Eurolinks Diary After M(m)

Eurolinks Diary after Merksem meeting I’ve done … I’ve learnt … I was good at … I had problems with … I appreciated … I want to ask … I will improve … (in 200 words) Thijs I’ve made a presentation, me and my group. We’ve done it quite well, because we had a lot of fives in our feedback forms. We’ve done that as 1 group. I’ve also been to Antwerp and had a lot of fun there. I’ve been to Brussels and had a lot of fun there. I’ve learnt that you can have fun with other Europeans. And work as one Group. Some interesting things about the European Parliament. I was good at making a powerpoint. We did better than other group members, because it was a Dutch computer, so they did not know were to click. I had problems with talking English all the time. I sometimes spoke Dutch to them but they did not understand me. And the time Eurolinks was planned fell in the year, because it’s the week before the exams. I appreciated all the things mister Hufkens did to make this project work well. He’s the best! I want to ask not to plan this project before the vacation, I would like it better after it. I think that’s more fun for all of us. I will improve my English to the other people, so they can understand me too, like what I am saying to my classmates. It’s more fun then. Roel I’ve done a lot of work in groups with people from other countries and had a great time. We made a powerpoint about I love EU. I’ve learnt to speak some foreign language and that girls need too much time in the morning to get ready ;-D I was good at making the powerpoint and communicating with the students from the other countries. I had problems with getting out early in the morning, because the guest had to shower too and they needed a lot of time to get themselves ready. I appreciated that they were able to teach me some words in a foreign language and that they also like going out to a bar in the evening. Also that they sometimes buy me a drink in the bar and that they are really social I want to ask if everybody that was here is coming back to Slovenia in April and that the groups will be switched so that we can meet other people from other countries than the ones we worked with now. I will improve my English for even better communication with the Slovenian, Swedish and Czech people. I will also try to learn some extra words in the other languages. Mathias (ok) Mateusz I’ve done a lot of walking around Brussels and Antwerp. We had also a mighty good time after the activities with the whole group. I’ve learned some Swedish. And I learnt that in Sweden everyone has his own moose and a Volvo. I was good at improvising and presenting PowerPoints without preparing them. I had problems with staying awake in the Euro Parliament during the presentations.

I appreciated the communication between the participants as everyone was very friendly. I want to ask when we're going to Slovenia? I will improve my Slovenian before we get there. Yves (ok) Nick The first day I met Klara and we got home to meet my parents. Tuesday we worked on our project in the school and in the evening we went to Antwerp. Wednesday we got to Antwerp city, did presentations and shopped the whole day. Thursday we got to Brussels to the European Parliament and did our presentation. In the evening we got a party again. I learnt some English words and some Czech words. I know that girls need a lot of time in the morning to make themselves ready to go away. I was good at making the food, it was fun and it was nice. Talking in English was not so easy, sometimes we couldn’t find the words that we wanted to say. The Czech stayed alone in Antwerp, because they wanted to shop. They knew how to find the way to the bowling very good. I want to ask when they are coming back. And I want to know how they live at home. Thomas I’ve done many conversations with the team students. I have done many conversations with Madeleine, she listen very well to my stories. Wednesday we went to the shopping street of Antwerp. Instead of visiting every shop we passed, we told everything to each other. We have presented our Eurolinks storyboard in a building in Antwerp and Brussels. Tuesday we have worked in groups and made a great PowerPoint to present our vision about the EU. I’ve learnt to speak English a lot. I have learned to keep myself sure about what I say. Normally when I speak English I have to think about what to say, but now it’s like I speak Dutch. I know more about other countries. I was good at working with the other students. To find possibilities how we will promote the EU. I had problems coming on time. I appreciated Madeleine, she kissed almost every boy of the 3rd grade of Joma. Also the EU, because they had decided to organise such a project. I want to ask Guy Hufkens to give us more free time on Tuesday. Next time don’t let the students eat in Stella Maris, it was disgusting. I will improve my knowledge of the bus hours and become more social. I will try to speak better English and speak some Czech words because I like the language. Ben I’ve done a lot of searching for pictures. But we had kind of changed it a bit so it was kind of useless. I’ve learned to cooperate with people who speak another language. It went a bit slow in the beginning, but after a while it went smooth. I didn’t have too much trouble finding my words nor did I have any trouble with my verbs. At least I think I didn’t. I was good at translating Dutch to English in our group. That wasn’t really necessary but still. Weird enough I was good at using the map in Brussels, although I didn’t find my way to the bowling alley.

