VTA (Vocational Training Abroad, Stage di Lavoro all estero)

Transcript

1 VTA (Vocational Training Abroad, Stage di Lavoro all estero) Il progetto VTA è nato nell ambito dei 3 Progetti Europei Comenius ai quali abbiamo partecipato (dal 2005 al 2012) e quindi grazie all amicizia e collaborazione con diverse scuole superiori della UE. Il progetto prevede la possibilità, per gli studenti delle classi terze e quarte, di svolgere uno Stage di Lavoro all estero, ospitati in famiglia, per un periodo di tre settimane. Attualmente, le nostre scuole partner nell esperienza sono: Hans-Leipelt-Schule, Donauworth, Germania o I.E.S. Miguel De Mańara - Sevilla Spagna o Yrkesinstitutet Prakticum, Helsinki, Finlandia o Queste sono le procedure per l attuazione del progetto: 1. I docenti individuano gli alunni interessati e disponibili ad effettuare lo stage e ad ospitare, successivamente, per la stessa durata di 3 settimane, il proprio partner; Il Collegio dei Docenti si è espresso favorevolmente nei confronti dell iniziativa ma ha richiesto che lo stage degli studenti italiani possa aver luogo al di fuori del periodo scolastico (giugno/fine scuola oppure prima dell inizio delle lezioni in agosto/settembre) Naturalmente sarebbe auspicabile la reciprocità ( stesso alunno ospite e ospitante) ma non si esclude la possibilità che sia un altra famiglia ad ospitare. Il partner sarà in Italia durante l attività scolastica ma poiché impegnato nel lavoro fino al tardo pomeriggio non ostacolerà l attività di studio dei nostri alunni. 2. Il docente responsabile del VTA individua aziende disposte ad accogliere gli alunni stranieri in stage, naturalmente a costo zero. Purtroppo, soprattutto a causa del difficile momento economico che l intera Europa, ed in particolare l Italia, sta attraversando, sta diventando sempre più difficile, individuare aziende disposte ad accogliere studenti stranieri (che non parlano italiano) ai quali è necessario affiancare un tutor (che conosca l inglese, o il tedesco o lo spagnolo) che possa guidarli nell espletamento di semplici funzioni. L esperienza, che ha un alta valenza formativa, oltre che linguistica, è seguita e monitorata dal tutor referente sia in azienda che all interno della scuola partner.

2 I costi a carico delle famiglie sono limitati al viaggio di andata/ritorno verso il paese di destinazione e l ospitalità al partner (vitto e alloggio) per un periodo di tre settimane. Pioniere dell esperienza, nell estate 2008, Giberti Laura e Benetti Sharon, appartenenti alla classe 4 A ERICA (diplomate nel luglio 2009) che hanno prestato servizio rispettivamente presso l Ufficio Informazioni Turistiche di Nordlingen e presso la Biblioteca Comunale di Donauwoerth, in Baviera. Dopo di loro, Andrea Rossi (classe 5 A Geometri) e Giulia Gualtieri (5 A ERICA) hanno svolto il loro stage a Helsinki nel settembre 2009 e hanno ospitato, nella primavera 2010, rispettivamente Matias, iscritto alla sezione Economia e Marketing, e Linda, iscritta alla sezione Media della loro scuola. Linda ha potuto approfondire in senso pratico le sue conoscenze di creazione siti web e pubblicità presso INDUSTREE di Reggio Emilia mentre Matias è stato ospite dell azienda KARTHA di Carpi ed ha approfondito la diffusione delle fatture elettroniche (einvoicing) nel Nord-Europa. Numerosi, quindi, gli studenti che, negli anni, a partire dal 2008 fino ad oggi, hanno partecipato al progetto: Giberti Laura (4 A ERICA) Benetti Sharon (4 A ERICA) Rossi Andrea (4 A Geometri) Gualtieri Giulia (4 B ERICA) (vedi My VTA Report ) Salati Isabella (4 A Geometri) Cantarelli Roberto (4 B Geometri) Ronchetti Marco (4 A ITI) (vedi My VTA Report ) Caliumi Margherita (4 B ERICA) (vedi My VTA Report ) Ceccato Giorgia (4 B ERICA) Morellni Giulia (3 B ERICA) (vedi My VTA Report ) Malagutti Nicole (3 B ERICA) Vivari Federica (4 A ERICA) (vedi My VTA Report ) Mazzucchelli Martina (4 A ERICA) (vedi My VTA Report ) Diallo Raby (3 A ERICA)

