Comenius Project

Culture guide

Intercultural dialogue through music

Meeting in Birmingham, England

November 17th– 21st 2009

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. It

is the most populous British city outside London with a population of 1,016,800.

Birmingham was the powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution in England, a fact which led

to it being known as "the workshop of the world" or the "city of a thousand trades".

Although Birmingham's industrial importance has declined, it has developed into a

national commercial centre, being named as the second-best place in the United Kingdom

to locate a business. Birmingham is a national hub for conferences, retail and events along

with an established high tech, research and development sector, supported by its three

Universities. It is also the fourth-most visited city by foreign visitors in the UK, has the

second-largest city economy in the UK and is often referred to as the Second City. It is

also home to the largest shopping centre in Europe which is called the Bullring.

Italian student’s Impressions : Youness

This year I am really happy because I could realize my dream of going to England,

I went with the Comenius project, Comenius is a musical project to which take part some

European schools included ours. This journey allowed me to meet many kids of different

nationalities. The great thing is that we could understand each other although we had some

difficulties with the English language.

The first day we arrived there we were welcomed into their school, I liked the organization

of their school very much, unlike ours they have a class for each school subject and then

move continuously from one class to another. their classes are more equipped then ours.

The second day we went to visit Cadbury, a chocolate factory, inside there is a nice museum

on the history of chocolate...

in the evening we went to visit the Black Country a museum about life in England at the

beginning of the century, I liked it very much because I remembered the story of Oliver

Twist.

The next day we visited Birmingham, the city where we stayed. I liked city centre very much

because it was full of colourful stalls, where you can find everything you need.

Italian student’s Impressions : Aziz

On November 17’ I went to Birmingham in England with my classmate and three teachers

for the Comenius project “intercultural dialogue through music”. We went there by plane. the

flight was not long, it was very comfortable. When we arrived one thing which surprised me

was the drive on the left.

I don’t like British climate because it’s often rainy and cold but the people are very nice and

friendly . We stayed at the Apollo hotel.

Birmingham is a beautiful town. A place where we had great fun was in the bowling, we also

enjoyed our visit to the bullring where we did a lot of shopping .

I liked very much the visit to the " black country" a reconstruction of the old English way of

life. Our tour guide was really nice and funny.In the evening we had dinner in a Chinese

restaurant.

In my journey I loved England and Birmingham, it's wonderful but I don't like English taps

because hot and cold water are separated so we cannot have warm water.

On Friday we had a concert ,each group was very good.

On Friday evening we stayed at the hotel with our European friends, we had great fun.

When we left from England to Italy we were tired and very sad. it was a wonderful

experience, we hope to have the opportunity to go there again.

England By Poniatowa

From 17th to 21st of November 2009 we and our teachers were in Birmingham where the

international meeting took place. It was the meeting within the framework of Comenius Music

Project. It was a wonderful time for us. We met new people and we made new friends with

students from Germany, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy and Cyprus. During our

staying in Birmingham we visited many interesting places, such as: Cadbury World – the

chocolate factory, The Black Country Museum – where we had a chance to see how life looked

like 100 years ago. We were also in Stratford-upon-Avon where Shakespeare was born. Apart

from sightseeing we also worked very hard preparing to the final concert which took place on

20th of November. We sang three Polish patriotic songs.

And finally 21st of November came. It was a special day for most of us – it was the first time

we had seen London. It was such a wonderful experience. We saw Big Ben, London Eye,

Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge. Exhausted but happy we arrived to London-Luton

Airport. We thought that it would only be more or less 5-hour- journey and we would be at

home. But nothing like that happened. Because of the weather we had to land in Gdansk and

our journey lasted 7 hours longer than we expected. Even though it was the best trip in our

lives and we will never forget this special event.

United Kingdom by Tereza Komárková (CZ)

Let’s focus on the differences that we can

find between the UK and the Czech Republic.

The most obvious one: the United Kingdom is

an insular constitutional monarchy with the

queen (Elizabeth II) being the head of state.

