Hii!

I'm a hungarian exchange student and I'm really exciting about the exchange!If you have something special wish about the program please write! Now in hungary we have 10-15 C (degree) so it's quite cold..:)

have a nice day, see you soon I hope!!

PROGRAMME

Programme of the student exchange

Budapest

2007 November 17-23

Saturday: 15.00 Meeting at the airport – Host families take their guests home

Sunday: Family day

17.00-19.00 Introductory games at school

Monday: 8.30 meeting at school -Hungarian students go to their lessons

8.30 - 9.15 First impressions

10.00 House of Future – Interactive museum

12.00 – 13.00 Lunch break at shopping mall 'Mamut'

Walk in the castle – Fisherman's bastion, Matthias Church

16.00 – 18.00 Sports at school + Preparation of typical Hungarian gingerbread

Tuesday: 8.30 meeting at school -Hungarian students go to their lessons

Walk in the city centre – Central Market , Váci utca, Basilica

12.00 – 13.00 Visiting the Parliament

Lunch break

15.00 – 17.00 Anne Frank exhibition for both the Hungarian and Portuguese students

Wednesday: 9:30 Meeting at school

Whole-day trip for all the participants

Plan A: (if we have snow) Sledging in the mountains– visiting Esztergom
-going to a thermal bath

Plan B: ( no snow) Szentendre – Esztergom – thermal bath

Back to Budapest at about 20.00

Thursday: 8.30 Meeting at school

8.30 – 10.10 Visiting 2 lessons

10.30 – 13.00 Portuguese students prepare Power Point Presentation

Afternoon free – shopping, rest

19.00 – 22.00 Farewell party

Friday: 12. 30 Meeting at the airport

The teachers team: Judit Kohut, Szilvia Takács, Sara Moura and Fernando Rebelo

a small dictionary...

Hi everybody, hungarian and portuguese exchangers




Your teacher Judit just started a small 'dictionary' on portuguese into hungarian everyday sentences which we are just posting right now. It's just a start as everyone can ask/add something (s)he feels important/interesting and post on it back and forth - of course, written words don't tell us how do they sound but we'll all soon know, right?

Olá	Hi / Hello	Szia
Adeus	Good bye	Viszlát
Bom dia!	Good morning	Jó reggelt!
Boa noite!	Good night	Jó éjszakát!
Obrigado/a	Thank you.	Köszönöm
De nada	You are welcome.	Szívesen
(Eu) estou cansado(a)	I am tired.	Fáradt vagyok.
(Eu) estou ensonado(a)	I am sleepy.	Álmos vagyok
(Eu) tenho fome	I am hungry.	Éhes vagyok
(Eu) tenho sede	I am thirsty.	Szomjas vagyok.
Quando vamos?	When shall we go?	Mikor indulunk?
Sentes-te bem?	Do you feel well?	Jól érzed magad?

Buda Castle

This is Budapest with the Danube




This is the Buda Castle

This is a iThis is Budapest at night. Behind the Chain Bridge there is the Buda castle.

This is the stattue of the first Hungarian king, Saint Stephan


This is Buda Castle. IV. Béla started to build it in 1242.





This is the Fismermen’s Bastion in the castle district






This is the Matthias church. First it was a small church, and then it was rebuilt in gothic style.


This is the Turull Bird in Buda Castle. It’s a national symbol




This is Adam Clark square, with the tunnel, and the stattue of zero kilometres


This is Clark Adam square from an other wiew and the Chain Bridge



This is a special kind of Rise in Clark Adam square



This is Chain bridge over the Danube

As some of you seem wondering about it, I can tell you Hungarian is really easy to pronounce as you simply say all the letters you see written down. The only problem is that we use some letters you don't. E.g. ö,ő, gy, zs,sz.... but once you get familiar with them -you'll see it is the easiest language of the world:))) I am afraid it is not the same with Portuguese as it sounded pretty difficult to follow:(( But after all, we will have plenty of time to practice!

Tiago, yes it is true there are plenty of caves around Budapest. There are also some even under the castle area. If you got interested why don't you ask Dani (Csery) to take you there on the family day (Sunday)?

Sofia, thanks for your second invitation, even a shy blogger like me cannot resist it any more:)) Besides that, the time when we all meet is coming closer and closer! I hope you are all in touch with your pairs by now. And a message for the Hungarian group: Please, post some info about the castle area, the Parliament, the Basilica and the city centre as they will all be in the programme and most probably our Portuguese guests are already curious about them. Don't be lazy, you can do it! :)) And after all next week is the autumn break!

