Exchange project De Bron Tielt ( 5Ewib ) - Toldy Ferenc Gymnasium Budapest
We were told the wonderful news on a Friday. Our class ( 5EWI b) was selected to set off an European exchange programme with Hungary. Our work, which was crowned as the best, had done the trick. It was a quiz about Flanders in the form of a game of goose. Some students of our class had spent hours making the quiz, and in their free time too.
On Easter Monday, the time had come to leave for Hungary. Sixteen uncertain students said goodbye to their friends and family; they all became anxious to go away, one after the other. We prepared ourself for a very long and tiring coach journey of nineteen hours.
Once in Budapest, a hearty reception awaited us. Everyone was treated to a very large portion of Hungarian hospitality.
During our stay, the mornings were filled with visits to local sights. The principal sights were the Fishersbastion., the Matthias Church, the monumental House of Parliaments and Hero’s square, with its famous statues of heroes. All these visits took place under a burning hot Hungarian sun
We also went to the Museum of Fine Arts, where we could admire a number of Flemish paintings.
A quiz, some Hungarian lessons and a football-match between Belgium and Hungary took up the rest of our time. We lost the game by 3 to 2, but the Hungarians had of course home advantage and besides they had substitutes at there disposal. Yet the defeat was taken in a sporting way. But there will be a return match in Belgium.
On Friday evening we were given a nice farewell party, where we enjoyed the traditional Hungarian music and where we could have an ample taste of Hungarian goodies. On Saturday, we visited some showplaces outside Budapest: Esztergom ,Visegrad and Szentendre. The last day was spent with the host family , and some of us made an outing to the local zoo. And surprisingly enough, a normal cow was among the animals at the zoo.
It is sad to say but in the afternoon we had to say goodbye to our exchange partners. This was very hard for all of us. Some students even had tears in their eyes. But at the end of September they will all come to Belgium and return the visit. And than we will try and do our best to make them enjoy the trip to our country.
Frederik Rosseel
Translation : Lies Priem