Vom 9.-15. Mai 2016 fuhren im Rahmen des Erasmus+ Projekts „Creating a Sustainable Tomorrow“ 12 MPG-Schülerinnen und Schüler der Jahrgangsstufen 7-9, begleitet von den Lehrerinnen Kaletta und Türke, zum zweiten internationalen Projekttreffen. Diesmal traf sich die Schüler- und Lehrerauswahl der Rosenborgskole/Trondheim, der IES Santa Eugenia/Madrid und des MPG bei der französischen Partnerschule Institut Stella Maris in Anglet bei Biarritz.
In einer sehr arbeitsintensiven Woche stellten alle Schulen zunächst die Arbeitsergebnisse der vorangegangenen Monate zum Thema „Wie nachhaltig sind unsere Gemeinden“ vor. Die MPG Erasmus+ Gruppe hatte hierzu in wochenlanger AG-Arbeit Präsentationen und Filme zu den Themen „Lokale Agenda 21“, „Umstadt als Fair-Trade-Stadt“ und „Nachhaltiger Umgang mit Wasser“ vorbereitet. Hierfür wurden im Vorfeld Interviews mit Bürgermeistern, Ladeninhabern und Restaurantbesitzern geführt sowie die Umstädter Kläranlage besucht, wo die Projektteilnehmer umfassend über die Herkunft und die Wiederaufbereitung unseres (Trink)Wassers und der damit verbundenen Probleme aufgeklärt wurden. Mit Bravour meisterten alle die Herausforderung, vor ca. 70 weitgehend unbekannten Personen eine Präsentation auf Englisch zu halten, was doch einiges an Mut und Überwindung kostet.
In den Folgetagen beschäftigten sich alle – aufgeteilt in internationale Arbeitsgruppen und hauptsächlich auf Englisch – eingehend mit dem Thema „Virtuelles Wasser“, d. h. mit der Frage, wie viel Wasser in der Produktion der Dinge steckt, die wir täglich brauchen und benutzen, und wie wir unseren Wasser-„Fußabdruck“ durch das Ändern unserer Konsum- und Ernährungsgewohnheiten verringern könnten.
Aber auch kultureller Input und Spaß kamen nicht zu kurz: einen Nachmittag verbrachten die Gäste zusammen mit ihren französischen Gastgebern beim Raften, eine Stadtrallye führte durch das benachbarte Bayonne und im Musée de la Mer in Biarritz lernten alle etwas über die Biodiversität der Ozeane. Und natürlich gab es auch die obligatorische Unterrichtsschnupperstunde, nach der zumindest die deutsche Gruppe ihren Unterricht am MPG gar nicht mehr sooo übel fand…
Untergebracht waren die Schülerinnen und Schüler in französischen Gastfamilien, was das „Eintauchen“ in die französische Kultur und Sprache auf besonders intensive Weise ermöglichte, selbst für die 5 Lateinerinnen der Gruppe, die durch dieses „Bad“ in der unbekannten Sprache auch das ein oder andere französische Wort aufgeschnappt haben. Insgesamt war es für alle Beteiligten eine aufregende, informative und intensive Woche, eine Erfahrung, die trotz aller (Reise-)Strapazen keiner missen möchte.
MPG Erasmus+ Project Meeting in Anglet, France
In May this year we travelled with our Erasmus+ project “Creating a Sustainable Tomorrow” to Anglet, France. On Monday we all met at the main train station in Frankfurt at 5:40 am. We were to travel by train so we had a long travel day ahead of us. We were all very tired, but at midday we arrived already in Paris. There we had 2 hours before we went on to Bayonne. But we had to change train stations with our entire luggage, up and down lots of stairs and very few escalators, from Gare de l’Est to Gare Montparnasse. This took us almost an hour. But there was a little time left to see a bit of Paris and we all went up the Tour Montparnasse to a 360° visitor terrace on the 54th level. From there we saw the Eiffel tower, the Louvre and many more of the famous sights. Time was passing too quickly and we had to go back to the train station much too soon. At 5:30 pm we arrived in Bayonne, a town next to Anglet, where our host families were already waiting for us. They took us home with them and we spent the evening with them. But for me it was a short evening, I had to go to bed early after all this traveling.
The next morning school started at 8:30. We all stood in front of a meeting room and had to find our groups with which we would be for the entire week. In the groups we made games to get to know everybody. Then we had a break and we went to a classroom to present our presentations about sustainability. At 12:30 we went for lunch with our exchange partners in the cafeteria. The break went on until 2 pm, after that we listened to the rest of the presentations. After that we had to go back into our groups to start work on presentations about Virtual Water. At 5 pm the school finished and a big group of about 30 people went all together to the beach until it was time for dinner in our host families.
On Wednesday we were at school at 8:30 to continue with the presentations about Virtual Water. At the same time there were 3 school lessons and in small groups we went to different classes, for example P.E. or Math to see how lessons are in France. At 12.30 we had lunch and since Wednesday is the day on which French kids have no classes in the afternoon, we spent the rest of the day with our exchange partners.
The next day we met at 9 am in Bayonne. We made a quiz in our groups until 11:45 when we met for a picnic in a park and at 12:30 we took a bus to a rafting station in the mountains. We could choose the groups we would like to be in. Rafting was a lot of fun and we all had a good time. At 5 pm we arrived back in Anglet and two hours later we all met at the school in the cafeteria for dinner. It was a great evening. The best evening in Anglet, I think. Most people went home around 10 pm.
Friday was a rainy day. School started at 8:30 and we worked until 11:10 on our Virtual Water presentations. Then we had a break and after the break we presented everything. At 12:30 we ate lunch and then we took the public bus to Biarritz where we went to the “Musée de la Mer“. Since it rained very hard when we got off the bus, we were quite wet by the time we got there, but the aquarium was very interesting and shows the biodiversity of the oceans. We all loved to watch the seals. We were there until about 4:40 pm and then took the public bus back to Anglet where we spent the evening in our host families.
On Saturday, after a short project evaluation meeting, we were together with our host families for almost a full day. Some of the German kids went playing Lasertag with their hosts. Some went to Biarritz, where most of the French kids were together with their exchange partners, and some visited a chocolate factory. So all did different things and had a lot of fun.
On the departure day we had to be at the train station in Bayonne again early, at 7 am. At 7:35 our train left Bayonne. We all were very sad to leave Anglet. On the way back we had to change trains again in Paris. This time we had a bit more time and could see Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the great view over Paris. In the afternoon we continued to Cologne. As the cathedral is right next to the train station there, we had a chance to get a glimpse of this impressive building from the outside and to buy a little dinner snack. Even though it was again a long travel day, it was OK and at 9 pm we arrived back in Frankfurt.
Looking back, it was a great week and we all had a lot of fun.
Alea Fengel, 8e
Bilder: Y. Winter, F. Reinhardt, I. Türke