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Portugal, Borba, Vila Viçosa
Portugal, Borba, Vila Viçosa
This text is about my short trip as an exchange student
Our trip lasted for a week 21.4-28.4. In this project we had overall 30+ participants from different countries around Europe. From Finland we had three students and two teachers. First we went to the airport by train. We had two flights. The first one was from Helsinki to Stockholm. The plane was very small and I sat next to strangers. After that our flight from Stockholm to Lisbon started. The plane had a little more space but it was still very narrow. Our flight lasted about 4 hours and we drove two hours from Lisbon to Vila Vicosa where we stayed for the rest of the trip. In Portugal the time difference isn't very much. It’s only about 2 hours ahead of Finland. In this project we had students from Italy, Spain, Finland, Tsek and Turkey. Always three students from one country. Students' ages varied from 15-20. Some of the students were very shy and their English was very low. But that’s because some of them only studied Spanish or English but not both.
We had a lot of activities during the trip and we had a schedule for the week. We arrived pretty late and we were all quite tired. Our host families were waiting for us at the hotel where our teachers stayed the whole trip. First night we had dinner with the family and we were talking about school, their habits and rules they obey. My host family is very nice and they are so kind. They don't have any heaters in the house and their house is very big. My host's name was Angelica and she is living with her mom, big brother and stepdad. Her family treated me very well and they took me on trips to see their family and sightseeings.
Thursday 21.4.2022
First we arrived on Thursday evening in Vila vicosa. We met the hosts and our teachers stayed in the hotel. I was very tired and after my first dinner I went straight to sleep. I had a room all for myself and it was a little cold to sleep at first but I got used to it.
Friday 22.4.2022
On our first whole day in Vila Vicosa we went to visit the school. First they introduced the teachers and headmasters. They also told us about the school system and different ways to study. After the presentation their teachers showed us their classrooms and how they study in different classes. They have over 900 students in the school plus the teachers. There are students from primary school, middle school and high school. The school provides lunch for free but the students didn’t really like the food and I have to say that it wasn't the best. I think that the school was very huge and the classrooms were pretty similar compared to Finnish classrooms. We decided to leave the school and next we went to visit a Palace which is located in the center of Vila vicosa. The palace was full of paintings and old furnitures. The palace belong to the old King who was murdered a long time ago. If there would still be a king he would live in that palace.
Saturday 23.4.2022
On Saturday we went to explore a new city nearby. We went to a city called Elvas. First we had Padel which was very nice and fun because we got to know eachother a little better. Elvas Is actually very close to Spain. After Padel we took some pictures of the buildings and walked around the city. After that we went back to Vila Vicosa and our free time started. In my free time I was with my host and her friends. We went to see a football match with students from the local school. The players were also from the school and played against older players from another school. They had two matches and we sat there for 3 hours.
Sunday 24.4.2022
On Sunday our bus took us to Monsaraz Beach at 9:00 am. It was a very warm day and we were able to do some Nautic sport games. The water was cold in my opinion and I didn’t swim but luckily most of the students went to swim and they used canoes. We also had a boat trip in the lake. The lake was an artificial lake but it is still very deep. On our trip we saw the coast of the spain. After the boat trip we had lunch and then we returned to Vila Vicosa. Our free time started at five pm and we went to eat dinner with the other students.
Monday 25.4.2022
On Monday we had a Family day. That was because the school was closed for a holiday. I spent the whole day with my host family. We went to see their relatives on a farm. The farm was very beautiful and they had a lot of domestic animals. For example they had five dogs, multiple chickens and a couple turkeys. On top of that they had a lot of different trees and plants. My host mother showed me the house and the neighborhood a little better and told me about her childhood there. She showed me her old school and vineyard. I also bought some gifts for my family from there. Later we returned back to the family house and watched a movie together.
Tuesday 26.4.2022
Our morning started with a bus trip to Avis. We went to the beach and we had Nautic sports and I was sunbathing with the Finns. After the sports we had lunch with the students and our free time started at 5 pm. We went to eat sushi with the Turkish guys and after that we went back to the hosts.
Wednesday 27.4.2022
Our bus left at 9:00 am to Campo Major. This was our last trip together as a group. We went to visit a science coffee center and a Winery. First we had a tour in the coffee center and they told us about coffee history. They also mentioned that Portuguese people used to smuggle coffee from Spain during the bad times. The coffee bags were very heavy and it takes a lot of strength to carry them. Later we went to the winery. They showed us a program about their company and showed us their wine storage. We also climbed up to the roof to see the plants and the area. The place was so beautiful. Our bus took us back and I went to Spain with my host family. It only took us about 40 minutes to get there and we went shopping. I really liked the stores and I bought some things for my friends. We were there for only like 2 hours because we needed to get back to our last dinner. One of the local students sang to us and I think she was very good. After her presentation we said goodbye to each other and our ride back to the airport left at 2 am. We arrived in Finland at 13:00 pm.
I’m very grateful for this opportunity. This trip was very different from my other vacations because I got to experience the real life of the local people. I was a student among the other local students and everybody treated me differently than they would have if I was only a tourist. I really liked my host family and I think they treated me very nicely. This adventure was something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I hope that I will be able to visit Portugal again soon.
Kuvat ja teksti Saimi Jalonen
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