The Erasmus+ experience had already
begun.

The second day was the day to get to know the Norwegian school, its teachers and the rest of the classmates. The Norwegian students prepared presentations where they explained to their Spanish guests aspects of the Norwegian way of life in order to better understand the
Norwegian culture. In addition, both the Spanish teachers and their students were able to enjoy a basic Norwegian class. Tusen takk!

On Wednesday they were able to put into practice what they had learnt in the Norwegian class as they took an early morning train to Oslo. There they were able to visit some of the most emblematic places in the city such as Vigeland Park, the Opera House, the City Hall, the Library and the Royal Palace.

Before they knew it, they had reached the middle of the programme. The fourth day was used by the different groups to show their Norway-Spain intercultural projects. They learned a lot about each other’s culture and got to know each other better. In addition, it was the
birthday of two students and « Happy Birthday » was sung in both Spanish and Norwegian, something unique and unforgettable!

One of the favorite activities for all our students was on Friday 28th: the whole group went on a hike to Herstadhei starting from the school in Røyken. During the hike they did different activities where we learned about the different legends of the Norwegian trolls and the fauna that can be found in their forests. When they reached the top, they all prepared a bonfire and cooked sausages in the Norwegian style.

On the penultimate day of the Exchange, they spent the day together at the Tusenfryd amusement park in Oslo. They enjoyed all the roller coasters and the great festive atmosphere of the park. The farewell was coming.

On Sunday 30th October, our students said goodbye to their hosts. They spent the whole morning together and it was in the afternoon when they went to the airport to return to Alicante. The farewell was not so sad because in early 2023 they will be hosting their Norwegian companions in Spain. So it was not a « goodbye », but a « see you soon ».

Without a doubt, this has been a great experience for all our students where they have been able to share their lives with other people outside our country and get to know other realities.