Though we, teachers, are still working on the exchange programme, I can tell you that one of the scheduled events will be a quite impressive guided visit to an exhibition about the life of Anne Frank - it may be a tough subject and of course we'll have lots of other more cheerful and playful activities ;) but, since I guess almost all of you heard about her story and some even read her dairy, it would be interesting and useful to remember what you've learnt and how important it is to remember what happened to her even today.
So, if you are interested on refreshing your memory or to know more about her in advance, go to our school's library and pick up her dairy (cota: 087.5 LOS1/2) or even a film version on DVD (cota:8-3. ANN)

A special salute to all brave bloggers that keep posting :)))

The Legend of the Rooster of Barcelos

A little bit of our culture. ;)

The Portuguese legend speaks of a peasant who left the northern town of Barcelos on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
On the outskirts of Barcelos, a wealthy landowner accused him of stealing silver. He was brought to trial, and sentenced to death by hanging.
Before his execution, the peasant demanded to speak one last time to the judge who was about to eat a roasted rooster. The prisoner said that, as a sign of his innocence, the rooster would jump off the plate and would sing during his execution.
Afterwards, as the prisoner was being executed, the rooster did in fact begin to crow. The judge ran to the Town Square to stop the execution. Some years later, he returned again to Barcelos and built a monument in honour of St. Tiago and the Holy Virgin.
The legend of the Barcelos rooster, while not literally believed by most people, is still important to Portuguese culture because of the set of values it represents. Using a very Portuguese theme (most Portuguese legends focus on peasant farmers), the story touches on justice, pride, fate, and even miracles- all aspects of life still held in high esteem in Portugal and by Portuguese descendants all over the world.

The City of Spas

While we wait for a post about Budapest (cmon Hungarian exchangers, we are curious about your city! :D) here is a picture of one of the most famous baths of Budapest. I took this photo when I was at Széchenyi Thermal Bath last summer.

"Budapest is richly endowed with natural springs of thermal waters possessing various medicinal properties, and it's these that supply the city’s many thermal baths.

Not for nothing is it known as the City of Spas. "

Our Own 7 Wonders

Hi Everyone!

Sofia's post reminded me to talk about the Portuguese 7 Wonders... As you shall know, at 07-07-07 it was organized in Portugal the festival of the new World 7 Wonders, which took place in Light Stadium - “Estádio da Luz” – which is Benfica’s Stadium. Because of this festival, we – Portuguese people – elected our own 7 Wonders, that fact makes all sense because we are one of the eldest countries in the World and we have one wonderful culture. At the beginning, all the Portuguese important buildings faced a judgment which served to pass 21 candidates to the next step. A national campaign has occurred at that time to encourage people to vote on-line. At 07-07-07 it was announced which were the New 7 Portuguese Wonders. For now on, and in the next few days, I will tell you some things about those wonderful constructions. Today I’ll talk about Alcobaça’s Monastery.

Alcobaça’s Monastery (Mosteiro de Alcobaça in Portuguese) –It is a mediaeval monastery located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal. It was founded by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.
The church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and, together with the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, it was one of the most important of the mediaeval monasteries in Portugal. Due to its artistic and historical importance, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1989.

Source: "Alcobaça Monastery" from Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia

The Symbol of Lisbon and Portugal

Do you know those maps that show Europe with images/drawings of cultural symbols? Well, the symbol that usually represent us is the Belém Tower, besides the bottle of Port Wine, of course.

"The Belém Tower (Torre de Belém in portuguese) is one of the most known monuments of Portugal. It was built in the early 16th century in the Portuguese late Gothic style, the "manueline", to commemorate the expedition of Vasco de Gama. This defensive, yet elegant construction has become one of the symbols of the city, a memorial to the Portuguese power during the Age of the Great Discoveries."

Source: "Belém Tower" in Wikipedia

Football & Food

Hi Everybody:

Course it’s really interesting to learn about our country and capital history, but what’s life whit out football and food ? x’D

Nothing, I tell u… In Portugal we’ve the best of both… :D

The first one is an image of “Estádio da Luz”, Portugal’s best team football stadium, Sport Lisboa and BENFICA stadium!!! =D

This second one is an image of “Pastéis de Belém” (We’ll take you to eat some), the world best cakes. :D

The Other Side of Tagus

Hi Everyone!

