News by Jerneja from Slovenia

Our country is a republic. Our president is Mr. Danilo Türk. After declaring independence in Slovenia a lot has changed. First we got our own parliament and government. Slovenia has developed in many ways. We also joined the European Union and NATO. Our flag is: white – sky, blue – sea, red – the ground and the blood of those who gave lives for our country. Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in white against a blue background at the center; beneath it are two wavy blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and above it are three six-pointed stars arranged in an inverted triangle, which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje, the great Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries); the seal is located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands.
Our national holiday is on 25th June – The Statehood day to commemorate the country's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

FOOD
The dishes depend on the region. We traditionally eat a lot of potatoes, cabbage, and meat. Our national sweet is “potica cake”. Our Christmas dish is Potica cake. At Christmas we pay more attention to all the family coming together, spending time together, having a nice warm evening. We have no special traditional dish, but we usually make quite a variety of biscuits and we have a better dinner.
We like pasta, winner schnitzel, pancakes, pizza.

We like polka. The dances and costumes depend on the region. The old traditional dances were connected with the work people carried out at different occasions (they were mainly farmers). http://www.kud-tinerozanc.si/multimedija/glasba/mp3/koroski_02.mp3 - this is link to the music of a traditional dance at a wedding.
The most famous places of interest in our country are Ljubljana – the capital, The Postojna Cave, Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, ptuj and its castle.
The most popular sports in our country are football, handball and skiing. Skiing used to be our national sport and the sport we were extremely proud of when our competitors were very successful. These days we can’t say that we really have a national sport.

SCHOOL
Our children can go to kindregarten at the age of 1 – it’s not obligatory.
Obligatory education starts at the age of 6 and lasts for 9 years.
Then the children can take 2, 3 or four year schools. 2 and 3-year are vocational schools. After a four year school we can study at different universities.
Our school was the first newly built school in independent Slovenia, it was built in 1992 – it’s 17 years old. It’s beautiful, quite big and it is always nice and clean. We try to decorate it with the things we do by ourselves. One of the characteristics of our school are corridors and corners which makes you feel that you are in a maze sometimes (until you get used to it).

OUR SCHOOL
Our school day starts at 8.15 and ends at 12.35. We sometimes have the so called 0.-period, it starts at 7.25, and sometimes we stay at school until 13.25. The older students sometimes have classes until 14.30. Our lessons last for 45 minutes, we have a 5 minute break between them and a 20 minute break after the 2nd lesson (9.50 – 10.10), when we have a snack. There is another 20 minute break before the 7th lesson, we can have lunch then. Slovene, Maths, Geography, History (the younger pupils have …), Physical Education, Music, English, Home Domestics (Cookery +…), Technology, Art, Physics, Chemistry, Biology. And in classes 7 - 9 a broad variety of subjects of interest (each pupil takes at least 2). There is a teacher and a kindergarten teacher for some time in class 1. In classes 2 and 3 there is one teacher. In class 4 we have a different teacher for English, in class 5 for English, Music and sometimes PE, from class 6 on we have a different teacher for each subject.
At school we wear usual clothes, we don’t have uniforms. There are no special rules about clothes at our school. Well, actually, one rule says “You have to be properly dressed for school.”
At the end of each class we visit a different part of our country. We also go to a camp: a summer camp for 6 days in class 4 (we go to the seside), a winter camp (we go skiing) and another camp which is not defined by a season in class 8. We call these camps (but we actually don’t camp, we stay in holiday homes) “school in nature”.
We play many different sports (very popular in our town is handball), a lot of us play a musical instrument. We have an ice skating ring in winter and we ice-skate a lot.
We have 3 one-week holidays and one 2 months-holiday. The so called “potato holiday” (the expressions is from the old times when there were many farmers and at this time was the season of picking potatoes) – around 1st November (31st October, 1st November are national holidays); Christmas holiday – from 25th December to 2nd January (25th and 26th December, 1st, 2nd January are national holidays).. The “1st May holiday” – the week around the 1st May (27th April, 1st, 2nd May are also national holidays). And the best of all – the summer holidays from 25th June (also a national holiday) to 31st August. In our town there is a second hand fare; there is also a fare of St. Joseph (19th March) and the Fare of St. Elisabeth (she is the patron of our town) – 17th November.
Our school marks go from 1 tp 5. We all love a 5!
We have mark books. Each class has its own mark book. There is one page for each pupil in it and there are little boxes for marks at different subjects. We also have e-mark books, so our parents can have a look at how we are doing at school.
Some of us get pocket money, some not. We can’t spend money at school. We don’t have breakfast at school (except class 1), we have a snack at 9.50, it is not free, our parents pay for it, but the school supports those with less income, so they don’t have to pay. We can also have lunch at school, parents pay for it as well.
Sometimes we leave our textbooks at school, sometimes we take them home to study. In lower classes we mostly leave them at school.
In class we have a green board and also a white one sometimes. So, we don’t understand our English teacher, who always says: “Come to the blackboard, please.” J
We take part in competitions. We take part in handball and football championship, some of us do judo and compete, we take part in athletics competitions, we also take part in competitions in music. Our school choir is very successful in a school choir competition that takes place every year. We also take part in different subjects competitions – English, Maths, Chemistry, Slovene, History…

