LA ODISEA DE MAX
Chicos, Max ha llegado a Finlandia y ahí os dejo los vídeos que Tuire, la profe irlandesa ha mandado a eTwinning, pronto sabremos como continúa la aventura de nuestro amigo belga.
Max's arrived in Finland. He's spent Christmas time in Rovaniemi, Lapland. (Max ha llegado a Finlandia. Està pasando sus Navidades en Rovaniemi, Lapland.
Max's arrived in Finland. He's spent Christmas time in Rovaniemi, Lapland. (Max ha llegado a Finlandia. Està pasando sus Navidades en Rovaniemi, Lapland.It must have been wonderful to visit the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle. (Debe haber sido maravilloso visitar el pueblo de Santa Claus en el Círculo Polar Ártico)
Os dejo también la introducción y los dos primeros capítulos de la aventura de Max (En España y en Polonia).
No sé vosotros pero yo estoy deseando saber como continúa esta historia. De momento nos iremos haciendo una idea con los vídeos.
Introduction
The alarm went off and although he had only slept a couple of hours he
jumped out of bed, leaving the pleasant warmth of it to embark on the adventure
that awaited him.
He had spent the day before packing. He was going to make the most exciting
journey of his life, he would tour Europe visiting some schools and knowing
first hand how some parties were held in those countries.
What clothes had he to wear? The destinations were Spain and Poland during
the autumn, Finland and Romania in winter and finally Ireland and Ukraine in
spring. He chose not to carry much luggage and buy typical clothes in every
place.
He lived in the Rue de Treves at number 81 near the "Classroom of the Future"
in Brussels. Indeed, he was Belgian and his native language was French but
he could defend himself in all countries because he had a good grasp of the
English language and knew that in all the places where he would go,
English was studied as a second language.
When he was ready, his friend Marc drove him to the airport and stood
there, watching as the plane in which his best friend was now seated in took
flight. They were going to be separated for many months but Max had promised
to send him many letters describing everything that he saw and experienced in
detail. He would also enclose photographs and drawings from the students.
(By Teresa Sánchez)
*****
Chapter I.
“Chaquetía Day”
In Merida, October 28th, 2016
Dear Marc!
How are you? I hope you are well.
I am already in Merida, at last. It's my first destination and it's been incredible.
Teresa Sanchez, one of the English teachers of the school, came to meet me at
the airport and took me directly there because they were going to celebrate "La
Chaquetía" that same day. You are probably wondering what Chaquetía is? it is
the festivity that they celebrate in Merida coinciding with Halloween.
It's amazing to arrive in the city Marc and see its imposing Roman buildings.
We will both have to take a leisurely trip when I finish my travels across Europe
and enjoy the architectural wonders of the place. Antigua's school is tiny, no
more than 200 students and about 20 teachers, but it's a place where you feel
good because it's like a big family where everyone knows each other and cares
for each other. And now it's time to go and celebrate "La Chaquetía". The entire
educational community and I head towards an esplanade where there is a
medieval hermitage called "Ntra. Sra. de la Antigua ", yes, yes, like the school
and something curious has happened, the students have adopted it and take
care of it with much affection. For example, they share some festivities with
her, like this one today.
- I'll tell you how I celebrated the event. La Chaquetía was very funny, Flor,
the director had made quince candy and we mixed it in a piece of bread with
cheese. She gave me the recipe, I am also sending it to you because it does not
seem difficult to make and it tastes delicious. The students sat in groups
forming circles, in the shade of the hermitage and shared their "Chaquetía", that
is to say, they all ate everything, because it encourages sharing. La Chaquetía is
composed of ingredients such as walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, hazelnuts ... and
also grenades, figs, mandarins, grapes and quinces.
