Sections of ESN Portugal integrated Erasmus students on Christmas Eve

The local sections of ESN Coimbra, Aveiro, Covilhã, Lisboa, Minho, Porto and UTAD have implemented, this Christmas, a project called "Christmas Eve with a Portuguese Family", with the goal of helping international students experience a typical Christmas dinner (also called "Consoada" in Portuguese). More than 100 Erasmus students were hosted by nearly 90 families from all over the country, in a very special night for those who did not get the chance to go back home, but also for those who received them in their homes.

The project is based on a very simple idea which has succeeded all over Europe, which goal is to attribute a Portuguese family to internacional students who spend Christmas in Portugal. A more frequent reality, either because the students don't have the means of going back to their home country during the holidays and want to spend it in a homelike context, or because they want to experience and get to know the culture, food, and Portuguese traditions.  

For sections such as ESN Aveiro, ESN Lisboa or ESN Coimbra, this project has been implemented in previous years, reaching an increasing number of families and international students. In Trá-os-Montes, by ESN UTAD, it was the first time the activity has taken place, with 4 families and 6 Erasmus students taking part. Coimbra has supported the integration of 13 Erasmus in 5 hosting families, ESN Minho allocated 15 students to 11 families and Covilhã 7 international students to 6 Portuguese families. In Lisbon and Aveiro the results were very positive, having a participation of 17 families in the first section and around 20 in the second. Porto, which has been implementing the project for the 4th consecutive year, had the biggest numbers so far: 52 international students have spent Christmas Eve dinner in the homes of 31 families from the area.

The good practice has caught the attention of national media, who have interviewed the students and families and promoted the project in television programmes, in newspapers and online publications. Sofia Baêta, Project Manager of ESN Portugal, is pleased with the results, having faith that the project should "continue in the following years, with increasing numbers and the participation of all the sections in the country". The feedback has been very positive, not only from the international students themselves but also from the families who host them, some which have repeated the experience for the third consecutive year.

ESN Porto in the news: 

ESN Lisboa in the news:

ESN Minho in the news:

Written by: Mariana Sousa

Research by: Romeu Neves

Photos by: TVI and ESN Porto