Letos so na naši šoli v okviru programa AFS gostovale štiri dijakinje iz Belgije, Italije in Slovenije. Tri so prišle za tri mesece, ena z nami ostaja še do konca šolskega leta. Spoznavale so našo kulturo, jezik in slovensko življenje na sploh. Hkrati so z izmenjavo veliko doživele in izkusile življenje daleč stran od doma in družin. Paulien Kosynsky, Liese Van der Perre (Belgija), Adriana Vita (Italija) in Jessica Wardega (Nemčija), ki z nami ostaja do konca šolskega leta, so delile z nami nekaj izkušenj in občutkov.
What is your favourite Slovenian word? Why?
Paulien: »My favourite Slovene word is ‘vrt’. I learned it from a children’s English – Slovene dictionary I used a lot in the beginning to learn the language. I think I love it so much because we don’t have words with only consonants in Dutch.
How was living with Slovenian family like?
P: »I have had the best time with my host family. In the beginning I had a lot of stress to go live with people I had never met before for three months. But once I got to know them, we had so much fun.«
How is Slovenia different from your own country?
P: »The biggest difference would be the wonderful nature you have here. You have hills all around here, a beautiful coast, large forests, high mountains and great lakes. That is something we don’t have that much in Belgium and that is also the thing I love most about Slovenia.
Another difference is how open the people are here and how happy they always are when they find out you are from a foreign country and decided to visit Slovenia.«
What food was new for you and what was missing?
P: »I didn’t get to know that much new food, but what really amazed me is that you Slovenes mostly grow all the vegetables and fruits yourself. That is something we don’t do at home, and I believe it really contributes to your eating culture. One new food for me was sauerkraut. I didn’t really miss any food from home.«
What is the biggest con of lifestyle here in your opinion?
P: »The biggest con would be as a young person that you live so scattered in small towns. The public transport, such as busses, only ride until 8 PM, so it isn’t always that easy to go meet up with friends and get back home.«
What is your most memorable experience from the exchange?
P: »My most memorable moment on the exchange would be the weekend with my host family to Bohinj. We went for the weekend to Bohinj – Bled, and Vogel, and I saw the most breathtaking things there. We don’t have that kind of amazing nature in Belgium, and I was so impressed by it. Also, the fun I had with my host family made it so much more fantastic.«
If you went on another exchange, would you choose Slovenia again?
P: »If I would go on another exchange, it would again be to get to know a new culture and broaden my horizons. So I would choose a country I know nothing about again to get to know its culture and nature. I loved every moment of my three months here and I would love to come back here, but not on a new exchange experience.«
Paulien Kosynsky
What is your favorite Slovenian word? Why?
Adriana: »My favourite Slovene word is sntntn because it doesn’t have any vocals so it’s really funny to hear it.«
How was living with Slovenian family like?
A: »My host family is really different from my family in Italy, so I had to get used to a lot of things, for example :
- they always like to organize everything, also more than one week before,
- they are actually really loud (and I love that).
But we get along really good and I actually feel really comfortable with them. We always like to spend time together and I can talk to them about everything. They’re the best host family ever.«
How is Slovenia different from your own country?
A: »When they told me that I won the scholarship to come to Slovenia, I have to admit that I wasn’t really happy, first because it’s our neighbor and second because for this I thought it couldn’t be really different, so this was totally unexpected, but yes, Slovenia is completely different from Italy and especially from the South of Italy, which is where I come from.
I’m not proud of that, but Slovenia is pretty much cleaner and safer than Italy, and in Slovenia, there are many more green spaces.
But it’s not just that, also people are really different:
- I have to say that compared to Italians, Slovene people are usually shy (but it’s not always a bad thing),
- in my experience, Slovenians also don’t like to put pressure on others to know things that are not their business and they really respect other peoples space, while in Italy (particularly in the south) everyone wants to know everything and at the end in some way everyone knows everything about everyone (if it makes sense) and it’s really easy to be judged by people that don’t even know you in person (but not always, sometimes they also say really good things about others).«
What food was new for you and what was missing?
