Our final comments

Hi, I am Alessandro. I liked this project because I "Knew" new people. This project has helped me to improve the language.

Hi , I am Carmelo
I liked the project because I knew new cultures; it is very innovative, and I hope to work again with you. Good bye

Hi,we are Desy and Jenny…for us it was a good experience because we could share and learn new tradition, cultures and exchange different points of view. I hope that next year there will be the opportunity to meet ourselves .

Hello,we are Salvo and Andrea.
This project we did was very instructive.
We had the possibility to exchange our thoughts on different subjects and cultures.
We hope to work again with you.
Bye bye.

Hi I am Michael ….. I liked this project very much.

Hello, I ‘m Marzia Biondi. This project for me was very funny; we knew your blogs which were very nice and instructive! We learnt a lot of things about your countries. And it was great to know the customs of these countries. I hope that next year we will continue this project to know other curiosities and news from you . Bye.

Hi I am Rosalia…I liked this project because “ I knew” new people…I hope to work again with you….Good bye see you next year …I hope to be able to visit your countries…By Rosalia

Hello guys,
I am Alessandro Ternullo.I liked this project because it was innovative and nice.
Bye bye

Hi our friends!!!
According to me, the English project was very educative and particularly interesting because I could know the life and the habits of other Nations.
I was just disappointed because we couldn’t arrange a chat with you during the schoolyear in order to know you better; anyway, I think the project was very useful for us and we could improve the language.
Goodbye our friends!!!!
CLAUDIO CAVALLARO

Hi, I am Daniele I liked the project because I knew new people and new cultures; it is very instructive and Ihope to work again with you.

Hi! I’m Giulia Gerbino . I think this project was very creative for our class. It was a way of knowing the life ,the customs of other countries too. The project was successful but we didn’t have the possibility to chat with you. Have good summer holidays and have a lot of fun! Bye.

This project was interesting and I knew new things about different countries.
I hope that next year we will continue it
Goodbye our friends!!!!
GIUSEPPE LICCIARDELLO

Hi guys, I’m Ignazio..I think that this project was very useful because it helped us to understand the way of studying, of living of students from other European countries and to train the language, even if time wasn’t sometimes so much. I hope to work again with you and I hope
to meet you next year in our or your countries.

Hi, I’m Agata Messina. This year we did this “Exchange” of thoughts and opinions on your habits and customs. It was very nice and instructive.

Hi, I am Rosario,
I liked the project because “I knew” new people …
I think that it has been a very instructive thing.
See you next year then!

We are Seby ,Angelo and Luca.This project was very nice, innovative and interesting .We hope to do it again next year.

"Nightlife in Malta". "An interesting work experience"

We are MONICA CONSOLI, MARYA SHYVDKA, CARLA SOLIS and VALENTINA D’AGATI from IPSSAR Catania.
Two years ago, our classroom spent two weeks in Malta for a work stage. It was an unforgettable time for us and we want to tell you something about our wonderful experience in this fantastic island
NIGHTLIFE IN MALTA
The real nightlife develops in St. Julian's in the subure of Paceville where you will find discos, bars open till late and one of the largest casinos in Malta: the Oracle Casino. Often owners of shops, and famous international Dj are guets in various clubs in Malta. The clubs are all trendy, bars also have live music entertaining tourists and young people until the morning after. For those who like to enjoy an elegant atmosphere with a good drink, on Malta archipelago there are three important and international casinos: the Dragonbara Palace in St Julian's, The Oracle in St. Paul's bay and Venice Vittoriosa. Nightclubs in Paceville offer music for all tastes: trance, salsa, Caribbean dance, rock, commercial .. The most famous and great disco in Malta is the Axis, which can hold about 3,000 people and offer the largest laser show in the world. Malta The Havana club is the best and biggest club in soul music and R & B of the archipelago, on two floors with a large dance floor and luxurious bars. Other clubs are: Empire, Tattingers Super Night Club, Giampula club Fuego Salsa Bars, Amazonia, Hacienda bar, La Cave disc, and many more .. What an exciting nightlife!!

