I’ve had the happiness to participate in the school exchange programmes, accompanying my wife, Vice-director of The Secondary School Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, by visiting different countries. All of them beautiful, wonderful, even mysterious in what concerns their very own characteristics, whether they are their languages, their costumes, their food or music. But amazing, truly amazing, a wonder for the soul, are the men and women (teachers, pupils and their fellows) that I’ve been meeting and with whom I’ve been interacting and established wonderful and healthy friendships. But all of them made me be sure that, on the contrary of what many say, the human being is, undoubtedly, essentially good, pure and loving. Of all the times I had to tell them goodbye, tears ran out of my eyes. I that am scared to death to get in a plane, think I’m cured. I think!!!??? Departure, arrival, connexion airports, I’ve seen some, but Frankfurt with all its automatic runners, is amazing. Stories and incidents of all kind have been happening, but only the good and funny ones rest in my memory. Without any chronological order I remember, among many: – The Greek teacher who, having got lost from the group, right in the middle of the Polish forest, got to the fine conclusion, after a long period during which everybody was looking for him, that all the other 30 had got lost, not him! – The terrible 40º C that could be felt, even at 19:00, in Venice. I can’t even remember the temperature we had to stand at noon! – In Grenoble, France, when going alone for a walk, I found myself right in the middle of a demonstration against the salaries ‘cuts and the retirement age increase. And Mr. Coelho (Rabbit) (Monsieur Lapin), the old emigrant who adopted us and showed us the city? – The theatre play, a real drama, we were presented with at the Vilnius School, which theme was all about kings, queens, kingdoms and their courts, words that in the Lithuanian language all come from the word KING. If you really want to know (you, Portuguese speakers) why I almost cut my tongue in order not to laugh, check on the NET to see how the word KING is written in the Lithuanian language. It’s too much! – In Germany, with its rigid timetables, which makes us really run from the Hotel to the School, we were under such pressure that teacher Dulce didn’t notice what she had done and showed up at dinner with two different shoes, colour and model. – A time when, in Treviso (Italy), I taught our hosts a song, IN ITALIAN, that no one knew about. They got amazed! – The chaotic, really crazy, traffic in Napoli. No entry signs? Red lights? Driving on the right? Those are simple details for the Italian Traffic Code! – That meeting, right in the middle of Piazza San Pietro (Rome), with Priest Eduardo, who was also there going for a stroll. Imagine the Italian teachers’ surprise when they saw me meeting, so far away from Portugal, someone from my home town. And, it was so incredible, because he had been the one who had celebrated my wedding! – The amazingly easy way in which I was able to make the Polish students sing “Atirei o pau ao gato” (I threw a stick to the cat), and the most amazing was that they could understand what they were singing! Yes, for me it was a victory, I just learned English for three years and for some more French, but that was never a reason for me not to communicate and speak with everybody from the participant countries, even by using some words of the host countries where I’ve stayed. I always try to learn some of their vocabulary, not only words, but also some expressions. – To come down, on foot, for several kilometers, from the Olympus Mount (Greece).The tasty wild strawberries we picked in the way? – Finally, in Poland, the fact of having been considered the best “insider” of all the “outsiders” of the project.

