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Max
- 1. Introduction The alarm wentoff 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 firsthand 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.
- 2. Chapter I. “ChaquetíaDay” 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.
- 3. But they didnot 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.
- 4. Before leaving Ihad 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
- 5. “Dulce de Membrillo"Recipe Ingredients: - Quinces - sugar Elaboration The quinces are washed and covered with water in a pot. They put on the fire the necessary time for the punctures with a fork to be soft. They are allowed to cool, peel and remove the seeds. We added the same amount of sugar that we have of fifteen. Example: For 1 kg of quince 1 kg of sugar. From here there are two ways to do it. The traditional one.- You pass through the mixer the fifteen and the sugar and put the pot to the fire, it is spinning (with a wooden spoon) until it acquires the desired texture. We must be careful because it splashes and we can burn. The modern one.- It is passed through the mixer and placed in a microwave-safe container. At maximum power is put in periods of 5 minutes and meet until it acquires the desired texture. Delicious!
- 6. This is mine.A student from Poland who is a friend of the Spanish students did the drawing and sent it to them.
- 7. “THE CHAQUETÍA DAY”PICTURE DICTIONARY English Spanish Gaelic Ukrainian Polish Finnish RomanianSome photos and drawings of “The Chaquetía Day”
- 8. “THE CHAQUETÍA DAY”PICTURE DICTIONARY Quince Jelly Carne o dulce de membrillo Glóthach cainche Айвове желе Dżem z pigwy Kvittenihyytelö Jeleu de gutui Peanut. Cacahuete. pis tálun Арахіс Orzech ziemny Maapähkinä Arahide Sweet fig. Higo dulce. fige milis Солодкий рис Słodka figa Makea viikuna Smochine dulci Delicious! ¡Delicioso! an-bhlasta Смачно! Pyszny! Herkullista! Delicios! Almond Almendra. almóinn Мигдаль Migdał Manteli Migdal
- 9. Sharing “La Chaquetía”. Compartiendo la Chaquetía. comhroinnt Використовувати спільно Dzielenie się "La Chaquetia" "La Chaquetian" jakaminen Partajare "La Chaquetía". Smearing the quince jelly and the cheese. Untando la carne de membrillo y el queso. ag leathadh an Glóthach cainche agus an cáis. Розмазуючи айвове желе і сир Rozsmarowywanie dżemu z pigwy i sera. Kvittenihyytelön ja juuston levittäminen A murdări cu jeleu de gutui și brânză Slitting chestnust. Rajando las castañas. an cnó capaill scoilt розкривати каштани Rozcinanie kasztana Kastanjoiden halkaisu A sparge castane. Packing roasted chestnust Empaquetando castañas asadas. ag pacáil an cnó capaill rósta пакунок смажених каштанів Pakowanie upieczonego kasztana Paahdettujen kastanjoiden pakkaaminen A împacheta castane prăjite. Roasting Chestnust. Asando castañas. an cnó capaill rósta смажені каштани Pieczenie kasztana Kastanjoiden paahtaminen A prăji castane
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- 11. 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.
- 12. 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
- 13. really liked theidea 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
- 14. SOME PHOTOS FROMTHE EVENT
- 15. FORTUNE COOKIES RECIPE Ingredients 2egg whites 75 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar 50 g (⅓ cup) plain flour, sifted 30 g butter, melted 14 paper messages Instructions Preheat the oven to 180C. Use a pencil to mark two 8 cm circles on a sheet of baking paper, flip paper over and place onto a baking tray. Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, mix until sugar dissolves. Add flour and butter and beat on a slow speed until smooth. Working in batches of two, place a teaspoonful of mixture onto each circle on the baking tray. Use the back of the spoon to spread evenly to cover circle completely. Bake for about 5 minutes or until golden around edges. Working quickly loosen cookies from tray using a spatula. Place a paper message in the centre of each. Fold hot cookies in half, pressing edges together. Gently bend each cookie over the side of a glass to form a crescent shape. Place onto a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining cookie mixture.
- 16. „ANDRZEJKI” – PICTUREDICTIONARY fortune-telling wróżenie adivinación faistineacht гадання ennustaminen ghicitul destinului shoes race wyścig butów carrera de zapatos Rais na broige взуттєві перегони kenkäjuoksukisa cursă de pantofi fortune cookie ciasteczko z wróżbą galletas de la suerte brioscan feasa печиво з передбаченнями onnenkeksi prăjitură cu răvaș wax melting topienie wosku cera derretida ag leaigh biol танення воску vahan sulattaminen topire de ceară
- 17. wax pouring lanie wosku vertidode cera ag doirt biol розтікання воску vahan kaataminen turnare de ceară candle świeca vela coinnneal свічка kynttilä lumânare bowl miska cuenco babhla миска kulho castron keyhole dziurka od klucza ojo de cerradura poll eochrach замкова щілина avaimenreikä gaura cheii
- 18. cards karty cartas cartai карти kortit cărți (playing cards) doorstep próg peldaño Dorassteppe поріг kynnys prag heartwith names serce z imionami corazón con nombres Croi le ainm серце з іменами sydän nimillä inimă cu nume cups flipped upside down odwrócone szklanki tazas tiradas al revés. cupan bunoscionn перевернута чашка ylösalaisin käännetyt kupit cupe întoarse cu susul în jos