Comenius Project Mobility to Greece From April 20th to April 30th 2012 Report on the Activities Teachers ร lia Martins Isabel Marques Lina Almeida Maria Margarida Lucena Neuza Pereira Paulo Diegues Students Ana Pais Francisco Gonรงalves Gonรงalo Pinho
Introduction From the 21st to the 30th of April, three students and six teachers lived a reminding adventure in a foreign European country part of the Comenius Project ‘The Future in Our Hands’. Ana Pais, Francisco Gonçalves and Gonçalo Pinho – me – went with Élia Martins, Isabel Marques, Lina Almeida, Maria Margarida Lucena, Neuza Pereira and Paulo Diegues – their teachers – to Patras, a city located in the south-west part of Greece. The assignment was to not only meet new people, create new experiences and enrich our culture and knowledge, but to challenge ourselves into debating communication, knowing what it is, which advantages and disadvantages it signifies and unveiling its power among the world as well as its risks.
April 20th, Friday ~ Day Zero After a long and nervously spent day at school, the teachers and students arrived at the airport with their luggage and anxiety around 9h30 pm. Saying goodbye to our parents and carrying our packs, me, Ana and Francisco, were all but bored of the journey we were seeing coming. It was Ana’s first flight, mine without my parents and Francisco was scared of how much English he had to speak for more than a week. The travelling went fine, having we arrived at Athens at about 5h15 am local time.
April 21st, Saturday ~ Day One We arrived at Athens really early. There were no direct flights to Patras, nor to a close area, so the team accomplished to spend a full day at the capital before going to the region where the assignment was to be made. At around 6 am, we left the airport with our luggage kept safe and went through the tram to the center of Athens. We saw a lot of places, including Sintagma Square, the Parlament, the Acropolis and Ágora and had lunch at a greek restaurant located in Plaka. Later in the afternoon, the Turkish and Polish teams arrived along with some Greek teachers and we all went to pick up the French team at the airport. Tired after a very long day as well as sleep deprivation – it was my first 48 hours period without sleeping – we went to Patras by bus and were hosted by our greek families around 11h30 pm local time.
April 22nd, Sunday ~ Day Two My host family is wonderful. After making me a very hot and flavorful dinner, they had me sleep in the host room, with a very comfortable bed and access to the computer and bathroom. But those aren’t of course the only factors. Georgia, the girl who accommodated me, only made me laugh the entire week and her parents were always very talkative, funny and kind. Well, I couldn’t complain! I woke up at around 11 am to go with Georgia – my host –, Fabio – a French guy – and Angie – the guy’s host – to Patras’ Castle, see its surroundings and take some photos. After having lunch at home, we went out. Throughout the afternoon, we walked on some of Patras’ streets, met up with other people from Comenius and their hosts and saw the sunset at the port as well as drank some water and chatted a lot. Later on, me and a bunch of people from the project gone for dinner and ice cream. We ate something called Pita, wish is similar to a Muslim Kebab. Back home, I exchanged gifts with my host family. They really liked the Oporto Wine bottle, the Lisbon decorative plate, the Portuguese Sidewalk pencil tray and the Mariza Concert DVD I gave them. We were very happy and I went to bed early because we had go to school the next day.
April 23rd, Monday ~ Day Three On Monday, me, Georgia and all of the people from the project and respective hosts went to school. I had to wake up really early but everything went fine and I was gone by 8 am for Mathematics class at 8h15 am with Georgia and her colleagues. The class was quite quiet, although there was a bit of noise between the students, but nothing too alarming. By 9, we were welcomed at school by the Headmaster, Mr. Stamatios Chlomoudis and there were presentations performed by the Greek students to us which I found to be very appealing. There was this robot which wrote the names of all the countries from the project and it was very amusing to see and record that moment of interaction between everyone. I then had lunch at Georgia’s house – this is the part where I point out how greatly and tastefully cooked was the food her parents made me eat throughout the week – and took a nap before going out with her and a friend of hers. We had a lot of fun in the course of our trip by the most beautiful sites of the city and got back home, rested and fell asleep.
April 24th, Tuesday ~ Day Four The day began with me not seeing Georgia for the first time I woke up. It turned out she was dressing and getting ready for her big performance that day at the Ancient Odium. She played a part in the play of Orpheus Hymns. It was presented to all the people from the project and it was amazing! All the nice girls participating were beautiful and astonishingly performing.
We were all then welcomed by the Mayor’s delegate at the City Hall. He was back then responsible for the Education matters in Patras’ city, so he thanked all the teachers and organizers of the Comenius Program for bringing to life such an innovative experiment which, as he said, was working out very well. We took one more group shot and went to visit the Apollon Theatre, where we seated for a while and then gone to the public Library of Patras, where we got to know it’s history, what kind of books it had available and some paintings and curious facts as well. It was a very well spend morning and next thing I knew I was having lunch at my host family house and going out in the afternoon.
