Impressions from the Bulgarian group
General Impressions
For all of us the trip to Italy, a country we had heard of a lot and long wanted to visit, was a dream that came true. The time we spent in Italy is for sure one of the most the most amazing things that have happened to us.
The Programme
Let's start with my arrival in the hotel. Our Bulgarian group was welcomed by the groups that had arrived before us. There were students from Poland, Germany, Romania, Sweden and Norway. They were very nice. We got to know each other and had the first dinner with the whole group. It was a little bit strange because six different cultures were together at one place.
On the next day we went to the school in Afragola, which would be our school during this week. The school was much more different from ours. The building was new and modern. All rooms were equipped with computers. The school hours which we took part in, were very interesting. The school had a large confernce hall where the sudents gave us a warm welcome and during our stay in Naples it was the place for us to have discos and fun.The gym was also very big with different facilities for basketball,volleyball and table tennis.We had great time there at the sport afternoon-all playing together.The school yard was very spacious,too.Another thing we noticed were the classrooms.They were also big and in some of them there were computers for every student.Just like in Bulgarian there were laboratories..The nice teachers showed us different objects the students were observing. t was great fun. We really loved the staff and the students because they were so nice with us and always provided us a good time.
The welcome ceremony at the school was a superb beginning - we really liked it. We appreciate the efforts of both students and teachers to present the best of their school, music and culture. And above all, all the performers were definitely enjoying it and managed to deliver the pleasurable feelings to all the guests.
All the activities were very interesting and exciting (one of the things we liked most was playing table tennis at the school).
During the trip we were able to learn a lot about the great Italian scientist Enrico Fermi. The presentation provided us with the most important and necessary information although still under the impressions of the welcome ceremony some of us found it a bit long and boring.
The visit to the university of Naples and Rome gave us the chance to find out more about the importance of Fermi and his place in the history of Italy. These visits also gave us the wonderful chance to learn more about Galileo, about the history and development of Physics. Despite the fact that the materials we were given were in Italian, the assistance of Italian students during the trips managed to help us understand the international language of science.
The cultural and historical part of the trip was very well-chosen and prepared. Naples is a wonderful city-it is big and there is a lot of traffic but there is also a lot to see-museums,galleries,castles.We really liked the castle of Caserta.It is something you can't see everyday.It is enormous with a large and beautiful garden.We loved the garden very much because there were different statues in it as well as lots of different trees.Inside the castle we went through all the rooms which looked very authentic.The paintings on the ceiling in every room impressed me the most-they were representing scenes from the life in the castle during different centuries.There were also a great number of pictures,magnificent extraordinary mirrors and wonderful golden objects like closks and vases.
Naples is also famous for its chocolate factory.And of course that was one of the things we liked the most.It was very interesting to learn how the chocolate is made by hands and what we liked even better was the time when we tasted these amazing sweets and chocolate.
As we are keen on ancient cities and ruins the ruins of Herculaneum impressed us enormously.The guide told us a lot of interesting facts and showed us the amazing ruins of an ancient city destroyed by the eruption of the Vesuvious volcano.
Rome is one of the most beautiful ancient cities in the world and we were really happy to visit it.We really liked the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain.Unforunatelly we couldn't visit the Colosseum and Vatican and we only saw them from the bus but the trip to Rome was really worthy.We loved the tiny streets and the outside small restaurants with flowers .And of course the cute motorbikes almost every person was riding..People say you can find the best ice-cream in the world in Rome and this is true-it is big,with different flavours depending on your likes and it is not very expensive. The atmosphere and the sights of the city spoke about its long history. Rome is a beautiful and majestic place
The last dinner at the hotel was such a pleasant surprise - there was food we had never eaten before, live Italian music; everybody was smiling and good-looking, everything was perfect!
The People
We'd heard that the Italians are very hospitable people who always take good care of their guests and make them feel comfortable. With this trip we found out this is absolutely true- the staff at the hotel were very helpful and made our stay very pleasant,the Italian teachers and students were also very nice with us and made us feel as good as home. The Italians are very warm and in many ways are similar to Bulgarians.It is true the people in Naples don't speak good English but they were trying all the time just because of us.
The Atmosphere
We are very impressed by the students from the different countires.They were very nice and positive,always smiling and ready to have fun.They were speaking good English and we soon became very good friends.We were togheter all day and that gave us great opportunities to get to know each other. On the bus we were always singing and laughing together.And every evening at the hotel we gathered togheter and danced traditional dances from the different countries.I When we were too tired we only talked or played cards.I'm very happy I met those people and I'm even happier that we still keep in touch with them.
The Accommodation
The hotel was very comfortable, and the staff there were very friendly and helpful. If only they spoke better English. The food - delicious and there were no problems about the stay there. The cuisine was more than we expected.Besides it looked great and it was served by friendly waitres.If you are interested in pizza,pasta or spagetti-Italy is the best place for you.
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