I had problems finding my way to the bowling alley. First I took the wrong tram and first I didn’t realise but after it got into the middle of nowhere on a parking lot I started to wonder if I wasn’t at the wrong alley. But after half an hour I got there with the help of a map I got in a Hindu night shop. I appreciated how open most of those people are, so open and friendly. If it’s possible in the future I would want to suggest that it’s not before the exams. It’s really hard to study well when you have people over or when you get home late from school, although I didn’t have a guest. Maybe that was for the best. I will have to improve my PowerPoint skills, because there were a lot of good impressive ones those two days. And ours wasn’t that impressive as most of them were with a lot of moving things. All around, it was really fun! Mats This week we had a project meeting with Czech Republic, Slovenia and Sweden. I’ve learnt some Czech words! I’ve done a lot of work, because we had to make the project all over again, but it turned out pretty well. I made a PowerPoint of 9 slides in the evening before we went bowling, because we hadn’t enough time to do it together. I appreciated the help of the students who slept at my house. Our group then had to present it in the European parliament, in Brussels. First I had a lot of stress, but while doing the presentation, it was over. I think the presentation went good, even though we changed it at the last moment. I also learned a lot about the ways things work in the parliament. We also went to a party on Tuesday, on which I had some problems with the Swedish people, because they were getting really drunk. Ben I’ve done a lot of things this week. I prepared a presentation and I presented it at the building called "Bernarduscenter" in Antwerp. We went to the souvenir shop at the cathedral and there we heard a little story about builders who fell between two walls. I’ve learnt a little bit of three languages, Swedish, Slovenian and Czech. I've learnt çervana, zelana, orangova (red, green and orange) and a lot of other things like how to say hello and goodbye and also how to say good and bad. I was good at talking English with the girls and the boys from the other countries, but it wasn't easy to do that. I had problems with staying together with the people from my group because they all went with their own friends. I appreciated everyone from every country, it was one of the best weeks from my whole life. I want to ask everyone to come back one day in the summer so we can even have more fun than we had now. I will improve my cooperation with the people of my group the next time and I will try to communicate better with the other people. Bart I’ve done many fun things like going to the pool planet and bowling in Antwerp. I also had to work in ‘international’ groups for the Eurolinks project to make a presentation about ‘I Love EU’. I’ve learnt how to say bad words in Slovenian and Swedish, but also nice sentences in Slovenian and Swedish. Other things I’ve learnt where about Slovenia, Sweden, Czech Republic and the European Union itself.

I was good at taking a lot of pictures of everyone and to communicate with the other students in English. And maybe in drinking ad fundums. I was also good in my presentation cause a lot of people said that my English was very good. I had problems with the traffic jams in Brussels when we went and came back and also in the centre of Brussels. Another problem was Bart Staesens when he was giving his speech about the EU, it just took too long, so I fell asleep  I appreciated the kindness of the 2 girls who stayed at my place (Evyka and Urska) cause they weren’t demanding and they appreciated it that they could stay at my place and that me and my parents looked after them. I want to ask Hufkes to arrange more projects like this because it’s a very good experience and its gives a special feeling. I will improve interaction between the students. Johan I went to Brussels and Antwerp: In Antwerp we went to Europe Direct for the presentation and they were very good. Then during dinner we went to Giovanni for a pizza. It was very delicious and in the afternoon we went to Museums like the Rubens House. It was very beautiful. And we also went to the "Stadsfeestzaal". The next day we also went to Brussels to the European Parliament and we sat there in a room like real politicians. It was very fun to do that. And I would definitely do it again. I've learnt how to work in a group with a lot of different people. And how to make something in a short time. I was good at making a PowerPoint and guiding the people in Antwerp and Brussels. And also listening what the other people said. I had problems with communicating because they were not always understandable sometimes. I appreciated that the other countries tried to talk English, most of the time I want to ask that the site gets updated soon I will improve my language and the communication through mail, because the mailing was not always that easy Kevin I’ve done a lot of fun things, especially some international group work with nice people. The fact that we created something the EU can use to become more accessible to the normal people I’ve learnt some fun facts, and some new things about laws and the concrete way of working in the European Union. I was good at the teamwork, we had fun and worked well together with our 3 other participating countries. I had problems with the traffic jams in Brussels and on the way to and from Brussels I appreciated the evenings, and the friendship we created during the Eurolinks-project. I really like the spirit we were in during the meetings, especially the meeting in Belgium, probably because you feel at home and you can relax. I want to ask to mister Hufkens to arrange more things like this, because I can’t express the way I feel during this meetings, it’s been something to look forward to during the school year. I will improve the way we interact before and after the meetings. It’s always in a dip when there’s nothing arranged by he teachers. And I’m sure that if we keep in touch, we’ll do some small meetings of our own. Jochem