But they did not just share with each other. A few meters from the hermitage
there is a center where the elders of the city meet during the day, and can you
guess what is called? Exactly, La Antigua. Many of these elders are the
grandparents of the students and it was very emotional. The grandparents had a
fire where they were roasting the chestnuts that the children brought but first the
professors split them because if they did not do they said that the chestnuts
may explode. Then they made small, little packets with paper and put several
chestnuts inside them, they were delicious!
I made an incredible discovery Marc. One of the elders told me that The
Procession of the Souls was a widespread tradition in Extremadura in the XIX
during the night of the dead, on October 31. The souls, who were people dressed
in black or white, walked the streets of the village asking for money while going
from house to house. And it used to end up in the cemetery. I deduce that
Halloween was already celebrated here before the Europeans arrived in
America and took with them the Celtic Halloween celebrations. It really shows
that in this area there must have been Celtic settlements and its culture still
survives.
There is more to tell you. When they finished sharing their "chaquetías" and
roasting the chestnuts, they began to play. They were traditional games, from
those of yesteryear. Even some grandpas and grandmas participated as well. It
was hot, very hot. I have been told that it has been a very hard summer and that
there have even been days of 45º C. and it was apparent that autumn had not yet
arrived. Luckily there was a very large fountain where we were and we were
able to quench our thirst.
After two hours the professors gathered their groups of students and we
returned to the school. Some children had kept their packet of roasted chestnuts
to share at home with their families. Marc, this celebration has been a real
lesson of sharing.
Before leaving I had been given drawings, photos, videos and letters ... For the
moment I am sending you this letter, some photos and also some drawings
where I will explain to you what they are doing.
When the time for the farewell came, there were hugs and tears. It's funny, the
Spaniards love to hug and kiss, I really felt at home.
I am writing to you from the plane that is taking me to Poland. I am loaded with
very good memories and with the hope of continuing to enjoy myself while I go
through the different European centers that I have been commissioned to visit.
Max
(By Teresa Sánchez)
*****
Chapter II.
St. Andrew‟s Day – Andrzejki
In Bialystok, November 29th, 2016
Dear Marc!
We haven‟t seen each other for over a month. How are you? I hope everything is fine.
I am already in Poland which is my second destination. I have never been here before
and I haven‟t expected that it is such an amazing country. It‟s not only because of its
outstanding beauty but most of all because of exceptionally friendly and hospitable
people I‟ve had a chance to meet.
Once, I arrived in the city Bialystok, I was greeted by Dorota Zukowska and a group
of her students who were awaiting me at the train station. I spent with them the whole
afternoon. I was taken on a sightseeing tour of the city which was really enjoyable!
They showed me a lot of grand monuments and buildings but for me the most
distinctive and striking was the Branicki Palace, a magnificent residence on the Biala
River, encircled by a beautiful park. It was an impressive sight!
As I managed to find out, Bialystok is the largest city in north-eastern Poland serving
the function of the capital of Podlaskie province. It is the administrative, economic,
and academic centre of the region which, due to its exceptional environmental assets,
has been termed the Green Lungs of Poland. As an interesting side note, I can add that
Bialystok is also the place of birth of Ludwik Zamenhoff, the inventor of the artificial
language Esperanto.
On the day of my arrival, late in the evening, I was also invited to a traditional Polish
dinner. I will never forget the taste of Polish „pierogi‟, „bigos‟ and „babka
ziemniaczana‟. Everything was so delicious! I took some recipes.
The next day, early in the morning, Dorota took me directly to her school where I was
going to see the Polish celebration of St. Andrew‟s Day called “Andrzejki”. Soon after
we arrived at a place I was shown around the school and got to know some interesting
facts. The school is quite big, about 500 primary students and 45 teachers. It was
named after Kazimierz Górski who was an outstanding coach of Poland National
Football Team. What is special about this school is that it is sport-oriented and well
equipped with sporting facilities. I could see many students playing football and
volleyball both indoors and outdoors. They were enjoying themselves a lot.