3 Ferrari Sofia (4 B ERICA) Aldrovandi Sara (4B ERICA) Fornaciari Serena (4B ERICA) Numerose sono le aziende del territorio che hanno collaborato al progetto, dimostrando grande disponibilità e flessibilità ed a loro va il nostro sentito ringraziamento: CORGHI-NEXION, Correggio ARGO TRACTOR-LANDINI s.p.a.., Fabbrico INDUSTREE, Reggio Emilia KARTHA s.r.l., Carpi CORMO SOCIETA' COOPERATIVA, San Martino in Rio COPY Company s.r.l., Campagnola SICAM, Correggio EMAK s.p.a., Bagnolo CTE INTERNATIONAL, Reggio Emilia STUDIO PAOLA LIGABUE, Reggio Emilia LIU JO, Carpi GRANDI PASTAI ITALIANI, Correggio ESTETICA BLUE SUN, Correggio TECHNOSOLUTIONS s.r.l., Reggio Emilia LOVEMARK s.r.l., Reggio Emilia Ecco alcune delle testimonianze dei nostri studenti che hanno partecipato al VTA: Giulia Gualtieri Ho trascorso 3 settimane ad Helsinki, in Finlandia, dal 22 agosto al 13 settembre 2009.

4 Sono stata ospitata da Linda, mia coetanea, e dalla sua famiglia composta, oltre che da lei, dai sue due fratelli, di 23 e 20 anni e dai genitori Mats e Nina Fontell. Tutti mi hanno aiutata molto a inserirmi sia nella famiglia sia nel nuovo ambiente. Helsinki infatti è molto diversa dall Italia. La mia famiglia finlandese, inoltre, abita in una città chiamata Porvoo dove si parla sia finnico sia svedese, anzi la seconda lingua va per la maggiore nel sud del Paese. Durante questo periodo ho lavorato come cameriera a Sipoo, una cittadina situata a metà strada tra Helsinki e Porvoo e molto bella perchè attraversata dal lago. I miei colleghi all interno della struttura sono stati tutti gentili e l inglese non è stato un problema (là lo parlano tutti, bambini, giovani, anziani!!!). Per forza di cose, avendo a che fare con i clienti, ho anche dovuto imparare un po di svedese.. La proprietaria del locale è una signora sulla quarantina con 3 figli. È molto gentile e mi ha aiutato molto. Questa esperienza lavorativa mi ha insegnato molto, ho preso contatto con una cultura decisamente diversa da quella italiana, ho potuto anche notare il loro modo di vivere e cucinare. Questa esperienza lavorativa mi ha insegnato molto, ho preso contatto con una cultura decisamente diversa da quella italiana in quanto a stile di vita, abitudini, cibo Non vedo l ora di rivedere Linda che sarà mia ospite per tre settimane nell aprile prossimo. Io sarò molto impegnata nello studio ma sarà bello trascorrere le serate con lei, a casa o con i miei amici nel weekend e portarla in giro nelle nostre zone.