A: »So, the food, I have to say that I like both, Slovene food and Italian food too. I think that I probably just really miss eating pasta every day and all the typical stuff from my mum and my grandmothers, but I really love the Slovene soups and my host mother and grandmother food.«
What is the biggest con of lifestyle here in your opinion?
A: »The biggest con would probably be bad traffic connections, but pro of Slovenia is that it’s really small so everything is supervised and safe and that it has a lot of green spaces and I really like that.«
What is your most memorable experience from the exchange?
A: »It was a Friday night, I and Maja and Taja (one of our friends) were really bored so we decided to go to this place near the river, where there is a little house where people used to go to wash their clothes. We sat on the roof and watched the stars together. It was amazing, we talked a lot and it will forever be one of my favorite moment.«
If you went on another exchange, would you choose Slovenia again?
A: »If I had the possibility to go to another exchange next year I wouldn’t choose Slovenia again, just because I want to try always new things. But if I had the possibility to return back in the time and change my list I would never change Slovenia, it was my last opinion but it just became the best experience ever.«
Adriana Vita
Kako si se počutila preden si prišla v Slovenijo?
Liese: Teden preden sem odšla iz Belgije, sem se popolnoma čustveno zlomila. Nisem se popolnoma zavedala, k čemu sem se zavezala in iskreno, bilo me je zelo strah; ampak je bil to tisti strah, ki se ga nočeš znebiti. Je to kar sem pravkar povedala sploh smiselno?
Potem pa sem vsa ta čustva strahu in anksioznosti začela ignorirati in se odločila uživati vsak dan posebej. Zelo mi je pomagalo, da se nisem obremenjevala s tem, kaj bo sledilo in kaj se bo zgodilo.
Veliko ljudi mi je reklo, naj vse skupaj dojemam kot trimesečne počitnice. Kar se tiče šole, je bilo zelo prijetno in tudi ni mi bilo treba delati velliko (če sem iskrena sem tudi rahlo ignorirala in zapostavljala stvari, ki bi jih vendarle morala narediti). A kljub vsemu so tile trije meseci bili vse prej kot počitnice. Brez dvoma je bila ta izmenjava ena izmed najbolj strašnih stvari, ki sem jih kadar koli v življenju storila. Stopila sem iz svoje cone udobja in bila prisiljena zgraditi popolnoma novo življenje v državi, kjer nisem poznala nikogar. Če greš na izmenjavo, se po mojem mnenju, naučiš veliko več o življenju, ljudeh in sebi, kot pa se boš kadar koli to naučil v šoli.
Kaj ti je najboljša in kaj najslabša stvar glede Slovenije?
L: Najbolj me je definitivno privlačila narava. Bilo je zares prijetno, ko mi ni bilo treba poslušati prometa zunaj. Zdaj se bom na promet ponovno morala navaditi. Preden sem prišla v Slovenijo se sploh nisem niti zavedala, da me je to tako zelo motilo.
Torej, zelo mi je všeč narava in ves mir. Ko to povem Slovencem, me vsi gledajo, kot da sem nora, a vendar so sami tega mira in spokojnosti navajeni.
In še najslabša stvar … Brez dvoma, javni promet! Povezave so zares slabe, še posebej med vikendi. Tudi med tednom po 16. ali 17. uri javni promet kar izpuhti. Mogoče je tu pa tam kakšen avtobus, ampak komaj vsako naslednjo uro. To me je včasih prav razjezilo.
Če bi morala izbrati eno slovensko mesto, v katerem bi živela, katero bi izbrala?
L: Izbrala bi Celje. Že od nekdaj sem bila navajena živeti v velikih mestih in nisem pričakovala neke razlike glede na to, da so mi povedali, da je Celje tretje največje mesto v Sloveniji. Naučila sem se, da je razlika med tem, ko Slovenec reče veliko in ko to rečemo mi v Belgiji. Sama to zdaj prevajam kot »ne tako malo«. Definitivno se je občutila razlika v velikosti. Zame je Celje zelo prijazno in udobno mesto. Ni preveč ljudi, imate veliko dobrih lokalov, ogromno prijaznih ljudi in čisto dovolj trgovin, kjer najdeš vse kar potrebuješ.