I’ve made a powerpoint presentation, I’ve lost my USB stick. I’ve prepared deserts (chocolate mouse and rice pudding) for the arrivals on Monday. I’ve lead people through Antwerp and Brussels. I visited a lot of great things. I partied with a lot of the visitors and hosts. I’ve learnt that there’s a lot of more awesome people in Joma than I thought. Our IT classes have great guys that I wouldn’t really have met without Eurolinks. I’ve learnt that meeting new people from totally different countries and cultures is really great. I was good at partying and enjoying everything we did, ate and drunk. I had problems with alcohol, my stomach mostly, because it’s really weak. I appreciated the great times we had with the entire group, during the activities and of course those few nights out in Antwerp. The friendliness of all the guests, even though they didn’t even know us yet. A better planning and more free time next time. Stefan On Tuesday we went to school to work on our presentation and finish our card game. Then we went to Stella Maris for lunch. We went to Antwerp on Wednesday and to Brussels on Thursday by bus. We went to the Meir in Antwerp, Europe Direct for some of the presentations and Da Giovanni for lunch, it was good. We also went to the Stadsfeestzaal. In Brussels we went to the European parliament were we did our presentation. The man who was speaking in the parliament was speaking too long and it was very boring. After that we went to the centre of Brussels and there we had lunch. After that we went to “Manneke Pis” and to the market square. In the evening we went to the bowling in Antwerp. It was only one game, which was too short. I’ve learnt many things about the other countries. About the cities and food. I was good at making the cards and playing with them. I had problems with Samo because he hasn’t done anything. I appreciated the effort from most of the team members. I don’t want to ask anything. I will improve my English. Nicolas On Tuesday we created our presentation and did the try out. On Wednesday we went to Antwerp and visited the Rubenshuis. My group found it boring, so we went shopping. When we finished the Meir we ate at McDonalds. After we had eaten we went in all the stores on the opposite side. After that we went to a cafe and ate at giovanni’s again. On Thursday we went to Brussels and I got lost in the EU parliament. We ate pita with garlic sauce but it wasn’t good garlic sauce. On Friday we had our lessons at school. I’ve learnt that Slovenian people like to make fun and the love Belgian beer I was good at translating the words for my parents because they can’t speak English very well I had problems getting up in the morning like always but now even harder. I appreciated the good effort of our teachers, so every thing went well except in the EU parliament. I want to ask if we can do it again because it was a very nice experience I will improve not much, only more time in Brussels because I think we didn’t have enough time. Also, the time in the EU parliament was kind of boring. Levi On Tuesday we made a finishing touch at our powerpoint presentation. In the evening we went to the Pool Planet. We drank a lot and had much fun. On Wednesday I went to Antwerp and visited the Rubenshuis. My group didn’t really enjoy the visit so we went to the Meir to

get some souvenirs. After the shopping we went to Tom’s place where we watched a movie and joked a lot. After spending a lot of time at Tom’s place we took the bus to the bowling. On Thursday we went to Brussels but it was rather boring, it took too long and we were really hungry. We only ate at about 14:30 which is really late. I hope it will be better next time. I thought it was weird that the teachers didn’t notice that a student was missing in the European Parliament. The trip was badly organized and the time schedule was totally wrong. I think that this trip was rather a mistake. In the evening we tried to save the day by going to the Pool Planet again and have a lot of fun. I think its better if we would do this over a longer period than just 4 days, it’s impossible to visit Paris fully in 4 days so certainly it’s really too short for visiting Antwerp and Brussels. Also the free time wasn’t that long, since we couldn’t go out a lot. Timothy I’ve done a lot actually. Like making a PowerPoint and guide the people true Antwerp. It was really fun. I’ve learnt some new facts about the European union. And how to have a conversation with people in a normal situation. How to talk about regular things or things that are happening. I was good with my group at our presentation in the Antwerp parliament, the teachers were very happy with it. I had problems with the time when the Eurolinks people were in our country. It is right before the exams, and I’m afraid I’ll now have problem with it. I appreciated that we had some free time in Antwerp, so we don’t always have to be in a group. We could walk free around and show the real things of Antwerp. I want to ask that maybe next time for the other year, the time is a bit better, because it’s now very hard to start with our exams because we’re a bit lazy now. I hope the timing will be good when we go to Slovenia^^. I will improve to have some more social contacts with the people of Eurolinks. I will also improve my English. Ben I’ve done some fun thing like going to the pool planet I’ve learnt some new things about the European Union I was good at English I had problems with understanding the others I appreciated the city trips I want to ask to go to Slovenia I will improve my hospitality Robin I’ve done a lot of things, such as partying with all the people. I’ve learnt what the EU was for I was good at pooling =) I had problems with nothing I appreciated Mr. Eurolinks, hehe I want to ask if we could go to Slovenia =) I will improve nothing Sam I’ve done a lot of nice things!!!

I’ve learnt more about the typical things of the countries I was good at make our card game. I had problems with the behaviour of Samo of our group, he did nothing for our groupwork... I appreciated the present my guest gave to me. I want to ask if 6IB can go to Slovenia! I will improve my English