This year, we had the chance to be part of an exchange project in Ireland. In December 2025, the Irish students came to visit us in Graz, and we saw many attractions, such as the chocolate factory “Zotter”. Then, in March, it was our turn. On Sunday night, we took the bus to Vienna Airport, where we boarded the plane to Munich and then flew on to Dublin, where another 1.5-hour bus ride awaited us.
After a long journey, we finally arrived at our destination: Gorey! We met our host families and enjoyed the first evening with them. On Monday, we went to school and had a really fun sports session where we played baseball in the park. On Tuesday, we visited the secondary school, and we also had a Gaelic football session, which was really fun. But Wednesday was the highlight. We took a day trip to Dublin. We visited a museum, and afterwards we had time to go shopping and explore the city. On Thursday, we had lessons and a short unit on the history of Ireland, and we were allowed to dance traditionally and play the flute. In the afternoon, we went to the Stables, where we got to complete an obstacle course. It was very fun, tiring and wet. In the evening, it was time to pack our suitcases, watch the game between Ireland and the Czech Republic, and then go to sleep because on Friday we were heading back to Austria.
We are very happy and grateful that we were able to be part of this project because this experience was truly eventful, and we will not forget it. Thank you to all the teachers who made this possible!
Marlene Waldmann & Sarah Wetschnig 4e
Our trip to Ireland gave us an amazing opportunity to experience a new culture and new traditions. We went to a small, cozy town named Gorey, where out of 30 students, 15 got to live with host families and the rest stayed in a hotel. I only heard good things from everyone staying with host families and from those staying at the hotel about their accommodation. Welcoming, friendly, kind, and more! A lot of students felt like they were part of their host families, feeling safe and included. The students staying in the hotel were amazed at how clean everything was and that their rooms looked stunning!
We even got to visit their school, a small one, where children range from 5 to 12 years old. I was happy that we could help the teachers a bit by looking after the children, almost like assistants. But not only that, we also visited a secondary school, where students range from 13 to 18 years old. It was interesting to see how differently teachers in Ireland conduct their lessons compared to Austria.
We did much more than that! We spent a whole day in Dublin, where we visited a gallery and a museum full of interesting things to look at and learn about. Of course, we were also allowed to walk around Dublin freely. Not only that, we decided to be sporty and go to “The Stables”, an obstacle course. More determined than ever, we tried to overcome all those obstacles!
In the end, everyone was happy when we returned to Graz, tired but still excited from the experience. We would like to thank Erasmus+ and our school WIKU for this opportunity to put our English skills to the test!
Clea Robu 4e
Von der Europäischen Union finanziert. Die geäußerten Ansichten und Meinungen entsprechen jedoch ausschließlich denen des Autors bzw. der Autoren und spiegeln nicht zwingend die der Europäischen Union oder der OeAD-GmbH wider. Weder die Europäische Union noch die OeAD-GmbH können dafür verantwortlich gemacht werden.