There´s no straight flights to Poznan from Finland, so we had to change planes in Warsaw. Our second airplane was very different from the first, because it was a propeller plane that was quite small and noisy. When we arrived to Poznan and got our luggage, we met our hosts Stanislaw and Marta and the teachers of German and Geography. They were very friendly to us and it seemed like they had been expecting us. We also got folders with town maps and our schedule for the week etc.

After eating with our host families, we went to see the old market area and after that, the rest of the city. In the evening we went to a chocolate café and we were surprised by the low prices. We bought a chocolate cake and a cup of hot white chocolate with raspberries. The cake was huge and it was nearly impossible to eat alone plus it cost only 12 slots which is about 3 euros! In Finland that big cake would’ve cost at least 8 euros.

The next day was a school day. Just like many other students, we traveled there by bus because it was the quickest and easiest way to go there. The school was very big, and it was called IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące. The number of students was a lot greater than in our school in Iitti. We were surprised of the cloakroom system there. A couple of students were there taking other students’ coats. They gave us a piece of medal with a number that we could get our coats back. We were also amazed of the security guard, whose job was to keep an eye on the students. That day we also noticed that the doors were locked during the lessons and thus the people outside the school weren’t able to get in.

All of the students had their own packed lunch or they bought something to eat from the school’s canteen. The food there wasn’t like the Finnish school meal, because they were able to buy hamburgers and hot dogs for example. There wasn’t any official lunch breaks but the students had a bit longer brake in the middle of the day. The brake lasted about 20 minutes. Despite that, the students ate whenever they wanted to.

Polish students study quite the same subjects as we in Finland; geography, mother language (Polish), mathematics, chemistry, physics, French, German, religion, history, PE etc. They all also have to study English, but still just a few of them speak it fluently. The students respect their teachers very well and maybe a little bit more than in Finland. They have to call them as Ms., Mrs., and Mr., and also the dress code was strict. For example when we were there, they were celebrating the International Teachers’ Day and if the clothing wasn’t correct (black and white), you might get detention or get thrown out from the auditorium, where the celebrating took place.

Our hosts took us to see an old semetery where are buried hundreds of soldiers from the first and the second World War. Unfortunately it was quite dark then so we couldn’t see as much as we would have wanted.

We both liked the food that our host families made. The dishes were a bit same as we had in Finland, but they used much more time for cooking. They kind of had a passion for cooking. They also loved eating mushrooms although they didn’t have them as much in Poland’s forests as we have. Polish people prefer to use indoor slippers at home, and that was also a little surprising.

We are extremely thankful for our hosts for making our amazing trip possible. They were very kind to us and the food they cooked to us were more than delicious! The city was also very beautiful and we got new Polish friends. It was also very nice to see a school system that differs from ours. Special thanks to the students who prepared for us a really fun English lessons where we learnt some Polish words and facts about Poland. We also were able to taste some pastries that the students had baked.
Dziękuję!