An interesting work experience

Our trip to Malta has allowed us to gain an unforgettable work experience.
All the guys were divided into pairs and each pair was assigned a spesific hotel.
The first day was a bit difficult but then we were perfectly placed in the employment context. We worked in three hotels.
Our roles changed according to our field. We had training at the receptionist of the hotel and we helped the receptionist to work and to create for example key cards and fill in registration cards and we worked in direct contact with the customers.
The names of the hotel where we worked were : Kennedy Hotel , Fortina Hotel and Marina Hotel.
In the hotel there was a high level and a qualified staff. These hotels offer Vrious services:
Swimming pool
Sauna
5 restaurants
American bar
Internet point
2 gyms
This experience was important and at the same time fun. I surely would like to have the same experience again.

Our job experience in Malta

Malta is a densely populated developed European microstate in the European Union.
The island nation comprises an archipelago of seven islands situated in the Southern European areas of the Mediterranean sea.
The country's official languages are Maltese and English, which replaced Italian in 1934.

Every year our school organizes the educational trips to Malta, first of all, to improve the student’s English language, and train them for the hotel and restaurant services, working in different hotels.
Last year we were delighted to visit this magnificient area.
We had the opportunity to attend the English course, based on the Inlingua Method with 20 lessons, and gain experience in the hotels as receptionists, waiters and chef’s assistants for 2 weeks.
In the end we received 2 certificates : one for completion of the English Language Course and the other one for the hotel experience gained during this period.
Moreover, we had the possibility to visit some places, like Sliema, a beautiful city, where we carried out our job experience, San Julian, with several nightclubs, discos and pubs, Mdina, medieval town situated in the centre of the island, commonly called the “Silent City” by natives and visitors alike, Valletta, the capital, and Gozo, an island of the Maltese archipelago.

We visited most of these places by the typical city buses, which have become tourist attractions in their own right and appear on many Maltese advertisements to promote tourism, as well as on gifts and merchandise for tourists.

We visited also “The Professional Hotel and Catering school” of Malta, that is among the most equipped professional schools in Europe, and Hilton Malta Hotel that belongs to one of the most famous hotel chains in the world.

It is very luxurious.

During the day, we had some time to go for a walk, go shopping and buy some souvenirs, that represent the maltese culture.

The Festival of the artichoke

Each year in April the town of Ramacca organizes the “Festival of the Artichoke” that wants to be a moment to promote a better understanding of the organoleptic quality, and the nutritional and health value of the artichoke. During the festival it is possible to taste various food made with artichoke. There are always a lot of visitors, including foreigners so this feast represents an important moment of social and cultural enrichment.
Not only it’s possible to enjoy the colourful stalls, but in the course of the event in Ramacca a conference is generally held involving all the authorities, industry experts, producers and traders.

The festival of the strawberry in Maletto

Every year in june , Maletto becomes the city of strawberry attracting turist from all over world. Strawberry in Maletto has become the most important resors ecomonyc.
During of the feast the local people prepare a huge cake which
Is more than 1000 chilos and offer it to every one.
During the feast the locals offer strawberry to visitour to taste it for free and also pizza , arancini and cosmetics mode of strawberry.

The fruit ripes from the begining of May fill the end of june.
You can also find different types of strawberry : sweet mode of strawberry , the flower of strawberry that blooms from January fill December and the traditional strawberry which has very sweet taste and smell.

The Festival of the Pistachio of Bronte

BRONTE, LAUGHING TOWN NEAR CATANIA,IS THE COUNTRY OF PISTACHIO, FRUIT WHOSE GARISH GREEN COLOUR HYPNOTIZES.
PISTACHIO,OR THE “GREEN GOLD”,AS THEY CALL IT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY PRODUCED IN SICILY AND PARTICULARLY IN BRONTE. THE PISTACHIO REPRESENTS IN FACT THE MAIN ECONOMIC RESOURCE OF THIS TOWN.