João de Deus da Silva Gomes

No âmbito deste intercâmbio de métodos de ensino entre diversos países tenho tido a felicidade de, acompanhando a minha mulher, subdirectora da Escola Secundária Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, ter ido a diversos países. Todos eles, lindos, maravilhosos e até misteriosos nas suas características muito próprias, tanto na língua como nos hábitos, passando pela comida e pela música.
Mas maravilhosas, essas sim verdadeiramente maravilhosas, um mimo para a alma, são os homens e mulheres (professores, alunos e acompanhantes) que tenho encontrado e com os quais tenho interagido e feito belas e sãs amizades.
Não querendo destacar ninguém, há de facto alguns que ficaram e continuam bem fixos no meu pensamento.
Mas todos eles me fizeram ter a certeza que, ao contrário do que muitos dizem, o ser humano é, sem dúvida, essencialmente bom, puro e carinhoso.
De todas as vezes que me tive de despedir deles foi com lágrimas nos olhos.
Eu, que tenho PAVOR de andar de avião, já estou a ficar “vacinado”. Acho eu!!!???
Aeroportos de partida, chegada e de ligação já vi muitos, mas o de Frankfurt com suas passadeiras rolantes é fenomenal.
Histórias e peripécias têm acontecido de todo o género, mas só as boas e cómicas me ficaram na memória.
Sem qualquer ordem cronológica relembro, entre muitas:
- O Professor Grego que, tendo-se perdido do grupo, em plena mata Polaca, chegou à bela conclusão, após largo tempo de buscas que todos efectuaram, que todos os outros 30 é que se tinham perdido dele!
- Os mais de 40º que ainda se faziam sentir, mesmo ás 19 horas da tarde, em Veneza. Nem quero imaginar qual foi a temperatura que suportámos ao meio-dia!
- Em Grenoble, França, ao fazer um passeio sozinho dei comigo no meio de uma manifestação contra os cortes salariais e aumento para a idade da reforma. E o Sr. Coelho (Monsieur Lapin) velho imigrante que nos adoptou e nos andou a mostrar a cidade?
- A peça de Teatro, DE CARIZ DRAMÁTICO, com que fomos presenteados na Escola de Vilnius, em que o tema girava à volta de Reis, Rainhas, Reinados e suas Cortes, palavras essas que em Lituano também derivam todas da palavra REI.
Se querem saber porque fiquei com a língua ferida de tanto a morder para não me rir, vão à NET ver como se escreve e se diz REI em Lituano. É demais! (para a língua Portuguesa)
- Na Alemanha e os seus horários rígidos que nos obrigaram literalmente a correr do Hotel para a Escola a pressão foi tanta que a Prof. Dulce não reparou no que fez e foi a um jantar com um sapato de cada cor e modelo.
- A ocasião em que em Treviso (Itália), Itália ensinei os nossos anfitriões uma canção, EM ITALIANO, que nenhum deles conhecia. Ficaram pasmados.
- O caótico, louco mesmo, trânsito de Nápoles. Quais sentidos obrigatórios? Quais sinais vermelhos? Quais rotundas pela direita? Isso são meros pormenores decorativos do Código da Estrada Italiano!!!
- Aquele encontro, em plena Praça de São Pedro (Roma), com o Padre Eduardo que ali estava também a passear. Imaginem o espanto dos professores Italianos pelo facto de eu ter encontrado, tão longe da minha terra, um conterrâneo e ainda por cima o que tinha celebrado o meu casamento!
- O modo facílimo com que pus uma turma de alunos Polacos a cantar o “Atirei o pau ao gato” com a mais valia de terem compreendido o que estavam a dizer. Sim, para mim foi uma vitória, pois só tenho 3 anos de Inglês e mais alguns de Francês, mas isso nunca me impediu de comunicar e falar com todos os elementos dos países participantes utilizando mesmo palavras dos próprios locais onde estive e dos quais tento saber sempre o máximo possível de expressões.
- Ter descido a pé, por vários quilómetros, o Monte Olimpo, (Grécia). E os belos morangos silvestres que encontrámos no caminho?
- Finalmente na Polónia ter sido considerado o “Outsider” mais “Inside” do projecto.

João de Deus da Silva Gomes

“At the beginning of a colleague’s participation in this project, he/she never succeeded in pronouncing or writing the word Finland correctly. He/she always said and wrote Filand!
Once one of our pupils was alone and crying in the middle of the playground of Clemens-Europaschule in Lollar. We came closer to him/her and asked him/her what was wrong. His/her answer was just because he/she missed his/her mother. We put him/her in contact with her and the situation became a little better for the moment but not hundred per cent.
With this example and many others, we can say that we helped hundreds of our pupils grow up.
On one of our travels to Stord, in Norway, one of our pupils kept all the time pronouncing and writing Noruégua instead of Noruega ! We corrected him/her but he/she didn’t succeed. Every time he/she did so we all laughed our heads off. This is the kind of joke that doesn’t sound that funny/comic in the translation which is Normare.
One day in Poland, we heard by chance one of our pupils calling his/her mother on the mobile: “Mum, I can’t bear this horrible food. Now they have just served me a disgusting red soup !” It was a tasty beetroot soup.
Another time in Poland again, we were visiting an important religious centre. It was about three p.m.; our breakfast hadn’t been a substancial one and we were starving. Suddenly we read an inscription “Jascumin”. One of us gave the immediate translation into Portuguese “Já se comia !” And all the Portuguese group laughed like a drain. Although our Polish colleagues and their husbands/wives didn’t understand any word in José Saramago’s language, they served us a lot of cakes later on, just after the visit.”