I think that Sofias's description about Lisbon is wonderful. However, I think that is as important you to know our city: Almada!
Almada is as ancient as Lisbon (or even more). Recent archaeological studies revealed that there were people in our city 5 000 years ago (in the Neolithic, too). Archaeologists and Historians believe that the city was established by a ancient Mediterranean civilization “Fenícia” (I don’t know and I cannot find how to say it in English). Since that, Almada has always been a important city in the context of Iberian Peninsula.
Our city’s name was given by the Arabian People. For them, it was called “Al-Madan” (which means “the mine”) because of a gold mine that existed here. At this time, there was a fortress which was the most important fortress in the south of the country.
Almada was taken form the Arabians by D. Afonso Henriques (our first king) at 1147, since that moment, Almada kept a Portuguese city until now!
Today, Almada and Lisbon are more less like Buda and Pest, they are like sisters separated by a river, our river: Tagus!

Tiago Ramalho


P.S.: I'm sorry about any mistakes, try to understand what I wrote xD

"Discovering the city that discovered half the world. Priceless." (Master-Card ad)

Located on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the point where the river Tagus flows into the Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon is a legendary city with over 20 centuries of History. It reflects different times and cultures, since the Neolithic era to the discovering age and until now. Lisbon is a culture city not only because it has historical places to visit, but also because it has a its own music style (fado), typical (and great!) food, a lot of festivals and many other things that make this city unique. Lisbon is a city to discover with all the senses that will definitely impress you!

What about your city, Budapest?

ON BUDAPEST

Nice videos! Portugal is really a nice country (lucky me for living here). But I was already in other nice places so the questions for all you bloggers are:

First: what's the part of Budapest showing in this picture (Buda or Pest)?
And second: what's the name of this person, pictured in this bust? And what does he has to do with our exchange?

Sorry guys, I wont give you the solution - either you manage on your own, ask for some help from your hungarian colleagues, when they show up... or you'll have to wait till November to find out :D

Fernando

Hello everybody!

I' m Sara, the other Portuguese teacher in charge...


First I would like to say that I'm really proud of my students who started this blog. It's a fantastic idea and it shows your amasing sense of initiative and dynamism. I hope you'll keep that enthusiasm all life long.

I also welcome all the other exchange partners hoping that you all "post" soon so that we can all communicate and get to know each other. We'll be waiting...

Don't mind about your English! The important thing here is to communicate ( but please make an effort not to kill the language, okay?)

Let's start the journey!

Sara

Promotional Video of Portugal (by João Bôa)

Here is anothet video that shows some really good things in our country. It was found by João Bôa. Enjoy



(with sound)

If you cannot watch the movie here, plese go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IPZIoilXT0


If you want to see more about places to go, please visit: http://www.visitportugal.com/Cultures/en-US/default.html (in english)

Hello people!!

Today I'd like to show you a little film wich I made for some dannish students who came to Portugal last year. Enjoy:




with sound

If you cannot watch the movie here, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilvjemOdN9Y

Hello everybody - let's post!

I'm Fernando, a portuguese teacher organizing the exchange here. First, I'd like to congratulate Sofia for her wonderful initiative (as well as her deputy-administrator, Tiago). Secondly, a big hurray, because after a week of efforts, Sara (my colleague on this exchange-team) and me managed to book all the flights - so, watch out Budapest: here we go :))) !

(portuguese parents will be personally informed about that soon next week)

I leave a warm welcome to our hungarian-exchangers (students and teachers) that will feel like joining in this means of communication within the whole group - though it's very important to start a frequent 'let's get to know eachother' as soon as you get your exchange-partner address, it will be also very rewarding and useful we can post and share things together as a GROUP.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes in english language - I'll try to soften your English language teachers about that :) besides, that's the best way of getting used to it, since that's our only way of getting to know eachother right now.

So, let's post!

Fernando

Introduction Post

"The only way to have a friend is to be one"

Please, comment here with your name, age and country to introduce yourself.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step" (Lao Tzu)

3223 is the number of kilometers which separates Sobreda from Budapest, but a single step is enough for the journey to begin. The first step is the creation of this blog. Because despite virtual, the experience starts here.

For what?
This blog, placed between Sobreda and Budapest, is meant for all people interested in Sobreda - Budapest exchange program. Here, we will be able to share pictures, useful information and curiosities about each country. We will make this blog a meeting point between different cultures, traditions and customs.

All help is welcome!
Being a blog meant to share information, it needs the contribution of all the participants in the exchange, students and teachers, for the experience to begin here and now.

If you have any doubt or suggestion, please send an email to sofia-amaral@hotmail.com (administrator) or leave a comment here.