Sporting somos nòs!!! Vamos para o estàdio

Games

Last Thursday and Friday our organisation took part in activity for seniors that was held in Amadora. We proposed for people to play Wii. This artifial sporting game. It is fun thing to do. Activity also promoted healty lifestyle, yoga tips, medicine offers and so on. But it was organised in a school so the most intersted people in the playing Wii were children studying there. It was crazy! Me and Nicolo played with children for a bit cause to play the computer came is only possible for two and there were a lot more kids there.
I loved spending time with these little angels. While playing there were more like little monsters but in a good way. I hope to visit the school again. Here are some pics from the event:

Intergeneration volunteer - apresentation host organisation, evs and project

2. sve intergeneration volunteer - apresentation host organisation, evs and project

View more presentations from coopracao.

WE'RE HAPPY FAMILY!!!

Vapor da Vida. The cinema last night

Yesterday we went to a cinema. Finnish movie about Finnish men in Finnish saunas. For me personally Finland was always magical place where nature and humans live in perfect harmony.  I had travelled there a bit. Recognised places that were shown during the film. Had a bit of saudade. For Finland a bit but also for my home. Nature there is so similiar to the one we have in Lithuania. And also I do miss sauna as well!

I like how Portuguese go to cinemas. No chips, no phones or loud talking. It is so strange a film about Finnish men talking about most dificult parts of their lives while being in sauna and of course naked had attracted so many people. Cinema was full. And full of young people. And it is really not a mainstream film. Maybe that is why I like Lisbon. It is just not mainstream and it has this a bit of taste of uniqness.

Strangely after a film that is about a place so cold today it is not too warm in Lisbon either. And it is not a bad thing. Sometimes one needs some cold wind to appreciate the warmth that surounds him most of the time.

Here is live.. Here is living...

A Turkish poet says:

Your life is as long as you love
You are happy as much as you can lough
And strong as much as you  feel strong 
You are wet as much as it rains and hot as much as the sun heats you .
A flower  is beautiful as long as it’s watered
Birds are cute as long as they can sing
You are loved as much as you love.
Everything  is hidden in you..

I love to whistle like a bird when I wake up in the morning.I love to see people happy, cheerful from my window.I love where I live passionately and deeply.when I walk the street  I  love to hear  melancholic tradional portuguese music. The songs,I  need to hear to always get me  through the day.

I don't speak portuguese and don't understand yet. But I swear I can feel the pieces of my heart these songs..I never felt this way before.

Esma IPEK

Nicolò:First real weekend in Lisbon

Finally the first week end to explore this wonderful European capital!!
It's october but the weather is still beautiful. An amazing sun heats the city.
From Rossio to Cais do Sodre the streets are full of people.
Along the banks of the river Tago lovers who hold hands. People walking silently, families and group of tourists.
In Belem everything is wonderful. From Monastero dos Jerònimos to Belem's tower, with background the Atlantic ocean.
Saturday night in Bairro Alto is always party. Students and not come togheter for celebrate the City until the early morning, when the seagulls in flight stand and Lisbon wakes up on a warm autumn morning.
These are my first impressions of Lisbon.

Weekend!

Weekends in Lisbon are something worth to expierence. From the mornings that are spent visiting cultural places till the nights in Bairo Alto. Not forgetting everything is done with great mood, company and weather. Not that I am bragging but it is around 25 degrees during the day. And not too cold during the nights either.

Friday night started with some hanging around with my lovely flatmates and finish enjoying the promenade of the centre of Lisbon.  Saturday I went to the beach! there were peaople sunbathing. In the middle of October! I am too spoiled with good weather so I just enjoyed being so near the ocean. The beach was the same I went for the first week, in a place we had our first exchange Oeiras. So nice memories! I miss all of the people I met there!