The Czech Republic, on the other hand, is a

landlocked republic with the president (Václav

Klaus).

Transport: What comes to my mind now? Yes!

Double-deckers that you cannot overlook. To

me they represent an optimistic red contrast to the typical bad weather. Red colour is

the most visible one in the fog. Also, the English drive on the left which can be really

tricky for a person from the Continent. However,

we used to do it the same way until WW II. And, of

course, you cannot find double-deckers in our

country.

Weather: Better in the Czech Republic. Less water

pouring on people… which brings about lower

resistance to cold for the Czech people.

Food: Typical English food is fish and chips. You

also should not miss vinegar crisps. Cool! Our typical food is beef with creamy sauce and

six dumplings as well as pork, cabbage and dumplings (again). Guess which is healthier. ;-p

Drinks: The British population traditionally drinks green or black tea whereas wine and

beer are more popular with the Czech people.

Lifestyle: People in Britain like gardening as well as

repairing their homes. And here comes the difference: an

average Englishman lives in his own house, not in a flat.

Also, British dry humour is really specific.

Accommodation: The English usually live in brick houses, i.e.

red buildings, while in our country each house has a

different colour. Their houses are two-storey while ours

are bigger, two-generation types. The English say: "My

house is my castle..." Absolutely!

Traditions: They have famous holidays, e.g. St. Valentine’s

Day or Halloween. We traditionally celebrate the Easter or

the Mother’s Day but not the two British ones.

Sports: England is the birthplace of football. They also play

cricket. Typical Czech sports are ice-hockey and volleyball.

Great Britain vs. Czech Republic – A New Experience by Jan Pavlíček (CZ)

You know… I’m from Brno and it’s a really small

city. I know what it is like living in a big city (I’ve

been to Berlin or Vienna) but still, Birmingham and

London amazed me! Awesome cities, awesome

people… The first thing which caught my eye was

not cars on the left side but a lady who said,

“Sorry,” when she hit me by mistake which was

weird but it was in English and in England. A

change! And also, in

my hometown,

people are in urry so they do not apologize :-p . Then the

hotel. It was super. I love eating so I ate everything

because we should try everything new! Something it was

really cool but sometimes… You know, I’m not universal. ;-)

However, I know you want to know about the

differences. Well, I think they are not so big, people are

people, maybe more foreigners than in my country, but I’m

not from Prague, our capital, you know. However, when I

came back to Brno I still speak English, everyday, at school

or on the Internet so England gave me strong motivation

and experience with languages (I met many

people from over eight different countries). I am really glad I could be in this project.

My Stay in England By Jan Sára Jerwanová (CZ)

It was my first stay in England and I am really

very happy that I participated in the project.

England is a wonderful place! It counts among

my favourite countries! Birmingham is a

beautiful city with many shops (everything was

cheap compared to the Czech Republic!) and in

November, there were beautiful Christmas

decorations. Also, the people seemed very

friendly, helpful and kind. The streets were

crowded by people who were shopping for

Christmas presents and it surprised me that a

lot of people went jogging in the streets or

parks, which is something that you will not see

in the Czech Republic. As for other

differences, British food is really very

different to ours and what I find interesting is

driving on the left as well as the double-decker

buses!

While in the UK, we could see the school which

is very nice, though small, with small classes, but really cosy. Our stay there was well-

organized; we were given some free time for shopping. The last day we went to London.

We did not have much time as we were almost running sightseeing not to miss something

important. Certainly, I am going to return to England, mainly to London because I would

like to see more sights there. We met many new peers from different countries. I will

never forget. ;-)

Great Britain 009 by Lucie Štachová (CZ)

In November 2009, my friends Sára,

Tereza and Honza, our teacher and I

visited England. We experienced a lot of

adventures, met a lot of new people and

saw interesting monuments. We lived in

Birmingham, at a hotel called Apollo.

Birmingham is a very beautiful city. I liked

the red double-deckers very much and I

was excited when I saw the clothes and

jewellery in the shops.

