Exams vs. Activities

Apart from the non-date-specified activities we presented in one of our last shows, here are some events coming up in Coimbra with special recommendations from the Babel team.

June, 1st: International Children´s Day brings lots of children's activities to Portugal dos Pequenitos (next to Santa Clara on the otherside of the river).

May, 31st to June, 9th: a theatre ensemble from São Paulo brings some cool showcases to Coimbra, hosted by O Teatrão (close to Polo II), going by the name of "São Palco".

June, 8th: Huge medieval festival in Coimbra with special recommendation from our last show's guest Renato. It's going to take place on Largo de Sé Velha.

Couch + Surf = Travelling

 Here some of the sites to provide you with information about Couchsurfing or CS, as people call it. Surely you might have found the Wikipedia page and the homepage on your own - but come on, use our link

Homepage of CS:
https://www.couchsurfing.org/

Wikipedia site (which can also be read in Portuguese, French, German, Suomi, ...):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CouchSurfing

FAQs of Couchsurfing:
https://support.couchsurfing.org/forums

Some critical voices or horror stories about CS:
http://www.dn.pt/inicio/portugal/interior.aspx?content_id=1269619
http://nithincoca.com/2013/03/27/the-rise-and-fall-of-couchsurfing/
http://p3.publico.pt/actualidade/economia/562/couchsurfingorg-deixa-de-ser-organiza%C3%A7%C3%A3o-sem-fins-lucrativos
http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=3920&post=13766078






http://gottakeepmovin.com/2011/12/20/couchsurfing-misconceptions-and-dangers/

Personal Development and Professional Future - say what?!

Here's to some helpful links that helped us "non-professionals" understand the topic and that might also help YOU develop yourself and enhance your very own professional future.

The jobs of the future- futurologists predict well paid jobs in 2030 (this is more of a fun read - don't start creating body parts, please!)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/9892011/10-well-paid-jobs-of-the-future.html

 Generations named after letters? Here are some explanations for Generation Y and Generation Z

http://www.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/generation-gaps/generation-y.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/generation-gaps/generation-z.htm
 What the 'coaching' is and why it's trending so much

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaching
 Courses in Coimbra which are destined at young professionals

http://certformformacaoprofissional.pai.pt/ms/ms/certform-escola-de-formacao-pratica-cursos-de-desenvolvimento-pessoal-4050-325-porto/ms-90034408-p-12/

RHumo's page and the link for the event Ornela told us about

https://www.facebook.com/juniRHumo
https://www.facebook.com/events/437300299698921/

Good Food!

In case you're interested in further reading on our topic, here are some of our sources of information - in Portuguese, but probably every country has its own food association that teaches about healthy living and diet. Just check for it!

Site with the information about canteens and food services of the university:

http://www.uc.pt/sasuc/Conteudos_SASUC/DIRECAO_SERVICOS_APOIO_ESTUDANTE/DIVISAO_ALIMENTACAO/NUCLEO_ALIMENTACAO

Study from the University of Porto (2009) about Portuguese students' food habits - either you take your time and read the whole pages or the resumo/abstract in Portuguese resp. English:

http://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/54753/1/132680_09112TCD112.pdf

Portuguese Food Association:

www.apn.org.pt

A Study about the tobacco and food consumption of university students at University Fernando Pessoa in Porto:

http://bdigital.ufp.pt/handle/10284/2466

Summer Festivals in Portugal

Sadly we just got a Portuguese text, but hopefully your language skills are sufficient to understand it!

OPTIMUS PRIMAVERA SOUND (30 Maio - 01 Junho)
O Optimus Primavera Sound é um festival musical anual introduzido em 2012 no
Porto, mais precisamente no Parque da Cidade (aproximadamente 6km a noroeste do centro
da cidade), e realiza-se em fins de Maio/inícios de Junho. O Festival é conhecido pela sua
programação eclética, pelo foco na música independente, e apresenta bandas recém-criadas.
A gama de géneros musicais inclui: alternativo, indie, electrónica, pop, hip hop, dance, folk,
jazz, metal, e música experimental. Algumas das bandas mais notáveis que actuaram na
edição anterior(2012): M83, Wilco, The Rapture, The XX, The Walkmen, Yo La Tengo, Beach
House, The Flaming Lips, The Drums, Suede.
A edição deste ano realiza-se entre 30 de Maio e 1 de Junho, com o passe geral a
custar 110€ no Portal Primavera Sound, e conta com nomes como: Blur, Explosions in The
Sky, My Bloody Valentine, Dead Can Dance, Grizzly Bear e Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Mais
informações em www.optimusprimaverasound.com

OPTIMUS ALIVE (12-14 Julho)
O Optimus Alive, é um festival de música e artes, que se realiza anualmente em Algés,
Portugal. A primeira edição ocorreu em 2007. Embora a sua criação tenha sido recente, o
festival já atingiu uma considerável popularidade, dentro e fora do país, tendo sido já feito parte
do top12 de Festivais Europeus em 2009 pela UK Magazine NME.
A edição deste ano está planeada para os dias entre 12 e 14 de Julho. As bandas já
confirmadas para o festival incluem: Green Day, Vampire Weekend, Two Door Cinema Club,
Depeche Mode, Editors, Kings of Leon, Phoenix, Alt-J, e Tame Impala. Mais serão anunciados
brevemente. Os preços dos bilhetes variam entre 53€, para os bilhetes diários, e 121€ para o
bilhete geral de três dias e camping. Mais informações em www.optimusalive.com