Sunday was for a visiting museums for free. Lisbon has this nice opportunity of getting some culture without paying anything but it happens only on Sundays. So we explored Belem. And its cakes. Mmm. Then just laying in the park near by was perfect end to this nice day. Laying on the grass in the mid of October is a lovely thing.

Best wishes,
Sandra

Vista do castello S.Jorge

Our first impressions. Our fisrt realeses of Lisbon.
A ride from our house to the old castle that watches over the city.
AMAZING!!!

Pessoas da Damaia

Welcome to Damaia...

place of different cultures

different religions.

Welcome to Damaia...

place of different flavors

different odors.

Walking around in Amadora

Damaia part of Amadora is not exactly part that any tourist would visit. But this place has so much to offer. You will not find some nice statues or petite cafés or famous Portuguese bakery. But there is something more. The mixture of cultures that could not be found in any other place in Portugal. Immigrants from former Portuguese colonies are here in one quite small area.

As you can see area has lots of problems with housing, security getting all the services needed.  Taking pictures were not easy. People are quite scared of publicity. There are so many issues here. Immigration, integration, poverty, slums, trafficking, low expectations and all of them should be dealt with. There is big need of another blog post just to describe situation how people are living here.  For now you can see the pictures to get very general image.

Not everything is negative of course. Just here it is possible to see these completely different parts of the world. Taste cuisine that is again something worth of different blog post. People that are far from their homelands can live in their communities.  And one can have the view of the real life.

Esma Welcome to Lisbon..

 A city set on seven hills, as the legend tells .. Gulbenkian lived in Istanbul for 13 years and then he went to lisbon and he remained here until his death. I was able to understand him when I saw the lisbon first time..How much justify...! I could be like Gulbenkian.I just need to discover Lisbon .I think´´the best way to discover Lisbon is to get lost in  narrow streets and up and down roads!  I Believe every narrow street will tell me a different story and every story will reach to my  heart easily...

Sandra: First week in Portugal. Boa tarde!

So here I am the volunteer of European Union that just started her project in Portugal. How everything started? For long time i was working with some projects, ngos that mainly try to tackle the issue of social exlusion. It was back in a day when I lived in a very nice but just a bit cold country named Lithuania. It is situated a bit far more north from the Portugal. I wanted to do some bigger project, that would include not only contributing to the society but also new culture and a bit different kind of practices for dealing with the problems that are within the society. So here I am. And I am lovin' it.

I arrived here last Friday. Spent the night in Lisbon and went straight to Oreiras for a youth exchange project. It was quite awesome week. 35 persons from all over Europe: Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Italy and some examples of other nationalities met in one very nice place on the the beach of Atlantic and tried to understand what in general Social Solidarity is. Project went amazing. It was useful in more academical or general awereness sence but also in making new friends, getting to know new cultures area too. And now I can say: I am thinking outside of the box.

But ten days of the project in Oreiras flew so fast. And from this Monday I am an official resident of Lisbon city. I live in really magical house. Have a castle in my neighbourhood and million adorable steps to reach the central square and all other places Lisbon has to offer. I know after some time i will get usted to the steps. But I am pretty sure that it will be very hard to get used to be amazed by this town every time I go outside. Not that I complain of course. I am just so eager to discover each and every corner of this bohemial paradise - Lisbon.

A bit about the work I do. Each morning at 9.40 we (me and other two volunteers Esma and Nicolo and of course our wonderful mentor Frederica) take a train from Lisbon to Damaia, Amadora. Where we go to try and help the socially exluded people. At the moment I could say the organisation is more contributing for us than we do something a lot useful. But this is beginning and now the most important task we have is to learn Portuguese. Its quite fun language and we have the daily courses for it. I hope in couple of months to speak at least medium level of this fascinating language. But i cross my heart and swear on everything that is saint to me the last entry of this blog in June will be in Portuguese!

This is it for now. I will upload some photos later. but sadly my camera is broken again. So now not sure what to do and how to show for sure how wonderful the places around me is.
Ate amanha!

Sandra 

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