5 Il sabato sarà a scuola, nella mia classe, perciò anche i miei compagni potranno conoscerla!! Ronchetti Marco anno scolastico Sono uno studente all ultimo anno del corso ITIS e nel periodo tra il 21/08/2010 e il 12/09/2010 sono stato ospitato da una famiglia finlandese partecipante al progetto VTA. Questo tipo di esperienza è stata molto importante per me, grazie soprattutto all aiuto del mio host-brother e del mio datore di lavoro: ho lavorato per tre settimane in un paese all estero, conoscendo così una realtà di vivere molto diversa dalla nostra ma capace di farti maturare. Il ragazzo che mi ha ospitato, Arturs Lindholm, sin dal primo momento, nonostante la mia non proprio naturale scioltezza nell utilizzo della lingua inglese, ha cercato di farmi sentire a mio agio. Ha sempre cercato di coinvolgermi in quello che faceva, nonostante il poco tempo disponibile. Anche l esperienza lavorativa è stata positiva: Ian Bourgeot, il titolare della libreria in cui sono andato a lavorare, nonostante la differenze tra la tipologia dei miei studi e il tipo di lavoro, è riuscito a coinvolgermi nella sua attività, trovando anche il tempo per aiutarmi migliorare la mia conoscenza della lingua inglese. Questo tipo di esperienza è molto utile a noi giovani, non solo dal punto di vista linguistico ma anche per incoraggiarci ad aprire i nostri occhi su uno stile di vita diverso dal nostro.

6 Caliumi Margherita This report was made by me, Margherita Caliumi, and all my family because they also had a very important role in this experience. My experience was divided into two parts: the fist, when I was in Finland ; the second, when my host-sister came to my house to spend 3 weeks working at SICAM, in Correggio. When I was in Finland I had the possibility to improve my English and to use it while I was working and also for any type of necessity; I worked in a cafe bar as waitress ( the same place where also Giulia Gualtieri worked) and there I had to learn some Finnish and Swedish words because not all of the costumers were able to speak English and they were anyway interested to speak to me The only thing that didn t work correctly was my relationship with my host-sister; my impression is she was not interested in creating a link with me. Luckily her mom, her brother and also the girl I worked with were so cute and outgoing that I did not feel homesick. When she was staying at my place, it was the same; she didn t care about me and my family; she didn t respect my family rules and she behaved like she was staying in a youth hostel and not with a family; my parents were a little bit sad about this because our previous hosting experience was just wonderful! Anyway, I know that my experience was not one of the best but it was good anyway, because it gave me the possibility to know new people, places, the Finnish culture and to improve my English. Morellini Giulia La famiglia è stata molto accogliente e sono molto simpatici. Non ho potuto stare molto tempo con loro perché ero sempre in giro dopo il lavoro. Non ci sono stati problemi di alcun tipo, nemmeno per la lingua. In Finlandia conoscono TUTTI inglese. La famiglia che mi ospitava era composta da quattro sorelle e, naturalmente, i genitori.

7 Anche nel negozio, chiamato Anton & Anton, mi sono trovata molto bene. Il lavoro non era molto pesante, soprattutto perché non c era molto da fare. I primi 2 giorni ho dovuto pulire tutti gli scaffali del negozio. Gli altri giorni ho lavato le stoviglie, piegato gli scatoloni e riempito gli scaffali. Tutti i giorni così, ad eccezione di quando ho tagliato del pesce (mai più!). E stato davvero orribile. Escursioni, attività, esperienze Per quanto riguarda le escursioni, una volta sono andata allo zoo, abbiamo visitato Helsinki (anche il campo divertimenti). Infine siamo andate in Estonia, abbiamo visitato la capitale, Tallin, in poche ore, ma ne valeva la pena. Eravamo spesso nei centri commerciali Kamppi e Focus.