TRAVELLING ABROAD
We know all the capitals, we know that all the countries are beautiful; we know that the Spanish were Football European Champions, we love Spanish language (RBD taught us it is beautiful), we know that Turkey has a wonderful coast, we like Italian pasta, we admire Portuguese football, we know that Bulgaria is quite close to our country. We don’t know much about Islam, we will learn at History. But we have some pupils from Islamic countries and we know that they don’t eat pork and that there was a month when they didn’t eat during the day. We know that women are covered sometimes. Why? We really are interested in Islam.

POPULAR NAMES
The most popular names in our country are: Jože, Marija, Franc – with older people. Peter, Andrej, Marko, Špela, Gašpe– with children.

FAMOUS ARTISTS
Painting: Ivana kobilica, Jože Tisnikar (he was from our town), Karel Pečko (he is from our town).
Music: Hugo Wolf (he was from our town) – a composer.
Contemporary musicians – Siddharta (rock group), Vlado Kreslin, Zoran Predin (singers, authors, poets), Avseniki (a famous folk music group).
Architecture: Jože Plečnik.
Literature: Ivan Cankar, Prežihov Voranc, France Prešeren (a famous poet).

RELIGION
Most of the people are Catholics. The Evangelical Church, which has its roots in the Reformation, is most widely spread in the eastern part of Slovenia. Around 38 other religious communities, spiritual groups, societies and associations are also registered.

News by Eda from Turkey

FLAG
Our flag is red and white. Red means soldiers’ blood and white moon and star. During the Independence War, one night the moon and star’s light was reflected to the soldiers’ blood and at that time they defined our flag . Our country is a republic.

OUR SCHOOL
At five years we start kinder garten.At seven we start to primary school.eight years education is obligatory.
Our school is about fifty years old.
Our school has got three floors, 14 classes . But half of the students come in the morning and the others come in the afternoon. Two of them are kindergartens and that’s why there are 30 classes in our school. We have got one computer labratory , a garden, a sweet room of pedagogue, one room which is used for some activities such as; creative drama,scouting, art, music, folk dance.
We study english four hours a week in 6th,7th and 8th classes and three hours a week in 4th and 5th classes. In some schools , German, French ,Italian and Spanish are taught .
In state schools , we play flute , guitar , melodica. And in Private Schools we play piano, violin and guitar. We study Turkish Literature, maths, social science ( history,geography), science, sport-physical education, art, music, English, religion in our school.
In each class there are six hours a day , in the morning we start at ten to eight and we finish at twenty to one. In the afternoon we start at one clock and we finish at ten to six.
We have got two long holidays. One of them is winter holiday which takes 15 days. The other one is summer holiday. It lasts 2 months .Except these we have got new year, holidays, our special fast days holidays. We wear uniform. In primary school ıts colour is blue. In secondary and hıgh school male students wear suits , females students wear chequered skirts and jackets. Our school marks are from zero to one hundred. One hundred is the best mark.