Na mojo izbiro, seveda, vpliva tudi to, da sem tukaj prebila zadnje 3 mesece in sem imela priložnost ta kraj tudi spoznati. Prijatelj, ki je tudi na izmenjavi v Kranju je rekel, da je rahlo ljubosumen name, saj se mu je Celje v času njegovega obiska zdelo zelo super mesto. Morda bi, če bi živela dlje časa tu, najbrž lahko naštela tudi kakšne slabosti, ampak jih k sreči v teh treh mesecih nisem odkrila.
Kako ti je všeč tvoja družina gostiteljica?
L: Zanje sem res neizmerno hvaležna. Od samega začetka so bili zelo prijazni, predvsem pa so bili večkrat pripravljeni priskočiti na pomoč. Skupaj z njimi sem prepotovala velik del Slovenije in videla ogromno prelepih krajev. Z njimi sem se počutila udobno in sprejeto.
Kakšna se ti zdi naša šola? Kaj je največja razlika, ki si jo opazila, med tvojo in našo šolo?
L: Moja in vaša šola se pravzaprav razlikujeta v vsem. V šoli, ki jo obiskujem v Belgiji, se nam pouk začne ob 7:30, tukaj pa se jutranja ura začne že on 7:05. Navajena sem ur, ki trajajo 50 minut, tukaj pa so samo pičlih 5 minut krajše. Zelo so mi všeč 5 minutni odmori, ki jih v Belgiji nimamo. Skupaj imamo dve uri pouka, takoj za tem 20 minut odmora, sledita ponovno dve uri pouka, čas za kosilo in spet dve uri pouka.
Vaša šola mi je zelo všeč. Predvsem stranišča, ki so v primerjavi z našimi zelo prostorna in čista.
Tudi vzdušje na šoli je prijetno. Počutila sem se zelo dobrodošlo.
Kaj so tvoji hobiji?
L: V Sloveniji sem se predvsem ukvarjala s tekom, veliko sem se družila s prijatelji in seveda – hrana.
V Belgiji pa se v prostem času veliko ukvarjam s svojim konjem, veliko tečem, se družim s prijatelji in, če sem iskrena, ponovno – hrana 🙂
Kaj je tvoj najljubši predmet v šoli?
L: V Sloveniji mi je najbolj bila všeč angleščina. To je bil dejansko edini predmet, kjer sem lahko brez problema sodelovala. Doma pa so to kar trije: zgodovina, kulturna znanost in humanistika.
Najljubši dogodek, ki se ti je pripetil v Sloveniji?
L: Težko je izbrati samo enega, ampak če že moram izbrati, bi izbrala športni dan. Bilo ni nič preveč posebnega – šli smo na Celjsko kočo in odšli nazaj dol. Ampak to je bil zame dejansko prvi dan, ko sem se dejansko začela zavedati, da mi bo v Sloveniji lepo. Spominjam se še večine tistega dne. Sprva sem hodila s sošolko, s katero sem imela prijeten pogovor. Drugo polovico pohoda pa sem govorila z prijateljico, ki tudi gosti punco na izmenjavi. Govorile sva o raznoraznih stvareh, dokler nismo prišli na vrh. Na vrhu je bilo težko poiskati prostor za sedeti, a vendar mi je moja gostiteljica in par sošolk pomahalo naj prisedem k njim. Kot že rečeno – na prvi pogled nič posebnega, a zame je bilo dejstvo, da me niso ignorirale, ko sem sama stala tam, nepopisno lepo.
Ko smo se začeli spuščati s hriba me je neka punca slišala govoriti angleško in je nato začela govoriti z mano. Govorili sva celotno pot navzdol in še zdaj redno hodiva skupaj na kavo.