8 L unica difficoltà prima della partenza è stata: cosa portare?. I vestiti sono un GRAN problema, soprattutto perché quando si pensa alla Finlandia, una persona pensa subito a babbo natale e alla neve. Perciò non sapevamo se portare vestiti invernali o estivi. In Finlandia non ci sono state difficoltà di alcun genere. Dopo un po siamo riuscite ad orientarci benissimo. Ed è stato un bene che tutto ciò di cui avevamo bisogno era a due passi. Ho avuto riscontri positivi in tutto: ho migliorato il mio Inglese (la ragazza che mi ospitava non faceva altro che ripeterlo) e infatti spesso mi ritrovavo a pensare in inglese. Inoltre ho imparato un po di svedese (loro parlavano soprattutto questa lingua). Ho fatto nuove e bellissime amicizie. Ho conosciuto una nuova cultura: il modo di essere dei finlandesi è completamente diverso dal nostro: le persone tendono ad essere molto silenziose ( tranne alla sera) e il loro modo di vestirsi è completamente differente dal nostro. Anche la scuola e il lavoro si svolgono con modalità differenti. In Finlandia le scuole possono contare su finanziamenti maggiori, pertanto gli edifici sono molto più nuovi, moderni ; per ciò che riguarda il sistema scolastico, gli orari di inizio e fine lezione non sono fissi:le lezioni, ad esempio, possono iniziare alle 9, come anche alle 10 o alle 8 e gli studenti seguono un percorso personalizzato. Inoltre,già dai 15 anni possono iniziare a lavorare e di anno in anno il loro stipendio aumenta. Insomma è stata un esperienza unica e fantastica che rifarei (e mi trasferirei là) volentieri. Al rientro non ci sono state difficoltà. E stato stranissimo ritornare in Italia, la nostalgia per Helsinki si è fatta sentire subito. Mia sorella, Emma, ha 17 anni e studia economia in una scuola professionale,. Emma, e le altre ragazze, sono venute in Italia con noi il 16 settembre e purtroppo sono già tornate in Finlandia. Giulia, Giorgia and Nicole at Praktikum, our partner school in Helsinki

9 Preparing salmon. Martina Mazzucchelli My VTA experience started on Saturday, 16th June and ended on Saturday, 7th July It took place in Germany, precisely in a little Bavarian town, in the South of the country. MY HOST FAMILY My host family, whose surname is Schröppel, live in Harburg. Harburg is a little town situated on the Romantic Road, a theme route 350 km long in Southern Germany, famous for its medieval locations. That s why in this town there are a lot of historical buildings and monuments like, for example, the castle, the old bridge and the church.

10 The Schröppels have a very nice and big house near the town centre; in their property there are also a big garden, a vegetable garden, some fruit trees, a henroost, a tool shed, a sawmill and a little stable. They also have a big landed property in the country where there are fields and another stable. My family consisted of Elisabeth, my host sister, Fritz, her father, Magdalena, her mother, Christoph and Barbara, her brother and sister. Fritz works on his farm where he breeds pigs and grows mostly wheat. In one of his stables there are 500 pigs! He carries out all these activities during spring, summer and autumn while in winter he spends most of his time in the forests of Harburg: in fact he is in charge of supervising them. Magdalena is a housewife: she does the housewok, she goes shopping every morning, she takes care of the garden, the fruit trees, the vegetable garden and she cooks wonderful meals. She is a very very good at cooking, her cakes are delicious! Christoph, who is 15, studies in a technical school. Barbara, who is 23, studies Agriculture at Weidenbach University, she has an apartment there and she comes back home only for the weekend. Elisabeth, who is 17, studies at Hans-Leipelt-Schule, which is a technical-vocational school in Donauworth. She attends a very difficult course where there are subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Technical Drawing. This school is particular because students alternate one week at school and one week at work. MY JOB I worked in the library of Donauworth. Donauworth is a little city 15 km away from Harburg. The library is in the centre of the town, on the second floor of a big historical building in which there is also a private school. In the library hall there are exhibitions of