The teachers have special cabinet but the pupils haven’t .
We have projection machines and computers in each class and the children learn how to use computers.


HOSPITABLE
Hospitable is very important in our country. We show our interest to our gasts very much.When we come across our friens we kiss each other twise.We take of our shose in front of our houses.We kiss old peoples hands and respekt them very much.In our traditional fast days children colect candies from the relatives and neıghbours.And also we have got just for children special children fast.Atatürk gave as a gift 23 of April to the childen.We make a big celabration,childen festival in these days.Also we invite the children from all around the world to celebrate together. You might have heard this.

FAVOURITE GAMES
We like playing hide and seek,football,catch and escape ,jump rope,hopscotch…….

RELIGION
We are Muslim and it teaches humanity,honesty,sharing and praying for our God like the other religions.
We have a lot of folk dances according to our regions like our food. For example zeybek, halay, horon…etc. when you come here our students will show you.

FAMOUS PLACES
We have lots of famous places in each region , some of them are Topkapı Palace, Dolmabahçe Palace, Sultanahmet ( Blue )Mosque and Square, Hega Sofia, Sistern Basilica, Bosphorus Bridge , Taksim Square, Çanakkale Monument, Capadocia, Sumela Manastry, the beaches of Aegean and Mediterrean, Ephesus , İshakpaşa Palace, Grand Bazaar…etc.

The most popular names are Ayşe, Fatma, Ali, Mehmet, Ömer, Ahmet, Zeynep, Aleyna, Can, Nur, Sude

News by Marzia and Roberta- San Lorenzo- Italy

SCHOOL
Our school “Dante Alighieri” is quite new, it’s 8 years old! It was opened in 2000.
Dante is the most famous Italian writer in vulgar language lived in 1300. Our school is to him entitled.

In secondary school we study English and Spanish. English is our first foreign language, Spanish is our second foreign language.Our school opens in September and closes in June. Every day lessons last five hours from Monday to Saturday. But on Wednesdays we have eight hours from eight a.m. to five p.m. and have lunch in the school canteen at one o’clock. The marks of our school go from 4 to 10. The bad marks are 4 and 5 and the good marks are from 6 to 10. The best mark is 10.
We go on school trips but we don’t go on trips among the nature!... We usually go and visit Italian
Cities!

FLAG AND ANTHEM
Our national flag was born on 7th January 1797 in Reggio Emilia. It has got three colours: green, white and red.
But why these three colours? These colours result from the region of Lombardy and the civic guard of Milan. In fact, the red and the white appeared in the very old banner of Milan (a red cross on a white field), and the green was the colour of the uniforms of the Civic guard in Milan. These colours, combined, were adopted as the Italian flag.
Our National anthem: Inno di Mameli.
Its verses were written in 1847 by Goffredo Mameli, a young poet and patriot from Genoa , and its music was composed by Michele Novaro. It became the Italian official anthem in 1946, after the defeat of the fascism and the end of the second world war.

SPORTS
The most popular sports in Italy are football, volleyball and rugby.
Our national sport is football.

