Reflection of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle trip to Czech Republic (26.03 - 02.04 2017)

Name: Carmen Koidumäe

Role in Project: Student

My highlight of the week:

This trip gave me the opportunity to learn about Czech Republic and how to save water from getting polluted. During this trip I also met a lot of new people from different nations: Romania, France, Spain, Poland, Czech and I made many new friends. We shared our knowledge about recycling saving the environment.

I got a new experience by living with a Czech family,  I got to know some of their daily habits and traditions. I am really grateful for the family and Natalie for taking me into their home.

My favorite part of the trip was going sightseeing in Prague because the city was so beautiful. Also I really loved when I had the opportunity to touch the stingrays at the zoo.

The program was well planned, we always had something to do. The teachers had done a great job with this trip and they always informed our parents what we were doing. My parents were really pleased with this approach.  

What could have gone better:

Well the family I was staying with did not speak any English. So it was very hard for me to communicate with them. But luckily I had a roommate from Spain who could speak English. Overall it was manageable.

Name: Zuzanna Opuchlik

Role in the project: Student

1. What were your impressions from this trip to the Czech Republic?

I generally enjoyed the trip. I got to learn more about Czech Republic and see the country. The part that I liked the most was sightseeing in Prague. I think that the city is very beautiful. I also liked the fact that we had an opportunity to meet students from other countries. By staying with Czech families we could  learn about their culture and homelife. We got to experience Czech Republic even more. There were also some downsides. One of them is that on all the trips the group of Czech students was travelling separately. We had no chance to spend time with them  during the day, when we would have a better opportunity to get to know the. Also, in my opinion, some of the activities we were doing were more suitable for younger students and weren’t really interesting for me. But overall I think the trip was a great opportunity that I wouldn’t get to experience otherwise.

2. The focus for this trip was upon the concept of water. What is your personal thoughts on water usage and has it changed since/ during this trip to Czech Republic?’

Before the trip I was well aware of the fact that we have to save water. It is the source of life for all the animals and plants on Earth. During this trip I learned new things about water from the presentations students prepared. I also realized that in some places water is very polluted and due to that animals are not able to live there. A visit to hydroelectric power plant was very interesting. We get to know how it all works and that water is able to generate big amounts of electricity. It is a great alternative source of energy that is not dangerous for our environment and as we saw from the example can be incorporated into nature so that we can’t even see it.

3. What was your most memorable part of this trip to the Czech Republic and why?

The most memorable part of the trip for me was the sightseeing in Prague. This is the first time I’ve visited Prague and I really enjoyed. The city is very beautiful. What I remember the most was walking across the Charle’s bridge on the first day. The sun was setting and we could admire the view of the river and the city.  I’m sure it will stay long in my memory.

Name: Minjeung Cho

Role: Student representative

1. What were your impressions from this trip to the Czech Republic?

The trip was generally fun. There were beautiful buildings and friendly people. The food that got provided were very nice and enjoyable. I got to learn that Czech Republic was a beautiful country and that I didn’t know much about the country before. Though I loved the country, there were some things from the activities that weren’t as good. The first thing was that we couldn’t socialise enough with the Czech students. The Czech students were always divided into another bus and we didn’t have time to meet them at all. The second thing was the age group of the students. Because the students had a big age range from 13 to 17, the activities were mostly set for 13 year olds. This made the activities sometimes not interesting. As a whole, the trip was educational and fun.

2. The focus for this trip was upon the concept of water. What is your personal thoughts on water usage and has it changed since/ during this trip to Czech Republic?

On this trip, I got to know the rivers and lakes in different countries and its usage, environment etc. I learned that there were many species living around rivers and that water was not only an important source for human but also for animals and plants. I also got to know the conditions of the rivers and the different ways each country keep them clean. These information made me think on how water was important for many living things and gave me motivation on getting our rivers and lakes in Sweden clean.

The activity visiting the water mill and hydropower station taught me that hydropower was used since long ago and that it is used quite commonly. The activities made me realise that water could be used in many different ways and forms.

3. What was your most memorable part of this trip to the Czech Republic and why?

The activities that were prepared by school were fun, but were concentrated on water rather than on Czech Republic. When I was with the host family, I felt like I got to know more about the country so the most memorable part of this trip for me was staying with local families.

