A journey to Palermo: experiences of the dutch delegation
(april 2013)
Monday
Travelling from Zevenaar, The Netherlands to Palermo, Sicily
Tuesday
After our arrival on Monday we split up and went
home with our partners. We were welcomed there
and were given a place to sleep. I stayed with de
Chevalier family and we dined together, but I went
to sleep early because I’d traveled all day. The next
day we went to ITT Marco Polo, the school were our
partners go to. We –all the students from Hollandexchanged stories about the family and the house
we were staying at- some of us went to certain
classes with their partner but not all of us because
some partners had tests and others were in the
choir which was preparing an official welcome for
us. After an hour or so we all had to come to the
auditorium. There we were handed an certificate that confirmed our participation in the
Comenius Project and the choir sang some songs for us including the national anthem. After that
we went to the roof so we could get a nice view of
Palermo, but me and a friend of mine had already
been there by accident when we were wandering
through the school. After our visit to the school we
went to an institute nearby that showed us a movie
about earthquakes and volcanoes and gave us some
information about the research they do. It was
quite interesting to hear that they could predict
volcanic eruptions by the chemical parameters of
the soil and the air hanging above the volcano.
Wednesday
On Wednesday we went to Cefalù by bus. When we arrived there we all walked to a church. The
Church was very nice, there were 2 towers, one was for the
mental and one for the nobility. In the Church we had the
time to look around and take pictures. Then
we took a group picture in front of the
church. After that we walked to a mountain,
la Rocka. It was pretty heavy to climb all the
way up but it was worth it. It was a fantastic
view of the city and the sea. On the mountain were ruins that you could view.
Then we also took some pictures with the group. After that we had some spare time and we
went to the beach of Cefalù. We were there with all the students and we had a great time. Some
of us went into the sea and others went sunbathing. We laughed, danced and sang together. I
also had the best ice cream of the world. It was a great day and we had a lot of fun together.
Thursday
Thursday was the last day we had with our Italian partners. We were expected at 9.30 at the
Palazzo della Acquile to see the Fontana Pretoria and the house the parliament of Palermo was
seated in. We were showed around in the building and had the chance to see a real meeting
about the garbageproblem in Palermo (and the rest of Italy). After that we all gathered in one of
the rooms, were the president of Palermo came. We all received medals and got the chance to
take a picture with the president.
The rest of the day we got to do whatever we liked. Our Dutch group decided to go shopping in
the city with our Italian partners and some of the Turkish and Polish students. We also went to
visit the Theatro Maxima.
After going home with are partners, we made plans to have dinner together. We met at a little
Pizzeria to celebrate the amazing time we had had and the last night we had as a whole group.
We laughed a lot and had a wagonload of fun!
It was an incredible day with a lot of laughter.
Friday.
We left to Catania on Friday. I had to say goodbye to my partner Miriana, her family and other
Italian students. I was very sad because I wanted to stay longer. In parting, I cried because I
knew her would miss her.
The bus trip was very boring and lasted about three hours. Everyone was tired because we went
out the night before. When we ate pizza as a goodbye. It was very much fun.
When we finally arrived we had a sightseeing tour of the historical center of Catania. We saw
many beautiful buildings. It was impressive. After that we had lunch and we ate pizza again. We
had spare time so we went shopping.
In the afternoon we also visited Centro di Vulcanologia. That's volcano logical Institute.
In the evening we arrived at the hotel. It was very pity that the Italians could not come with us.