CARNIVAL
The carnival is a festival which dates back to the traditional rites of the winter season. The explosion of joy and the use of the mask had the task of removing the evil spirits. The mask, in fact, making men like animals, gave a symbolic power. The festival was inaugurated in Rome. During the Saturnali everything was permitted, in particular in use was the exchange of roles, wearing the clothes of others, the slaves were, for example, served by masters and could allow any freedom! After the advent of Christianity, the carnival continued to be celebrated, but lost its content and ritual magic.
THE CARNIVAL IN VENICE
Carnival of Venice. It is the most famous and important Italian carnival. The presence of the Doge (the supreme office in the republic of Venice and Genoa) and the Senate, gave special solemnity to the feast. The Venetian carnival is celebrated with fireworks, games, parades and simulated battles. The clothes, music and games tend to recreate the lost glory. The use of masks, now known throughout the world, went back to 1700, where, daily, the Venetian aristocrats wore white masks to adorn their clothing.
THE ITALIAN MASKS
Arlecchino
The Italian mask of “commedia dell’arte” ARLECCHINO is a poor servant, who has no money even to patch up his dress. Hungry and cold, with his cunning, he tries to escape the bullying of the rich and strong. The mask of Arlecchino is characterized by multi-pieces of cloth, sewn together
rist. On this occasion, celebrated December 25, families gather around the table and are living a moment of great communion, exchanging gifts and mutual love.
PULCINELLA
The name derives from the Latin, perhaps late, "pullicenus ", chick. Pulcinella is a poor farmer, who does not want to work. Cunning and clever, makes the effort to find ways to eat. Pulcinella wears a white coat and wide trousers. He covers his face and his long hooked nose with a black mask. He has two humps, one on his back and one on his chest.
PANTALONE
Pantalone is the caricature of the merchant, mean and suspicious. It has a red dress and a black cloak, such as Dalmatian merchants of the 15th and the 16th century.
COLOMBINA
She is the gossip servant, often represented as a pair with Arlecchino. Crafty and vain, she was the protagonist of many comedies, in Italy and France, since the sixteenth century.
BRIGHELLA
He is a wise and faithful servant, who warns the owners against the troubles and the lightness of youth, with maybe a good word between parents and children.
BALANZONE
Also known as Dr. Balanzone, he is a caricature of the doctors of the School of Bologna, one of the most prestigious Italian universities of the XVI and XVII century. He says many Latin quotations, not always accurate. Infact his speeches reveal a profound ignorance.

FOOD:
In our country we eat many foods. For example, pasta: tortellini, spaghetti, ravioli, cappelletti, gnocchi, bavette, lasagne, tagliolini, penne, maccheroni and many other kinds of pasta. Italians like pasta very much!!! Pizza is our favourite food, there are lots of tastes: Margherita, Capricciosa, Diavola, Quattro Formaggi, Vegetariana, Quattro Stagioni, Monte Bianco, Napoletana, Ciclista, Parmigiana, Ortolana, Fornarina, Sfiziosa etc…
We can also cook meat in different ways and vegetables, fish and cakes.
Our ice creams are fabulous, they are the best in the world!!!

We have never been to Turkey but we would like to come and to know you and your country.

News by Manuela - Pergola- ITALY

This is the meaning of the three colours of our flag: green is the colour of our plains; white is the colour of our snowy summits and red is the fallen’s blood.
Our country is a Republic and the President of our republic is Giorgio Napolitano. His official residence is “il Palazzo del Quirinale”, in Rome.

SCHOOL
Our school “Galliano Binotti” – PERGOLA- ITALY goes back to 65 years ago.
In our country school starts in the first week of September and finishes in the first / second week of June. In my school, lessons start at ten past 8 a.m. and finish at ten past one p.m. Twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, they finish at ten past four p.m.
We study two foreign languages: English and French.
We study Italian, History, Geography, Maths, Physical Science, English, French, Technology, Art, IT, Music, Physical Education (PE) and Religious Education (RE).
In ten days, on 20th December, we have Christmas holidays until 7th January; we have a week’s holiday for Easter; the summer holidays usually start in the first week of June and finish in the second week of September. During Christmas holidays we decorate our own Crèche and Christmas tree. We also sleep a lot! In summer, most of us go to the seaside in Fano or Marotta, not too far from our village. Every day our parents give us some money because we buy our snack (pizza) at school.