Day 1. Our arrival.

Day 2. A walk to the city centre of

Birmingham. I liked the Christmas

stalls because I love Christmas. Day 3. We were shown the local school by

the students. Then we drew T-shirts

with flags of your country. In the

afternoon we went to a chocolate

factory.

Day 4. I was very tired but we went to

the trip to Black Country Museum and I

enjoyed it very much. In the evening we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant which we

tried to eat with Chinese chopsticks. Hahaha.

Day 5. There was a trip to Stratford where Shakespeare was born. I liked a small shop

with Christmas decorations. I was there about an hour. In the evening, we gave a concert.

When the students from the English school sang, my heart sank.

Day 6. A trip to London. We saw the famous monuments, such as Big Ben, London Eye and

Tower Bridge. I was a bit disappointed that we could not stay longer.

Day 7. Departure. I look forward to my family and friends but I will miss you.

England by Bulgarians

Almost everyone who is a teenager today has heard in their childhood the phrase “The

big European family” And when several years ago I heard this myself, I wondered: “What

do they mean? What kind of family is this? ” But when we went to England I understood …

We were amazed by their world and their culture, so different from ours. It was

beautiful…

But then we managed to show our own culture to many people from different countries.

We saw how charmed were they. Then we felt valuable.

We were part of it all…

We found that people in other countries are not so different from us. We had fun like we

already knew each other.

I saw a real example of the “European Family”

England by Gdynia: After the meeting in Birmingham

I believe the Comenius program is really great. We all learn to sing and later we go to

different countries to present what we have prepared – our national and folk songs.

I went to the project meeting in England – it was very interesting. During the meeting

all the students and teachers visited different interesting places such as the

chocolate factory, beautiful and large London where we could see and admire Big Ben,

other famous sights and also see the change of the guards. Besides, we went bowling

and we also went shopping in a very big shopping centre. It was so big that after

hours of walking and shopping there my legs hurt!

We enjoyed the visit in St. George’s school in Edgbaston and all the workshops – vocal

and art ones. I liked singing folk songs and painting flags on T-shirts.. In my opinion

the project concert was a successful and amazing event. I really loved it all.

By Karolina Lipka

The meeting in England was a really great experience. Each day was full of attractions

including the visit in an old Victorian city or in Cadbury’s World. The Concert was

great and the people we met were fascinating. I will remember that Comenius meeting

for a long time.

By Marta Górka

We were in Birmingham by Slovenia

On the 19th of November 2009 the five of us, Teja, Monika, my music teacher, my

English teacher and I, drove to the Zagreb airport.

We were early, so we had a snack while waiting for the plane. After that we checked

in and flew to the Luton airport, which is near London. Then we were taken to

Birmingham together with the Italian school, where all other schools were waiting for

us. First we unpacked our luggage in rooms and then we went to St. Georges school,

where we were having dinner together with the hosting teachers and parents. There

were schools from different countries, such as Cyprus, Poland, Italy, Germany, Czech

Republic, England and Slovenia of course.

In the morning we took a look at a Chocolate factory called Cadbury. It was really

interesting and the chocolate was absolutely delicious. Then we had a rehearsal. I

played a borrowed guitar and Monika, Teja and our teacher sang.

The next day we saw a »Black country museum« which presented how people lived and

how school worked in the past. It was really nice because our guide was such a funny

guy. In the evening we went to the centre of Birmingham and did some shopping. I

bought a few T-shirts and DVDs. It's a huge city with a population of 7 million people.

On the last day of our stay we had an intercultural show together with other schools.

Each school played or sang a few national songs. People adored us for our unique

performance, even Birmingham's mayor came to see the concert. After our last

dinner, which was really delicious with various traditional English dishes, the school

van took us back to Luton , where we spent a short night in a very a comfortable

hotel. Early in the morning we flew back to Zagreb and we were looking forward to

see our families again in Slovenske Konjice.

We had a really nice time in England ! Alen Kovše, 1.b