Bombarral meeting-Summary

Monday May 7th

For this first day in Portugal we were welcomed at Fernao do Po High School. We started with a presentation of the program of the week. Then we were given colored bracelets corresponding to 8 international teams. We discovered who were the students we would work with during the week. Then, we met Domingos Abrantes and Conceição Matos, two resistants at the time of the dictatorship of Salazar. Domingos told us how he escaped from one of Portugal's most watched prisons. Conceição told us what her life was as a resistant and wife of a political prisoner in those years. This admirable couple was therefore a good introduction to the themes of the project: heroism and gender roles. Then we went to eat at the school restaurant. During the afternoon, we presented the results of each country's researches on the theme of gender equality. The evening was held in high school. The students of the service/ restaurant classes had organized for us a large buffet with lots of local specialties, to help us to discover Portuguese cuisine. The atmosphere was nice and we ended this day with dances. Written by Loetitia et Julien

Transnational meeting in Bombarral - May 7th (photo album1) (photo album2)

Work presented by the Portuguese students during the meeting

Work presented by the Greek students during the meeting

Tuesday, May 8th

On Tuesday, we left at 8:30 to Nazaré. A local guide introduced us the city, originally a fishing harbour. We visited the top district of Nazaré: the Sitío. We entered the sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazaré and we visited the local museum which allowed us to better understand the role of men and women in the local community: the harsh life of the sailors and the difficult existence of their wives who were to manage the life of the city and their families during the long months of absence of their husbands, gone to sea. Then we headed to Fort St. Miguel, which is known to overlook a large beach well known for surfing activities and for its huge waves. After lunch, we went to visit the historic center of Aljubarrota, where a great battle took place in the 14th century. The history of Portugal was told to us, and we could understand how heroes of the time had made the Portuguese nation proud and confident in its destiny. We could also see the different war materials used during this period. We finally left for Bombarral around 17:30. Written by Fanny

Transnational meeting in Bombarral - May 8th (photo album1) (photo album2)

Wednesday, May 9th

On Wednesday morning, we continued our work on gender equality by transforming the stories we had created before the meeting into drama plays. Thanks to the Twinspace of our project on eTwining, we collaboratively wrote four stories that portrayed men and women who had an unusual job, such as a woman bodyguard, or a teacher man working in kindergarten.We had to transform these stories into dialogues, in order to perform them in front of all the other students. It was very funny to see others play because there were often humorous moments added by the students who proved to be very creative.Wednesday afternoon was free, so we all did different activities. Most of us went to visit Obidos, a medieval village with its castle. Written by Julien

Transnational meeting in Bombarral - May 9th (photo album1) (photo album2)

Workshop Gender Equality: Stories-Drama plays

 Rehearsals of the Role Playing (clip: 5.12)

Thursday, May 10th

On Thursday, we went to Lisbon to visit the building of the Portuguese Parliament. We met a woman MP who explained what her job consisted in. She encouraged us to be open to international exchanges because for her, who used to be a European Member of Parliament, Europe is a real chance for young people. Then we went to visit the parliament reception hall. The paintings in this room represented the conquests of Portugal, they recalled the glorious past of the country and put forward the heroes of the nation. We also went to the entrance hall, which has the particularity of being built on the main church of a former convent, on which remains the parliament was built. From inside this hall, we could still guess the nave of the church. After this interesting visit, it was time to have lunch. So we went to the belvedere of S. Pedro Alcântara which gave us a superb view of Lisbon. At 13:30, we went to visit this famous city, passing in front of the popular heroes of Lisbon, like Luís de Camões, or famous places like Rossio Square, Augusta Arch, or Cais das Colunas. The teachers were offered a bouquet of flowers representing the spring, it was supposed to bring happiness to their family throughout the year. It is a Portuguese custom that is the equivalent of our 1st of May when we offer lily of the valley. We also had time to do a little shopping, for an hour. The day ended slowly, it was time to get back to Bombarral. It was a good day! Written by Loetitia

Transnational meeting in Bombarral - May 10th (photo album1) (photo album2)

Friday, May 11th

For this last day in Portugal, we stayed at school in international groups. During the morning, we continued to work on the final production of the project. We added a new chapter to the game. This time, it was talking about gender role and equality between men and women. On Friday afternoon, we presented our suggestions to the others, in international groups. And all of them were great. Written by Julien and Loetitia

Transnational meeting in Bombarral - May 11th (photo album1) (photo album2)