Economic High School of Tourism

At about an hour by train from the Marco Polo airport of Venice, Italy, lies Rovigo, the city of roses, on an area of 100 km2. "A Rovigo, non m'intrigo!" (“Nothing intrigues me in Rovigo!") is a well-known phrase for both visitors and its almost 50,000 inhabitants. A logical question comes to our minds, related the truth of the saying: are there things of interest in Rovigo? Anyway, we are inevitably obliged to keep in mind the proximity of Venice and Ferrara, two cities whose brightness may probably justify this dictum.
We had the opportunity and enjoyment of visiting this city within the multilateral Comenius project Knowing Me, You, Us for a Better Chance on the European Job Market, coordinated by professor Paola Malengo of the "E. De Amicis" Institute, Rovigo, together with Georgeta Ciobanu, Raluca Giosanu (teachers at Economic High School of Tourism, Iasi), Ana Craciun, Vlad Anchidin, Dan Raus and
Florin Tarnauceanu, students of the same school.
The main objective of the partnership is to promote among students of the eight partner schools (Economic High
School of Tourism, Iasi, Romania; “Edmondo De Amicis", Institute, Rovigo, Italy; Escola Profissional de Alte, Portugal; Gymnazium, Brunt, Czech Republic, Lycée Professionnel d'Antoine Lomet, Agen, France; Schollkopf-Jakob-Friedrich-Schule, Germany; Katolickie Liceum Pope John Paul II, Poland and "Mihail Sturdza" Technical High School, Iasi) different European cultures, traditions and customs, through a continuous interpersonal contact.
During the stay in Rovigo the group of students and teachers from the Economic High School of Tourism, Iasi, took part in a series of educational activities and documentary visits, thus actively engaging themselves in the development of the project under the careful coordination of Mrs. Paola Malengo and with the affectionate participation of students and teachers of the second class of study (corresponding to the 10th grade in the Romanian educational system). Students worked together in groups presenting different aspects of their culture. One of the most exciting events was the music show organized by Italian students in the School Assembly of "E. De Amicis" Institute, at Don Bosco Theater.

January’s adverse weather conditions did not represent a problem at all, the hosts’ hospitality warmed up the atmosphere as they accompanied with affection and availability each team member of Economic High School of Tourism. We have been sincerely impressed by the kindness and conviviality of Mr. Renzo Previato and of Mses. Francesca CIS, Stefania Leonardi and Sara Nalla who guided our steps in documentary visits to Ferrara, Venice and, of course, Rovigo.
The collegial dialogue and intercultural cooperation which arose during this Comenius experience are a solid basis for long lasting friendship relations between youngsters and adults, favoring mutual understanding and completely distorting, at least for us, the guests, the dictum mentioned above into:

Comenius Meeting in Germany

The 4^th Comenius meeting took place from 7^th to 11^th February 2011 in Kirchheim u. Teck, in Germany. The German group made this meeting both fun and educative so the experience won’t be soon forgoten!

The official meeting started on Monday evening, with a „welcome party”. On Tuesday morning, the students started presenting their research on the local job market, at Jakob Friedrich Schöllkopf Schule. Later that afternoon, they worked in international groups on the project. The day ended with a party for the studends and a concert. On Wednesday the students presented the projects they had previously made and simulated a job interview. They also had the chance to know one important tool the European Union has created to help students and young people to study and work in Europe: the EURES portal. together with another interesting and useful site to create their Europass CV: the cedefop (Centre Europeen pour le Developpement de la Formation Professionnelle) site.

In the afternoon they all went ice skating. Next day the Comenius group went to Stuttgart and had a guided tour of the city.

The meeting that took place in Iasi, Romania from the 18th to the 22nd of October 2010, at Economic High School of Tourism and Sturdza Technical High School had an extremely positive impact and our guests had a great time in Iasi thanks to the efforts that the host team made.

One of the most memorable moments was the trip to Northern Moldavia. Teachers and students from Economic High School of Tourism took care of all trip preparations. Students from the 12th and 11th grades prepared themselves to be tourist guides for our foreign friends during the whole trip.

Then we visited “Neamt Fortress” which fascinated our guests through its placement on the top of the mountains and also by the fact that the fortress preserved some of the ancient aspects from the age of Steven the Great.

The trip continued to the “Masks Museum” from Târpesti, where art, skills and imagination are like home.

During the last evening the Final Ceremony took place at the “Medieval Knight” Restaurant. The whole Comenius group had a lot of fun together, dancing, partying and finally even shedding friendship tears during the goodbyes.

Comenius:

New Friends and Happy Experiences

at “A. Lomet” High School, Agen, France

A second exchange of students and teachers took place at “Antoine Lomet” High School in Agen, France, within the Comenius multilateral project “Knowing Me, You, Us for a Better Chance on the European Job Market”.

The main objective of this partnership is to promote intercultural dialogue through constant interpersonal contact by means of multimedia resources, among students of the 8 partner schools ( Economic High School of Turism Iasi, Romania; Institutul Edmondo de Amicis Rovigo, Italy; Escola Profissional de Alte, Portugal ; Gymnazium, Bruntal, Czech Republik; Lycée Professionel Regional d'Antoine Lomet, Agen, France; Jakob-Friedrich-Schollkopf-Schule, Germany; Katolickie Liceum Pope John Paul II, Poland and Mihail Sturdza Technical High School, Iasi, Romania).

From the 15^th to 19^th of March 2010, during the second project visit, A. Lomet High School hosted groups of students and teachers from all partner countries, under the careful coordination of Ms Lucie Pilar Sauvagnac and with the warm contribution of the school teachers and students. Everybody participated at educational activities, thematic competitions, performances and visits, actively involving themselves in the project development. Students worked together in groups presenting, sharing and debating, through didactic games, different aspects of their cultures, stimulating thus the creation of lasting friendships.

Both teachers - Ionela Patrasc, Irinel Gradinaru and Olivia Rusu - and students of the class X A - Denisa Lupu, Evelina Suman, Marius Davidescu and Adrian Forascu – from Economic High School of Tourism, Iasi, have been deeply impressed by the hosts kindness and hospitality, who accompanied all guests with the utmost availability and sincere affection.

The friendly dialogue and the intercultural cooperation which arose with this happy occasion are a solid basis for long lasting relationships and friendships among youngsters and adults, favoring mutual appreciation, knowledge and understanding.

Olivia Rusu