Impression of Braga

Romanian students’ impressions of their trip to Braga, Portugal, 14th - 21st October, 2012

The week we spent in Braga was amazing first, because i had never left Romania, and to saw a completely different country from mine and see the way how they live, tastes in music, food, activities, impressed me, and second, I had the opportunity not only too see Portugal, but getting to know students from Greece, Portugal, Finland, Belgium, all the students became my friends because they were so warm and friendly. And the teachers also, i saw they were very friendly too, happy and funny.
I had never imagined i would make so much good frinds to talk to and make jokes, have fun, explore a different country together!
I will never forget those moments and i will try to keep in touch as much as I can, and hopefully we will se eachother one day. One of the BEST moment of my live!

Thank you all! Amarandi-Hriscu Laura, 17 years old

Impressions of Braga

Belgian students’ impressions of their trip to Braga, Portugal, 14th - 21st October, 2012

Hello everyone !

We hope you are all fine! We want to say the meeting in Braga was an amazing and unforgettable week…It was fantastic to have all those activities with all of you. What a chance to meet people from 5 different countries with different languages and cultures! That was a real pleasure to make new friends and share our lives.

Thanks to the Portuguese for their wonderful welcoming! Your country is very cheerful and we discovered incredible landscapes like Bom Jesus and Geres.

The Belgian team

Belgian Eco-friendliness

In Belgium people care about their environment more than we in Finland. I have noticed that streets are cleaner and there aren’t trashes. But sometimes you can see a lot of waste in forests, people’s old stuff that they don’t need anymore. I heard from my host dad that you can get a fine if you litter.

Now because it’s autumn and trees drop their leaves, somebody always cleans the streets after that. I went to an outlet village here in Belgium and the place was so clean that I have never seen anything like that before. I didn’t even see one butt of a cigarette.

My host family recycles almost everything, empty bottles, paper, organic waste etc. And they have got two chickens for accessory food. At school Belgians use a lot of paper and it’s not so ecological. We have only two books and everything else is in paper copies. But in school corridors there are bins for plastic bottles and paper.

Tiina Välimaa (a Finnish exchange student in Liége, Belgium)

Comenius Exchange Student Noora Savola Exploring Life in Portugal

Hi!

I’m Noora Savola and I’m going to write you about being an exchange student. I’m seventeen years old and I’m from Oulu, Finland. I will be studying in Braga, Portugal for three months. I’ve already been in here for almost two months now, so I have time left about a month.

When I came here, the first thing that was new for me and surprised me was the cheek kisses. On the night when my plane landed here and I met my mentor teacher and my host family, they greeted me with two kisses on the cheeks and it felt so weird at first because in Finland we only shake hands when we meet a new person. While I’ve been here I have also noticed that people in here are more close to each other and make more physical contact to other people. For example, when I’m walking in the street with my friends, they can walk really close to each other or even hold hands.  And in Finland, we always have some space between us while we’re walking and nobody takes so much physical contact to other people. But now I’ve got more used to it and it doesn’t feel that weird anymore. 

The school and the lessons in here aren’t so much different from ones in Finland (except the school doesn’t use heating system and sometimes it can be really cold!).  One of the differences that comes up to my mind is that the teachers in here demand more respect.  I mean that in Finland the teachers and the students are equal and you can doubt what they are saying and discuss about it. Another thing what was new for me is that we don’t get free lunch from school every day and the lunch break is so much longer.  Oh yes! I almost forgot. The schools are so much bigger in here!

I have to say that Portuguese people are very friendly and hospitable. Everybody has been so nice to me and I’ve made many good friends in here. I have enjoyed my time a lot.  I love this country and its people and I hope I will gain more good memories and experiences.