"Our names are Mariska Tytgat and Pauline Wijnakker. We both teach English at Atheneum Pottelberg, Kortrijk (Belgium) and we are the two teachers who had the crazy idea of organising an exchange project with Collie Senior High School, Australia. We say crazy because the idea alone sounded impossible. But after talking to and brainstorming with the parents and teachers of Collie Senior High School, who organise a similar school trip to Europe every two years, we started thinking: If they can do it, why can’t we. We started discussing the project with our principals and with other staff members and we decided to dive in head first.
It has already been a challenge, but we are still very enthusiastic. This project hasn’t only allowed us to learn more about The Great war, but also about ourselves, our colleagues, the students and their parents. Everything we have done so far has been a team effort. We are greatly committed to the project and we would love to see it continued for many years to come. Hopefully, it will be an amazing trip for all involved. There is no doubt in our minds that both our students and we will be richer for the experience. Therefore we would already like to sincerely thank all the people for their support in helping us get there."
"Hello, my name is Camille. I’m 14 years old (15/11/2000) and I like to play the piano. I’m also fond of the football club K.V. Club Brugge and shopping. I’m very happy that I am getting the chance to visit Australia. We won’t only see our friends from Collie again, we will also learn a lot about their history and in particular about World War I. I consider it our duty to honour all the soldiers – Belgian, Australian and others - who fought and died for our freedom during the Great War. Meeting the Aboriginal people and learning more about their customs and food will be an enrichment to all of us as well. Last but not least, living together with eleven people, day in day out, in a foreign country will be challenging but positive for our own personal and social development."
Casey
Gwenny
"Hi, my name is Gwenllian. I'm 15 years old. In my free time I mostly watch TV and read books. I want to go to Australia because I want to learn more about their culture and history and hopefully this holiday will do that. I'm really excited because I get to spend 2 weeks with my friends. I'm also looking forward to speaking English a lot because it's my favourite language. Visiting all the museums and nature parks sounds really cool as well."
Liesl
"My name is Liesl. I’m a fifteen year-old girl and my birthday is on the tenth of July. I live in Harelbeke, a town near Kortrijk in the north west of Belgium. I have an older brother of eighteen: Niels. I study Economics - Modern languages at Atheneum Pottelberg in Kortrijk and I’m going to the fourth grade. My primary interest (besides school) is dancing. I’ve been doing it for 6 years in a dancing group with 500 members called Lunatica. I also love eating and reading mostly English books.
I have been offered the amazing opportunity to go to Australia for 2 weeks in 2016 thanks to the initiative of 2 of our school teachers. Fortunately for us the plan became a fact after we had the pleasure of meeting the Australian students, teachers and parents coming all the way from Collie, Australia to Europe to pay tribute to their fallen soldiers. I’m really excited to go because it’s a chance I will probably get only once in my life. I think we are going to witness a different but fascinating culture. I find it very important to be open to other cultures, especially because they are becoming more and more visible in our European community. I’m really interested in World War I and II and I’d love to know more about the Australian history in general. This experience will also teach me to work and live together in group and to achieve a common goal. I’m really excited that this is happening and that I’m a part of it. So now you know a little bit more about me and who I am."
Tannia
"Hi! My name is Tannia. I am a 17-year-old human sciences-modern languages student at Atheneum Pottelberg, Belgium. I am one of the ten girls who have been offered the chance to visit Australia next year! Above all, I want to share with you why I am so happy to be able to join my friends in this big trip. We are a very close group of girls and to have this opportunity is a dream come true!
We met many kind people from Collie Senior High School last school year, and seeing them again would be our pleasure! We got the chance to talk about how it is back in Australia. They told us how their school works and what their town looks like. I would love to see what they were talking about first hand. Our mutual interest in the Great War got everything started. We have already learned many things working on this project. Together with the Australian pupils we honoured and remembered the fallen soldiers. Seeing how the Australian group commemorated their and our soldiers was inspiring! Soon it will be our turn to see the beauty of Western Australia and visit their war memorials. We will also visit the ANZAC centre.
