After a short night, but fortunately safe trip to Kokkola, we were picked up by the Finnish students at our hotel and guided to the town hall in the morning. There we were welcomed by the mayor of Kokkola and the Finnish teachers. They informed us well about the city and its surroundings and afterwards we took part in the ice breaking activities. Not only the coat of arms but also a traditional dance, which we had to learn, helped everyone to get to know each other better. Even the teachers of all participating countries presented the dance outside on the streets of Kokkola. Later the students had their first outdoor activity “orienteering” and explored the town by themselves in small groups.
On Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit the beautiful island of Tanker. There we learned about seal hunting in the old days and the functions of lighthouses. Tankar’s nature and the grand variety of the berries to be found there left a great impression and Kimi, the Finnish teacher for physical education went trekking with us.
Wednesday a bus brought us to Villa Elba, a meeting point for the youth of Kokkola. First we had to put on raincoats and pants because it was pouring rain outside and we were to go into the woods to do “checkpoint- orienteering”. Luckily we came back to a warm hut with a fireplace and barbecue. Those who felt like it we able to visit the Finnish sauna and took a bath in the sea.
The next day was all about “Geocaching”. We received a short introduction in the school and went outside in small groups to practice. In the afternoon the students worked on their presentations (peer-teaching) for the next morning. They used different meth
ods.
The final dinner at night took place at the restaurant Kokkolino, which trains young people to become cooks. This is always a special night for all the students and they dressed up very nicely.
Even though the students we quite conscious at first all of them did a great job presenting their topics on Friday morning in school. The traditional cooking had berries as its main theme and so many cookies, cakes and desserts were produced in the school’s kitchen by the students in order to have a last meeting together enjoying these treats. Sadly it was time to pass but we are looking forward to meet again somewhere in Europe.