REPORTING AND EVALUATION BY THE GREEK SCHOOL
Schedule of the week
From 17th to 21st October we attended activities and seminars, which were part of the meeting ?Smart Tourism?, that took place in Agrupamento de Escolas Miguel Torga in Braganca.
Monday: The activities οf the week started with a visit to the school, where the teachers and the students welcomed us. There, we attended some presentations about Portugal and we got informed about the activities which were part of the programme, during our staying there. After that we went sightseeing through the city, we visited the City Hall and were welcomed by the Mayor and were also informed about the city and the Portuguese culture in general. After we returned to the school we were separated in working groups and attended presentations about the Monthesinho Natural Park, by a technician of the park. At the end, each team made their presentation about ?Smart Tourism? in their country. In the evening, we tried the local cuisine in traditional restaurants of the city.
Tuesday: We started our day at school, where a bus took us to the Montesinho Natural Park. The technician of the park guided us through the village and also to a traditional Guest House, she gave us information about the territory which is considered as a protected area and she told us some traditional myths and legends. The information and experiences we got from this visit, were part of our talk, which took place at the school library, in the same afternoon. At the end of the day we attended the European Language Day students? awards which were presented by Mr Michael Sch?ttler.
Wednesday: On Wednesday we had to be at school at 6:30, because on that day we were about to visit Porto. The first thing we visited was the Interactive Museum of the Portuguese Discoveries, which was a really great experience, and gave us a lot of information about the country and its history. After visiting the Museum we had a cruise, a boat trip in river Douro. During the trip we were able to listen to some information about the places we saw, due to the fact that the boat had a headphone system in every seat, which we could use. After lunch, we spent a few hours walking through the city. In the afternoon we visited the west coast of Porto, the one that faces the Atlantic Ocean, which practically means that we visited Porto?s posh area and spent a few moments by the ocean. The afternoon was spent with the families.
Thursday: On Thursday we worked in groups for one more time at the school library and we had the opportunity to finish the project that the teachers had instructed us on Tuesday. We were lucky enough to attend and take part in the events that took place at the school area, that were part of the election campaign for the Students Council. At the end of the day, also in groups we exchanged impressions, ideas and thoughts about the activities which took place the previous days, and we had the opportunity to propose some ideas of improvement. At the evening the hostess held a dinner for the families and the teachers as well, which was accompanied by Portuguese traditional music, Fantos.
Friday: On Friday morning, before we left, we met the students and the teachers from the other countries at the school. There, we attended the activities of the final day.
Later, on the same day, we prepared for our departure. Everyone was very emotional, we made a final exchange of ideas and experiences and we made a promise for further communication. Leaving Portugal, we travelled to Madrid by bus, where we were able to spend some time at the beautiful centre of the city, and spent the night there.
Saturday: On Saturday we flew to Thessaloniki, via Athens.