But you might be asking yourself, what about her? I am a 17-year-old girl, living life to the fullest and without worries. I have good and amazing friends around me who have stuck by me through many challenges. I like going out with my friends. My free time is filled with reading trilogies, seeing new things and spending time with my brother and sisters. I am not a native Belgian. My mother is Dominican and my dad is Belgian. My mother language is Spanish, which can come in handy when I am hopefully travelling around the world some day! I am a passionate girl with dreams and hopes. Thank you again for the amazing opportunity to travel to the other side of the world. Up to Australia :)"
Ayla
"Hi there! I’m Ayla. I’m a student in the 5th year human sciences-modern languages at the Atheneum Pottelberg in Kortrijk, Belgium. That’s one of the reasons a picture of my face is on this blog. I’m one of the girls chosen to travel to Australia. It’s a great chance the other ladies and I are getting! Not many 15- and 16-year-olds can say they went or will be going to Australia. Besides this fact there are so many reasons why I’m so happy I can join. First of all I had a great time meeting the Australian pupils several months ago. It’s nice that we’ll be able to see most of them again and see how their school works and how they live their teenage life on the other side of the planet.
My next reason is also an important one, since the First World War had a huge impact on the region I live in and of course on the rest of the world-as the name makes clear. I think it’s important we honour or at least remember the fallen soldiers. We did this together with our Australian friends and learned about it more without them, but all of this in Belgium. In Australia there are also several memorials we’d visit and pay our respect to the fallen. So not only would this trip be fun with our ‘mates’ and informative about WWI, it will open our eyes to a whole new world, as in nature, culture and history. So if you asked me why I would want to go to Australia, now you know.
Australia is so interesting but I gather you may want to know a bit more about me. I’m a teenager and I like doing things teenagers tend to like. Going out with friends, listening to music and going to a youth group which is called the Chiro, are some of the things I like to do in my free time. Besides those things I love being busy with culture. I listen to a lot of music and sing along with it. I go to acting class and I go to see plays. I also love cooking and writing. And last but not least: I love travelling and seeing every bit of the world and meeting all the new people I can. The more you see the more you know, right? Thanks to my sweet and enthusiastic parents I’m interested in a lot. I guess I’m a busy bee who'd love to fly to Australia! ;)"
Justine
"Hi, I'm Justine. I was born on the 31st of August 1999, so I'm 16 years old. I live in Menen with my family. I have a sister called Amandine, who's also going to Australia. I currently speak French and Dutch. I can understand most and speak a little bit of English. I hope that the trip will better my level of English. In my free time I read books - most of them are in French - and I watch series, sometimes in English. I'm in the 5th grade and I study human sciences/ modern languages. I'm very excited to go to Australia and I'm really happy that I'm going with my sister. I'm excited to learn a lot and see the Australian students again. I'm curious to learn about their culture and their take on the First World War. I hope that we are going to raise the money we need and that it will be an amazing voyage."
Amandine
"Hi, I'm Amandine and I'm 14 years old. I live in Menen and my birthday is on the 26th of October, so I'm almost 15. Justine is my sister and she's also going to Australia. I don't really have any hobbies but I like to take pictures of people, animals and nature. So in Australia I am probably going to take lots of pictures. I study human sciences /modern languages. At home we speak French, so my French and Dutch are almost perfect. I hope that one day my English will be as good as my French/ Dutch. I think that this trip will help improve my English greatly. I'm very excited to go to Australia because I know that we're going to learn a lot about their culture and more specifically about their view on the events which occurred during the Great War. My family and I don't travel a lot, so it's a trip I will probably not be able to do again in the future. I really hope that we will all learn a lot."
Diana
"Hello, my name is Diana. I am 16 years old and I live in Moorsele, Belgium. I have two older sisters, one little brother and one brother-in-law. I study human sciences and modern languages in the 5th year at Atheneum Pottelberg. I'm very happy that I got chosen to go to Australia because it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I am honoured to visit the beautiful memorial places which remember the soldiers who died during the Great War. I think we should commemorate the soldiers and give this subject the attention it deserves. I am looking forward to visiting the beautiful places there and seeing my great Australian friends back! It will be an unforgettable adventure and I'm sure that I will learn a lot!"
"Well, my name is Bárbara. I am 18 years old. I like to read novels and write some poems. As you might have already guessed, travelling has always been a big part of my life! Everyone has his/her own idea of what the world looks like, but to really have the knowledge is a whole other thing. That is why travelling is so important, not just to arrive to your destination but the trip itself. By going to Australia we will learn more about the historic background of this welcoming country. We will get to know local people and their traditions, and how their daily life is. We will also experience the differences and / or similarities with our European culture first hand. We are very lucky to get to know more of a little piece of our world, millions of kilometers from home!"
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