Hello, this is Mirka from Finland and Sasha from Siberia. We are team north countries and doing one
year volunteer in Fekete Sereg. We want to share with you our experience of a pretty busy but interesting
summer on children’s camp.
It all started in the spring when we entered on visiting afternoon school in a small village called Somlóvásárhely once a week to support children with English and German language studies. The children in the afternoon school are of elementary school age, friendly, and interested in us as people from foreign countries.
The village is about 35 kilometers from Nagyvázsony, so we traveled there first by two buses and came back by direct bus. We started recognizing familiar bus drivers on our routine trips, and they remembered us. Probably, because of the strange accent. Almost our local friends!
The afternoon school has a program in the summertime. For example, when the children are on the summer holiday and parents are working during the day, the children can come to the afternoon school camp. And the teachers invited also us to the camp. That´s where the fun started.
In June, we were on a three-day trip. The trip started early in the morning when about 35-40 children gathered at the afternoon school. Our first thoughts were “What a lot of kids around!”. Everyone on the bus was excited about the trip ahead. Apparently, that´s because it was so loud on the bus.
On the first day of the camp, we visited an absolutely gorgeous Benedictine Monastery in Pannonhalma. With the guide, we explored the Monastery area, visited the lavender field, and tasted excellent lavender chocolate. The Monastery is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and indeed a place worth visiting.
In the following days, we visited Tatabánya at the Turul Monument, one water park, and on the way back home, we stopped at the beautiful city of Tata and its castle.
The program in July was brutal. Weekends we spent in Nagyvázsony and on Mondays we traveled to the afternoon school to be ready to wake up at seven o’clock on Tuesday and start the camp week. All the month, every day, from Tuesday to Friday, we went by bus or train to different cities, villages, swimming pools, action parks, and attractions. For example, in the first week, we spent one day in Ajka, Kristályfürdő, in swimming pools with few waterslides and several pools. During the second week, we enjoyed beautiful views of the Somló hill with its wine fields, the extraordinary beauty of Szigliget´s castle, and a stunning walk through the romantic Nádasdy mansion. The last two weeks were devoted to various physical activities. We were most impressed by Bobo Fun Park in Alsópáhok and Sobri Jóska adventure park in Kislőd.
We didn’t expect several things:
1. that we could interact well with Hungarian children;
2. that Hungary is an amazing country with incredible sights;
3. that we would be so exhausted but inspired every day.
Thank you for reading the story of one of the greatest summers in our lives!
M&S