Memories from France

Jan Cyrwus
Trip to Perpignan was an amazing experience. I was able to speak english, learn more about taking care of the planet and get to know a different culture. My free time was also used and i met a lot of amazing people. I don’t regret taking part in this project and will always remember it.

Patrycja Sulka
The last week of March 2023, along with 12 people from my school, I spent in southern France in the city of Perpignan and its surroundings. During our stay, I had the opportunity to experience what life is like for students in a French high school. I participated in clearing the street of Perpignan with the Erasmus+ project participants. I learned about how solar panels work on a solar farm and how big of a problem micro plastics are. I went on a breathtaking trip. I visited an aquarium and was able to admire fish and other marine animals, such as seahorses and stingrays. I also learned how to distinguish between male and female stingrays. Then, I went for a walk along the sea coast, often on cliffs and admired beautiful vineyards with winemakers and the sea. Thanks to the Project, I was able to improve my English skills and meet wonderful people chich I still keep in touch with today. I owe all of this to the Erasmus+ Project. I will never forget that week. It was the best week of my life.

Urszula Mikołajczyk
In March 2023, I took part in the Erasmus+ project, spending a week in Perpignan, France. With other students we had a chance to learn how solar power works, what happens with litter in the oceans, or how to stop global warming. We have also seen several beautiful natural areas around the sea or in the Pyrenees mountains. I think I personally mostly enjoyed the visit in an Aquarium full of interesting marine creatures. I could see them just next to me and although of course I was not allowed to touch them, they felt very close to me at that moment. It was a great experience! Except for events strictly connected with knowledge about Earth and climate, we got to know the way of living of French students. I find it wonderful how despite many differences between our countries, we all still were able to make contact with each other! I also surely improved my English and my communication skills and I am obviously looking forward to the next part of the exchange when the French and Greek students will come to Poland!

Julia Fryźlewicz
As a result of my experience in France, I can say with confidence that it was a truly amazing adventure. It was great to have so much knowledge about an ecosystem, but I wish I had more time to explore Perpignan. There were several things I enjoyed about the trip, but myfavorite part was going to the aquarium and taking a clean walk. As well as the French breakfast, which I enjoyed extremely as well, I also enjoyed the fact that we had this opportunity to speak with other people and get to know each other better. As part of a project I was involved in, I had the chance to work in a group with some amazing girls, and a nice break from workshops was to go to the Eyne Valley for a little side trip.

Alicja Siuta
Personally I think that signing to Erasmus project was one of the best decision in my life. I have learnt a lot about the environment thanks to lessons and presentations we had. We also saw and learnt important things about Pyrenees mountains which was exciting experience for me. Furthermore I got to know french and greek culture. I also met amazing people who showed me what real friendship is. Im really blessed I was there and I truly recommend this type of projects to others.

Mateusz Granowski
One week between 26th March and 2nd April 2023 was one of the best and challenging weeks in my life. That’s all thanks to the Erasmus project because I could find out a lot of things about French and Greek people and their lifestyles. We were also able to learn about different cultures, environment issues and ways to fix it. Additionally, teachers led us to solar panels in the Eyne valley and Banyuls-sur-mer where we saw laboratories and aquariums. At the end of our journey we could party with our new friends. We naturally showed each other our national dances and everyone liked it. The last day was the worst one because we had to keep our tears back because we really got used to new friends. I’m sure I’ll tell everyone to take part in Erasmus because it’s the journey of our life and we’ll never forget those experiences.

Wiktoria Fryźlewicz
Reflecting on my experience in France, I can confidently say that I learned a lot about the country’s people, culture, and way of life. Even though the project lasted for only five days, I was able to gain valuable insights into the French way of life. The ecological aspect of the project was particularly interesting. I really enjoyed the action of cleaning up the world and being part of an effort to create a cleaner and more sustainable environment. Visiting Perpignan and traveling around the area was also a highlight of my trip. However, some of the workshops and presentations were not as informative as I had hoped. They covered topics related to climate change and ecology that I was already familiar with. Despite this, I had an enriching experience overall. The French breakfasts were a personal favorite of mine, and I enjoyed the activities that allowed us to discover Perpignan and visit the aquarium. However, I was a little disappointed that we had so little time to explore the city, given the fact that ithas so much to offer. I believe that a more structured program, perhaps combining workshops and presentations with French cultural experiences, would have been ideal. During the project, I had the opportunity to attend many workshops and presentations and work on the project covering the topic of carbon footprint. I also worked in a group, which allowed me to learn a lot about teamwork and collaboration. Additionally, we went on a few hikes and saw some mountains, which was a welcome break from the workshops and presentations. Overall, I am grateful for the experience and the opportunity to learn about France and its culture, as well as the importance of sustainability and environmental responsibility. Merci beaucoup

