La Odisea de Max.

* Autor: Teresa Sánchez

* Idea

Si os gustan las historias de aventuras y además que estén escritas en inglés,  comparto uno de los últimos proyectos eTwinning en el que andamos metidos. 

Max, un personaje belga recorre diferentes coles europeos y vive con ellos una fiesta típica. El primer cole que visitó fue el nuestro y celebró con nosotros "La Chaquetía", después viajó hasta Polonia para vivir con ellos San Andrés o como ellos dicen "Andrzejki". Hasta ayer estuvo  en Finlandia visitando a Santa y disfrutando la Navidad en un lugar tan mágico como es ese. En estos momentos se encuentra viajando a Rumania para celebrar una fiesta llamada "Dragobete" y que coincide con nuestro día de San Valentín. El mes de marzo lo pasará entre irlandeses celebrando St. Patrick y en abril se marchará a Ukrania para vivir personalmente allí el día de la madre. Terminada su odisea volverá a casa, en  Mérida. Quizá vuelva como un travelbug ¿quién sabe?

  * Fases

• Lo primero fue conocernos, evidentemente, y lo hicimos a través de vídeos, calameos.... Cada Centro eligió el modo que prefirió y a continuación nos lanzamos a la creación y  la elección de un logo y un personaje. Lo hicimos de manera colaborativa. 

El resultado fue el siguiente:

         Logo del Proyecto

Intentábamos que  la apariencia del protagonista  de nuestra historia tuviera alusiones a los diferentes países y celebraciones. Después de casi un mes teníamos a Max. Fue diseñado por el grupo polaco. 

Posteriormente los estudiantes españoles crearon un Max físico que viajaría a los diferentes colegios a través del correo postal.

• Comienzo de nuestra historia.

 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 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. 

•  Max comenzó a viajar.

 Max envía una carta  a su amigo Marc,  desde cada  colegio que visita,  contándole   como ha vivido la celebración. Cada carta es un capítulo. Aunque ya tenemos 3 capítulos os dejo sólo el primero.

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

    Evidentemente el texto no lo han escrito los niños, no en inglés, pero si lo hicieron en su lengua materna, y a partir de sus redacciones se crea la carta.  También elegimos un vocabulario básico que acompañará al texto y lo traducimos a todos los idiomas nativos de los países participantes: inglés, español, polaco, finlandés, rumano, gaélico, ucraniano. Para facilitar la colaboración, lo hacemos a través de un tytanpad. Acompañamos el vocabulario de pequeñas imágenes que  estudiantes de diferentes países realizan. Entre 10 y 15 vocablos por capítulo. Ahí va sólo un ejemplo:

                                              

cards

karty

cartas

cartai                                                            

карти

kortit

cărți (playing cards)

La carta va acompañada siempre de una receta típica del país desde donde se escribe y la cual se cita en el capítulo, Ésta es la española:

“Dulce de  Membrillo" Recipe

Delicious!

 

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.

Fotos  y dibujos  acompañan al texto,  también.

ESPAÑA

FINLANDIA

POLONIA

Max da testimonio de que ha visitado cada uno de los países, haciéndose una foto en cada uno de ellos.

                                                                       FINLANDIA

 ESPAÑA

POLONIA

- Llegados a este punto y con la carta, el vocabulario, las fotos... Llega el momento de que los estudiantes investiguen acerca de ese país para conocer un poco mejor a sus nuevo amigos y mejorar su dimensión europea.

Poland

Leer más publicaciones en Calaméo

Finland

Estamos disfrutando mucho con este Proyecto. Y esperamos que en un futuro no muy lejano podamos publicar toda la historia.

Nuestro objetivo final es la edición de un libro donde se narrará toda la Odisea de Max por Europa.