11 drawings and little works made by children of the local elementary school. In the centre there is a big desk with two computers: here the costumers come to give books back or to ask for information. On the right side there are books for children and adolescents; on the left side there are books for adults and at the back there is the office. In the children area there are also toys, little chairs, pillows and four computers. In the adults area there are four computers, a relax zone with a coffee machine, a table with chairs and some newspapers, and some small armchairs where the costumers can read magazines or play chess. In the library people can borrow and return books, DVDs, CDs and Playstation games; it is also possible to surf the net. Each costumer has his/her own library card. Mrs Evelyn is the manager of the library and she can count on very reliable and qualified her colleagues: Irmingard, Steffi and Jonas. There are also one boy, Hannes, and one girl, Carina, both from Elisabeth s school, that work alternately with them. The library is open from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. I used to work from 8:00 to 12:00 and from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and from 8:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. In the morning, as soon as I arrived, I had to put the books that people had returned the previous day on the bookshelves in alphabetical order. After this I used to work in the office: I put sticky labels on the books and I wrapped them up or I registered them in the computer using a special program. Sometimes I also prepared the exhibition in the hall: I took off old drawings and I hung new ones. When the library opened I had to deal with the costumers: if they had to return books I scanned and put them on the movable bookshelves behind the desk; if they had to borrow books I scanned their cards and then the books. At first it was difficult for me to remember the right place of the books: they were too much and of different genres; I was very afraid to do something wrong. Also the language was a problem because I don t study German. Luckily the library staff always helped me, they never left me alone and they ve always been very kind to me, even if I did some mistakes. After the first week I began to get the hang of all the activities I used to do and I became more independent. MY EXPERIENCE I left from Verona airport with Federica, the classmates who took part in the project together with me in Germany. Before leaving I was very nervous because I had never been abroad alone for such a long time; I didn t know what expect. We arrived in Munich airport at 2:00 p.m. and we met our host families; Elisabeth, Magdalena and Patrick (Elisabeth s boyfriend) came to pick me up. We got to Harburg after almost two hours by car, we had lunch and I met the rest of the family; at the beginning I was a little bewildered but they put me at my ease with their kind ways. Later I went to a fair with Elisabeth and her mum. In the evening we went to an open air party where I met Elisabeth s friends for the first time. The following day we visited the castle of Harburg. On Monday and Tuesday Federica and I went to school in Donauwörth where we had English and Italian lessons; we enjoyed talking with German students in our language. On working days I used to get up at 6:45, I had breakfast, I got ready and at 7:30 I went to the bus station because Carina or Jonas picked me up there by car to go to work. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I had lunch in Donauwörth; I went around the town, in and out of the shops and I used to have a coffee in a little Italian coffee bar. When I stopped working, at 6:00 p.m., I went back home with Carina or Jonas. Once at home I had dinner and then I took a walk with Elisabeth, Christoph and Zeta, the family s dog. After this I had a shower and I relaxed a little bit watching TV or on the computer. I went to bed at about 11:00 p.m.

12 On Tuesday and Thursday, considering that I finished working at 2:00 p.m., I had lunch at home. In the afternoon, together with Elisabeth, Magdalena and Christoph, I went sightseeing or visited some friends of theirs, like Fiorella and Sidne. Fiorella is one of Magdalena s friends; she is Italian but she has been living in Germany since she was young. Sidne is Elisabeth s boyfriend s mum, she is Spanish and she has a lot of relatives in Germany; I enjoyed talking with them, they are very funny and we had a lot of laugh together! Once me, Elisabeth and her mum went into a big shop selling gardening articles in which you can also buy pets; outside there is a big wonderful garden with two little lakes, a bridge and some statues. One day we visited Nördlingen, a city 20 km away from Harburg, famous for its still complete medieval city walls, Saint George s Church with its bell tower, called Daniel, 90 m high. We also visited the city of Augusta where we saw Saint Ulrich s Church, the Town Hall with Der Goldene Saal, the theatre and the big Cathedral. On Friday and Saturday night I used to go out with Elisabeth and her friends: we went mostly to open air parties where we had really a good time. I established a beautiful relationship with my host family, it couldn t be better : they completely opened up to me and they did everything possible to make me happy. I will never be able to find the right words to thank them. I was very sad when I had to come back home: I didn t want to leave my family and all the fantastic people I met there. I can say that for me it was a wonderful and unforgettable experience that has changed me a lot: I have become more independent, I have learnt to help myself out of new (sometimes unexpected) situations and maybe I have overcome my shyness a bit. That s a great success! Federica Vivari My VTA experience started in March, when I hosted Theresa for three weeks and then, in June, she was waiting for me in Germany. I had never been to that country, and I was excited to go and meet my lovely host sister again! The days before leaving, I was afraid of spending almost a month away, but, when I arrived at the airport in Munich, and then at my new house, all my fears faded away.