EVERY YEAR IN THIS SUGGESTIVE PLACE AT THE FEET OF MOUNT ETNA ( THIS YEAR IT HAS BEEN THE XIX EDITION ),IT TAKES PLACE THE FAMOUS FESTIVAL CELEBRATING THIS APPRECIATED FRUIT AND ALL THE GASTRONOMIC DELICACIES THAT HAVE AS PRINCIPAL INGREDIENT THE PISTACHIO.
YOU CAN TASTE:CRUSHED-ICE DRINKS,PASTRIES,CAKES,ICECREAM PASTA, MEAT AND FISH AND A LOT OF OTHER DELICACIES PREPARED WITH PISTACHIO.DURING THE FESTIVAL THERE ARE PERFORMANCES OF FOLKLORIST GROUPS ,MUSICAL SHOWS,CONFERENCES ABOUT PISTACHIO .EVERY YEAR THIS SUGGESTIVE FESTIVAL ATTRACTS THOUSAND OF TOURISTS THAT WANT TO TASTE THE SICILIAN SPECIALTY.

The festival of nespola

Every year in the month of May in Caltabiano, 60 kms far from Catania you can enjoy the festival of nespola, a very juicy and sweet fruit. Nespola” is a typical fruit, only produced in Caltabiano. It finds there the right habitat to grow up. The production of this fruit is about 800 tons every year. Local people make a lot of tasty things with ”Nespole”: ice-cream, drinks, tarts, jam and crepes.
Visitors can taste them while having a look at the shows and parades of sicilian carts.

The Feast of arancino

Every year the 6th , 7th , 8th and 9th September you can enjoy the famous feast of arancino in Ficarazzi, a few miles from Catania. In the last editions this nice festival has drawn thousands of people eager to taste arancini (rice balls) from the classical ones (with butter, meat sauce, mushrooms) to the latest and tasty (with chicken, octopus, peppers and nutella cream).More than 16 different flavours to delight the palate. A real great success for this delicacy which has a lead role in the gastronomy of our town.

The Festival of Seppia

In Donnalucata a delicious coastal town,the festival of the squid takes place on the 19th March on the occasion of the celebrations of St. Joseph. The products of the festival are the best flavours of traditional cuisine.The squid is processed and cooked in the traditional way: it can be roasted, fried, used to season spaghetti or arancini,
During the festival, you can taste all these delicacies and enjoy the celebration of saint Joseph with a spectacular horses parade. Horses are decorated with drapes made of palm leaves and wall-flowers.In the streets and squares bonfires, are arranged and the evening ends with the tasty barbecue around the fire.The following day, on Sunday, the traditional procession in the honour of St. Joseph is held, the simulacrum of the saint is carried by the faithful through the streets of the town accompanied by a procession and a band.

Horse meat


On Saturday evening when we go out whit our friends we use to go and eat sandwiches with horse meat .In some areas of Catania there are “putie” (typical eateries generally situated in the historic part of the city) where we can roast the meat ourselves.

Horse meat…mmmhh… :p

Green competition

The green dish is a cooking competition that brings into play the chef, who will match a lot of herbs to the traditional dishes of their country. (Burdock, Calendula, Chamomile, Cress, Elicriso, Lavender, Hops, mallow, melissa, mint, blueberry, edible passiflora, plantains, rhubarb , rose hips, sage, dandelion, lime, purple). All this has been possible thanks to the hospitality of the town "Riolo terme" and “Società di Terre di Faenza”. The competition has taken place at the Catering School of Riolo terme . 12 schools competed: IPSSAR Bardolino Verona, IPSSAR BORMIO Sondrio, Catania IPSSAR K. Wojtyla of which I am part of IPSSAR cervia, IPSSAR shaped, IPSSAR Frydek-mistek (Czech Rep.), IPSSAR Piedimonte Matese (CE), Porec IPSSAR / Parendo (Croatia), IPSSAR roma, IPSSAR Senigallia, IPSSAR of torinoe IPSSAR of Varallo. It was a beautiful experience and I had a good fourth place with my dish which is called “Drop of tuna fish with a heart of ricotta cheese and herbs of youth, paccheri stuffed with light and fragrant caponatina. Culis of pachino‘s tomatoes with mint, brushstroke of emulsion of sea urchins in triumph of rhubarb crisp.

Me and my boss...

