Europe  - here we come!

Arriving to Helsinki-Vantaa airport on Sunday morning, the athmosphere in our group was excited and expecting. Every one of us was surely thinking about the week in Germany ahead of us: New friends, the host family, sights and, of course, speaking and understanding German were constantly occuping our minds. When the plane took off, even the last one of us realised: “Hamburg – here we come!”

When we arrived at the Hamburg airport the athmosphere in the group was great. We were surprised about the sunny weather and the warm sunshine. After getting our luggage we headed for the bus, which was already waiting for us outside the terminal. Helena counted that everyone was on the bus and then the bus took off. So far so good! Everyone was there and the only loss was Jonna’s lost camera.

After the short bus ride we arrived at the main train station in Hamburg. We took our luggage and went to search for the train to take us to our host families. In the train there was a true field trip feeling. Everyone was enjoying themselves and our carriage was filled with laughter. We even saw some of the teachers smiling. J

Our host families were waiting for us in our destination. Anne, the daughter of my host family, came straight to me – she had recognised me from the photograph I had sent her in the previous week. From the train station every one of us went their way with their host family and the rest of the evening was spent settling in our new “homes”.

On Monday morning the athmospere was still a bit excited, because we met the students from Hungary and Poland for the first time. After the formalities we went to get to know Hermannsburg and visited the mayor of Hermannsburg. The mayor was interested in the school systems in our countries and was asking us about our expectations and about the influence of EU in the lives of young people. After the trip we had the pleasure of trying local school food, which was very different to Finnish school food. After the lunch we went to wait for the bus, which took us to visit the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

In Bergen-Belsen a very nice guide was waiting to lead us through the concentration camp. First we saw a film about the camp and then took a tour around the area with our guide. We took photographs of the sights and monuments. The trip was a very powerful experience and it made even the most talkative students in our group silent.

On Tuesday we had got to know our host families and settled to the new surroundings a bit, so the athmosphere on the bus on the way to Bremen was amazing. The bus was filled with singing, laughter and lould discussion. In Bremen we settled down to listen to the guide telling about the history and sights of Bremen. After the city tour we went to eat with our hosts and – of course – to do some shopping. From Bremen we headed for the green fields of the artist village “Worpswede”, where we were greeted with coffee and wonderful cakes.  At this point of the day we were already really tired, so the way back on the bus was much quieter, because most students were sound asleep. Still a small group of us had the energy to go and play pool and go out in Hermannsburg in the evening.

On Wednesday we had Café Europe in our program, so we spent the day practising our presentations and finishing the boards about Finland. We were surprised by the interest the foreigners showed towards our country; even small children came to ask about our school system! It was also exciting to see the presentations by the Polish, German and Hungarian students. And it was funny to hear what foreigners knew about Finland beforehand, and many times this information was not accurate. For example, it is not very common to find pinguines or polar bears in the Finnish nature. ..

On Thursday we had lessons in a German school. The teachers were also eager to know about Finland. The art teacher wanted to know what was the Finnish currency before Euro, because that was the question he had left unanswered in the quiz in the previous week.

After the lessons we were taken to the station of Unterlüß to travel to Hannover. We started the trip by doing some shopping and then went to visit “Landtag”.  After that visit, we hurried back to the station and went back to our homes. Everyone was very tired after the long day, but still – we had to get ready for the farewell party in the evening.

In the farewell party we got to know many new people from Poland, Germany and Hungary. New friendships were made and email-addresses were exchanged. We were surprised how open, curios and talkative the people were compared to typical Finnish teenagers.  We felt sorry not to have met them earlier, because for example in the sightseeing tours we were devided into groups which only had people from our countries plus the hosts. The last evening was unforgettable and no one wanted it to end. We knew that in the morning we would head for home and everyone felt sorry for that.

On Friday morning we all felt sad. We only had just got to know each other and already it was time to go home. Every one was silent and tired - whether it was because of the party or the fact we had to bid farewell to our new friends.  Having hugged every one we got in the train and from the train window we saw our friends running beside the train waving to us goodbye. Most girls in our group were already looking for a handkerchief to wipe the tears while the boys were wondering about our reaction. Now the amazing week was over and we wouldn’t see our friends again until November, when they would arrive to Finland. For the first time in my life I heard myself say I was looking forward to November!

The rest of the journey was silent, because each one of us was thinking back to the past week, watching the photos and listening to music. On the plane I saw most of my friends sleeping soundly at the same time as I was looking at my photos from the trip. Even now I still get the tears of joy in my eyes when I look at these pictures, which are a wonderful reminder of our trip.

I spent the Friday night at home telling about the trip and showing the photos. It also took a while to settle back to Finnish every day life. The trip was a success and we are already eagerly planning the program for our German friends and we are looking forward to see them in Finland! I hope they will have as succesful and unforgettable visit in Finland, as we had in Germany!

Emmi Kiuru 06C