The challenge was definitely the long wait for the sights and the plane.

The programme of activities in Portugal was well organised and overall very enjoyable. Each activity was interesting and helped create a positive and friendly atmosphere among everyone.

The visit to the school was a very good way to start the programme. The Portuguese students were welcoming, and the icebreaker activities helped everyone feel more comfortable. Presenting our school and spending time together allowed us to get to know each other better. The visit to the ocean later that day was also a memorable and relaxing experience.

The trip to Lisbon was enjoyable, as the tour bus allowed us to see many beautiful places in a comfortable and relaxing way. The visit to Sintra was particularly interesting because of its historical and natural features, including the castle, the underground well, and the large garden.

The school activities on the following days were also valuable. Working together on mostly art and other creative tasks helped improve communication and teamwork. Visiting the Christo Rei statue was another highlight, especially when we went up and enjoyed the view.

The puppet shows turned out very well and were an engaging and effective way to learn about the history of each other’s countries.

When the Portuguese students come to our school, we could show them around Talsi and introduce them to the most important places in the town, such as the lakes, viewpoints, and the small old town area. This would help them understand the local culture and environment.

We could also take them to the Baltic Sea, for example to Roja, which is closer to Talsi, or to Jūrmala, where they could experience the Latvian seaside, walk along the beach, and enjoy the natural scenery.

At school, we could organise more specific creative activities. For example, we could cook a traditional Latvian dish together, such as "speķa pīrādziņi" or bake rye bread, or something like that. We could also do creative workshops, like designing traditional patterns inspired by Latvian symbols. Another idea would be to make simple crafts, such as friendship bracelets in Latvian flag colours or small decorations connected to Latvian traditions. These activities would allow the students to actively experience Latvian culture, not just learn about it.

In conclusion, the activities in Portugal were well planned, enjoyable, and helped bring everyone closer together. Overall, it was a very positive and memorable experience.

We did a lot of sightseeing and got to learn simple phrases from the language and get to know the culture and traditions of Portugal. I believe this is a very fulfilling experience and is very educational for pupils of both countries. This mobility helped us develop out communication and cooperation skills while making a creative product which was our theatre play.

In the beginning of our project we took time to develop our writing and creative thinking skills by writing a scene about our chosen topics with our chosen partners. After writing and polishing our own scenes we made connections with the Portuguese children and teachers, even if some things we wanted, for example our video call, didn’t work out, we still found workarounds to our issues and put our problem solving skills to use. During the second semester before our trip we worked together to further develop our play and help each other to pull everything together nicely, all while working on our dolls.

During the mobility we got to see a lot of new things. For me personally, it gave me a lot of art inspiration which I’m really grateful for to further develop my art skills and bring my ideas to life. We had the option to discover a lot and the mobility, even with some issues we had to solve, was amazing.

Lastly about the future mobility the Portuguese pupils will have here. I believe we could take them sightseeing around Talsi. If our plans and budget allows it we could very well plan a day for them to go on a field trip to a nearby town, the same way they took us to Almada as a school field trip. We should totally include fun workshops with art and creativity. We could ask the design and technology teacher Mrs. Ziemele for any suggestions on workshop ideas for children such age that is something they’ll be able to do easily.

I recommend anyone to participate in this if these things are something they are interested in. All the work we had to do is a small price to pay for all the things you get to see and experience and all the new people you get to meet and make connections with.

Man bija iespēja piedalīties Erasmus+ projektā Portugālē, un tā bija ļoti interesanta un forša pieredze. Es pirmo reizi biju tik tālu prom no Latvijas, un varēju redzēt daudz ko jaunu.

Pirmajā dienā mēs atlidojām uz Portugāli un ar Bolt aizbraucām uz hosteli. Laiks bija lietains, un hostelis nebija īpaši labs,bet man jau no paša sākuma Portugāle ļoti patika. Viss izskatījās kā filmās, un pirmo reizi dzīvē redzēju palmas.

