Eva Frysova
Short-term mobility
My name is Eva Frysova and thanks to the Erasmus+ project I had the opportunity to spend three weeks in Germany. I stayed in the small town of Furth im Wald, which charmed me with its peaceful forests and rolling hills the moment I stepped off the train. My host Claudia was waiting for me and showed me around the town square. We then drove to the house where I was welcomed by two dogs, three cats, host Hauck, and their son Moritz. I stayed in a small cosy room with a balcony.
The very next day I started at Joseph von Fraunhofer Gymnasium in Cham. I noticed differences from the very first lesson. Humanities took up more hours than sciences, and the timetable included politics, geopolitics, religion, ethics, and personal finance. All pupils had state-funded tablets with digital textbooks. Teaching was more discussion-based than lecture-based, and tests were always done at the desk.
I appreciated that teachers rarely tried to humiliate pupils and valued the ability to explain material in one's own words over rote memorisation. I see the whole stay as a great experience - it enriched me not only in German but also helped me make new contacts and understand how a foreign household works.
We asked...
01
What were your first impressions upon arrival to your family and school?
Everyone was very kind and helpful from the very start - not only the host family, who maintained warm relationships and were very generous, but also the people at school. Honestly, that was what I had been most afraid of, but there was no need to worry, as the girls welcomed me into their group straight away and I spent the whole mobility with them at school and sometimes after school too. They even gave me a lovely send-off on my last day and surprised me with a cake for my birthday.
02
How would you describe your typical day?
Every morning I got up at 5:40 to make it to the train at 6:40 from Furth to Cham, about a 20-minute journey. I then walked to school, where lessons started at 8:00 in two-hour blocks with 15-minute breaks. School regularly finished at 13:00, which left me plenty of free time in the afternoons. After lunch I would visit a cafe or go out with classmates. Almost every day I went for walks with the dogs. In the evenings the whole family gathered for dinner and talked about the day.
03
How did this experience affect you in terms of personal development?
I would say I took the absolute most out of this stay. Not only did I improve my German and learn new colloquial phrases, but I also met great people and observed a different teaching approach. I also learned to rest a little more - I personally tend to fill my calendar with obligations to the point where resting feels like procrastination. I am very glad I had the chance to see how another household operates, one that simply knows how to slow down.