Now let's come back to the celebration of „Andrzejki”. I learnt that the tradition of
“Andrzejki” fortune telling was noted in the 16th century and it is still known and
practiced in all regions of Poland. However, nowadays the ceremony has lost a lot of
its magical and serious character and has been transformed into fun and games during
St. Andrew parties arranged by young people.
I will tell you how I celebrated this event with Polish students and their teacher from
Szkoła Podstawowa nr 37. It was a very special afternoon which brought me loads of
fun! The students showed me a lot of ideas of how to find out about the future, namely
the marriage, lucky or unlucky love and prosperous or poor perspectives. The most
spectacular was pouring hot liquid wax through a keyhole into cold water. The shape
of the solidified wax was supposed to represent something that would happen to us in
the upcoming year. After unlimited interpretations of wax shapes, we took part in the
shoes race. Everyone took off their shoes and put them in a line one after the other.
Then, we moved them gradually one after the other in the direction of the door. The
owner of the shoe which reached the doorstep first would obviously be the first one to
marry. After knowing the result of the shoes competition, it was the time for other
fortune telling practices such as palm reading, horoscopes, astrology, magic box or
crystal ball. There were lots of laughing while students were piercing the heart with
either female or male names on the back. Girls and boys stuck the needle into the heart
from the other side, so that they couldn‟t see what was written there. The little hole in
the paper heart showed them the name of their future spouse. I must say that I also
really liked the idea of the cups flipped upside down. Under three cups were placed in
sequence: a ring, a coin and a leaf. Then the cups were mixed and students were
supposed to choose one of them. Choosing the ring symbolized a happy love, the coin
would bring us money, whereas the leaf was the announcement of the wedding. The
last idea were fortune cookies. You will never guess what prediction I found inside my
fortune cookie! I will keep it a secret till we meet!
Our St. Andrew‟s celebration lasted only two hours but I will always remember this
special party and I‟m very grateful for the invitation to participate in it.
I‟m sending you photos from my greatest memories and I also enclosed a recipe for
these amazing fortune cookies!
Tomorrow I‟m leaving for Finland. I know that it will be difficult to say goodbye to
Polish friends but I believe I will come back there one day.
I will write to you soon.
Max
( By Dorota Zukowska)
Chapter III
Christmas Time. Finland.
In Rovaniemi, December 26 th 2016
Dear Marc!
How are you? I wish you Happy New Year 2017!
I decided to spend Christmas time in Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland. The Finnair Santa flight from the capital of Finland Helsinki to Rovaniemi arrived on time.
Rovaniemi is Santa’s official home town in Lapland.
The city of Rovaniemi was decorated for Christmas time. There were beautiful Christmas trees with lights all around the city. The weather was freezing cold. So I had to do some shopping. I bought warm winter clothes, e.g. woollen mittens. I also bought soft reindeers as souvenirs.
In Rovaniemi I visited Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle. In Santa Claus Village there were Christmas trees, snowmen, beautiful lights and ice sculptures. In Santa Claus Village I crossed the magical Arctic Circle and had a chance to meet Santa Claus. It was great to meet Santa Claus himself. I have always wanted to ask Santa how old he is. Santa told me that’s something not even he can remember exactly.
One of the most interesting places was Santa’s post office. Santa’s Elves were sorting out letters from all over the world. I got a very special chance to see Santa’s workshop. There were big and small presents waiting for delivery on Christmas Eve.
In Santa Claus Village, there were reindeers with a wooden sleigh. I jumped on the sleigh and rode like Santa through a snowy forest. For the first time in my life, I saw The Northern Lights. In the evening it was fun to go to the sauna and swim in the snow.
On Christmas Eve I was invited to a Finnish Christmas dinner. As a dessert I tasted gingerbread cookies. I liked them a lot. I sent you a gingerbread mould with a recipe for gingerbread cookies. So you can bake them, too. I took videos about Rovaniemi city and Santa Claus Village. I hope you enjoy them.
Best wishes,
Max
(By Tuire)
*****
To be continue...
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