Our names are Tom and Aliesha and we’re both 15. We go to Barlby High School in Selby. We’re currently in Taize writing this. We were invited here by the Archbishop of York and students who have come to Taize before. We decided to come to experience different cultures and religious communities.

Overall the most common cultures we’ve met are: German, Dutch, Polish, Spanish and French.

What we’ve discovered from these different people is that no matter where you’re from, you can integrate into different cultures and relate to aspects of life. Our experience has completely juxtaposed our life in the UK, as it’s quite multi cultural whereas Britain can be quite divided due to recent politics. We were shocked to find how many people spoke fluent English and it made us feel quite ashamed that  Britain as a whole doesn’t know a second language.

I was recently acquainted with a group of German girls of a similar age to us and we learnt that, although there are similarities with each others cultures, I can assume things about other people’s way of life. I spent all my time with them since I met them and I can honestly say that we will continue to be friends even after our trip to Taize.

In our international Bible group I met a lot of Germans, a Ukrainian and a Swedish person. I really enjoyed talking to them and listening to their different points of view. I enjoyed learning about all the different languages and lifestyles.

We’re interested to see how the rest of the week will pan out and we’re ready to meet loads more people.