Bartosz Tokarczyk
Firstly, the organisation was great. The trip to Perpignion – by plane to Barcelona and then by bus- was well organized. The pilot gave us lots of atraction while landing and we could take a lot of photos from this trip. We have met lot of new places such as the Aqarium Center and many, many more – for instance Electricy Farm. The activitice like bowling was a new experience to me. I like hiking there a lot because the surroudnig was great.

Jakub Bryniarski
On my erasmus trip in France I got to know much about the problems of river pollution in Perpignan, France and Europe in general and how governments and average people like us can work to stop destruction of aquatic environment. I also learned how Co2 affects the global warming and how our everyday activities can have long lasting effects on the world. I really liked the school, it was nice looking and the atmosphere was great. City was very beautiful too and French student that I was paired with was also a great person to hang out with and he taught me much about the school, regional culture and Perpignan. I loved the last day workshop, it was genuinely interesting and incredibly well prepared. On the other hand I disliked lesson that i was assigned to in school, not only teacher didn t tell us anything, he acted like non of us were there just telling his students to work alone and then sitting on his computer for the next 45 minutes. With erasmus, I visited nature reserve “La vallèe d’Eyne” with its beautiful view of mountains, then we visited medival like village Villefranche-de-Confient where i learnt about ancient and medival life in mountainous villages. On the fifth day we visited Banyuls and it’s nice oceanarium and then we walked through gorgeous mountains to town Paulilles. With Augustin I visited many places in Perpignan, where he and his friends hang out, many restaurants and interesting places.

Karolina Stafira
During the week of participation in the Erasmus project I got to know a llt of things about climate change: I understand why and how is it change, and I found out what the consequences of this are. I enjoyed city tour, workshops and exploring the area. I got to know french culture, made friends with new young people and saw a lot of beautiful places- sea, mountains or aquarium.

Maja Janczy
Last week I went to Perpignan which is a beautiful city in southern France to have an amazing week with Frech and Greek students who are also a part of the Erasmus project. It was a great opportunity to get to know French culture, especially since I was living with a French host at their house. I was also living with a Greek student so I got to know a little bit of Greek culture as well. The project connected learning and fun. We learned about a very serious problem that we all live with – pollution and climate change. The best part for me was the group project. I loved how working on one topic together with students from Greece and France really made us feel connected with each other, let us get to know more about climate change and helped us practice public speaking. I also learned a lot form the lectures and workshops that were focused on the marine pollution and the rising of water level in the oceans. I loved the time we spent together with the students, like when we explore Perpignan or did a cleanwalk. I absolutely adore the people i met there. Although it was only a week I think of them as my friends and can’t wait till I see some of them in Poland next year. It was truly an amazing opportunity to get to know other people, practice English and broaden my knowledge about climate change and it’s effects.

Gracja Dłubacz
During my trip to Perpignan as part of the Erasmus+ project I can honestly tell that I opened my eyes even wider than before on the issue of environmental protection. I saw the importance of this topic right after our arrival when we had the opportunity to collect abandoned garbage all over the city of Perpignan. Overall, the atmosphere while working in groups with French and Greek people was amazing. The teachers organizing our stay in France created a really peaceful place to meet new people and discuss our project with them. I think my best memory from this week is the Thursday hike, when we walked through the beautiful
hills to finally reach Paulilles beach. I don’t think that I can find any major disadvantages to this trip, which makes it even better. The only thing I know is that if I had the opportunity to participate in this project again, I would do it immediately. I can’t wait for the project members to come to Poland and I hope it will be just as good!