April 25th, Wednesday ~ Day Five Wednesday was a very long day. In Portugal, the Carnation Revolution was being celebrated but in Greece there were other plans. All the people from the project plus other Greek students and teachers went to Olympia, the birth town of the Olympic Games Competition, in a school trip which involved a visit to Olympia’s Archaeological Museum and its fields and surroundings. There, we got the chance to see a variety of ancient objects, statues and pieces, as well as listening to important information given by our tour guide. Everyone took a lot of photographs and we went outside to the fields where the championship was hold for years in the past and rested the victories and winners memorials. After that, we went to the Olympic Stadium and every country had to participate in a race with one girl and one boy whom had to run for their country. Me – Gonçalo – and Ana represented Portugal and ran against Greece, France, Poland and Turkey. I finished third and we were both given an olive made coronary and clapping after the
rivalry. After this, me and my teachers went to buy some keepsakes, like postcards and, I my case, an Olympic coin. At 2 pm, we got on the bus and went for lunch in the village of Katakolo and bought other souvenirs. We then went to a beach near Strofilia Forest and around the Jonick Sea. This was the part when we had a very funny while because I got wet and had to take off my shoes and everyone started making fun of me. But in the end it was great and we took, again, a lot of snapshots! Around 6 pm, we returned to Patras around and I went home to rest and have dinner.
April 26th, Thursday ~ Day Six The day started with another school trip, this time to the Open University of Patras, where we came across one of the most advanced set of Greek education systems and formation options. We participated in a live conference and saw a robot in action. Later on, we went to the Archaeological Museum of Patras, where at first every country had the chance to talk a little about why history was important and secondly exited for a visit throughout the museum, which was similar to the one in Olympia, only more diverse and more nearly Patras’ local items.
I then had lunch at Georgia’s house, as usual, and saw a movie, ‘Manhattan’ by Woody Allen. We then went out a bit and had dinner with Francisco, Sotiria, Fabio and Angie in a restaurant near Patras’ castle.
April 26th, Friday ~ Day Seven The final day on school activities had arrived. I had to participate in a debate about Communication and its role on contributing to the world being and the innovation of new technologies. As established by the project’s rules, one student would sit in front of a table and talk representing their one country. It gone very well and it was well organized following Portuguese initial idea. There were already prepared questions made to all the elements about Communication, its’ advantages and disadvantages, how it was distributed in the world, etc. and other questions made by the audience. In the afternoon, every country’s students had their occasion to present works they had made about traditional and cultural aspects from their city. Portugal presented works about the April 25th 1974 Carnation Revolution and Barcelos’ Rooster legend, as well as a video of those. After the presentations, we were all surprised by the Greek dance performers and had a fantastic dinner offered by the school with all sorts of greek amazing cuisine, like Moussaka, which I found delicious and to be my favorite dish!
April 27th, Saturday ~ Day Eight It was my final full day in Patras, so I spent the whole day with my host family doing pleasant activities. We went to have lunch in a town near the beach where Georgia used to spend her summer and, as she said, was always full of tourists by that time. I ate Moussaka again, my favorite Greek dish. We went with Angie and took a lot of photos near the beach to remember what amazing times we had.
April 28th, Sunday ~ Last Day The climate was sad. It was my final day in Greece and all I could think of was how I missed everyone already. Everything had been great and I couldn’t have wished for better. It was a great week in which I met a lot of people who became my closest friends. Saying goodbye to Georgia was the hardest because she became my best friend. She was lovely as well as the entire trip and opportunity I was given. So in this day, I left Patras by bus at around 9 am to get to Athens’ airport and leave. We first arrived in Frankfurt, Switzerland and then we caught a flight to Lisbon, Portugal. Everything went fine and by the time we arrived, at 8h30pm, everyone was tired, so all of us went home to have dinner, rest and unpack.
This was one of those smiles a person has when she has been for one of the best times of her life. My smile had that feeling. Although I was very sad inside, I had been through and amazing experience and all I could and can take from that is a “Thank You” and a lot of hope for the future.
Report Conclusion
Being able to travel to a foreign country whether I liked it in the end or not is still something I am grateful for. I would like to thank all of the teachers and organizers of this project for giving me the chance to have had such amazing eight days. I can’t take away any disadvantage from this apart from it not having lasted longer. The experience was remarkable, wordless, great, fantastic, wonderful. The chance I got was an once in a lifetime chance and I’m proud of it. Today, I miss those todays terribly and I wish that one day I’ll meet my Greek friends once again, as well as my Turkish, French and polish friends. Being part of the Comenius Program was one of the best things that have happened in my life, since having hosted Kaan in November to finishing this report of my hostage in Georgia’s house in Greece. There were remarkable, happy, stressful and full of adrenaline moments all along the way and I can’t be more pleased to have had them. So, thanks everyone for allowing me to go through this experience. I can’t sincerely complain because everything was very well arranged and this trip - I’m sorry for the informal language English – rocked!
Goodbye