Otrajā dienā mēs devāmies uz portugāļu skolu. Tur mūs iepazīstināja ar skolēniem un skolu. Skola bija ļoti krāsaina un pilnīgi citādāka nekā Latvijā. Mūs arī pacienāja ar portugāļu kēksu, kas bija ļoti garšīgs. Pēc tam aizgājām apskatīt okeānu – es nekad iepriekš nebiju redzējis okeānu, tāpēc tas bija ļoti iespaidīgi. Vēlāk mēs nolēmām mainīt hosteli un pārcēlāmies uz Lisabonas centru, kur viss bija daudz labāk – tīrāk un ērtāk.

Trešajā dienā braucām ar tūrisma autobusu pa Lisabonu. Redzējām daudz skaistas vietas – tiltus, kalnus un dažādus skatus. Man ļoti patika, ka mājas bija izrotātas ar flīzēm. Gribējās izkāpt un apskatīt vienu pili, bet tas nebija iespējams, jo tas bija pēdējais autobuss. Braukt pa kalniem ar autobusu arī bija jautri, jo tas visu laiku šūpojās.

Ceturtajā dienā bijām Sintrā.Tur kāpām kalnos un redzējām ļoti skaistus skatus. Tur bija daudz pilis, klintis un veikaliņi. Dienas beigās bijām diezgan noguruši.

Piektajā dienā skolā krāsojām ar ūdens krāsām pēc portugāļu dzejas. Tajā dienā skolā bija streiks, tāpēc nebija daudz cilvēku un aktivitāšu. Vakarā aizgājām paēst, un ēdiens bija ļoti garšīgs.

Sestajā dienā mācījāmies portugāļu valodu kopā ar vietējiem skolēniem. Tas bija grūti, jo daudzus vārdus bija grūti izrunāt. Pēc tam taisījām sejas no māla – vajadzēja attēlot latviešu cilvēku. Es ar draugu uztaisīju cilvēku ar bārdu un ūsām. Man šī nodarbība ļoti patika, jo iepriekš nebiju strādājis ar mālu.

Septītajā dienā mēs rādījām savu teātra izrādi par Latvijas vēsturi. Man liekas, ka mums sanāca ļoti labi, un es biju lepns par mūsu komandu. Arī portugāļu skolēnu izrāde bija interesanta. Pēc tam aizgājām paēst un vēlāk uz lielu tirdzniecības centru nopirkt suvenīrus. Vakarā visi kopā aizgājām vakariņās, jo tā bija pēdējā diena.

Kopumā es šajā projektā ieguvu daudz – kļuvu drošāks runājot ar citiem, uzlaboju angļu valodu un iepazinu jaunu kultūru. Lielākais izaicinājums bija runāt citā valodā un pierast pie jaunās vietas. Ja varētu kaut ko mainīt, tad izvēlētos labāku hosteli jau no sākuma un varbūt vairāk aktivitāšu skolā.

Kad portugāļu skolēni brauks pie mums, es ieteiktu aizvest viņus uz Rīgu, parādīt interesantas vietas, iedot nogaršot latviešu ēdienus un noorganizēt kādas spēles vai sporta aktivitātes. Varētu arī uztaisīt kādu radošo darbnīcu.

Man ļoti patika šis brauciens, un es to noteikti ilgi atcerēšos.

    One of the best parts was working together in different activities. We all laughed a lot, shared our feelings and ideas, helped each other. It made us feel like family. We also enjoyed exploring new places and trying new things, which made the experience even more special.However, there were some challenges too. Sometimes it was hard to understand each other because of language differences, and we didn’t always have enough time to do everything we had planned. Still, we tried our best and learned how to adapt.   

    For the visit of the Portugal students to Talsi in May, we think it would be great to organize fun group activities, games and cultural presentations. We could also show them our town and nature. It will be a great chance to continue our friendships and create new memories together.