DIG_IT in France, the final meeting

                         DIG_It in France

From 13^th to 21^st May the Finnish students that were part of the DIG_IT program (Erasmus+) took a trip to France. The students also had one day to visit Amsterdam which is the capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam was beautiful and European even though most of the Finnish students will probably remember it for the constant smell of pot and very confusing traffic regulations.

After the one-day experience in Amsterdam the students headed for a little medieval town called Pons in France. Pons was a mix of medieval European culture and the culture of today. People lived in the countryside farming and making wine but every morning we headed for the center of this little town with modern cars. The school building itself represented the 1960’s architecture, being a big cube of concrete with no further decorations. There was also a bigger city nearby with popular fast food chains like Burger King and McDonalds as well as a supermarket called EcoFrais.

The students found the trip a huge success. The French students and teachers had planned everything out very carefully. Some of the most uplifting experiences for us two were probably tree climbing and the musical at school. At first I thought that I’d never do tree climbing but after the instructions, I felt like giving it a shot and it turned out to be some of the most memorable and exciting experiences in my life. I even went to climb to 40m after the 20m trail. The musical was a really touching experience. I would say it combined drama and humor, the audience as a part of the whole act. It was so emotional and carefully planned that it made some students near me wipe away tears.

I also have to praise the pinball machine and pool table at the school. We would need them in our school too. We also slept very well and fell asleep quite fast every night, which means that we had a lot to do every day. Thank you all!

- Jaakko Niemelä and Ilari Koski (Finland)