Once upon a time...

My name is&nbsp;Parii, I’m 14 years old and I’m Ukrainian. In Ukraine, I lived in Kherson, a very beautiful city. My school was in a big three-storey house and not in separated buildings, like here in Portugal.&nbsp; We do not study French at school as I do now. We learn Russian, Ukrainian and English. The grades are different too: in Portugal they are from 1 to 5 and in Ukraine they are from 1 to 12.

I must refer to the fact that I’ve&nbsp;been very well welcomed. In Portugal, teachers are more open-minded. It makes me want to study hard to be a better student. In my opinion, 90-minutes-classes are very tiresome. In Romania, classes are only 45 minutes long, which is much better for us to learn. Here in Portugal, it seems that only the third term matters and I don’t like it at all. Some times I felt I was being&nbsp;segregated, and that made me feel very sad.

One thing I really like is that the summer holidays last for about 3 months. However, in that period, I can hardly wait to go back to school again. I think Portugal is a country with a culture which is very different from the Moldavian one, but I was well-accepted and I feel good living here.&nbsp;

All I had learnt so far had been in a Bangladesh school, in a class of 75 light blue dressed girls. Back there, we wear blue dresses but, when we reach grade 5, pants under the dress become compulsory, in order to cover our legs. In my “new world” everything is different. Classes are smaller, boys and girls can be together and the way students dress is very different.

About the school, I can say it was a new reality as the way of teaching is very different: new subjects, more demanding teachers, more work to do. Even the way Portuguese people consider school is different. Here, my classmates turn back and talk to each other during the classes and when someone enters the classroom they stare at that person. Even the way parents react to our marks is different: they don’t seem to care a lot when their children miss a school year.

My name is&nbsp;Vasile, I’m 17 years old and I am Moldavian. When I arrived in Portugal, I knew nothing about the country and I did not know a single Portuguese word. But I knew what every teenager knows: it’s not pleasant to feel different from the others on our first school day. So, on that day I wore a well-ironed suit, a shirt and a tie. I took a deep breath when passing through the school gate, ready to make new friends. I was doing the right thing, wasn’t I? WRONG. It was a shame!... All other students were wearing sneakers and the girls were wearing mini-skirts. No one looked like me!

My name is&nbsp;Asha, I’m 11 years old and I came from Bangladesh. My school was in Daca and it was a girls’ school. There were Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslims students and there was a place for us to pray. People from my religion – I am Muslim – pray 5 times a day. Now, in my Portuguese school, I can’t pray as much as I should because I’m in classes at that time. I have to pray at home afterwards. I think that God understands it.

In Moldavia, tradition says that on the first school day girls must wear their best dress and boys their best suit. Boys take flowers to school and an older student carries a girl on his arms or his back and walks all around the school. I thought that in Portugal it was the same. On that day I only didn’t take the flowers. Thank goodness!

Despite being Muslim, I enrolled in Catholic Religion classes at school. Neither my father nor I knew what that subject was about. After the first lesson, I told my father that the teacher had shown us some films about Jesus Christ and he replied that I should go on attending these classes to get to know the religion of most Portuguese people.

My name is&nbsp;Ming, I’m 15 years old and I’m Chinese. I am in year 7 and I have many difficulties with the Portuguese language. I had to learn the Latin alphabet! I have many communication obstacles and I had to adapt myself to an educational system which is completely different from the Chinese one. I keep trying making friends, but it hasn’t been easy!

In Moldavia, if we get a bad mark our parents make our lives hard: we are grounded. For example, they stop giving us pocket money or don’t allow us to use the computer. When considering the way my parents were educated, having bad results at school is a shame.

Portuguese teachers are quite patient. In Bangladesh they are stricter and sometimes they get really angry at us. I think that in Portugal the school is more demanding. And the summer holidays last for almost three months. In my country, they only last for less than two months. However, here I am always glad to be back at school.

On my first school day in Portugal, my father walked me there and he held my hand all the way. I was a bit nervous and tried to communicate with the teacher I first met.

I confess that my first year in Portugal was terrible. I only wanted to go back to China, to my 12-class-hours school. It was really tiresome, but so comfortably familiar!... But that is past. Now, whenever people ask me “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, my answer is: “I want to speak Portuguese like a native speaker.” I haven’t thought about my future job yet, but one thing I know: I don’t want to leave Portugal anymore.

I also do not have to do the daily hoist of the Chinese flag and some exercise&nbsp;before classes.

I am&nbsp;Bogdan&nbsp;and I came to Portugal from Bucharest in Romania. At first,&nbsp;I thought my teachers at school would not care about me because I was a&nbsp;foreigner. However, they have been very patient and understanding and worry about me much more than my Romanian teachers.

One thing that surprised me was the number of couples (boyfriend and girlfriend) inside the school area. This is not allowed in China!... Here in Portugal, I don’t have to wake up very early. In my country school time is from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

My name is&nbsp;Valeriu, I’m 13 years old and I came to Portugal from Moldavia. In the beginning it was hard because everything is different here! I had some problems with the Portuguese language, but my Portuguese skills are getting better because I watch a lot of TV and I’m also having Portuguese for Foreigners classes.

All my life I have followed the Ramadan fasting, but one of my teachers told me that it is harmful to our health. That is quite demotivating! During the Ramadan period, I only have an excuse for not attending the PE classes…

Adapted from reports by migrants/refugees in Portugal, published in Portuguese magazines and newspaper.

But the weirdest thing is that Portuguese boys wear their jeans a bit down in order to show their “back sides” . The first time I saw such a thing I wondered: “What’s this? Are they gay?” I don’t like this behaviour.

In Ukraine a school uniform is compulsory: a suit with a shirt tucked in the trousers. I didn’t like to wear that uniform. Here in Portugal, we can wear whatever we want. It’s much better.

I am in year 5 and I haven’t failed a school year so far.&nbsp;One thing that was important for me to feel integrated was having been placed in a class which already had students of my nationality.

In Romania, students behave better at school. Here in Portugal, when someone enters the classroom, all students keep seated and look at that person. In my country,&nbsp;when someone enters or leaves a classroom, all students immediately stand up and then sit down quietly.

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