CHRISTMAS TIME!!!

We are curious about how you celebrate Xmas. Can you tell us about the following?
What is Xmas to you? Do you like this celebration?
Do you have a traditional Christmas?
What is the weather like in your country at Christmas?
Are you a religious person? What religion do you have?
Does your religion celebrate Christmas? Do you celebrate Xmas in a special way?
Do you celebrate Xmas eve, Xmas lunch or Xmas dinner?
Do you attend any special ceremonies religious or not?
What is Christmas like in your hometown? What is Christmas like in your country?
Do you buy presents at Christmas? Who do you buy presents to?
When do you do your Xmas shopping? What kind of presents do you buy?
What kind of presents do you expect to get? When do you give the presents?
Does your town get decorated at Christmas? How is it decorated?
Do you usually decorate your home? When do you start decorating your home?
How do you decorate it (indoors and outdoors)? Do you put a tree up or a Nativity Scene? What are the predominant colours in your traditional decoration in your country? Is there any special music or songs for Christmas in you culture? What are they like?
Which instruments are typical?
What is your traditional Xmas lunch or dinner like? Do you have turkey for dinner?
When do you have dinner or lunch with your family?
Do you have any traditional meals for this celebration?
Do you have any special food and cakes? Do you drink any special drinks at Christmas?
What is your favourite food at Christmas time? Tell us a typical menu for Christmas.
Give us a special recipe for Christmas.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE ALL WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I also went to Birmingham!!

Last October I went to Birmingham and I was in Kiri’s house. I’m going to tell you what I did while I was there.

Friday – The plain arrived, and we caught a taxi to go to the school. Selly Park Technology College for girls is a little school but I loved it. Patricia and I went to school to met Kiri and Beth (I remember that the first day we couldn’t understand anything!). After that I went to Kiri’s house and we were watching ‘Friends’ until her mom and her sister came back home. Finaly we had dinner: a typical British meal: fish and chips.

Saturday – We stayed at home all day, except for 30 minutes that we went to a park but it was so cold and we came back early. In the evening I met Kiri’s family, her uncle, her aunt and her cousins Megan and George. We went to bed not too late because next day we were going to go to Cadbury’s World.

Sunday – I went to a chocolate factory called Cadbury’s World. It was so funny and it smelled very well! Patricia and I bought a lot of chocolate for our family and friends. In the afternoon I met Kiri’s mom’s friends and we were watching a movie.

Monday – I went to Kiri’s lessons: English and Chemistry. After that all the students from the Comenius Project went to a concert. Some girls sang songs and others played some instruments like the piano and the violin. When school finished, we went shopping to the Bullring, and we bought a lot of things!

Tuesday – Patricia, Beth, Kiri and me visited Achbishop Ilsley Catholic Technology College. We were with a student from this school, Molly. She was very friendly with us and we had a good time. After school we went to Beth’s house but we couldn’t open the door because Beth forgot the key, we tried to come into the house while it was raining, Finally we went to a neighbours’s house.

Wednesday – We woke up early and Kiri’s mom led us to school with my suitcases. I said goodbye to my host family while I was on the taxi, and I cried a lot.
Now, I’m in Spain and I miss them so much. This is an experience that I’ll never forget.

María Ponce, Spain

BIRMINGHAM

I enjoyed very much in Birmingham. Everything was very different from Spain. About the weather it was very cold, in the morning I couldn’t go out, but it only rained for two days.

The food wasn’t very different from Spain; I ate sandwiches, pizza, McDonald’s, fish and chips and chicken.

The school moved me. Beth’s school was only for girls and it was very different from ours. The majority of girls were from other countries but the link with them was very good.

Selly Park was a very peaceful and beautiful area. There were a lot of very big and green parks. The neighbours were nice and they helped us in a difficult moment.

On Sunday, Maria and I went to the chocolate factory, it is impressive and it smells very good.

The people in this town are very shy and they speak very little but my host-friend, Beth, was very funny and she was “crazy”!!

Finally, I must say that I enjoyed myself very much. This experience has been unforgettable. I would recommend everyone that isn’t sure whether to travel to other country or not, to do it because it is great to meet other people and other cultures.

Patricia López, Spain

Unforgettable days in B:ham

Unforgettable days in Birmingham 15.-20. October 2010...


