My Portuguese dream trip
by Csoma. Gabriella (HUNGARY)
All I had known about the Comenius project was that this is a wonderful opportunity for students to be able to travel all over Europe while practicing the English language. Then I found out that this program is about ecology and climate change concerning us. Some of my schoolmates and me were lucky enough to be involved in this project and to get the opportunity to travel to Portugal. The participants of this mobility were Csécsi Eszter, Pózer Erik, Szűcs Eszter, Hubert Fruzsina, Szénási Tibor, Csoma Gabriella as students and Derecskei Sándor, Patakiné Litva Boglárka, Pataki Zsolt, and principal Molnárné Tóth Erika as teachers. The date of our leaving was May 23rd, 2015. Although the flight to Lisbon was a bit long and tiring, it passed soon. When we arrived to the city it was quite late, so that night we didn’t have time for sight-seeing. However, on the following day when we set out to discover the capital city, we realized how beautiful and culturally interesting this country is. The buildings, the scents, the people and the ocean were all amazing for us. Personally, I loved this city.
On our first day in the project we flew from Lisbon to Faro. With a bus from the host town they picked us up from the airport. By the time we arrived to the hotel, our host families, who provided accommodation for us for a week, were waiting for us. On that day was the opening ceremony of the project. The host students from Sao Brás de Alportel organised a folk-dance performance and a tasting for us, then the mayor of the town greeted us and the school principal opened the project. We saw an exhibition on the topic of the project, and I especially liked that the Portuguese children think of Hungarians as a “friendly and open” people. During the day we had the opportunity to visit the school and the town as well.
On Tuesday we went on a trip to Sagres, in the most south-western part of Europe. The speciality of this place is that the peninsula is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean so creating unique flora and fauna. It was most interesting and beautiful to see the unusual forms of the limestone and I especially liked that we could admire the birds, the fish and the ocean from the top of a 20-30 meter high tongue (narrow strip of land).
On Wednesday we were at the school all day. At this time the teachers and the students had different tasks. First, we worked in a lecture hall, where we learnt about global warning by listening to a lecture, watching a video and discussion. After that we formed international groups and created presentations about the possible solutions for global warming. For the afternoon the local teachers organised games and competitions for us, which was a great experience for all the participants.
On Thursday we visited the Ria Formosa lagoon by boat. The uniqueness of the lagoon is that due to the tide it is seawater that flows in it in changing directions. On the inner land protected from the waves, the special flora and fauna can be compared to the dry dunes in Bugac as well as the wet habitats in Bodrogzug in Hungary. If you were wandering on the dunes barefoot, you may easily have been “attacked” by small creatures, so it wasn’t advisable to be standing at the same place for a long time. We collected a lot of shells on the shore, which we used to create gifts for our loved ones at home. On this day we could have dinner in a restaurant with fish and seafood specialties. Portuguese food was really interesting and special for me.
We were the most excited about the educational program on Friday, because we were able to see a wood of cork oaks, where cork production was presented. Taking the bark off the cork oaks is a very interesting as well as hard job, and the bark grows back on the tree every 9 years. On the plantation we learnt about the cork industry in detail at a 2-hour field practice, so we heard about many things from the challenges they have to face to the fact that today it is a main product protected by the state. We could visit a factory where we were able to witness how the bark is made into cork, jewelry, footwear or even furniture. After that, we summarized and evaluated the events of the week.
On Saturday we filled out a questionnaire concerning our experience. In the evening the closing ceremony was held in a restaurant where all the participants were the mayor’s guests. Here the countries exchanged gifts and also received the Certificates proving the successful participation during the week.
On Saturday we left for home. The farewells were heartfelt. After saying goodbye to our host families we were taken to the airport, where we were able to say goodbye to the teachers, too.