TRADITIONS
An important Italian tradition is the Christmas Eve dinner: we prepare a lot of fish dishes. These dishes do not contain any meat: this is due to the fact that the night before a religious feast is considered a vigil. During Christmas time, many families build their own “Presepio” (crèche) that represents the Nativity scene, the birth of Christ. In our village it is possible to see the living outdoor crèche. On Christmas Eve we have a great dinner, but we don’t eat meat. After that we usually play games, then we go to the church at midnight. At night Father Christmas comes to our houses and brings lots of presents. On Christmas Day we have lunch with our relatives, we usually eat: “cappelletti”(pasta filled with meat), meat, “panettone” and “torrone”.La Befana is onether tradition. Each year on the eve of the Epiphany children hang stockings up the chimneys and hope that La Befana visit their houses during the night. This kindly old witch leaves good children toys and bad ones a lump of coal in their stockings.
Another tradition is the Carnevale, from the Epiphany on January 6 to the beginning of Quaresima. In this period there are a lot of parades and masquerade balls, entertainment and music. Children throw “coriandoli” (confetti).
Pesce d’Aprile! April Fool’s Day. The traditional “pesce d’Aprile” consists of attaching a paper cutout of a “pesciolino” (small fish) to the shoulders of a school companion. Then everyone asks: “L’hai visto? – Chi? – il pesce d’Aprile!” have you seen? – Who? – The April Fool!).
Italian Valentine. “Il giorno della festa degli innamorati” is a celebration for lovers. Gift can be red roses, a perfume or the famous Baci Perugina: these small chocolates contain a small sheet of paper with a romantic poetic quote in four languages.
Our national holidays are: 25th April, 1st May, 2nd June, 15th August, 1st November, 8th December.
In our country there is the Neapolitan song, “canzone Napoletana”: a traditional Neapolitan song is “O sole mio”. The “cantautori” singer-songwriter traditions are also popular . Italian folk music is an important part of our traditional music : each region has its own styles, instruments and dances.

Some of the most popular names for men are: Andrea, Luca, Marco, Francesco, Matteo, Alessandro, Davide, Simone, Federico, Lorenzo, Mattia, Stefano, Giuseppe, Riccardo, Roberto, Enrico, Nicola, and Michele. Some women’s names: Antonella, Lucia, Giulia, Chiara, Alessia, Eleonora, Francesca, Federica, Silvia, Claudia, Anna, Ilaria, Elena, Giada, Cristina, Maria and Veronica.

NEWS by Joao Maria PORTUGAL

The colours of our flag are: red (courage and blood of the Portuguese people that died in the battle), green (hope), armillary sphere (the world that the Portuguese navigators had discovered in the XV and XVI centuries and the peoples with who had changed ideas and commerce).
Our typical dishes are “Cozido à Portuguesa”, “Feijoada”, codfish. We have a very rich gastronomy. We have different kinds of folk dance, “Vira”, “Corridinho”, “Saias”, “Fandango” and others. Nowadays we wear what everybody wears in other countries, in the past the clothes were different according to the region.
The following are the names of some of the most famous artists in our country :
-Painting – Cargaleiro, Júlio Pomar, Vieira da Silva
- Music – Amália Rodrigues, Mariza (Fado)
- Xutos e Pontapés, GNR, Delfins and UHF (Pop/Rock)
MadreDeus, Rui Veloso, Vitorino (different kinds of music)
- Siza Vieira (architecture)
- José Saramago (literature)

