Erasmus+ visitor from Portugal: Bem-vinda, Doutora Gomes!
Ms Fátima Gomes visited our English lessons on Friday, 11th November. Ms Gomes comes from Cascais, Portugal. Cascais is a famous villa near Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It’s situated on the coast, with a long coastline and lots of beautiful beaches. Surfing, boating and swimming are very popular, and so is golf. Cascais is about the same size as Tampere with a bit over 210 000 inhabitants.
Ms Gomes works as an English and Portuguese teacher. Her school is called Ibn Mucana. Ibn Mucana was a famous poet, of Arab origin. The school is situated in Alcabideche: this name is also of Arabic origin. And so is Fátima’s first name. The Portuguese language, however, comes from Latin, just like Italian, Spanish and French.
The 11th of November is St. Martin’s Day in Portugal, just like in Germany. People roast chestnuts and grown-ups taste new wine. There is always light on St. Martin’s Day in Portugal, unlike in Germany, where children make their own lanterns.
Ms Gomes visited Fista, Finnish International School of Tampere, Kaarila School and Lamminpää School. She met many teachers and pupils and taught many lessons. Our warmest thanks to Fista and Kaarila.
Ms Gomes saw many sights of Tampere such as Tuomiokirkko, the Cathedral, Metso, the main library, Aleksanterin kirkko, the Alexander Church and Sara Hildénin taidemuseo, the Art Museum of Sara Hildén. In the art museum she saw the exhibition of Thomas Houseago, Nick Cave and Brad Pitt. She also went to Pyynikki Observation Tower and had the famous munkki, doughnut. She also saw Tampere from Näsinneula Tower, which overlooks the spectacular Näsijärvi Lake.
On her last day, Ms Gomes got to see Helsinki a little bit. Temppeliaukion kirkko, the Temple Square Church, is always a marvel.
Welcome back in the summertime or in the wintertime, Ms Gomes!
