Portguese teachers' Erasmus+ experience in Alsfeld

Erasmus+ - Working Culture 2.0

The third project meeting took place in Asfeld, from 14 to 20 February 2016 with the participation of three teachers, Apresentacao Gamelas, Conceicao Limas and Olga Albuquerque, and four students, Ana Oliveira, Patricia Gama, Renata Silva and Joao Geraldes.

During this week we took part in different activities and performed numerous tasks, which contributed to develop several skills, such as, speaking, social, and communication skills, as well as the ability to work in a team with students/ teachers from different countries and present the results of the different tasks in front of an audience. On Monday morning, teachers and students (T+S) went on a guided tour through the Max-Eyth-Schule with Gerhard and Stephan, the host teachers from Germany. Then, we started working on the project by presenting the clips and discussing the amendments to be made. In the afternoon, there was a guided tour through town. On Tuesday morning, T+S worked from 8.05 a.m. until 12.30 on the project, analysing the commentary videos and discussing the cultural differences in situations such as ”Meeting the employer”, ”Meeting your colleagues”, ”Asking for directions at the reception”, etc. In the afternoon, T+S defined the content of the PowerPoints to be made, and then started working on them. At 19.00 we all met at ”Ramspeck’s Wine Tavern”, which used to be a storage local for wine when Alsfeld was still a trading route. On Wednesday morning, T+S met at 8.00 at the school and took an hour drive on a bus to visit a salt mine in Merkers. Afterwards, we had a packed lunch on the bus and drove to Melsungen to visit one of the biggest family business companies in the world, B-Braun, which produces healthcare equipment . This company, whose headquarters look almost like an industrial city, is represented worldwide in more than 50 countries,  and employs approximately 47,000 people. On Thursday morning, at 8.05 teachers got together to discuss the layout and content of slides, to define the additional material that could be posted on a website/ Blog and the several and best ways to disseminate this project in each country. At the same time, students went Lesson Shadowing with their host students, and at 9.50 they had an intercultural meeting with some refugees from different countries. At 11.35, the students and the refugees presented the teachers the outcome of their meeting. In the afternoon, while teachers worked on the project creating the website/ blog and defining the different contents it should contain, students had the afternoon off with their host students. There was also a meeting with the coordinators from the five countries to discuss the project management. At 18.00, T+S met at club ”Plan B” for a party. Besides eating pizza and having some drinks, we also had the pleasure of listening to an English teacher singing along with a P.E. teacher on the guitar. Afterwards, there was a DJ and we all danced a lot. On Friday morning, T+S met at school at 8.05 to set objectives for the final meeting in Mikkeli, and to evaluate the Project meeting in Asfeld. In the afternoon, teachers worked on their reports and students had the afternnon off with their host students. All the activities and field trips contributed to enrich our knowledge and broaden our horizons to a better understanding of the working etiquette throughout the European Union.

We had a lovely time, the city was beautiful and our hosts very welcoming and friendly. We are very thankful for the opportunity to meet all of you, students and teachers from different countries and we’re looking forward to work with you again in future projects.

Olga, Conceição e Apresentação

(Portugal)

 

João Geraldes's Erasmus+ experience in Alsfeld

My experience in Erasmus + by Joao Geraldes

 

My experience in the Erasmus+ project so far has been great. Coming to Germany and staying in someone else´s home has been an amazing experience. My host here is a boy named Ayhan and we have had no problem communicating since we both speak English and we can understand each other perfectly; besides, we have many things in common.

With him I experienced and learned about the German culture, his city, Alsfeld, and their habits and customs.

Meeting the other Erasmus+ students has also been a great experience; there are students here from Finland, Hungary, and Italy and of course Germany. Talking with everyone and working together with all the students is incredible because I truly had no idea how different people could be.

The city we stayed in, Alsfeld, is a beautiful small city surrounded by plains and fields and other small villages. The weather here is much colder than what we are used to in Portugal but it’s easier to handle because there’s no humidity like in Portugal and we’re not by the sea.

The food is quite different but the biggest difference is the time they have their meals, the day here starts earlier so we see a lot of students with energy drinks like cola and other beverages with gas and lots of sugar. The fact that they don’t drink plain water is very strange; they only drink water with gas. Here in Germany they don’t eat dinner or lunch like we do, they eat dinner around 5 and at 8 or 9 they might have a snack. The food is a bit different but I really liked it as well.

The activities here were a lot of fun, we worked with all the other students on the Eramus+ Project, and we had a tour around the city and the school, we saw a company called B-Brown, one of the biggest in the healthcare system, and their factory was almost the size of an actual city. We had a tour to a famous salt mine with 4500km, more than the double size of Berlin or the trip from Portugal to Germany.

I have enjoyed every moment of this project so far and I will recommend it to every student.

João Geraldes, Portugal

Ana Filipa's Erasmus+ experience in Alsfeld

My experience in Erasmus+

When I was first contacted to participate in Erasmus+ I felt a little bit apprehensive, but after deciding to do it, there was no turning back – I definitely had to go. Otherwise, I would regret for the rest of my life having missed the opportunity to take part in  a unique experience.

In Alsfeld, we stayed with a host family, which can be an awkward experience because you are not familiar with their habits, food, language … but I was lucky – the family I stayed with was very welcoming, nice, and friendly, always trying to make me feel at home. Now I see Denise, my host student, as a sister, because she was always there to help and support me whenever I needed it, and believe me, there are lots of obstacles to overcome when you are staying at a foreign country.

