Our students in Banská Bystrica have opened a dissemination process as part of their tasks. They have talked about the environment of La Robla, the activities related to the environment that they did, and about the similarities of the mining environment with Banská Bystrica. Our students and teachers were exceptionally happy with the project’s outcome. Everyone seems interested.
29/09/2023 – Friday
On this day, we started early because we needed to get to Boñar, where Radio Montaña Leonesa has its studio. We got there by a train called FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha / Narrow trail trains), it allows the train to go through places that a regular train wouldn’t be able to, across the mountains, gifting us with amazing views along the way.
We got there and people from the tourism office were already waiting for us to show us around and to explain to us various facts about the village and its history. It had a huge tree in the middle of the main square around 200 years old, Unfortunately, it fell down, so they created a whole steel monument to remember how it looked like just before, as it was a symbol of the village and it is part of it’s flag.
Once we finished the tour, we headed to Radio Montaña Leonesa Radio Station, where we recorded the podcast «Interview of a Spanish Student to a Slovak Student about the ERASMUS+ experience». Every couple of Spanish-Slovak students prepared some questions and answers about different topics, they recorded it and played it a few days ago. The teachers also were part of it, answering some questions from the Spanish teacher, but not a single one of them knew that they were gonna do such a thing, so it was an improvisation.
Here you can find the videopodcast: https://youtu.be/N4pCOJ7VTjM
Here you can find an article about it in the Spanish newspaper: https://inforadiomontanaleonesa.com/contenido/7076/erasmus-plus-viaja-desde-la-robla-a-bonar-con-alumnos-eslovacos-y-roblanos
Everyone was quite nervous at the beginning, but when we saw them coming out of the room with big smiles on their faces, we knew it had been worth it and that they had enjoyed the experience a lot. They even said that they would do it again so… be prepared, cause maybe we will do another one in Slovakia.
Once the job had been done, we headed for a nicely deserved lunch as a farewell party, because that was our last meal together. We had paella, croquetas, ensalada, morcilla… in conclusion, all the Spanish dishes that we could find, it was awesome. Once finished, we went to the train station across the forest and headed back to our host’s houses.
IT WAS A GREAT DAY!
Once again, we would like to thank the European Union for making this project possible, and of course, we cannot forget about our host families, the IES Ramiro II, and of course, the Tourism Office of Boñar and Radio Montaña Leonesa!
28/09/2023 – Thursday
One of the main parts of the project involves using health in all its forms to expand European awareness, hiking has a lot of benefits:
AND IT’S FUN!
It was a wonderful mountain trail in which we could enjoy the views of La Robla and the mining landscape that appeared as a result of the mining industry through the years.
It was a circular route starting in La Robla, through the main square to «Puente Alba» (Dusk’s Bridge), and passing through the neighboring village «Alcedo de Alba». Once there, we followed the white and yellow marks until we ended up in an oak forest that went uphill and downhill twice until the peak, the «Peña del Asno». Once there and after some pictures and a nice Spanish tortilla sandwich, we started the descent until we found a small church (hermitage) and finally back to school. In total, it took us 4 hours.
We didn’t go by ourselves (it would have been a really bad idea). We counted with the help of four guides who are studying a course for becoming hiking guides, riding horse teachers, and trainers of a lot of different sports, so they «used» us as a practice for their classes, of course with correspondent mark. During the whole route, they explained to us several things about the surroundings, flora, fauna, history…
Once again, we would like to thank the European Union and, as always, our host school and families and the four guides that they lent us. Thank you so so much 🙂
27/09/2023 – Wednesday
On Wednesday we were at a mining school in La Robla. La Robla is a place whose roots are shared with Banská Bystrica in mining as it was a coal mining town active until the end of the 20th century.
This economic activity was the main driving force of La Robla. Like any mining town, the mine created all the facilities around itself in order to provide the workers and their families with all they might need: schools and churches among others. To keep the wheel spinning, they built a place to train future miners and reduce accidents, which were quite common as this job is high risk.
