Our journey started on October 7th. At 4 a. m. we hoped on the bus and started our journey to France. It was an exciting beginning of all the things that were waiting for us to experience while being in France.

    We travelled through Lithuania, Poland and Germany. On the third day, we finally arrived in Caen where our host families were waiting for us.

    On Monday morning, we went to school first and got to meet the families and then we took some photos after were done we went home. The family took me to the sea and told me about the terrible history of this beach during WW2. In the evening we played some board games and tried to get to know each other better.

   During our stay in France we did a lot of things. We went to the school and had lessons, visited a recycling company, went to a few parks that were built on the former rubbish dumps.

    We usually worked in mixed groups of 8–10 students (French hosts and Lithuanians). There were different tasks for us, like doing mathematic tasks and gardening. When we walked around the Memorial Square and the Library of The University of Caen Normandy, we were told about the projects French students made contributing to the greenery planting. I think it is a very good thing that they teach gardening in school. In the Botanical Garden we were given a sheet of paper with photos of the spots that we had to recognise in the garden while walking there. We were led with our French friends everywhere and exploring the garden was a real adventure for us full of discoveries of the beauty of local nature.

    Spending our free time in the city with our new friends was a great fun for everyone. We went shopping for souvenirs and ate the food at the ancient castle. Caen is an ancient city and its architecture, squares, castles, churches make you feel like you are travelling in a time machine back in the past. It is truly amazing.

    On the last day, we went to Paris. Firstly, we walked in the streets which are  being decorated with plants, bushes, flowers and trees that are planted in the big vases. Most streets in Paris are covered in tiles and decorating the streets with greenery is a great example how can be cities changed so that citizens could enjoy nature even in their urban surrounding.

     In Paris we also visited the Museum of Arts and Machinery where the first computer ever (designed by Pascal) is on display. We could see there the history of machinery development, the examples of ingenious human mind that is able to create powerful devices assisting people in their everyday life and general progress. The exhibited machines made us see the progress achieved from the very primitive tools to very sophisticated ones. But the fact that the humanity has already produced too many smart machines which nowadays have already become excessive and even started polluting the environment should make everyone consider in our daily life if we actually need so many new devices and tools.

     After a picnic with our hosts, we walked on foot to the Eiffel Tower. It was a challenge for us because it was raining heavily. Having in mind the ideas of our ecological project, we were determined to follow ecologically-friendly code and didn’t use our bus. The distance was about 8 kilometres. The view from the second floor of the tower was amazing. We were able to see the beauty of Paris from above.

       A boat trip around Paris was an impressive finish of the last day in France. We brought home unforgettable memories of this project week.  The mobility has finished but it inspired us for further actions that we are going to take at home, at school, and in our town.  The project “It’s not me, it’s all us, it’s all about nature” goes on! 

On behalf of the participants' group, Gabija Vainauskė