One of the very first things I noticed was the way they greet each other; actually, I had already been told that people here in Germany don’t kiss each other on the cheeks but with a handshake, but when the host family arrived at the hotel to pick me up, they all gave me a hug and a kiss. Back at home, however, her brother and sister gave me a handshake. When I gave them the gifts I had brought from Portugal, Denise and her parents gave me a big hug.

In my opinion, food here in Germany has a much stronger flavour than in Portugal; too much spices, sauces and salad dressings. They don’t eat fish or soup or at least I’ve never seen them having those at any meal, but it was ok because I can do well without those things. Meals time is also different: breakfast and dinner are more or less the same but dinner is at 17h or 18h and they don’t have a hot meal, just some sandwiches.

Germany is quite a cold country, at least in winter, and we are not used to it, but it’s bearable because there’s no wind like in our city, Aveiro. German people seem not to mind the cold, which can be seen by the clothes they wear.  I actually had to sleep with a hot water bottle and ask for an extra blanket.

Asfeld looks like a fairy tale city, and I noticed it more in the girls’ bedrooms and on the landscapes. Another interesting thing I noticed was that young people are very independent from their parents; they don’t mind other people’s opinions either, they just want to feel good about themselves; it’s so different from Portugal, where everyone worries about what other people may think or say about them.

I loved the field trips we took, especially the visit to the salt mine, but at the end I just wanted to breathe fresh air. I was already feeling a headache for being 800 metres below; however, I loved the music and light show in the crystals room and the fact that they put so much effort and care on people’s safety, namely at the time of the explosions. The other trip to B-Braun Company, almost an industrial city in the Health Care field, was also interesting. We could notice how much developed and evolved factories are in relation to the Portuguese ones. It’s easy to understand why workers feel so motivated to work here.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I will never forget my “German sister”, Denise, because, right from the beginning, she knew I was not so good at English, but she never let that become an obstacle between us. Thank you all so much for this unforgettable experience!

Ana Filípa, Portugal

Renata's Erasmus+ experience in Alsfeld

My Experience in Erasmus+

 

For the first time I had the opportunity to participate in a project like Erasmus+ and of travelling by plane. It was the best opportunity of my life.

Before coming to Aslfed, in Germany, I was very nervous because it was also the first time I left Portugal and my family to live with an unknown family.

The first day was very awkward because I met my host family and I noticed that their customs are very different from mine. I’m still learning to adapt to them. The language was also an obstacle. I only speak a little bit of English but we manage to understand each other.

The most embarrassing moment was when I went to greet the whole family with two kisses and they gave me their hand to shake. My first reaction was laughing and theirs too.

The weather here is very cold and it snows very often. The food in Germany is quite different from ours in Portugal. The meal which was more different for me was the dinner because they eat at 6pm and most of the times they eat sandwiches with tea or juice.

The thing I liked the most were the houses, the snow and this small village.

All the students and teachers had to do many activities in this week concerning this project. I liked when, in a very cold and snowing afternoon, we went for a guided tour through the town, and when we went to see the salt mine in Merkers. It was very good too when we went to eat a kind of typical Aslfeld pizza at Ramspeck’s wine tavern.  I also liked the Refugees Meeting and the party in the club “Plan B” very much.

I would also like to talk a little about the host family. I met Julija’s family, the mother, the father, the sister and grandmother. On the first day, Julija and I went ice skating; it was an amazing experience for me.

I suppose everyone should have an opportunity like this one to learn and live different things and grow up as a person with an experience like this.

 

 

Renata, Portugal

Patricia's Erasmus+ experience in Alsfeld

Patricia Gama

My Erasmus experience

I was invited by my Math’s teacher, Jorge Guerra, to take part in this project. Therefore, I was in the “team” when our foreign partners were in Aveiro. I took part in some of the joint activities such as the trip to OLI the company visited by the students.  However, my real Erasmus experience was here in Alsfeld.

I had never taken a flight before, so making the check-in and entering the waiting area was exciting. In the beginning of the journey, I was very nervous because I didn’t know what to expect about staying with an unknown German family.

Nurja, my host student, met me at the hotel entrance; she was so nice that I immediately felt at ease. I didn’t know how to greet her and her family. In Portugal we generally kiss each other on the cheek, here, we first shake hands.

She took me home and we immediately had lunch. She explained how meals work in Germany, she told me about her daily routine and about her family. During my first afternoon in Alsfeld she showed me her house, she spoke about the town and about her friends and we compared differences in the two countries. The most surprising fact was the weather; it was so cold and I’d never seen snow before!

During my stay here what I’ve enjoyed most was the time spent with my new friend after classes/activities. We did lots of things, we went shopping, we went to a “Bäkerei” to have coffee and we wandered around the town. I met many of her friends, they were all friendly and they were always asking me if I was alright.

My favourite activities were the visit to Merkers, the salt mine and the meeting with the refugees. Listening to their life stories was a lesson, the media don’t let us know how much courage they need to escape their countries and travel without any certainties. Going to the club “Plan B” was also exciting; I enjoyed being with every foreign student, and getting to know them better.

The only obstacle I found a little bit difficult to overcome was the language. I am not very fluent at English, so sometimes it was difficult to communicate. I overcame that by using Spanish and French, and lots of times I used gestures.

Germany is quite different from my country, but I had a great time. I wouldn’t mind doing my apprenticeship here. I would like to come back here to meet everyone again.

Patrícia Gama, Portugal