SOFIA - BULGARIA
4th to 8th of June of 2018
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe and it is a member of the European Union. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. It has a territory of 110,994 square kilometres.
Bulgaria's population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised and mainly concentrated in the administrative centres of its 28 provinces. Most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are heavy industry, power engineering, and agriculture, all of which rely on local natural resources.
The country's name, Bulgaria, is taken from the Word Bulgars, an extinct tribe of Turkic origin, which created the country. Within Bulgaria, some historians question the identification of the Bulgars as a Turkic tribe, in favor of an Iranian origin. Their name is not completely understood and difficult to trace back earlier than the 4th century AD, but it is possibly derived from the Proto-Turkic word bulģha ("to mix", "shake", "stir") and its derivative bulgak ("revolt", "disorder") Alternate etymologies include derivation from a compound of Proto-Turkic bel ("five") and gur ("arrow" in the sense of "tribe"), a proposed division within the Utigurs or Onogurs ("ten tribes").
Other data of interest: Moneda: Lev Huso horario: EET (UTC+2)
The Second Mobility
The first day. Monday, 4th of June, 2018
At 10 o'clock in the morning all the delegations of the participating countries meet in the highschool. The host country welcomed us with a small welcome ceremony. Then each country presented the work done, this time it was "Mathematics and sports".
The host students toured us throughout the highschool and showed us all the facilities.
Then they invited us to a lunch and then they accompanied us on a walking tour of the city of Sofia.
The second day. Tuesday, 5th of June, 2018
Visit to Plovdiv. Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria, and the oldest population in Europe. With more than six thousand years of history, Plovdiv was a Neolithic settlement four thousand years before Christ.
The Thracians, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans also passed through there. A walk around the city makes evident the footprint left by all of them and the historical and architectural value of the city. More than enough reasons for Plovdiv to become the European Capital of Culture in 2019.
We visited the ethnographic museum, a tour of the old town and the Roman theater and some Roman ruins...
The third day. Wednesday, 6th of June, 2018
Outdoor and indoor games. This day we went to one of the main parks in Sofia and, by teams, conducted the treasure hunt. And finally each team participated in a Scape Room.
The fourth day. Thursday, 7th of June, 2018
Visit to Rila Monastery (UNESCO site). The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery (Bulgarian: Рилски манастир, Rilski manastir) is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km (73 mi) south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River ("Rila River") at an elevation of 1,147 m (3,763 ft) above sea level, inside of Rila Monastery Nature Park. The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 - 946 AD), and houses around 60 monks.
Rila Monastery was founded in the 10th century by St John of Rila, a hermit canonized by the Orthodox Church. His ascetic dwelling and tomb became a holy site and were transformed into a monastic complex which played an important role in the spiritual and social life of medieval Bulgaria. Destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 19th century, the complex was rebuilt between 1834 and 1862. A characteristic example of the Bulgarian Renaissance (18th–19th centuries), the monument symbolizes the awareness of a Slavic cultural identity following centuries of occupation.
The fifth day. Friday, 8th of June, 2018
Applied Maths. This day was dedicated to perform different mathematical activities. First of all we went to the mathematics lab and the pupilswere solving exercises and geometry problems using ICT. Then we went to the computer room where they were using a program to work and print in 3D. There was also a math problem solving session related to "Math and sports".
We had lunch in the high school and in the afternoon we participated in the activities "Math and sports". There were also traditional dance workshops and financially handed out the diplomas of assistance to all students participating in this mobility.