The Portuguese educational system is structured in four levels:
Pre-school - not mandatory and destined for children from the age of 2 to 6;
Basic - which is organized in three cycles and constitutes mandatory minimumeducation:
1st Cycle- 4 years of schooling;
2nd Cycle - 2 years of schooling;
3rd Cycle - 3 years of schooling;
Secondary - 3 years of schooling;
Higher.
Some children start studying English in primary school. But all the pupils start studying English in the 5th grade, at 10/11 years old.
The activities in our schools are:
Football, music, riding, swimming, volleyball, basketball and we have different subjects: Science; History; Portuguese; English; French; Maths; Geography; Chemistry.
A Portuguese corrida de touros has three main events:
Cavaleiro - A horseman (rider), dressed in traditional 18th century costumes fights the bull from horseback. The horses are Portuguese Lusitanians, specially trained for the fights. These horses are usually skilled in dressage and may exhibit their art in the arena. The purpose of this fight is to stab three or four bandarilhas (small javelins) in the back of the bull. Horseback bullfighters are usually members of old aristocratic families.
Bandarilheiros - Akin to the Spanish matadores, but without the sword. These men simply play the bull with a red coat.
Forcados - The forcados are a group of eight men who challenge the bull directly, without any protection or weapon of defense. The front man provokes the bull into a charge to perform a pega de touros (bull catch). The front man secures the animal's head (usually it is a violent choke) and is quickly aided by his fellows who surround and secure the animal until he is subdued. Forcados were usually people from lower classes who practice their art through amateur associations.
Portuguese Bullfighting: the bull is not killed in the ring and the fight is accordingly referred to as a "bloodless bullfight". After these three sets, the bull is removed from the arena alive and is sometimes killed, away from the audience's sight, by a professional butcher. More often than not, many bulls are entered into other events, such as rodeos in California, or released to pasture until their end days. Nevertheless, tradition was so strong at the small town of Barrancos, where the bull was illegally put to death in the arena, that the government was forced to relent and permit the town to follow its ancient matador tradition and kill the bull in the arena. There are many forms of traditional, popular bullfighting in Portugal, differing from the "official" version, some of which involve groups of people doing a tug-of-war with young bulls, by holding large wooden structures into which the animals charge. In the Azores, bullfighting is often remniscent of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, in which those most at risk are human beings, not the bulls themselves.
In Portugal, some bulls have their horns severed in a way that they do not present sharp points. This practice is believed to have been introduced by King Joseph I of Portugal after a tragic event in a bullfight he was presiding. The son and heir of the Marquis of Marialva was fighting a bull on horseback when the animal wounded his horse. The young man fell, was kicked by the bull and killed. The Marquis himself, then around 70 years of age, jumped from the royal cabin that he shared with the king, drew his sword and killed the animal.
Also in Portugal, the main stars of bullfighting are the cavaleiros, as opposed to Spain, where the matadores are the most prominent bullfighters.

News BY Marta and Cristina- SPAIN

BAMBINI MONTJUÏC- GIRONA SPAIN
ANSWERS TO SLOVENIA, BULGARIA, TURKEY, ITALY AND PORTUGAL’S QUESTIONS
We’ve tried to answer all your questions in this presentation, we hope we’ve achieved it!!!!
TRAVELLING ABROAD
• We’ve travelled to some countries such as Portugal, France, England, U.S.A, Africa, Italy, Andorra, Austria …
• We travelled there with our family and some of us have been to England with the school to improve our English!!!!
• What we liked the most is to meet different people and cultures.
• We also visited important monuments such as The Eiffel Tower, The Big Ben,
• The Vatican city, The Trevi Fountain, Disneyland, Buckingham palace
• We’ve never been to Bulgaria, Turkey and Slovenia, and we’d like to visit them a lot!!!
TYPICAL SPANISH FOOD
• Spanish people like eating “good” food very much.
• Our diet is called “Mediterranean Diet”, and is based on vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, bread, pasta, rice and olive oil.
• One of the most famous dishes is “La Paella”.
OUR FLAG
• Three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe.
FOLKLORE
• Our region is called CATALONIA (Catalunya), it’s in the North-East of Spain. So, our culture is slightly different from Spain. For example the traditional dance in Spain is “La Sevillana”, as in Catalonia is “La Sardana”.
FAMOUS PEOPLE
• Catalan people are very proud of having famous painters, architects, musicians, artists, sportsmen… such as Dalí, Gaudí, Pau Casals, Rafa Nadal, …
• Other Spanish famous artists are Picasso, Julio Iglesias, David Bisbal, Rocío Jurado, …
FAMOUS PLACES
• There are lots of nice places to visit around Spain.
• In the North os Spain we have The Pyrinees, where you can go skiing.
• La Costa Brava, with very nice beaches.
• In the South we have Andalucia with it’s very beautiful for its “white” villages…
• The capital city of Spain is Madrid, and the one in Catalonia is Barcelona.
EDUCATION
• Education in Spain is divided in 5 parts:
• Infant School (0-5 years old)
• Primary School (6-12 years old)
• Secondary School (12-16 years old)
• Batxillerat (16-18 years old)
• University (18-23 years old )
OUR SCHOOL
• Our School is an Infant, Primary and Secondary School (“future project”)
• We start our lessons at 9 o’clock in the morning and finish at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.
• Almost all the students have lunch at school.
• The subjects that we study are:
• MATHS, CATALAN, SPANISH, ENGLISH, SCIENCE ( we study this subject in English), PHYSICAL EDUCATION, COMPUTERS, ARTS, MUSIC ,FRENCH and RELIGION OR SOCIAL EDUCATION (we can choose it!).
• We study English 4 hours a week and we study 4 more hours of Science in English as well.
Thank you a lot!!!!
We’ll keep in touch!!!!