To sum it up, during this week I could participate in a very interesting project week/mobility with a lot of experience. I took a fancy to Portugal; its beauty, uniqueness and the openness and calmness of its people deeply impressed me.
by Csoma. Gabriella (HUNGARY)
All I had known about the Comenius project was that this is a wonderful opportunity for students to be able to travel all over Europe while practicing the English language. Then I found out that this program is about ecology and climate change concerning us. Some of my schoolmates and me were lucky enough to be involved in this project and to get the opportunity to travel to Portugal. The participants of this mobility were Csécsi Eszter, Pózer Erik, Szűcs Eszter, Hubert Fruzsina, Szénási Tibor, Csoma Gabriella as students and Derecskei Sándor, Patakiné Litva Boglárka, Pataki Zsolt, and principal Molnárné Tóth Erika as teachers. The date of our leaving was May 23rd, 2015. Although the flight to Lisbon was a bit long and tiring, it passed soon. When we arrived to the city it was quite late, so that night we didn’t have time for sight-seeing. However, on the following day when we set out to discover the capital city, we realized how beautiful and culturally interesting this country is. The buildings, the scents, the people and the ocean were all amazing for us. Personally, I loved this city.
On our first day in the project we flew from Lisbon to Faro. With a bus from the host town they picked us up from the airport. By the time we arrived to the hotel, our host families, who provided accommodation for us for a week, were waiting for us. On that day was the opening ceremony of the project. The host students from Sao Brás de Alportel organised a folk-dance performance and a tasting for us, then the mayor of the town greeted us and the school principal opened the project. We saw an exhibition on the topic of the project, and I especially liked that the Portuguese children think of Hungarians as a “friendly and open” people. During the day we had the opportunity to visit the school and the town as well.
On Tuesday we went on a trip to Sagres, in the most south-western part of Europe. The speciality of this place is that the peninsula is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean so creating unique flora and fauna. It was most interesting and beautiful to see the unusual forms of the limestone and I especially liked that we could admire the birds, the fish and the ocean from the top of a 20-30 meter high tongue (narrow strip of land).
On Wednesday we were at the school all day. At this time the teachers and the students had different tasks. First, we worked in a lecture hall, where we learnt about global warning by listening to a lecture, watching a video and discussion. After that we formed international groups and created presentations about the possible solutions for global warming. For the afternoon the local teachers organised games and competitions for us, which was a great experience for all the participants.
On Thursday we visited the Ria Formosa lagoon by boat. The uniqueness of the lagoon is that due to the tide it is seawater that flows in it in changing directions. On the inner land protected from the waves, the special flora and fauna can be compared to the dry dunes in Bugac as well as the wet habitats in Bodrogzug in Hungary. If you were wandering on the dunes barefoot, you may easily have been “attacked” by small creatures, so it wasn’t advisable to be standing at the same place for a long time. We collected a lot of shells on the shore, which we used to create gifts for our loved ones at home. On this day we could have dinner in a restaurant with fish and seafood specialties. Portuguese food was really interesting and special for me.
We were the most excited about the educational program on Friday, because we were able to see a wood of cork oaks, where cork production was presented. Taking the bark off the cork oaks is a very interesting as well as hard job, and the bark grows back on the tree every 9 years. On the plantation we learnt about the cork industry in detail at a 2-hour field practice, so we heard about many things from the challenges they have to face to the fact that today it is a main product protected by the state. We could visit a factory where we were able to witness how the bark is made into cork, jewelry, footwear or even furniture. After that, we summarized and evaluated the events of the week.
On Saturday we filled out a questionnaire concerning our experience. In the evening the closing ceremony was held in a restaurant where all the participants were the mayor’s guests. Here the countries exchanged gifts and also received the Certificates proving the successful participation during the week.
On Saturday we left for home. The farewells were heartfelt. After saying goodbye to our host families we were taken to the airport, where we were able to say goodbye to the teachers, too.
To sum it up, during this week I could participate in a very interesting project week/mobility with a lot of experience. I took a fancy to Portugal; its beauty, uniqueness and the openness and calmness of its people deeply impressed me.