Katalin´s farewell

Unfortunately the four months of my Comenius Assistantship have passed, and I have to leave Forave and Portugal. These four months in Forave meant a very pleasant and important experience to me. First, I feel very lucky to have been a Comenius assistant in Forave. I think that Forave is a very special school with a warm and friendly atmosphere. Everybody in the school – teachers, students, and other employees of the school – were very helpful and friendly with me all the time, making my stay pleasant and comfortable. I have also learnt a lot of new and useful things about teaching and about the Portuguese education system. I enjoyed the lessons with Forave students a lot, and I hope they liked them as well, and that they found the lessons useful.
I am also very happy to have chosen Portugal as a partner country. Because of the hospitality and openness typical of Portuguese people I was feeling at home here. I enjoyed the diversity of many aspects of Portuguese culture, such as cuisine, architecture, music, and sports – I especially enjoyed Portuguese food and the beaches. I also took pleasure in the rich traditions of Portugal (for example, in the Carnival and in the university festivities) and in the contemporary culture of Porto (for example, I’m referring to the famous institutions such as the Casa da Música or the Serralves Museum). Therefore, I feel very happy about having the opportunity to live here for four months.
I would like to say thanks to everybody in Forave for being so hospitable and accepting, and for making my stay here pleasant, problem-free and delightful. I am glad to have met everyone, and I feel sad about leaving – I hope we will meet again sometime, maybe in Hungary!
I am wishing to all the students good luck for their final exams and training periods, and to have a great summer afterwards.
I wish good luck to everyone, and I hope that I will hear about you soon!

Hungarian-Portuguese Day (29 April 2009)

During the Semana Aberta (the ‘Open Week’) of Forave one day was dedicated to the cultural exchange between Hungary and Portugal. Thanks to the hard work of the students and professors of FORAVE, the school gym was turned into an exhibition hall of Hungarian and Portuguese culture.

Walls were covered by huge flags, and traditional music filled the air. The tables were covered by delicious Hungarian and Portuguese gastronomic specialities, prepared with the help of the students and the teachers of FORAVE.

Countless traditional Portuguese sweets and snacks were presented, such as pastéis de Belém, pão de ló, tortas de Azeitão, Jesuítas… Furthermore, various Hungarian specialities could be tasted, such as the strudel (‘rétes´), the fruit cake (‘gyumolcstorta), the Linzer cookies (‘linzerkarika’), and the Hungarian winter salami (‘téliszalámi’). Special thanks go to the students of AFC and TG 07/10 and to professor Carla and Teresa, who helped me to prepare the delicious Hungarian sweets.


We also learned traditional dances, and we played card games with Hungarian cards. Those who attended the program could also see a little photo exhibition about Hungarian culture, learn Hungarian expressions, and read brochures and books about the two countries.