Erasmus+ Mobility hosting Ahaus, Germany 15-20 Jan 2023
On 15th-20th January, we had the pleasure of hosting 2 teachers and 13 students from our long term partner school Canisius Schule, Ahaus, Germany.
The German students aimed to experience Cyprus culture and lifestyle. The first day of our week, Monday 15th January, was quite busy! We started off with a tour of our school, followed by team building activities to get to know each other. We continued with the Greek café activity, during which we taught our guests everyday phrases in Greek and made short videos of our dialogues. We played Cyprus traditional games (mandili, sakkoulodromies, ziziros) at the school’s sports centre, and we found out that in Germany, there are remarkably similar traditional games to our very own ‘mandili’ and ‘sakoulodromies’. We shared traditional Cyprus recipes and treated our guests to Cyprus food products. Finally, we sang the traditional Cyprus song ‘To Yasemin'.
On Tuesday, 16th January, we had an excursion to the Limassol district. We visited Aphrodite’s birthplace ‘Petra tou Romiou’ and the Kourion Archaeological site, one of the island’s most significant city- kingdoms in antiquity. We saw the beautiful mosaics at the ‘House of Eustolios’ and the magnificent amphitheatre. We enjoyed the sunshine while walking around the luxurious yachts and villas at the Limassol Marina. In the evening, we attended a Cyprus folk dance workshop at Politistiko Ergastiri Ayion Omologiton, during which Mr Panagiotis Theodorou and Mrs Christiana Papadopoulou presented the results of years of research on the key features of Cyprus folk dances e.g. they are danced in pairs who improvise the steps on the spot. The highlight of the evening was that we were actively engaged in the workshop while learning the steps of Syrtos.
On Wednesday, 17th January, our guests visited the ‘Ergastiri Ayion Omologiton’, and Mr Panagiotis Theodorou described the characteristics of Cyprus' traditional architecture. A meeting with the German Ambassador at the German Embassy in Nicosia followed that. The ambassador explained to the students Germany’s contribution to the European Union and facilitated activities between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to get together. Upon return to the English School, we played a game in which students had to match images of well-known landmarks of Cyprus with their names and description. These included the Venetian walls of Nicosia, castles, orthodox churches, the Hala Sultan Tekke, Venetian bridges, the Ayia Napa sculpture parks, well-known beaches, traditional villages at Troodos Mountain and much more.
On Thursday, 19th January, we had a tour of the Levention Municipal Museum and discovered interesting facts about the history of Nicosia and its multicultural character. We went on a treasure hunt in the city centre and relaxed while having a coffee on Ledras Street. In the evening, we had our party at the school hall and introduced our guests to Greek dances.
On Friday, 20th January, German students attended lessons at our school to get a glimpse of school life at our school. It is always sad when time comes to say goodbye, but we look forward to getting back together in a few weeks for more cultural adventures in Germany.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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