Day Five/Six: Hejcin & Memorial Day Celebrations (5-26/27-14)

Yesterday morning started at 9:00 a.m. with a walk to Hejcin Grammar School. Hejcin has a special relationship with the Owensboro Sister Cities Program and every year students are exchanged for 3 weeks from America and the Czech.

From the outside, Hejcin looks like a boarding school and in fact it kind of is. Students from all around the Czech Republic can apply to attend Hejcin, and if you live to far away from the school, you can board in one of the buildings or in a youth hostel nearby. We were taken to a classroom and given a presentation by 4 Czech students about the educational system in the country. Of course, being the education majors that we are, D'Arcy and I listened attentively and even compared our educational systems at the end. I was very surprised at how well the students could speak English. I would be quite nervous if I were told to give a presentation in another language to a room full of native speakers, but without much hesitation they stood at the front of the room and spoke to all of us wonderfully.

(Hejcin Grammar School)

The education system in the Czech is much different from America. Starting early on, children are taught basic skills at home or in day care facilities. It is mandatory for children to attend a primary school/basic school at the age of 6. They are graded on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the best), and if a child obtains a 5 they must attend summer school and must past a test at the end, or be required to attend that failed grade again. The Czech law does not require students to attend a secondary school/high school but nearly every child does. There are 2 types of secondary schools: vocational and grammar. Hejcin is a grammar school, where most students prepare for a university. At the end of grammar schooling, each child is required to take and pass a test to enter a university. English is taught and most students master the English language early on.

I loved the tour of the school, and I was able to quickly pick up on the differences in our education institutions. After our presentation, we ate lunch in the cafeteria and I have never had a school lunch that tasted as good. Healthier options were available and the students filed in and ate their lunch rather quickly. We then were able to go into a few classrooms to interact with the students.

(The green stuff is cucumber)

I went into a younger classroom and older classroom, but enjoyed talking to the older students more. In both rooms there was a list of prepared questions, however I liked the casual conversations better and soon the students were asking about differences in America - shopping, malls, proms, restaurants, music, school life, home life and boys! I shared my passion of traveling with a student and learned that she was coming to Owensboro in September. I really enjoyed talking to the students on a more personal level.

After our Hejcin tour we were free for the rest of the day. Our group decided to go shopping for some groceries to keep in our room to try and save some money. We stopped at the Billa (much like a small Kroger) and picked up peanut butter, Nutella, bread and chips. We came back to our hotel and quickly passed out for a long afternoon nap.

Since we all couldn't enjoy going to the lake on Memorial Day, our student leaders decided to host a small pub crawl for us to enjoy. After getting ready with my roommates and pictures with an American flag out front, we made our way back into town and to a few of their favorite pubs. It was really nice to hang out with all of my new friends, look around a see 3 tables fully engaged in some competitive card games and come back with some hilarious memories! Overall, Monday was rather fun!

Today started with a tour of the City Hall in Olomouc. We pass this beautiful building everyday in the upper square on the way to various shops. Our tour guide led us through the chapel, a room where weddings and baby introductions happen and the mayor's private office. We then ventured up the steps of the clock tower and got some amazing 360 degree views of the city. We had a free afternoon and decided to eat in a small cafe we had previously noticed before venturing to the new 4 story mall at the opposite end of town.

Tomorrow starts the historical portion of this trip, and I am rather excited to learn more about Olomouc. As a self proclaimed historical buff, the walking tour will interesting for me! I am also getting excited to go to Vienna, Austria this weekend.