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Portugal
I am from Coimbra, Portugal, and am currently teaching in a school in Soure, about 30 km away from Coimbra. I have been a teacher of English for over 20 years and have already taught different levels and age groups. After all this time I can say I love working with adult groups because there are no coursebooks and I can create my own resources. I am an avid reader, a blogger and very curious about free tools and their implementation in the classroom.
Showing posts with label Trinity College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trinity College. Show all posts

Monday, August 27, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, day 12

Now posting from home!!!
Trinity College
I'm back, but couldn't skip posting about my last day in Cambridge, could I?
After a busy morning with classes, activities as well as the emotional farewell ceremony, I headed into town for my last visits and shots:
Trinity College

Trinity College








Pembroke College
Pembroke College
Pembroke College










King's College
King's College
And here is my last dinner at Homerton:


»»Roasted Cod Fillets with leeks and pancetta cream sauce+ sides: chips, peas and courgette. As usual, salad and fresh fruit.



Well, this was it...a fabulous 2-week experience which included colleagues from 16 different nationalities in a gorgeous place with a rich and intense programme with classes, afternoon workshops, sports activities, cultural programme... plenty to choose from and noone can complain of boredom! Even the staff and weather contributed for such a positive and stimulating environment, both professionally and individually. Not everything was perfect, but much certainly depends on each one of us...I prefer to stick to what was really great: the tutor, the group, the place, the visits, the food...
I wouldn't like to finish though without posting one last picture of Homerton as well as a poem by Jim Scrivener that so well reflect life at the campus and the way, I guess, we all felt and feel:


Might you remember this?

Might you remember this?

The old stone colleges? Damp dawns?
The word-full classrooms that you met in?
Comparing notes on wide green lawns?
The grand half-chapeled hall that we ate in?

Did you find how English flowed in you
With just a little more ease?
And unexpected learnings grew
Soaked in the Cambridge breeze?

The buses, river, ancient walls.
The bread. The fish. The chips. The peas.
Showers with sunny intervals
Spanish, Czech, Polish, Japanese.

The pull of ancient histories.
The climbing flowers and the bees.
Quaint medieval sanctuaries.
One slice of ham. One slice of cheese.

And those three, tall, gorgeous trees.

Memory’s an edit.
Whole frames go rotten.
I’ve been around a while;
Trust me, much gets forgotten.

Who knows if these days will stay with you.
Framed. Embossed.
Or if it’s just another something
Soon enough lost.
Back in that other place, your land,
You’ll re-find routines soon enough
And this, no longer close at hand,
Just photo-album story stuff.

Some memories are made of feather.
Some are made of stone.
A hundred ways to get here.
And one hundred ways home.

So…will you remember this?

The old stone colleges? Damp dawns?
The word-full classrooms that you met in?
Comparing notes on wide green lawns?
The grand half-chapeled hall that we ate in?

Did you find how English flowed in you
With just a little more ease?
And unexpected learnings grew
Soaked in the Cambridge breeze?

The buses, river, ancient walls.
The bread. The fish. The chips. The peas.
Showers with sunny intervals
Russian, Italian, Portuguese.

The pull of ancient histories.
The climbing flowers and the bees.
Quaint medieval sanctuaries.
One slice of ham. One slice of cheese.

And the trees.
Jim Scrivener
(With Mr. Scrivener’s kind permission)
I'm sure I will remember all this. Who won't? Who wouldn't?
Thank you all at the campus and again and again to APPI and PROALV for this unique experience.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

CAMBRIDGE days 2+3

2nd dinner, a vegetarian meal

First of all, let me apologise for not posting every single day as I would like to, but time flies around here with classes, campus conferences, plenary and cultural talks, sports activities, guided tours…besides, I’m also paying to access the Internet from my own room, which limits me – and how!
Anyway, on Tuesday I attended a campus conference and afterwards a cultural talk. After having dinner at 5.30 (very early, I know, and that’s exactly why many would rather have lunches and not dinners included in our pack), a large group of participants from different nationalities met for a guided tour around Cambridge – as it wasn’t raining, it was a pleasant tour and helped to know a lot more about Cambridge and its many colleges (beautiful old buildings not to miss!) Have a look!
King`s College


Trinity College

Newton`s Apple Tree... for sure one of the most famous ones in the world!

>> My third dinner: this time my main meal was fresh salmon with lemon and herb dressing + sides included sautéed potatoes, broccoli and roast butternut and, for dessert, fresh fruit.


Wednesday…another full day: after classes, there was a very interesting plenary talk on “The Power of Image” by Ben Goldstein, an English language teacher, online tutor and author, and in the evening an amazing show with music and poetry called “Touchable Dreams” with ELT guru Jeremy Harmer and violinist Steve Bingham: the room was packed with delighted listeners, believe me, really good!





Thursday, April 21, 2011

Travel Diary IRELAND - Day 2

Jonathan Swift's Bust (WIKIPEDIA)
After a great breakfast, our planned visits in Dublin started: first Phoenix Park with its tall obelisk of 63 meters erected by Lord Chesterfield in 1747 to commemorate the victories of Duke of Wellington; then, all agreed to move on to IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) which, besides the permanent collection, is now hosting a temporary exhibition on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera - at least for myself, it was really a much better choice than visiting Guinness Storehouse, the largest brewer of stout in the world - next time for sure!!!
We had lunch in a traditional Irish pub in the heart of Temple Bar called Gallagher's Boxty House. For most of us, our meal consisted of 3 course menu: Soup of the Day, Pork and Apple Sausages with Mash and Gravy and, for dessert, Bread and Butter Pudding served wit Custard. Hummm! Tasty!!
After that relaxing time and tasty meal, we headed to St Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 1191 and headed by a Dean, an office which has existed since 1219, the most famous holder being Jonathan Swift ; St Patrick's has one of the largest Organs in Ireland with over 4,000 pipes!
Our next stop was at Trinity College Dublin - a must see when in Dublin: visitors enter through the Library Shop and proceed to the Book of Kells "Turning Darkness into Light" exhibition; then to the Treasury where the Book of Kells and other related manuscripts are on view; then proceed upstairs to the magnificent Long Room which houses 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books in its oak bookcases. An inspiring place with so many old books and lined marble busts of philosophers, writers and men connected with Trinity College (again, Jonathan Swift). Ahhh: it includes other treasures such as the oldest Harp and a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Molly Malone Statue
As we still had some time off before dinner, we had a look at some stores and bought our first gifts along Grafton Street, a pedestrian street. Before returning to Jurys Inn another sight worth being mentioned: the statue of Molly Malone pushing her wheelbarrow... it's hard to miss it on the corner of Grafton Street and Nassau Street, this female character known to be a fishmonger by day and a prostitute by night.
Our day was not over yet, though!!! After dinner we went to Hard Rock Cafe Dublin in Fleet Street (Temple Bar area) but... guess what? It was already closing time and we couldn't get in! It was just 10 p.m., can you believe that???? Well, we couldn't miss a bit so we still had a walk around Temple Bar, the Bohemian Dublin, with its lively nightlife and medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets.
What a day, hem? Long, tiring but ALL was worthwhile :)
Now enjoy some pictures of the  places I've just mentioned!


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