The trip to Braga started on Sunday, March 3 at Eindhoven Airport. The outward journey went smoothly, and the children showed us the way to handing in our luggage, customs and the gate.
Once we arrived at the bus station in Braga, the host families were already waiting for the children. The first evening is always exciting, especially because the cultural differences were perceived almost equally by the children: Dinner later, having a different definition of a doubter’s bed and going to bed later (which they did not mind at all).
On Monday morning, the children first followed one or more lessons with their buddy before the presentations were given. The children were impressed by the size of the room they had to present to, but they did such a good job. And all in English! In the afternoon we all visited Bom Jesus. Impressive how simple a train/cable car can work. Very sustainable by using nature (water) and its laws (gravity) almost exclusively.
The next day we did not start at the school, but we went with a colleague from Germany to look at a primary school in the area. It is special to see that learning a new letter in Portugal is different than in the Netherlands. The letter ‘j’ was central, and they were presented with ‘ja’, ‘je, ‘ji’, ‘jo’ and ‘ju’. While in the Netherlands you only focus on the letter and then use it to read words, such as ‘jas’ or ‘juf’. Back at school we saw the children already busy in the vegetable garden. New plants were planted. While we were not there, the children had made soup with vegetables from the school. We tasted this during lunch, delicious!
In the afternoon Arlindo gave us a tour of Braga. He could tell a lot about the history of the city. We visited Braga Cathedral together.
A workshop was planned for Wednesday morning. The children made their own bookmark and a Mother’s Day gift. After the workshop, a celebration took place because the school was celebrating its anniversary. The children and we enjoyed the cakes that the parents had made. In the afternoon we walked to the Seven Fonteyn’s. These springs naturally provide water to the fountains and plants in Braga. Most children even dare to walk into the small corridors to see the actual source.
How quickly time passed! Thursday was the last day we would be in Braga. The rain and strong wind meant that the planning went slightly differently than planned. We went by bus to Barcelos where we got a tour of the Museum of Pottery. The probable reason for the rooster symbolizing Portugal was told to us as well as the legend. On the way to the beach, we stopped at Arlindo’s brother’s house to eat pizza. In the end we were unable to go to the beach due to the bad weather. The high waves were impressive. In the evening, we had a very pleasant evening with the host families. Each family had made something delicious, and we ate and danced together. A music band and choir, consisting of retired teachers, came to rehearse and taught us the traditional dances.
There was another surprise on Friday morning. All children and teachers were interviewed for a real radio program. Then we went to Porto by bus. In the afternoon we visited Porto station. We went to the cable car via the Luis I bridge that was built by Eiffel. When we arrived at the bottom, we entered the Sardine Museum and the Bacalhau Museum. We ended this trip with the German kids and colleagues in a nice pizza restaurant and afterwards the children could prepare for the return journey.
It was a lovely week full of educational, cultural discoveries.
