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About ourselves
First of all, we would like to say hello to all, and to wish you a very happy New Year. We realise that you probably do not know very much about Hungary, the country we are from, or about Pécs, which is the city were we live and go to school. Of course, you don’t know us, either, so we would like to tell you a little something about ourselves.
Theme days and special events
One of the things we like best about school is the fact that there is often something fun and interesting going on. Every spring sees „Mezőszél days”, when ordinary lessons are replaced by activities and events all linked by a common theme. Last year we had a Sports Day, a Healthy Living Day, aChildren’s Day a History day and of course, an English Day. It gets q uite cold here in the winter, and although Hungary is a very flat country whit no mountains, winter sports are popular. The teachers organise a ski camp each year to one of the neighbouring countries. Last year we went to Slovakia.
The school leaving ceremony
There is a beautiful ceremony every year. All the school is there, along with parents and relatives. There are speeches and presents for teachers. The eight years walk slowly through all their old classrooms, singing songs. Evrybody waiting for them outside. Each student is given a special purse with little mementos inside it. The „totem pole” on the left is in the school grounds. Each year the names of all the graduating pupils are added to the pole. In the school leaving ceremony they given a nail to hammer in, next to their name. It means that one day they will return, and that people will be happy to see them.
A typical school day
I Hungary, the school day starts at eight o’clock. Some (unlucky!) students also occasionally a „0 Lesson” which starts at seven o’clock. Lessons are 45 minutes long, so with five or six or seven lessons each day, We can usually go home by half past one at the latest. This is great, and leaves us with plenty of time in the afternoons to do other things (private tution, sports clubs, music lessons etc.) Another difference is that you do not have to wear school uniform in Hungarian schools. Evrybody wears what they want. When lessons have finished, we have lunch. In Hungary, lunch is the main meal of the day, so everybody sits down to a cooked meal. Some people eat at the school canteen, others go home. Nobody has sanwiches like in Britain, though! Pensioners and other people who live in locally but do not have time to cook also come into school and pay to have lunch. In the evenings, though, we often just have something light, usually cold.