Name: Tomas Tuma

Role in project: Student

1. What were your impressions from this trip to the Czech Republic?

Before this trip I had few ideas what it would be like and how it would look like. The only thing that I was a bit worried was the host family that was taking care of me. I knew that our Swedish group would go to the old Prague to see some sights. I was also expecting that we will stay for the night in a hotel. What I was not expecting was that we will be staying in a such a nice place. I was so glad that I had the opportunity to come back to my country and explore it and eat some wonderful Czech food too. Another thing that I was impressed about was the awesome sunshine. My host Jakub became a very good friend and I hope we will stay in touch for a long time and that one day he could come visit me in Stockholm.

2. The focus for this trip was upon the concept of water. What is your personal thoughts on water usage and has it changed since/ during this trip to Czech Republic?

I learned a lot of new things that were mentioned during our presentation. Beside that I was taught how the water mill works and how the energy is created by the mill-wheel. We also visited the hydroelectric power plant in Dlouhe Strane which was very interesting and new to me. I have never been to one before. I got to know how the electricity is created by the water flow. After this trip I really started to think of how the water is wasted and tried to come up with few solution for it. For example my brother was taking shower and I told him to not drain the water so I can take a bath after him. Or to mop the floor with the water or water the flowers.

3. What was your most memorable part of this trip to the Czech Republic and why?

My most memorable part of the trip to Czech Republic was living in Novy Jicin. I was quite impressed of how such a small town has a rich and colorful history. All the sights weren’t famous, but they had much more interesting facts and details.

My second most memorable part of the journey was the Tatra museum and the testing place where the cars are checked before sending them to their owners. We had the opportunity to be part of the testing and we could choose the truck that we would like to go in.

My third most memorable part of this journey was the Goodbye party. I got to know many people and their cultures. During this Disco party everyone suddenly became open and I had the opportunity to talk to them and share my stories.

Name: Braydon Wright

Role in Project: Student

1. What were your impressions from this trip to the Czech Republic?

Before going on the trip, I had absolutely no ideas (or impressions) about what the Czech Republic. The only insight I had was through my Czech friend, Tom, (who also accompanied me on the trip) that told me a bit about what it might be like. Once arriving, I quickly learned that the Czech Republic was not only very pristine and antique, but also very organized, modern, and clean. Prague was like a mixture of old and new. Also, I really enjoyed being out in the czech countryside, it was absolutely beautiful.

2. The focus for this trip was upon the concept of water. What is your personal thoughts on water usage and has it changed since/ during this trip to Czech Republic?

Personally, I have always believed that water pollution was a relatively small problem in the grand scheme of things. However, over the course of this trip, I've learned that water pollution is a much larger and much more prominent issue than I had first thought. At the animal shelter, we were able to see some of the effects that water pollution (plastic to be specific) can have on native wildlife. We saw birds that lived on an island over 2000 kilometers from any other mainland. On the island, lots of plastic washes up. The birds consume the plastic and it causes them to die.We also learned at the mill and at the hydroelectric power plant how water can be used to create clean energy for us humans to use without any real harm to the environment.

3. What was your most memorable part of this trip to the Czech Republic and why?

For me, the most memorable part of the trip was most definitely the truck-riding experience. It was really quite an amazing thing to do and I enjoyed riding with the new friends I had made from the other countries. I really took advantage and rode on all five different trucks available.

 

  

Minjeung in a water experiment demonstration

Mr Evan's Reflection from the Czech Republic trip

Name: James Evans

Role in Project: Teacher

1. What were your impressions from this trip to the Czech Republic?

Coming into this trip I had no idea of what the Czech Republic was going to look like and how the trip would develop. I was excited for new sights, sounds and meeting new people who are also interested in environmental issues. My impressions are that Czech Republic is a beautiful country with incredible history and stories. The locals are consistently proud of their heritage and history on the land and are working hard to work with the natural beauty of the country. Definitely a country I will be coming back to in the future.

2. The focus for this trip was upon the concept of water. What is your personal thoughts on water usage and has it changed since/ during this trip to Czech Republic?

My main impressions throughout the trip was that water usage is a huge concern for our planet and society. Societies are not using water as it would be and so we as a people, and planet, are suffering. However meeting the ERASMUS+ project staff and students has shown me that there are many people who are interested in changing water usage and it must be both staff and students who are at the forefront of this movement. Additionally, although Czech republic is a beautiful country with lovely country side, it also hits me that even the most beautiful natural places are being heavily impacted by humans. We must all work together to reduce our waste, particularly plastics, and re consider our water usage.

3. What was your most memorable part of this trip to the Czech Republic and why?

The most memorable part of the trip for me would be the trip to the Strömberg tower. This was an incredibly beautiful town set in amongst some sensational hills. The combination of the history, scenery and the group on this day made this the most memorable day for the trip.