Erasmus+ – Project Duurzaamheid – Malta 26 mei t/m 1 juni 2024
Sunday, May 26, 2024. We, Dana, Joyce and Anton, teachers from obs de Plantage in the Netherlands, left with 6 pupils for an exchange with the Archbishop’s Minor Seminary in Malta. The school is divided in primary and secondary education and is part of the seminary. There are only boys on the school.
This week we are also working together with our German colleagues from Steinheid. The journey went smoothly and upon arrival we were warmly welcomed by the host families and our Maltese colleagues. This week’s program, created by our Maltese colleagues, is a mix of sustainability and Maltese culture, which took us on several excursions.
Monday, May 27. Because the children come from all over the island, our students have to get up early. They are not used to that. We started with a tour of the school and then our children were allowed to give their presentations. Exciting, but they did such a good job! We are so proud.
The Seminary has its own fruit and vegetable garden. We went for harvesting lemons to make lemonade later this week. After harvesting we went to Senglea, one of the three cities nearby Valetta. We did a treasure hunt but because of the heat we aborted the hunt.
Tuesday, May 28. From school we drove to the coast. First we got to see a sink hole and after that we went by boat to the island of Comino, off the coast of Malta. Salvo and his family are the only residents on this island. He maintains the island. Want to know more about this fantastic man? Then check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EF9bxc3Scg&t=70s We also went to see the little chapel and the ruins of an old bakery.
Wednesday, May 29. Today is a day at school. Our children participate in crafts and computer workshops. Then we made lemonade from the lemons that we harvested on Monday. It was wonderfully and refreshing!
Thursday, May 30. Our children are not used to getting up early. The fatigue is already starting to become visible. But when we tell the children that we are going to Gozo, they jump up and are ready to go. We took the ferry to Gozo. After arriving on the island we took a look at the tomato factory “The Magro Brothers”. We then visited the citadel and then went to the Ggantija temples. A cultural day concluded with lunch at the azure blue sea of Gozo.
Friday May 31. The last day of this special and beautiful trip. This day we visited the Malta water factory. Here we received a presentation about sustainability on the island of Malta. One of the items we talked about is the water supply on Malta. Malta has a Mediterranean climate. It doesn’t rain often, so they try to use water in a sustainable way. That is a bit different than in the Netherlands. It was interesting to know more about sustainability.
In the evening we had a farewell party. Our children received a certificate of participation during this party. Because of our early departure saturday morning, we also said goodbye to our Maltese and German colleagues during the farewell party.
It was a very nice, pleasant, educational and unforgettable trip. We take all these memories with us to the Netherlands. Thanks to the colleagues at the Archbishop’s Minor Seminary for arranging and organizing this wonderful week.