Friday - October 15th

Our journey started on Friday from Oulu at 15.10 o’clock. We flew to Brussels via Helsinki. In Brussels airport we met other Comenius members from Belgium. After waiting couple hours, we continued our journey to Birmingham with the Belgians. We arrived to Birmingham at 21.35 o’clock local time. Rest of the day went by exploring with our host families.



Saturday - October 16th

Niina spent her day by shopping in the huge shopping centre called Bullring in Birmingham. She also met her host Roisin’s relatives, visited the local museum and went sightseeing. The architecture was amazing and the buildings were beautiful. In the evening she went to have dinner in the Chinese restaurant with Roisin and her mum. Emmi and her host Joseph, his two cousins and his family spent their day in London. During the day they saw some sights, like Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Eye... The highlight of the day was a rugby match on Wembley Arena. The game was immemorial.


Sunday – October 17th

On Sunday both of the girls spent their day with hosts. Niina’s day included visit to Solihull by buss. There she met her old friend Rhianne and they went to cinema and shopping together. Later Niina, Roisin and her cousin Brogan went to have dinner. In the evening they went to funfair with Roisin’s brothers. The funfair was so much fun and we all had a great time there. Emmi’s day started with watching Joe’s rugby game. After the game they went to the countryside for meeting Joe’s cousins and other relatives. On the evening they all went to the local pub for eating dinner. The countryside was beautiful.


Monday – October 18th

On Monday all Comenius members from Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Spain and UK went to the Selly Park Technology College for girls. There was organized different kind of team works. Groups had to build a tower of balloons, transport the ball in different forms and build a stretcher using as little as possible given materials. Group works were really funny. Pupils of the school presented wonderful musical performances. We also attended for lessons there, for example mathematics and technology. We got a free lunch in there. The lunch was totally different than ours school. The day was brilliant! Selly Park Technology Collage was quite big, compared to ours which is a small 200 students’ school. The school was very cozy and it was much colorful than our school. After SP we went to Archbishop Ilsley Catholic Technology College for waiting our hosts to get home. Meanwhile waiting, this lovely French teacher gave us a tour around the school. On the evening, Niina spent time with her hosts. Emmi had a shopping day in the centre of Birmingham and she saw some sights.

Tuesday – October 19th

We visited Archbishop Ilsley Catholic Technology College on Tuesday. We attended the lessons with our hosts and we met their school mates. We ate lunch together with our hosts, their friends and other Comenius members. The school was big compared to our school and Selly Park. It also was very pleasant and the walls were covered with posters. Later Niina went bowling with her hosts, their friends and Julia from Belgium. Emmi went shopping. People were very nice and hospitality! The day was amazing.
Wednesday – October 20th
In the morning it was time to say goodbyes to our host families. We arrived to the Birmingham airport about at 8 o’clock. We flew to Helsinki via Copenhagen and then to Oulu. We were home at ten o’clock.
We want to thank our teachers Anna and Pentti, both of the schools Selly Park and Archbishop Ilsley, our wonderful host families and everyone who has been involved to this Comenius project. You all together made our trip perfect and memorable!

THANK YOU! -by Niina Huru & Emmi Wathén

Wonderful Birmingham

Our school members of the Comenius Project went to England In the middle of October. Pupils were hosted by very kind families. We spent there almost one week. We had a beautiful weather.
The first day I spent with my host family on sightseeing Birmingham. It’s a huge city with a big population. The city has a historical value but also it is very modern. Most of the people live in terraced houses, there are also some blocks of flats. In the center I visited the Bullring, the Symphony Hall, the Museum & Art Gallery.
The next day I was in Christians’ church on a mass. It was an amazing experience. I also met Dana’s (my host)grandparents. They were very friendly. It was great to meet true English people and have an opportunity to talk to them.
On Monday we were at lessons in the Selly Park College. We had English, science and music. In the evening a had an opportunity to see the great musical called Blood Brothers. It was in the Hippodrome Theatre. Very big and modern one.
On Tuesday I was at Dana’s lessons all day. I had a revision at maths, chemistry, English and History. On a technical lesson pupils were backing muffins. Then everyone tasted them and they were talking about their work. It was very interesting.
We had a great time in Birmingham and I’ll never forget it.