This school was founded with the help of the Salesian order, the creator of this type of practical school during the 60s. Time after, when the mine was removed, the mining school became a vocational training center, dedicated to teaching future electricians, welders, and plumbers. They still train miners, but not as many, as this job is now mainly done by machines thus reducing it’s risks.
Inside the school, we can find a replica of a mine so that students can practice on safer ground. We were able to go in with the director of the school, who also gave us some interesting information about how mining used to be and a wide variety of techniques that were used to extract the coal.
We learned plenty of things such as:
«Entibación» means to create arcs so the terrain will not sink. There had to be at least one every one meter in order to keep the structure safe. These arcs were made from wood for the first years and then they evolved into metal ones that were way more resistant and could be changed the length because they were made from two pieces that would slide into each other.
Every machine would work with compressed air as it wasn’t possible to use electricity because of the «grisú». It’s a gas that is formed inside the pores present in coal, and of course, it is released when it’s being mined. This gas is highly inflammable, thus making it incompatible with electricity, as the minimal spark would turn the mine into a burning hell, causing the death of all the miners inside. As if this wasn’t bad enough, this gas is also highly toxic for humans, causing us to fall asleep and die of hypoxia, similar to carbon monoxide. Due to this fact, the mines need a lot of ventilation. They installed something similar to air conditioner machines that would push the air out of the less ventilated areas or would just absorb it and release it outside.
After a long time, when the compressed air wasn’t enough to keep everything going, they installed explosion-proof boxes to keep the electric circuits inside and, in case they would explode because of the grisú inside of the box, the explosion would not be able to escape from it.
Another hidden surprise in this school is its several murals by the artist Vela Zanetti, one great Spanish muralist. You can see the detail in the important parts of the mural, the light, and the pair of hands that are handing the coal to the fire. There is also a single hand, that intends to represent the teachers, showing the way to the miners and teaching them how to carry out the mining. There were also two doors by the sides of the mural, but the artists made the school close them forever in order to build these two entrances to the mine with big details of the tools being used inside of the mine.
Once again, thanks to the European Union for making it possible and to our hosts, this time, especially to the IES La Robla’s principal, Jorge, who took us to this wonderful place and shared with us a little bit of his wisdom.
26/09/2023 – Tuesday
On this day we started traveling first thing in the morning. At 8:45 we took a bus from La Robla, the village where our host school is. It took us 45 minutes to get to León, where two fellow colleagues were waiting for us: Mario (History teacher) and Pablo (P.E. teacher) who accompanied us during the whole tour. If were developing an «average» activity, you may think that the history teacher would (logically) be the one explaining the ins and outs of León but, it was the Spanish hosts that prepared really interesting information for every step of the way.
From the bus station, we went to the MUSAC (Museum of Contemporary Art of Castilla and León), with its vivid colors, which were inspired by the stained glass of an important church close by. It is right now showing three expositions:
– «Exothermia»: This exhibition from the MUSAC Collection recreates an 18th-century gallery in order to promote research into models of exhibition and the assignment of value to works of art.
– «Concretos»: This whole exposition revolves around concrete. It has sculptures and figures made of it but it also has some pieces showing the consequences of building relentlessly and without thinking further into the future as buildings are sometimes left unfinished and are called ruins, as if they were one built but forgotten. It also speaks about the construction workers’ conditions, how invisible they are, and how hard their job is. It also had some videos highlighting specific cases in which building buildings harshly affected the people around them.
– «Juan Ugalde: La nave de los locos»: This exposition, named after the piece from «El Bosco», that is exhibited in the Louvre, in Paris, shows a lot of collages packed with people, same as this specific piece it’s named after.
This wonderful building is even more than it looks like. It was a monastery, it was a hospital, and a jail during the Spanish Dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and ended up as a hotel with a visitable church.
We had the opportunity to visit the church and the museum that it hides. There, we could enjoy a beautiful cluster full of vegetal life that looks even more stunning as the sun reaches it.