The Sicilian granita is a typical refreshment of Sicily, originally born in the province of Messina. In its basic recipe it is composed of water, sugar and lemon. From there it spread throughout Sicily, but we its best expression have in the Eastern coast of the island. Here the original taste of lemon went through many variations: The almond granita, probably born in the area of Avola, in Siracusano (if you have the more extensive cultivation of almonds Sicilian) is now the most popular flavor of the east coast of the island, often coupled with the taste chocolate. The granite coffee and strawberry are a speciality of the city of Messina, usually served in a glass when the bottom is made half of granite and the rest covered with cream, strictly fresh. Very popular in Catanese are the taste pistachio (originally from Bronte) and taste the fruit: blacks mulberry, peach, strawberry, tangerine, pineapple. Not to mention the great tradition of the 'Aces "(outskirts of Acireale, between Catania and Messina) in the production of granite. Served in glasses, originally accompanied by bread, now goes willingly with the typical Sicilian brioche made with the egg and form a base surmounted by a semi-ball.
Come to Sicily to taste our granite with brioche
Students Flavio Barresi, Enrico Ragusa, Ivan Rametta, Emanuele Senia

We LoVe GeRmAnY!!

Hello, we’re Agatino, Ermes and Riccardo. we have been selected for a Comenius Course. On 17th february we went to Germany with our teachers De feo Danilo and Santagati Rita.
We stayed in Germany for a one week with all the other people of this course.
In this German school we met people come from: Romenia, North Ireland, Germany and Greece.
We slept in different family with German students.
In this week we prepared with all the people of the course some healthy dishes for the teachers of the school and also we were in the city near the school, to spend all together our free time.
We visited a brewery, and a commercial centre of Frankfurt.
This week has really been interesting, because we have met people from all the world and we made new friends.

Did you Know that....

Curiosities from the world...
The pink dolphins really exist!It is a rare example that has been sighted in the waters of the Calcasieu Lake in Lousiana.The dolphin has been immediately called Pinky for its colour.The first one to take a photograph of it was Erik Rue captain who spread the news.Pinky is an albino Tursiope a very rare species of dolphin: all over the world just 14 have been sighted ! Its colour is pink because it is a case of albinism and its eyes are red. This particular animal risks the extinction since births of this kind are really rare events. Very nice Pinky!!!...and you, did you believe to the existence of such a similar creature? Leave a comment if you like!

By Jessica,Giulia and Marzia

the green sea pizza

Hi ,
we are going to give you the recipe of the green sea pizza as you asked us:
Ingredients:
150 gr. yellow flour;
50 gr. white flour (00);
warm water to taste;
salt to taste;
seed oil to taste;
a small bag of yeast for pizza;
1 teaspoon of sugar.

For the seasoning:
150 gr. of spinaches (already boiled);
200 gr. salmon;
olive oil to taste.

Preparation:

Prepare with the flour a sort of fountain with a hole in the centre where to put the water, the salt, the yeast, the sugar. Mix everything. In the meanwhile add the oil so as to have a homogeneous and smooth dough. When the compound is soft make a ball, put it in a bowl and cover it with a cloth. Leave it to rest until it doubles in size. After the leavening has completed, put the dough on the table and stretch it so as to make a disk of about 25 cm. of diameter and about 3 cm. thick.
Garnish the pizza with a cream of spinaches ( previously boiled and whisked . Put your pizza in the oven, cook it. After that take it and add the salmon (cut into pieces) and season with olive oil .

The Alexander cocktail

Here is the recipe of the Alexander cocktail (which has been prepared for our cocktail competition ) as it has been asked by our etwinning Greek friends:
Alexander cocktail
Ingredients:
7/10 Cognac
3/10 dark cocoa cream
1 spoon of liquid milk cream
a sprinkle of nutmeg
Preparation:
In order to prepare a perfect Alexander, you must put the ice in a shaker together with the other ingredients (exception done for the nutmeg). Shake for 8 seconds and pour in the glass and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg. If you like, you can replace the latter with the bitter cocoa powder. Moreover it can be completed garnishing with a cherry. For this cocktail the use of the cocktail glass is advised, that is the classic one for larger Martini .
Have a good cocktail!!!!


This work has been written by Alessandro.

the banqueting

On 31st january our class together with our cookery teacher prepared a banqueting for some people who took part in a meeting organised in our school. It was a very nice experience that gave us the possibility to put into practice all what we learned during our cookery lessons in laboratory.

Here is the menu we prepared for our guests.

starter:
Smoked goose breast with winter salad in virgin sauce with croutons with liver Toscana mousse.

