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Motivation III - ESA - PolandMotivation III - ESA - Poland
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Motivation III - ESA - Poland

October 2019 - April 2020
Ana Francisca, Pedro, Inês, Fátima, Isabel and João are the new students on a mobility. Now they come to Poland to learn about ways of using ICT in the Polish club. Read more
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  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - Poland
    Day 1

    Porto - Brussels - Warsaw - Brok

    October 20, 2019 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The day began with the first adventure. At four in the morning we are all ready to begin our journey, but, hold on ... there is no transfer. Call after call has always the same answer: the phone number you want to contact has no active voicemail ... ten minutes later, a sleepy Mr André Silva responds ... it seems that he was not notified, or the service was cancelled, or something else .... After ten more minutes there he comes behind the wheel of a gigantic bus which makes us all laugh about - seven people for a seventy people capacity bus. After all his excuses we left for Atafona to get a 9-seater van which, to add to the delays, was without diesel. We finally left towards Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport at 4:40. Fortunately, these three hours in advance for the flight are enough not to panic as we see the huge queue awaiting us at the airport security check. From now on everything is mice and smooth with the first lesson of the day - how to move around an airport.
    Already in Brussels the waiting time between flights goes fast. Everybody is having fun playing Uno and all are happy for the next leg that takes us to Warsaw Modlin Airport.
    On arrival we still have to wait a while for our Polish hosts who will take us to Brok. It is here, in a restaurant with typical Polish food, that we meet the families of the students who will host the students from our school. For me, it's time to meet good friends. For my fellow travelers it's all brand new, ready to be used! It is good to see this anxiety that will end up in tears of longing, later this week.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - Poland
    Day 2

    Malkinia school and around

    October 21, 2019 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The day was fantastic at Malkinia Gorna school. Teachers and students did their best to show us what they love to do in their elementary school till the ninth grade, with about 430 students. A talent show held in the school gym showed us the school's skills and the way younger and older pupils help and encourage each other in both leisure activities but also at their academic subjects. Dance, music and sport are strengths for this school which for some years has been among the best in the country. Students who presented the show said that their effort comes from their willingness to follow the examples of their teachers who are not afraid to face challenges and who show them the right path to be autonomous but also to have fun while doing it. And the proof of all this was in the show they presented for about an hour.
    After a coffee break prepared by the students' teachers and parents, it was time to get engaged in the robotics workshop and prepare the Legos that would later move across the classroom floor.
    The afternoon was spent around a bonfire in the Malkinia nature park listening to the park manager telling stories of Portuguese, Turks, Italians and Romanians who passed through his life and marked him. The Portuguese he spoke of was a hard-working woman whom he found in the Swiss harvest and who worked more than men and women altogether. His humility and life experience stuck us to his words from beginning to end. But we didn’t end up here. Alena and Anna taught us a Polish dance that got everyone moving and wanting to take a dip in the river after it's over. It was a very nice time, followed by team and concentration games, which essentially gave us this sense of well-being and group unity.
    At the end of the day there was still time for having dinner with families and students with some dance included.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - Poland
    2
    Day 3

    Warsaw - open air history class!

    October 22, 2019 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Warsaw Day! The capital of Poland is imposing. The guide that the Polish team chose was fantastic! He was able to keep our team's attention throughout the visit and made himself understood all the time, always trying to rephrase his speech to make himself understood. A three-hour walking tour of the city has led us to remarkable historical times for the world and for Europe, namely the latest and most terrible world war. Despite the massacre to which the Polish people were subjected in this war, the shock that came to our guide was evident throughout our visit when he realized that there was an even more tortured people within his own country - the Jewish people. We went through various places of interest. We saw the modus operandi of the German army, its cruelty and the destruction it has caused in the city, leading to its near total destruction. It is therefore amazing to see how the Polish people dedicated themselves to the complete reconstruction of the city and carried out a brilliant and Herculean task.
    The Soviet presence is also very evident and its biggest symbol is the imposing Palace of Culture - a replica of the palace of the same name in Moscow. From the top you can see the whole city, making the obvious exercise of recognizing the places we have been to before.
    After lunch it is fun time! Learning by doing! The interactive Science Museum brings knowledge and tests individual capabilities, increasing critical spirit and leading to knowledge in a sustained but also empirical way. From physical dexterity to the sensory part, going through pure knowledge of the laws of physics and science, anything is possible here.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - Poland
    Day 4

    Back to Malkinia!

    October 23, 2019 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Our day started well! Today's class was at Malkinia Technical School and the subject was “pirogi”. It seems difficult, but it is not. We could call it steamed “rissóis”, if we were in Portugal, or “ravioli”, if we were in Italy. We learned how to do them in a demonstration in a cooking lesson at this school and then we had to put what we have learned into practice. Savory or sweet, afterwards we could taste them in the school dining room. A fun and tasty experience!
    In the afternoon, after a guided tour to the school facilities, we devoted ourselves to writing and started an article about our opinion on mobility - our working tools were Google Docs and Canva.
    This is how you spend a day learning collaboratively in the ICT club.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - Poland
    Day 5

    The UNESCO Torun

    October 24, 2019 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Toruń and Krakow are the two Polish cities that were spared the devastation of war. Toruń is also considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite being about 300 kilometers from Malkinia, it was worth the visit for its imposing and architectural beauty. At every corner Copernicus is visible with its houses, statues and street names. Another history class that also makes us pay a visit to the city's History Museum.
    Before returning to Malkinia there was still time to make the famous gingerbread cookies that are also a symbol of the city.    Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - Poland
    Day 5

    Treblinka and farewells...

    October 24, 2019 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Today the day started in a very hard way. The visit to Treblinka - the concentration and labour camp 4km far from Malkinia - reported us to the violence and cruelty of World War II. Although the camp has been devoured by the flames initiated by the Germans at the end of the war, part of the structure of the railway is still visible and the memorials meanwhile erected are explained with emphasis by the Polish students. The walk back to the museum is silent and the video we watch helps us to better understand the horrors of war. In the afternoon the ambience is more relaxed and all the teams prepare videos in the workshop organised for this purpose. The day ends up with the ceremony to deliver the diplomas, the exchange of gifts made by our hosts, a dinner cooked by teachers and parents and a cheerful party with music, volleyball and football all mixed together. Of course some tears came up as farewells happened. These experiences are always very intense and emotive. Thank you Polish team for all the care and affection. Our gratitude also goes to the families that so well took care of the Portuguese and Italian students. See you all soon.Read more

  • Maria MarquesMotivation III - ESA - Poland
    Day 7

    Our farewell to Warsaw

    October 26, 2019 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    And this is it... Our last day in the city is a relaxed day. The families that host our students were so kind to bring them to the train station in Malkinia. More tears were shed and after long hugs, a lot of waving and some drawing on the train window, off we go back to Warsaw and to the Jewish ghetto for a bit more insight about it.
    The rest of the day was relaxing and easy going. All went well and all our plans succeeded!
    Now it’s time to think about this experience and figure out what we learnt from it.    Read more

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