In May 2023, eight students and two teachers from Patchway’s twin town of Gauting, Germany visited our town for a week’s work experience and activities, staying with hosts from the Friends of Patchway Twinning.
Students Paula, Lucija, Charlotte and Leopold wrote a diary of their time with us.
Take a read:
Our trip to Patchway by Paula & Lucija
Hello, we’re Paula and Lucy, we are from Gauting in Germany. We’re both 15 years old and we traveled to Patchway with our teacher as Exchange students. We went to Patchway in May 2023.
Our flight was not that long and as soon as we arrived in Patchway we booth fell in love with the city. Our time there was great , we had a lot of fun and also made friends from the Youth Center. We visited the Coniston Primary school as a Assignment from our school.
We stayed at a lady’s house for the whole week and she told us so many things about Patchway and the life there.
As we spent most of the time in the primary school , we learned a lot and we were fascinated by the way the system works. It’s much different than our school. The teachers were so nice to us , we really felt welcomed there. When we weren’t in school , we did some awesome activities. We did a football match against the kids from the youth center. We went bowling in Patchway , went to restaurants with the mayor of Patchway and our host families.
One day there was a small event at the park in Patchway . Lots of children from the primary school were there. There was also a life singer and a bouncy castle. We drank some really good milkshakes.
As we stayed in Bristol at our host family, we went for a lots of walks in the evening and we loved it so much. One day we visited Bristol and went to a ship museum tour. After that we had some free time and we were allowed to explore the city on our own. In the evening we met again with the other students and our host families and had a nice dinner at a restaurant in Bristol. It was such a beautiful day and we fell in love with the city. The day after we went to bath all together and had a bus tour trough the city. After that we also had some free time there and at the end of the day we also went eating in a restaurant. This was our last day there before we got back to Germany the next day.
Our time in Patchway was so nice and we loved it so much and hope to come one day back visit it.
My trip to Patchway by Charlotte
When I found out that I was accepted into the Patchway program, I was very happy. I saw it as a great opportunity to come to England one day. At first I was a bit worried about the foreign country and the foreign people, but that changed when we landed in England on Monday 05/15/23. I loved the view of England and couldn't wait to meet everyone. We were received very warmly and we were given the feeling that we were welcome here.
We visited the schools where we stayed from Monday to Friday. I also really liked the program we had after school, so we had the opportunity to experience different things. Speaking English was a very good practice and after a while English almost felt like my native language. I am very grateful for everything that we were allowed to experience and what was available to us and will never forget the time in our twin city Patchway.
I would like to thank not only my city but also Patchway for the unforgettable time. I still think about the wonderful time we had thanks to our sister city.
My trip to Patchway by Leopold
The time in England was very important and formative for me. At first, the thought of being in a foreign country with a foreign family scared me. But I couldn't have made a better decision than coming to Patchway.
The children in the elementary schools in the small town have grown dear to me. We did an internship there for a week. Speaking English all the time got me a lot further, it was unfamiliar at first, but soon I was able to communicate with people just as easily as in German. Of course sometimes words were missing, but all in all I could understand everyone and everyone understood me, too. Working with the children in the primary school was particularly special for me. We gave presentations about Germany every day and the enthusiasm that was felt from everyone motivated me a lot. Everyone was interested in participating in the lessons and I was also very impressed by the English school system. Everyone worked together, and when there were problems, a solution was actively found together instead of punishing children immediately. That impressed me a lot.
But I also remember the days when there was no school. I was impressed by the city of Bath, which we visited on Sunday. The architecture, all the little shops and buildings. I enjoyed visiting the Jane Austen Museum in Bath. We could explore all the small parks in the city. Also we were able to have a bus tour through Bath. Of course our last day in London was also special, admiring Buckingham Palace and all the sights. The whole vibe of the city was special and exciting. I could well imagine living in England one day, maybe for studies, or for a few months to rediscover everything in a new way.
All in all though, the best part of the trip was experiencing it with my friends, without whom it wouldn't have been half as much fun. Thank you for this unforgettable time and we hope to see you soon.
