From Goa to Portugal on a wing and a quiz

Four higher secondary students and their teacher recently got the opportunity of a lifetime. The students of Portuguese had won an inter-school Portuguese quiz competition in Goa, and flew to Portugal for a two-week trip a few weeks ago.

“The interest that students and teachers have in the Portuguese language made Fundação Oriente in India promote the first edition of the ‘Fundação Oriente Stars of the Future’,” the director of Fundação Oriente in Goa, Paulo Gomes, told GT Digital.

Portuguese is among the most applied third languages in schools in Goa, and its popularity led Fundação Oriente to organise this very unique competition – Fundação Oriente Stars of the Future – a Portuguese quiz for students of Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools in Goa, where Portuguese is taught.

Of the 54 teams and 250 students who were quizzed on various topics, the winners, four students along with a teacher of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, travelled to Portugal.

Though it was organised by Fundação Oriente, there were others involved, too.

“It is worth highlighting the support of several partner entities: Sporting Clube de Coimbrões (Porto), Comunidade Hindu de Portugal (Lisbon), Jay Ambe – Cultural Association, Guadalupe School (Lisbon) and Casa de Goa in Lisbon,” Gomes said.

TEAM EFFORT

Back in Goa, the students had several stories to tell.

Leanne Fernandes, one of those who travelled to Portugal, said, “We could not believe that we had won the competition. It took a while for this to actually sink in – that we had won a trip to Portugal."

"It was teamwork. We worked on the Kahoot app for the first time. It was a little difficult because we had to translate English questions to get the hang of the app, but once we learnt how, it was real fun. We worked together, went through various quizzes and prepared ourselves,” added Leanne.

The questions covered topics on art, music, current affairs, history, geography, science, sports, cinema and TV, Indian culture, personalities, Indian literature, gastronomy and technology. 

The language of communication was, of course, Portuguese.

BEING A PART OF PORTUGAL SCHOOL LIFE

Gavin Ferreira, another lucky student, loved his experience at the aquarium in Lisbon.

“After travelling to Lisbon and Porto, and visiting different places like Cascais, Oriente, Belem and Ribeira, my personal favourite and exciting experience was at the Oceanário de Lisboa," he said.

"We saw various types of marine life like sharks, penguins, jellyfish and cute sea otters. We tasted different cuisines. The pier at Ribeira was especially wonderful to look at and see the different kinds of wine cellars there,” said Gavin, who along with the others were accompanied by their Portuguese teacher, Suzie Vas.

As he was the only student from the group who had visited Portugal before, there were a few places he was happy to to re-visit.

“To me, the most interesting places we visited were Colégio Guadalupe and the various sites in Portugal that I had never been to before. We played sports and music with the students of Colégio Guadalupe and even sat in a class with the students. It was nice to experience school life in Portugal,” said Gavin, as he shared a few photos.

FOOTBALL CRAZY

What amazed the group, especially Micah Pinto, was the football culture among the Portuguese.

“I did research on the places that we would be visiting, but experiencing it was different. We attended a football match in Portugal. We knew about the Portuguese love for football, but standing there amidst the people, cheering and chanting for their club, was truly an exhilarating experience," said Micah.

"Another habit I was not aware of was greetings among people. Walking on the streets, it is common for strangers to greet each other. The people in Portugal were friendly and amiable,” an amazed Micah added.

FOODY FIESTA
No trip is complete without food, and Nicole Noronha enjoyed some of the dishes that were new to her.

“We were fortunate to try out some popular Portuguese cuisine during our visit to Lisbon and Porto. Besides Bacalhau à Brás, traditional Portuguese bifana, Porco Assado com Batatas Fritas e Arroz, Choriço and Pasteis de Bacalhau, we also tried various pastries like the famous Pastéis de Nata and Doce de Amêndoa," she said.

She added, "We treated ourselves to a bica (black coffee) after lunch and dinner, which is traditional in Portugal. We also enjoyed the gelatos, cheesecakes and pain au chocolat in Lisbon and Porto.”

The visit to Portugal, and the two main cities -- Lisbon and Porto -- was an unforgettable cultural and learning experience, one that the four young Goans and their teacher will cherish for years to come.