The exchange with St. Calasanz Institute in Nijeln, Belgium

received_304990033659487
Solving a murder mystery like real-life forensics

The exchange took place from 15th – 19th October 2018, so eleven students and two teachers set off at around 5pm from Ljubljana Airport to Bruxelles. Since it was quite late when we arrived to Nijlen, the town in which we would spend the next few days, our host families took us home and we soon went to bed. The next day started quite early. We gathered at the train station and drove to Brugge, a picturesque town that amazed us with its beautiful architecture. The next stop was the seaside, where we enjoyed the last moments of summer on a wide sandy beach. Wednesday was a school day for us. The Belgian teachers prepared a very interesting task: we had to solve a murder by analysing the crime scene and suspects and doing various experiments. Our team unfortunately condemned the wrong suspect, but we still came up with (in my opinion) a liable story. We spent the afternoon with our hosts, most of us meeting in a nearby town for a drink, and later we went bowling. On Thursday, our host students became our tour guides and led us through the city of Antwerp. We visited the Museum of diamonds, because Antwerp is famous for its diamond trade business. In the afternoon we had some free time, which we spent differently: some went shopping, some devoted Christians visited the cathedral, and some enjoyed the delicious Belgian waffles. The last thing we saw before leaving Antwerp was the house of the famous Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, where we marvelled at his baroque paintings. Friday was, sadly, our last day in Belgium. We spent it by making pralines in a local chocolate atelier and to our delight, we could take our creations home. After saying goodbye to our Belgian hosts who had become our great friends, we left Nijlen and flew back home. The whole exchange was an amazing experience and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it was definitely worth missing a few school days. /Glorija Ema Glas, year 4/