QUESTIONS FROM ALL OVER EUROPE!

QUESTIONS FROM SPAIN:
Do you wear a uniform?
What are your favourite games when you go to the playground?

Do you like living in your country?
Would you like living in Spain?
How is your school?

What kind of food do you eat in your country?
Would you like travelling to our country?
What instruments do you play?
What sort of extra activities do you do at school?
Do you study English? How many hours a week?
Have you ever been to Spain?

What are the most traditional songs in your country?
What other languages do you study?
When do you have holidays?
What are your traditions?
When does the course start in your country?
What subjects do you study?

How is your country?
What’s the thing that you like the most about your culture?
What’s your timetable?
Do you know any spanish words?
How do you celebrate christmas?
Do you like your culture?

QUESTIONS FROM TURKEY:

What is the meaning of your national flag ?
In which class do the students start to learn a second language ?
What are the names of your traditional folk dances ?
How are your traditional clothes ?

What kind of food do you eat in your country ?
What are the names of your the most famous artists in your country and in which part of art ?
Can you explain your education system shortly ?
Why were the buildings in Venice built in water ?
Have you ever been in Turkey ? if yes, where have you been? . Did you like it?

In our country among the young people rap music is very popular , what about your country ?
Which part of art are you successful ?
Which activities are there in your schools ?
What are your most famous historical places and can you explain the history of them ?
What is the length of Pisa Tower and why is it slant ?
Do you know anything about Islam?

QUESTIONS FROM BULGARIA:

Which is your national dish?
What age do the children start school at?
How many teachers teach in your class?
What is your favourite food?
Do you leave your textbooks at school?

What do you wear at school? Do you wear a school uniform?
Do you have any relatives or friends in our country?
When do you start and finish your school day?
What foreign languages do you study at school?
What is your school like?

If you could visit some of the partner countries, which one would you choose?
What is your religion and what does it teach?
When does your school day start and finish?
What is your favourite Christmas dish?
What are your traditional dances?
Do you know anything about our country?
Do you take part in competitions?

Which is the most popular sport in your country? Do you have a national one?
Do you go to school trips and schools among the nature (green schools)?
When are your school holidays? What do you do during them?
How old is your school?
What are your marks at school?
What do the colours of your flag mean?
Is your country monarchy or republic?
What are your typical customs and traditions?
Which are the most popular names in your country?

What subjects do you study at school?
What is your typical school day?
What do you like doing in your free time?
What are your national holidays?
Are you given pocket money by your parents for school? We receive free breakfast at school. What about you?
What are the most famous places of interest in your country?
What board do you write on in your classroom?
Is there a fair in your town?
What do you do in technology?

QUESTIONS FROM PORTUGAL for students

1. Have you already been abroad?
- Yes
- No
2. Who did you travel with?
- Family?
- Friends?
- Others?
3. Why did you go abroad?
- Holidays?
- Studying?
- Others?
4. Which countries did you visit?
5. Which one did you like most?
6. Which one didn’t you like?
7. Have you had any problems with the language?
8. Would you like to visit a special country? Why?

QUESTIONS for teachers

1. Have you already been to Portugal?
- Yes
- No
2. Who did you travel with?
- Family?
- Friends?
- Others?
3. Why did you go to Portugal?
- Holidays?
- Studying?
- Others?
4. What did you like most?
5. What places did you visit?
6. What other places would you like to visit?
7. Have you had any problems with the language?
8. What is your opinion about Portugal?