Here, Álvaro explained with all detail how the City Hall and the whole square had been eaten by the fire not once, but twice and how they managed to rebuild it over and better once again. The function and meaning of the main square is quite common for all cultures, it is the epicenter of life of the whole city and where all the important events take place, such as markets, executions, claims…
It is one of the oldest squares in León, and it’s not hard to see when you have a look at the «pavement», as it is still made from rounded rocks. They wanted to remove it, cause it is at the moment one of the most common places to get married, and the bride’s high heels often get stuck between the rocks. Luckily for us, the neighbors united and fought against this idea and the square could prevail.
In this square, there was a lot of commerce, and as the vast majority of the population wasn’t able to read or write, the deals were to be sealed with a handshake that had a specific name.
There used to be a lot of wine production in the houses of this neighborhood. The wine might leak from the barrels and would make the whole neighborhood soaking wet, thus getting this nickname if we literally translate it as «the wet neighborhood». Apart from this story, it is believed that the first Roman Legion was established here and that the civils would live here.
Moving on to more actual matters, people now go out for some «tapas» here, it starts becoming alive from 20:00 to 22:00 when people go out after work. The most typical thing to do is to «jump» from bar to bar for some wines or beers with the said «tapas» that can be of any kind you can imagine. The recommendations that Sheila made for us were: El Flechazo (tapas with potatoes), La Bicha (tapas with «morcilla»), La Competencia (tapas with pizza)…
During last year’s trip to Valencia and Barcelona that some of the actual fourth graders did with Carlos, they got to know Gaudí, the artist who designed some very important pieces, like Park Güell, Casa Batló, la Pedrera, and, of course, the Sagrada Familia.
Little did we know we would find this good old friend of ours here! He designed Casa Botines as well and, as part of the piece, they represented him sitting on a bench with a dove while he drew the facade of the building in front of him.
Last but not least, as we like to say, the jewel of the crown, León’s Cathedral. Considered one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Spain, and famous for its stained glasses that light the inside as if you were watching all the flowers of the world bloom at the same time.
Unluckily, we didn’t have time to visit the inside, but Alfonso and Carlos sneaked in the days after to bring you some pictures that will leave you mesmerized (if you want some professional ones, Google is always glad to help, I’m sure they will look way better, but the models give it a more human touch 😉 ).
Huge thanks to the Spanish hosts who prepared all the information about León and to the European Union for financing this mobility and for giving us the opportunity to visit this wonderful city.
«Get up, get up! We are late for school!»
We are sure those were the exact words that the majority of our students heard that morning (in Spanish, of course) when they were supposed to be at school at 8:40.
We went straight to the library, where we had the oral presentations that our students had prepared beforehand. The aim of the presentations was to introduce themselves and their relation with the main objectives of the project, such as wellness, sustainability, and expansion of the European consciousness among others. The ones that were hosting Spanish students when they came to Banská Bystrica were also able to speak and share their experience with the Erasmus + project.
Some of them spoke about the typical food, drinks, and folklore of Slovakia, as well as the geography of the country with all the main cities and tourist attractions.
One of the most spoken topics was nature and all the sports that they do around it, such as hiking, trekking, rappelling, and cycling… as well as healthy lifestyles and eating habits.
Here we leave you slides from the original presentations and some pictures of the way they presented it in front of the whole Spanish classes of fourth of E.S.O. (16 years old) at the library of the IES Ramiro II.
Once again, we would like to thank the European Union for financing this mobility and the whole High School of IES Ramiro II and their families for treating us so kindly.
Sunday 24.09.2023
Our students spent the day with their host families having fun and discovering the surroundings of La Robla, and also some places that weren’t that near.
Let’s see what our students did during the day:
Elisabeth Balogová spent the day at Rodiles Beach, in Asturias. It was a long way there, but you must agree it was worth it, and after the fifteen hours that took us to come here, two or three hours are a minor issue.
Jakub Emmanuel Lesinsky went not to a beach but to two! We don’t have proof that he went in (we have to admit that the water there is quite cold) so we guess he didn’t. He spent the day in Gijón, one of the main cities in Asturias. He visited the aquarium, tried seafood (didn’t like it that much), and had stunning views from the road.
