Ana Catarina, Sofia, Alex, Inês, Rui and Sara together with teacher Joaquim Costa and teacher Maria João Marques will participate in the Learning Teaching Training Activity in Roménia for a week and our host will be the Romanian school in Grozesti. Read more
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  • Day 1

    Porto - Brussels - Craiova

    March 31, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    At 8:35 we leave the airport Sá Carneiro in Porto, heading to Craiova, with a stopover in Brussels. Four out of the six students are newcomers to the art of flying and the lesson that will last seven days starts immediately at the airport.

    Today’s lesson: going around the airport and acknowledging boarding procedures. Security check, boarding gates, passport control, safety procedures and being able of taking care of their own belongings was a big challenge. The team won 10 points out of 10! Congratulations!
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  • Day 2

    Grozesti

    April 1, 2019 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today it was a long day in Romania. The morning began at the Grozesti school, about 60 km from Craiova. It is a school of few resources, which takes us back to a Portuguese past of the 70’s, with houses built with clay and wood and toilets outside the houses. But it was that the time in which children played on the grass and had merry-go-rounds and swings in the school playground. And that's what we saw today. Five nationalities joined by the will to communicate and to know each other on continuous learning. Starting with a basic vocabulary exchange of each language in a fast course in which everyone was simultaneously teachers and students, going through lunch made by the mother of the school’s headmaster, having a live class of the Romanian architecture of the area and an ecological fashion show, the morning and part of the afternoon was spent. This was also the birthday of Maks from Poland and Rui from Portugal and all partners were singing the birthday song in English and also in each language. Back to Craiova there was still time to visit the magnificent botanical garden wouldn’t this be the environment club!Read more

  • Day 3

    Craiova

    April 2, 2019 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    We spent this day in Craiova. Our start at the Museum of Art was sitting in the Room of Mirrors - a copy of the same room in the Palace of Versailles- with its infinity reflection. Now a museum, in the past a royal palace, its rooms are organised in chronological order throughout the history of Romanian art. Actually, through art we could learn a lot about their way of life. The wars fought, the way lovers expressed their emotions, the traditions in the royal court and the natural environment that influenced all these events, namely the cold winters in Romania that were crucial for stopping the Turkish to getting further into Romanian territory. Here is also the first sculpture believed to represent modern sculpture.
    In the public Library of Craiova, besides visiting its rooms, we could watch parts of the Brazilian documentary “Wasteland”, to raise environmental awareness.

    The Museum of Romanian History was the last stop where we learned about historical facts since prehistoric times until the 1950’s. A very quick but interesting approach that, once again was a great way of learning out of the school walls.
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  • Day 4

    Targu Jiu

    April 3, 2019 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    The Museum of Popular Architecture in Târgu Jiu was a good way to see how in the past people were more respectful towards nature. Only natural elements were used in the buildings: wood for structure, windows and shingles on the roof; clay and straw for good insulation for building the walls. Ancient people, although not having all the modern technology, could respect nature and use it in a sustainable way.

    In the afternoon the visit to the Arts High School - Liceul de Arte Constantin Brailoui - surprised us by the professional performance of the students. They played Beethoven, Chopin and other classic composers in such a way that the young audience, despite the heat inside the classroom, followed with significant interest. The end of the mini concert made the feet move under the chairs to the rhythm of traditional Romanian music performed at parties and weddings. Simply amazing! A gift! But before going back to Craiova we could still visit the Arts class with incredible drawings and paintings, as well as sketches of houses that seemed like architecture’s blueprints.
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  • Day 5

    Severin

    April 4, 2019 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Spending the day in Severin was very exciting. In the Iron Gate Museum, besides visiting the ruins of Roman and medieval times we also had a workshop where our pictures were taken and used to represent ourselves as part of the natural environment as a way of raising our environmental consciousness.

    In the afternoon we could observe the a bit more of history and the natural landscape on board of a cruise boat on the Danube river. Three hours were enough to have classes about the history of Romania, in which Daltians and Romans fought to own the territory, symbolised on the wall by the face of Decebald. Then a lesson about geography followed by acknowledging the Serbian territory on the other margin of the Danube. Also geology concepts about the formation of the Carpathian Mountains and the unique Danube Boilers were presented. Meanwhile everybody had a good time socialising and sharing the cultural habits on each other’s countries.
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  • Day 6

    Craiova again...

    April 5, 2019 in Romania ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Today we had an easy day. A short stroll to the Natural Science Museum and we were immersed in the environment that we could observe throughout the week on our journeys through this area of Romania. The prehistoric animals found around the area, the fauna and flora and the geological heritage are all well represented in this small but well organised museum. Further on we entered the Ethnographic Museum - Casa Bäniei - where the food, clothes and tapestries are the window to the arts, crafts and habits of the Romanian people.
    Still before lunch we were fortunate enough to visit the school that is recognised as the best in Craiova. Students can attend this school from kindergarten till the 11th grade. The students who come here are from all kinds of origins and places. It has also the boarding possibility for students who come from distant places. They have the chance to learn a lot of different languages, the library is amazing, the computer room is immense and their amphitheater holds around 300 people. This is not only used for theatre plays, lectures or presentations. It is also a place for parents, teachers and students meetings. The board of education holds regular meetings with the students to discuss the school projects and answer to students’ questions. The Headmaster of the school - an energetic busy woman - tells us that the secret of their success is to always be truthful to the students and have open conversations about whichever subject. Their moto of this school that exists for almost 200 years is very simple: fighting every single school day to be number one in everything.

    The afternoon was relaxing. The city centre of Craiova is very pleasant and the atmosphere is nice with music coming from the loudspeakers and stands with salty and sweet street food.

    Finally, after dinner all the teams had a final evening together to enjoy the last moments of fun. Chatting, summing up the results of the week, playing cards or even dancing a bit...
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  • Day 7

    Going back home...

    April 6, 2019 in Romania ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    This was it! A week full of information and sightseeing!
    The farewell moment was difficult for all. Although everyone had only known each other other only for a while, the bonds were so tight that tears came by when went apart...
    The rest of the day was easy and smooth. Craiova - Bologna - Porto for a well deserved rest after all this excitement.
    Well... at the airport we still met our colleagues that were also abroad in another Erasmus + project, but in Greece.
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