Ali se veseliš odhoda domov?
L: Da in ne. Veselim se, da bom videla svojo družino in prijatelje ter svojega psa. Rečem pa lahko tudi to, da sem tukaj spoznala ogromno neverjetnih ljudi, ki jih bom zelo pogrešala. Preden sem šla od doma, se mi je bilo težko posloviti od domačih. Zdaj pa, ko odhajam iz Slovenije, sem dojela, da me najtežji del še čaka, saj ne vem ali bom prijatelje, ki sem jih spoznala tukaj, še kadarkoli videla. V zadnjih treh mesecih mi je tukaj uspelo ustvariti nekakšno novo življenje, ki pa ga nočem pustiti kar tako za sabo.
Ali še kdaj nameravaš obiskati Slovenijo?
L: Brez dvoma, seveda! Že moji v Belgiji so pred odhodom rekli, da želijo enkrat tudi oni spoznati kraj, kjer sem preživela izmenjavo, hkrati pa bi rada tukaj doživela še veliko več stvari.
Kakšno je tvoje mnenje o ljudeh in kulturi Slovenije? Prednosti in slabosti?
L: To je zame zelo težko vprašanje. Sprva sem mislila, da so tukaj ljudje zelo zadržani in sramežljivi. A takoj ko sem začela govoriti z njimi, so vsi bili zelo prijazni in pripravljeni ponuditi pomoč. Zelo tudi cenite, kako se tujci trudimo govoriti slovensko. Res vas je zanimivo videti, kako ste ponosni na vaš jezik in državo. Še preden sem prišla v Slovenijo pa sem tudi slišala, da so ljudje nekako bolj napeti in jih ne zanima preveč stvari. Tega nisem opazila. Spoznala sem ljudi, ki so taki; hkrati pa tudi ljudi, ki so njihova popolna nasprotja.
Katerega spomina sigurno ne boš pozabila?
L: Spominjam se prvega trenutka, ko sem ugotovila, da želim ostati tukaj dlje časa. To je bila vožnja z avtomobilom, iz katerega sem opazovala sončni zahod. Nikakor ne bom pozabila vseh trenutkov in dogodivščin, ko sem bila s prijatelji na kavi. Tudi prvega šolskega dne ne bom nikoli pozabila, ko sem samo sebe tako rekoč prisilila, da sem začela govoriti z ljudmi v mojem razredu. Prebila sem led in ne vem, če sem že kdaj bila tako zelo ponosna nase. Ko sem se prijavila na izmenjavo, me je bilo tega tudi najbolj strah; da ne bom spoznala veliko novih ljudi in da ne bom dobila prijateljev. Nikoli ne bom pozabila tudi trenutka, ko so me prijatelji prvič povabili na kavo. Pa tudi trenutka, ko sem jaz povabila njih. Ne bom pozabila dneva, ko sem si prvič naročila kavo v slovenščini in ko mi na ulici ni bilo treba spraševati za prevod, ko me je kdo kar koli vprašal. Res … Ogromno je stvari, ki jih ne bom pozabila.
Liese Van der Perre
What is your favourite Slovenian word? Why?
Jessica: »Preproga, because it was in my home learning vocabulary and together with stopnice it was my first word.«
How is living with Slovenian family like?
J: »It’s nice it see how other families live so I would say interesting.«
How is Slovenia different from your own country?
J: »Too much food, but I really like it anyway.«
What food was new for you and what was missing?
J: »I really miss pretzels and I just learned about how important pumpkins are because my host family eats them insanely often.«
What is the biggest con of lifestyle here in your opinion?
J: »That the Public Transport isn’t really organized here.«
What is so far your most memorable experience from the exchange?
J: »Being at the airport with that exciting feeling in my stomach.«
If you went on another exchange, would you choose Slovenia again?
J: »If I would have to choose again I would probably choose Slovenia again. But if I have to choose after my exchange, I would love to go to South America«
Jessica Wardega