Romana Krupová started hard recording some TikToks. When that was finished, they decided to do something more… cultural, let’s say, so they headed to «Las Cuevas de Valporquero», one of the biggest caves in Spain that are visitable. Right after, they went to a waterfall that was near it for a small hike and finished the day with a «Tortilla de patatas española» (Spanish omelet) and some Netflix and Chill.
Lillian Michelle Poldauf joined the water group and upgraded it a little more with a river. She went to the «Río Sella» to do some kayaking and then ended up at the beach of «La Griega» along with a small walk to see some fossils that rested there.
Lillien Lisková decided on a chilling Sunday. She might have needed a proper rest after the previous day and night. She had some quality time with the extended family of her host and tried typical Spanish food how it should be tried, along with people who love each other.
Alexandra Lescinská didn’t run into Jakub because the Universe didn’t want to. Their families thought alike and ended up in Gijón as well. She saw the sea but didn’t go in. Instead, she decided to have a sneak peek of its insides and went to the aquarium, where she could find all kinds of weird animals such as these lovely sea cucumbers that were all over the place (her biology teacher secretly cried when she told him about it).
Last but not least, the teachers also did something. Some of you may think that we copied them but in our defense… «We were there first». We went to the caves and to the waterfall with another teacher from the IES Ramiro II (we were jealous so we also looked for a host).
One more thanks (it’s never enough), to the European Union for financing this whole project.
Thanks as well for the host families and for the whole IES Ramiro II who are making us as if we were at home <3.
Hello, our fellow readers! After fifteen hours of frenzy traveling, we arrived at our destination.
We started at 3:30 with a bus from Banská Bystrica (the city where our school is) to Budapest (from where our flight departed). So far, so good, you may think… but no! We started hard with a solid twenty-minute delay and the disappearance of the name of the bus that we were supposed to take at the bus stop.
After three hours, we got to Budapest’s central bus station. From there, we took a cab that left us at the airport around 7:30 a.m. We went through the security control without any problem and waited for a flight that left with ¡Oh surprise! delay… It was another half an hour cause there seemed to be too many planes waiting to depart so, not only car traffic jams exist, but also plane traffic jams do. Now you know 🙂
We arrived in Madrid with a whole hour delay, it was 14:00 when it was supposed to be 13:00. We rushed to the bus that left at 14:45 and we got there just 5 minutes before that time. How did it take us 45 minutes to get there? Good question. The problem was that the plane left us at Terminal 1, and the bus left from Terminal 4 so, we had to take ONE MORE BUS to get to T4 and then fast walk/run with our baggage for another 15 minutes until we were able to find the bus terminal, that was hidden at the end of the whole airport.
One bus closer, one step closer.
The bus left and when 15 minutes had just passed, it stopped for one hour so we could eat something (we were starving). After filling our stomachs, we completed the final leg of our journey and arrived in La Robla (León) at 19:45 where our host families greeted us with big smiles.
Thanks to the European Union and of course to every single one of our host families and to IES Ramiro II.
YOU MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE!
The teacher Carlos Serrano Fernández, in the development of our Erasmus+ project, trains the teachers Council for specific learning and neurodevelopment disorders. One of the main aims of our project is to develop consciousness around the integration and inclusion of students, amongst others, such as:
– Sostenibility
– Internationalization
– Mental, physical and social wellness
– Information and communication technologies (ICT)
As we know that you are all actively interested in this topic, we will soon upload to our Instagram and Facebook a short video with all the critical parts of the training! We don’t want you to lose even a tiny bit of it!
Keep reading us and follow us on social media if you want to keep tuned
Before the end of the 2022-2023 school year, our Erasmus+ project was approved and we began a selection process for students who were going to Spain. The date chosen for the trip with our collaborating center is from September 23 to 30. We follow several criteria when choosing students: linguistic, economic-social criteria and interest in the project.
Expand European awareness through health, environment and mobility strategies 