Saturday
On Saturday, the last day of our trip, we went to Mount Etna. But first we had breakfast in the
hotel. After a while we left by bus, to Mount Etna! Though we knew there was volcanic activity,
we could reach some old craters. As we drove uphill the sights became better and better. Once
we reached the top, we saw a man standing on his roof, cleaning it because there was a lot ash
on it. After we heard some stories about the craters, the crateri silvestri, we left for a walk. The
craters were beautifully black and red coloured (see picture below). We walked around and then
went down again. There was just one attraction left before we went home, but it was a real
challenge to get there. First we smelled something weird, after which we needed to open the
windows. It was raining so we all became wet… Finally we arrived and went to the famous
greek-roman theatre. The theatre was built with a beautiful sight on Mount Etna. The building
itself was a real beauty too. Some columns have survived all those years! The rest of the city
Taormina was small and cozy. We ate our last ice cream of the week there, before we went back
to the hotel. At some time in the evening we looked outside the window and saw a lava flow
down Etna. The rest of the evening we watched Etna erupting, just awesome!
Personal experiences of the students.
In my memory, Palermo will always be a great city: the monuments, the ambiance and the
scooters. I mention the scooters, because Palermo is a really busy city. When I arrived and got
picked up by my partner, I immediately dove in to the busyness. My partner drove me to his
home, we needed to cross the city, it was one big traffic jam. It was the first big difference I
noticed. One of the other big culture differences was the food. The Sicilian food is delicious! I ate
a lot of pastas, which I love, but there was just too much food to eat. My partner wanted me to
taste everything, I was ok with that, but I just couldn’t eat more delicious Sicilian specialties,
because I was full. The Sicilian people are very proud of their food and they are very hospitable.
The parents of my partner couldn’t speak English, but they tried to talk to me to make me feel
fine. I also learned to relax and not really care about anything, because this is the way Italian
people are. If someone makes an appointment, you are expected half an hour late. This makes
me sometimes think that life is much more relaxed, the Italian lifestyle gives way less stress.
However, I really enjoyed my time in Palermo and tasted the Sicilian life for a bit, which was a
nice experience.
Pim Venderbosch
I found the Exchange so far very nice. We had a lot of variation in the program and a lot of spare
time. I've learned a lot from my partner the other students. What I didn’t liked was that we had
to take farewell of our Italian partners on Friday morning. It would have been better if we
remained together throughout the week, I think we could have learned more from each other's
cultures. Overall I had a great time and I am looking forward to meet them again next year.
Laurie Jansen
In my opinion the Palermo exchange programme was a very special experience en I am glad I
was given the opportunity to join this trip. I didn’t want to miss it for the world. My partner
Miriana is a very nice girl and we are still keeping in touch. I can’t wait till she comes here to visit
Holland. My time in Palermo was not only very much fun but we learned a lot too. This is a
experience that I will never forget.
Marjelle Hendriks
Before we travelled to Palermo I had been looking forward to this trip for months. After a
pleasant flight we arrived at Palermo. This was the first time we were to meet our partners.
Unfortunately my partner spoke very little English so it was very difficult to talk to each other.
The next day we went to the school where we met the rest of the Italian, Polish and Turkish
students. The rest of the week was just awesome. We travelled mostly with all of the students
together. With the help of Google translate I was able to talk a little bit with my Italian partner.
I really enjoyed myself during this project. We had a fantastic group of people and everybody
was really nice to each other. We experienced a lot of new influences and that was unbelievable.
Palermo is a very beautiful city and the surroundings are breathtaking. In my opinion the best
part of the journey was the day we visited Cefalu. After we climbed the mountain we took
hundreds of pictures of the view and later on went to the beach. We spent some time together,
had a lot of fun and talked a lot. It was very nice sitting in the sun, we even learned a Turkish
song.
All in all it was an amazing experience. It was very special to see the way of living of our partners
and to compare their school system and private lives to ours, I certainly learned a lot. It was a
nice experience to be able to talk English for a whole week. I’m looking forward to their visit to
The Netherlands.
Kiara Staals
Thanks to the Comenius Project I’ve been able to experience something that I will remember for
the rest of my life. It gave me the opportunity to be a part of a culture that wasn’t my own. I got
to see things in Sicilia that few foreigners have ever seen and I got to live in a community that is
so different from the ones I know. I’ve seen great poverty but also more hospitality than I could
imagine and therefore I’m very grateful.
Manon Janssen