SUPER BOCK SUPER ROCK (18-20 Julho)
O Super Bock Super Rock é um festival de música que se realiza no Verão,
anualmente. Teve início em 1995, e é actualmente um dos festivais mais importantes
portugueses, e realiza-se junto à praia do Meco, em Sesimbra.
A edição deste ano decorre entre os dias 18 e 20 de Julho. Algumas bandas já
confirmadas são: Arctic Monkeys, Toy, Efterklang, The Killers, Kaiser Chiefds, Queens of the
Stone Age, e Digitalism (DJ Set). O bilhete diário tem um custo de 48€, e o passe de 3 dias tem
um custo de 90€ com campismo incluído. Alguns pontos de venda são: TicketLine, lojas Fnac e
Worten, El Corte Inglés, CTT, e BlueTicket. Mais informações em www.superbocksuperrock.pt

Summer activities PART II - Culture

But summer is not only about having fun outside doing sports - you can also enjoy yourself doing something inside or visiting some place without praticing a real sportive activity. Here is a brief resumé what we might suggest (apart from travelling Portugal and Europe):

• Learn a language: FLUC is offering various language courses, in case you haven't had the time to learn Portuguese until now, take the opportunity and sign up! Inscriptions are open until end of May and the course is going to take place in July. Get more information here.
• Take part in a summer school program: the European Union are offering in partnership with different universities a summer school program for future engineers called BEST. In Aveiro, there's going to be one called "EdYouCation - Raise your hand, make a change". More information here. But not only far far away summer schools are happening - UC is organizing events, too. And luckily not only for engineering students, almost every faculty has its own offers. To stay up to date with these, look for posters in the buildings and check the online overview from DRI here.
• Go to Porto: from 23rd to 24th of June, Porto is hosting the "Festa do São João" (St. John Celebration) - although with a Christian name, its origin is also in Pagan beliefs - thus leading to people having plastic hammers there, garlic and hot air balloons. Throughout the whole city, especially the parts of Fontainhas, Miragaia, Massarelas with their small squares, streets, and "becos", but also at sunrise up to the Foz do Douro, barbecues, concerts, parties, dances and much more are taking place - try the sardines and meat!
• QUEIMA DAS FITAS! Do I have to write more? I guess everything making you go there has already been said - just two more recommendations: the documentary in Portuguese from news channel SIC "Mãe, estou na Queima de Coimbra" and the indie thriller "Rasganço", the fictional story of a rapist fighting against the Academic traditions here. But be assured - it's pure fiction!

Summer activities PART I - Sports

Summer is the time of the year when everyone is getting on the move - we do so, too. Here in Coimbra and some other places. In the follow-up you find some of our ideas for spending summer days in an active way.

Canoeing:

• "O Pioneiro do Mondego" - pre-organized tours or free canoe renting, the Mondego pioneer from Penacova has everything a student's heart might want - also special group prices! They rank around 18€/person, but it surely depends on the offer you're taking.
• "Geoaventura" - they're organizing various nature experience offers since 2000. From rafting to canyoning, normal kayaking, sliding up to climbing. You can also have your bachelor(ette) party with them!

Skygarden:

• They're located at the very end of Jardim Botânico in Coimbra and have a basic parcours with full security equipment and assistance for 15€ (group prices are also possible) and additionally you can choose from specials like the highrope or the skyfall jump.

Praia Fluvial:

• The Mondego also has got it's own beach in Coimbra called "Praia de Palheiros do Zorro". It is in the community of "Torres do Modego" around 9km from the city center and apart from a beach and a river it offers bars and restaurants for not starving, toilets and showers for all your other needs. And on some days, there are even open-air cinema showings and concerts.

Parks:

• Parks in Coimbra are close to innumerous, but we still wanted to tell you about some: Jardim Botânico, Jardim da Sereia, Jardim da Manga, Mata do Chopal, Jardim da Quinta das Lágrimas, Parque Verde do Mondego, Parque Dr. Manuel Braga, ...

Surfing (in Figueira da Foz):

• Surfing Figueira: This São Pedro surf school offers also a small shop and equipment renting, the classes are around 25€/person, group discounts are available and a course offer would be around 100€ all-inclusive.
• Escola Surf + Kitesurf (eSK): surf, kite surf and stand up paddle courses are some of their specialties. Courses prices range from 70€ up to 100€, which surely depends on the sport you want to learn and the nummer of lessons (single lesson would be 25€, if you're taking more, bring a friend - there's a special discount for "friends"). They don't have a fixed store but provide a meeting point on the beach and the possibility to rent equipment.
• Figueira Surf Center: classes ranging around 30€, they also offer special camps with a place to stay included.
• For others check the page of Associação Portuguesa do Surf - they have a country-wide list of recommended surf schools!