Spring Festival

Irina Guliaeva

We had a great opportunity to spend the whole week (from the 12th to the 19th of April) in Slovenia. From the very first minute we were completely amazed by the beauty of the country. The more we saw in Maribor and the country itself, the more we realized how cozy, calm and picturesque Slovenia is. We came to understand what Slovenian hospitality is actually like due to our very kind and attentive hosts who spent time with us, showing  us around and helping us get acquainted with the culture and traditions.

In addition, we are very grateful to II. Gimnazija and to all the staff and students as well. The lessons we attended were exciting and what we found particularly nice is that every teacher was inquiring about our Russian education, comparing our ways of learning, curriculum, resources we use, etc. We were also greatly surprised by the high level of knowledge Slovenian students have. That is a real motivation for us to work as hard as possible.

All in all, we want to thank everyone who surrounded us during this week, and we hope that one day we will meet again.

 

Daria Mezenina

The trip to Slovenia was an incredibly fantastic time. We liked everything that happened to us. To be honest all the girls from our group will never forget those days and will, with pleasure, go back to II. Gimnazija. 

Our host families were very amicable, kind, sociable and funny. We didn't expect that they would be so attentive, as they tried to be everywhere with us, showing us the different sights of Maribor, telling different interesting stories and just communicating with us about Slovenian's way of life compared to Russian's. They wanted us to have a really exciting program from morning till night and our hosts succeeded as we never felt lonely and every minute we were doing something special and new.


We were treated to some really delicious food. Families talked to us every evening and it was cool as we practiced our English a lot, learned about Slovenia more or tried new food. 

We noticed that the Slovenian language is very similar to our own because sometimes we could understand what the families were talking about. Also, we've learnt different Slovenians phrases and taught our families Russian ones. It was funny to listen to the accents of other people and to try to speak a new language. Moreover, some of the girls decided to study Slovenian. 

The workshops were fantastic. We liked them very much, as we met new friends and tried new things. We were all in different workshops in order to talk to others and be more open. We took part in dance, photo, animation, improvisation, drama, and singing workshops. All of us learnt something new and useful for our future. Each workshop impressed us a lot and it was a really good experience. We want to say thanks to all the leaders of the workshops as they were kind, polite and very skilled teachers.

All in all, this trip was the best one of our lives and we sincerely appreciate the Gimnazija for such a warm reception. 

 


Elena Lunina

This spring I've been to the Spring Festival in Maribor. I had a wonderful time there. I met a lot of new people, they were all different. It was very interesting to communicate with people from other countries.

Actually, when I planned to go to Maribor, I just couldn't imagine that this trip would be so amazing. I just thought that we would attend classes and present our country.

The most interesting part of the festival was the workshops. There were different kinds of them, beginning with photography and finishing with drama. My workshop was called "Animated Films". When I chose this workshop, I just thought that we would be drawing something and filming it. However, we did absolutely different things. We were filming each other, using special effects, and adding music. The most important thing is that we worked as a team, and we helped each other. 

The Spring Festival was a great experience for me in such spheres as developing language skills, making new friends and working in a team!

Sophia Sedlova


Hi, my name is Sonya. Here you can read about my impressions after our wonderful trip to Slovenia. I want to tell you about the Gimnazija in which the Spring Festival takes place.

II Gimnazija or as the students call it “Druga” (“the second” in Slovenian) is situated in Maribor. This city is located in the north-east of the country. “Druga” is the second biggest Gimnazija in Maribor. I think it’s the best one because we visited the other ones but still II Gimnazija seems to be the leader.

A huge building in the centre of Maribor has 4 stories and a big surrounding area which includes places to relax: summer tables and chairs, beautiful hedges and lots of pouffes. For me, it was something new because in Russia, due to the climate, we don’t have an opportunity to spend time during the break outside (only in summer).

The building looks quite modern because of the huge windows and glass doors which make the rooms light and airy. On the 1st floor you can find info desks, staff rooms, a big area for studying and, of course, places to relax and a huge self-service canteen which serves tasty and healthy food. The 2nd and the 3rd floors are full of classrooms. Every classroom is specialized in a particular subject. As I am interested in Chemistry and I am studying it in the IB Diploma Programme I paid a lot of attention to the lab flasks, beakers, reactants and so on. I want to say that everything is of high quality. The top floor is very special! Here extracurricular activities of II Gimnazija take place: a dance studio with stereo system, the gym, an open-air area and, of course, a huge amphitheater where wonderful school musicals are held.

We were lucky enough to visit their new musical “Romeo and Juliet”. I was shocked! It was amazing; it was made by real professionals. Everything was 100 million times rehearsed! Perfect costumes, modern sound equipment and talented students!

In Gimnazija they study for 4 years and then they should take a state exam and get a certificate. Almost all students know English pretty well. There are all the conditions in Slovenia to learn and speak English as well as a native speaker. For example, Slovenian is learnt only in Slovenia, it seems to be a dying language; no films in cinemas are translated into Slovenian because it’s expensive for this small country. The young generation is willing to learn English.

Finally, I want to tell you a story of one girl who is now successfully studying the national curriculum in “Druga”. I talked with her in the canteen because I heard some Russian speech. Her name is Azalia, she is from Kazan’(a city in Russia). Azalia went there to study three years ago. At that time she did not know even a single word in Slovenian, only "white coffee please". I was struck by her story, she is a very brave and strong girl. Alone, without parents, she adapted to this country and learned the language in two months and is now fluent. Azalia stays with a Slovenian family and gets along well with them. The next year, she has to take state exams. She is hoping to enter an international university.



Sofia Davydova

The time we spent in Slovenia was absolutely delightful. The atmosphere in the country was welcoming. Each member of our group stayed with a host family, and it was a great experience for us to get to know Slovenia from the inside. The families we lived with were hospitable and caring, they helped us to learn many interesting facts about life in Slovenia as well as about customs and traditions of the country.Our hosts were very friendly. They spent much time with us showing us
the sights of Maribor and telling us about its history.

  

 During our trip we admired the beauty of the Slovenian countryside. We noticed that the country is very green, and that makes it charming. We also admired the vast hilly landscapes and pine forests.

Another wonderful thing in Slovenia was food. It was very tasty. We were really lucky to taste many delicious dishes in cafes of Maribor and Ljubljana. We liked the food in the Gimnazija canteen, too.

We also enjoyed the Spring Festival as well as the preparation for it. Attending the Improvisation Workshop, I learnt to feel free on stage which was pretty challenging for me.


 We were also impressed by the musical «Romeo and Juliette». The performance was brilliant, and the actors seemed to be real professionals.

We loved the time we spent in Slovenia and we would like to thank II. Gimnazija for its hospitability.