13 The family was fantastic! Theresa, her brother David, and her parents, Claudia and Horst, were really nice and friendly to me, and as soon as I arrived I found a big poster, made by David, stuck on the gate where they welcomed me! I also met Theresa s relatives: her grandparents, both from her mother and her father, her uncle and her aunt, and everybody did all their best to make me feel at home! During my stay in Germany, I visited some Bavarian cities, such as Munich, Ulm, Heidenheim, Günzburg and, of course, Lauingen, the city where I lived, and some typical places, for example, the Biergarten: it s a restaurant, but with the picnic tables outside, under the trees and next to the river. Claudia always cooked traditional meals for me, and, surprisingly, I discovered a new love: the Weißwurst, a white sausage with spinach. Apart from that, I have to admit, sincerely, that German food is not my favourite because of the sauces, which I don t like, and neither the weather is so nice: it changes very quickly, and, for example, one day the temperature goes up to 30 C, and the next one it falls to 12 C with storms (and believe me, it s not funny to be in the middle of one of them, with such rain and wind that you can t drive your bicycle!). I invited everybody to come and spend their summer in Italy! In the evening of my last day in Germany, my family and I went to a nature theatre: the seats are covered, but the stage is open-air, in a real forest, with real trees and so on! The play was in German, but I read first the plot at home and Theresa translated some scenes for me. It was great! In few days, I met a lot of new friends, as Ralph, Lars, Ana, our neighbours, Laura, Kati and Lina, Theresa s best friends, and my little girl, Saskia, one of the most important people I met in my experience: we spent a great time walking around the city, eating ice-creams and going into some pool with very cold water came from the river Donau up to your knees! With them all I spent such a great time! Actually, the only moment when we totally disagreed was for the football match Italy-Germany. We saw it in the neighbours garden, eating a special pizza we had

14 made ourselves with an original Italian recipy, and I was the only Italian supporter among twenty Germans! We also went twice to one of the numerous lakes next to their city. We swam and had a lot of fun playing cards on the shore! They also taught me some German words, and now, even If I don t study it, I can understand a bit when someone talks to me in German. I feel powerful! I arrived in Germany on Saturday, and on Monday and Tuesday I went to Theresa s school, where I took part in English and Italian lessons, where I had the opportunity to help the teacher as a native speaker. I noticed that there was more dialogue between teachers and students than in Italy, maybe because they do not have oral tests during the school year, just written ones, and so they don t have the fear to be tested if they start talking about the lesson of the day. On Wednesday I started working at BSH Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte in the controlling department. My tutor was Melanie Mayer, and I got on well with her, helping her and the secretary Birgit Werani doing any tasks they gave me, together with Saskia, who worked with me for two weeks because of a school stage. Thanks to her, and many other people in the department, I managed to do everything. My tasks were almost the same things I studied theoretically at school: in economics, for example draw up and store invoices in alphabetical order, make photocopies of them and fill them into the Bosch system; check dates and budgets for some departments and the total amount of the employees travelling time, and many other things. The first days were

15 really hard, because working almost 7 hours in front of a computer is tiring, but then I got used to it, even because there was a break at 9 o clock; on Wednesday we had breakfast in the office with every kind of food, from typical sweets, to bread, jam and fruits. The factory where I worked makes dishwashers, and one day I visited the production department, and I was fascinated by the high-technology they have, in particular the robots in the pre-fabrication. My colleagues were friendly, and I felt really at ease with them. They spoke with me in English, and one of the employees could also speak a bit of Italian, and so she had also the possibility to practice it. I think it was a great experience: it was my first stage, and, working abroad, I had the opportunity to improve my English vocabulary and the grammar. I also realized that working in an office is not what I want to do in my life: I wouldn t have known it without doing this experience! A lot of people asked me if I noticed some affinities or differences between Germany and Italy, and, now, my answers to all the questions are the following ones: Even if they don t realize, they often say Sehr Gut, which means very good, perfect : it s really funny!; When Theresa was in Italy, she said the Italians always ask you if you are hungry. In Germany they don t ask, they, simply, always eat. All the time! I m not joking! They can get the driving license at 17. I m not sure it is a good idea! For example my sister got it while I was there, and we share the thrill of the first driving hours. I had the possibility to spend two days in Theresa s school, and I noticed that their system is totally different from ours: they have more holidays during the school year and don t go to school on Saturday, but they have some lessons in the afternoon and they finish school on 1 st August. No thanks! I prefer the Italian system with holiday starting in June! It s more relaxing! Everybody says Italians are always late; yeah, maybe they re right, but the Germans are too, I can guarantee! If I had to synthesize my experience in a few words, they will be: -friendship; -explore; -learning; -independence;

