MY DIARY: Julia

The first day: At 8 pm they arrived. Everybody was happy. We welcomed them and we went home. Partners got to know the family. Although Carolina had dinner and went to bed very tired, she told me what she was doing in the past few months.

the second day: Unfortunately, only Cyprus partners wnet on a trip to Czestochowa. My partner returned home tired and weary after a long day, and went to bed almost immediately. She told me that all the time she was happy and smiled a lot.

The third day: Sunday with the family. So I got up as usual and had breakfast. I went to the Ogrodzieniec Castle and Birów with Monika, George and Petros. After short sightseeing we ate ice cream and went back home for dinner. In the afternoon, we went to Mirów and Bobolice castles where we had met Natalia and Antonio. We took lots of interesting photos. The weather was great. When we returned home we played the Xbox games and laughed a lot! It was the coolest adventure since the beginning of the exchange in Poland.

The fourth and the fifth day: I went to school for the lessons starting at 8 AM. I had chicken soup and pork cutlet at school. In the afternoon me and my partner went to Zawiercie. First, I showed her the city fountains and other interesting pictures, then we went to the restaurant to eat pizza. Repleted with food, we left for home. We met Monika at the bus stop and took a stroll around Zawiercie. We had some ice creams and returned home. Carolina began to study and then fell asleep. The next day wasn’t interesting because Cypriots went on another trip and I was at school.

The sixth day: We had lesson until AM and then we had a play. It was very interesting. Our partners seemed to like our play. Everyone played their roles well, and then we started to draw pictures and we discovered a few art. talents. I returned home with Carolina and had a quick dinner. It was so as at 2 PM Cypriots were going to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. As usual, I was at home and did not go on a trip with them. When Carolina returned about 8 pm she wasn’tt happy because the place distressed her. She was tired as usual.

the seventh day: Thursday – both groups went together on a trip… At last! We went to the Adrenaline Park in Ogrodzieniec. Everyone was happy. We had to go the rope course, but some people including me were afraid as the ropes were a few meters above the ground. We could not wait a minute longer to eat „prażonki” (baked potatoes with vegetables). Then, we visited the castle in Ogrodzieniec, but this time it was a different because both groups entered the castle at the same time – up to that moment only Cypriots were going on trips. We bought some souvenirs from the castle. When we got back, we ate cake and went to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. We toured the mine for about three hours, however it was worth our time. Then we went to the KFC and around 10 pm we were home. Weary and luckily we went to sleep.

The eighth day: We went to Cracow for the entire day. We visited the Wawel Castle and St. Mary's Church; they were beautiful places, but we were upset by the enormous number of tourists who wanted to visit them as well. Then we went to eat dinner, and next we had free time to buy souvenirs. During the free time our partners ate some ice creams and visited the Sukiennice. We got time to visit galleries where we did a lot of things. When we returned home all we wanted to do was to go to sleep. Although we were very excited, don’t get me wrong! There are really nice places in Poland of which we can be proud.

The ninth day: Bright and early, we went to Zakopane. We were tired, not well rested, and spent 3 hours in a coach. When we had arrived it started to rain so we were not interested in visiting the ski jump slope. It was terribly cold and wet that day. Then we used a cableway to get on the Gubałówka mount to see the Tatra Mountains panorama, but all we saw was just a thick fog. We went to eat something, and we had 4 hours of free time to wander around the Krupówki street – it was boring. I bought oscypki (kind of cheese), souvenirs. There were four of us - Konrad, Monika, Natalia and me. We went to eat a kebab and a dessert. We returned home sleepy and tired, but happy.

The tenth day: We had the first no-sightseening morning in 7 days! Caroline ate breakfast and we went bowling with Monica and her partner. Cypriots are great bowlers! All good things must come to an end. When we got back we ate lunch, Monika came to my house and we all talked and mentioned the exchange in Cyprus - it was one of the best moments in our lives. In the evening, we went for the Euro - dinner. So much food, pictures, memories... Then there were speeches of teachers and everyone somehow started to realize that the time had come Cypriot partners were about to leave and it was almost the end of the exchange. We were crying so much, everyone started to cuddle.

The last day : We woke up and Caroline started to pack her belongings. We ate tomato soup, because she liked it the most. Before we went to school Caroline said saying goodbye to my dad. When we arrived at school everyone was sad and depressed. We watched a movie that was prepared to present the whole exchange. We started crying. When about 3pm we saw our Cypriot partners near the coach we started crying and we hugged them once again. All what I saw and what I did during the exchange will remain in my heart forever. When the coach drove off I just couldn’t hold back my tears. Everything was meant to be normal again…