16 -punctuality: I had to go to work by train, and it wasn t waiting for me! I had never imagined I could feel like this. Before starting my yourney to Donauworth, three weeks seemed a long time to me, maybe too long; and when the time to fly back home cama, they seemed too short: I would had stayed there more days, thanks to the people I met. But then, I realized I didn t have to be sad, because the relationship I made will last forever. Miles can t truly separate us from friends! I will be always with them, in their heart, and they will be in mine. I really loved this experience, and I would like to do it a thousand times. I found beautiful places, unforgettable friends, and a second family. I also understood that everyday there is something new, and it s up to each of us to go out and find it. Never stop experiencing, living, learning. That s my Germany. Ed ora i racconti o il lavoro di alcuni studenti stranieri che abbiamo ospitato: Our VTA experience in Italy, by Patrick Wolf and Susanne Scheurle

17 Three great weeks in Italy! Start On ourfirst daywewereat school, met a few teachers and were trained about work security

18 After that we were brought to our working places by Paola but first she showed us Correggio Patrick had his practical training at Cormo in St. Martino where he contacted German companies

19 Susanne was at Copy Company in Campagnola where she worked in the office We visited different places like a caseificio and cities like Modena, Rubiera, Sassuolo

20 Patrick stayed at Roberto s in San. Martino Susanne was hosted by Isabella in Fabbrico

21 We enjoyed a lot of good food and saw a different culture Thank you Paola, Isabella & Roberto (and the rest from Italy) for these three wonderful weeks!! My VTA experience ( to ) in Correggio, by Theresa Kaipf from Germany The arrival in Verona on the airport should have been at but like the Italian style we arrived at My first sentence to my host family was I m sorry for the delay and they said that it is no problem. Gradually I understood that for Italians it is normal if someone is not on time.

22 My host family was very friendly and they have taken me well. The members are: Alessandro, Father; Lela, Mother; Marco; the brother of Federica and he also became mine, and my lovely host sister Federica. I spent whole three beautiful weeks with the whole family. If it was the Diner in the evening or the trips to Florence and Verona, everything I spent with them was great. The weekend started when we came home from school on Saturday. Then we went out to Correggio with some friends of Federica and we ate ice cream at the famous ice cream shop in Correggio called Amadeus the ice cream was very delicious. And during the time we ate our ice cream we played cards or talked about all the stuff girls are talking about. In the evening we also went out. On the first evening we went to a birthday party of a girl called Guccia she celebrated her 18 th birthday. It was like a birthday party in Germany, we ate pizza and tiramisu and we danced and have got much of fun. At the second Saturday evening Federica and her friends have got the great idea that we can go bowling. So when I tell the truth I really like bowling but I`m really bad. I only play it at home on a game console and when I play it there I m not so bad like in the real world but also not good! The bowling center in Reggio Emilia was awesome it looked like a bowling center in the middle of the USA with all the desks and the chairs and the strange smell of the shoes. And at the end of the evening I lose but it was fun and that is the main thing. At the last weekend we only could went out at Friday evening because on Saturday morning I will leave Italy. Federica only said to me that I should were something more elegant on Friday evening because we are going to a restaurant. And I said goodbye to all of her friends during the week and I was sad because I wouldn t n see them again. But as we arrived on the restaurant all of her friends were sitting on a table and we have got diner with them. For me it was a surprise that everyone was there. I have got three awesome and unforgettable weekends. At my first day in Italy I learned two Italian card games, the first named Briscola and the second named Scopa. I love those games and we played it all the time, on Saturdays in the ice cream shop or during the days when Marco was watching football matches. And I was very surprised when I got this card deck, to play it at home and to teach it to my family and friends.