First courses :

Risotto with blueberries and red wine

Pappardelle with duck sauce


Second course:
stuffed turkey on plums and potatoes with herbs

Sidedish:
Broccoli and red turnips boiled in extra virgin olive oil.



Dessert:
tortino filled with hot chocolate, vanilla ice cream
and trifle.

And now... let's start!!!!!

And here we are with our Headmaster!

It was a very good experience for us that we hope to repeat again as soon as possible.

Bye !

This work has been written by the class 4 TSR.

Our Hotel management and catering school.

The Hotel management and catering school “Karol Wojtyla”.


Hi! My name’s Maryia. I’m Ukrainian but I’ve been living in Catania for a lot of years.



















Now I want to tell you about the school I’m attending.
The Hotel management and Catering school “Karol Wojtyla” is located in Catania in five different buildings so that students have the opportunity to attend our school in different districts of the town. The school where I go everyday is under repair now, and shortly it will be like this:




Studying here is exiting because we can get professional competences together with a good basic culture.
The school , through theoretical lessons as well as technical and practical classes, prepares students to become qualified staff for hotels and restaurants. And that’s not all! during the school year, students can improve their knowledge by visiting tourist facilities, following conferences, taking part in educational trips in Italy and abroad.
After a two-year period, the same for everyone, we choose our specialization and at end of the third year we become skilled waiters:















Cooks:

and receptionists:

During the fourth and fifth year we must perform extension hours (“THIRD AREA”) with work experience in hotels and restaurants The final title we achieve is a certificate of Catering operator or tourist operator.


This work has been written by Maryia.

The pizza competition

The contest “pizza with fish”.

Every year in Catania there is a pizza contest with fish where almost all the pizzaioli of Catania participate and also our school participates. The contest takes place in Pala Cannizzaro.
The competitors must have an area on their own where they prepare the “mise en place”.
Afetr having prepared their pizza which must contain any kinds of fish, competitors are asked some questions by the jury about pizza in general.
Only three students gain a prize, the other participants get a certificate.
Last year a student of our school won the third prize with her pizza called “green sea”. At the end of the competition pizza with coke was offered to all the guests.

The castles in Sicily

DONNAFUGATA Castle is located a few kilometers far from Ragusa, one of the nine provinces of Sicily. This is a magnificent noble palace of the '800, previously inhabited by the rich family Arezzo De Spuches.

The “Ursino” castle

The Ursino Castle is located in Catania. It was founded by Frederic II of Swabia in the XIII th century (1239). .Its most suitable name is that of stronghold because it was designed and built with this purpose.It has a square plan, with sides of m.63 and thick walls of m.3; 4 angular towers the names of which are: Martyr tower, Flag tower, Salt tower and stores tower.
On the front door there a niche (trilobe) containing the statue of the an eagle, the Swabian symbol catching a lamb which represents Catanesi dominated by Frederic II.In the south and east sides there are some beautiful XV th century windows; over one of them there is a strange “Pentalfa”, a five-ended star, made of limestone and pumice of lava, perhaps it was Frederic’s precious talisman.It’s one of the most important examples of medieval fortifications.

The ”Norman castle of Adrano”

The Norman castle of Adrano is a symbol of this town (Adrano); it was built by Count Roger Ist of Sicily in the XIth century. After the Norman domination, the castle became property of the different famous Sicilian dynasties during the centuries.

The Castle “Utveggio of Palermo”

Utveggio castle is an important building in Liberty style similar to a Gothic castle with its characteristic pale pink color. It is situated on the promontory of Mount Pellegrino with a view over the city of Palermo.

This work has been written by Daniele and Ignazio.

The coffee competition.

Last year in my school was held a competition totally dedicated to “COFFEE”. This competition dealt with the origins of coffee .
I with another boy participated in it. I have got the specialization as barman.
The purpose of the competition was that of verifying our knowledge in the field. During this competition you are asked many questions about for example, the various stages of coffee and of other products too, such as the “CAPPUCCINO”.
Those who better answered were given the highest mark. It was really a good experience which was very useful to improve our technical skills and knowledge.

The barman competition.

Among the different activities that normally take place in our school there are many competitions which regard different fields. One of these was the barman competition which was held in Florence last year. I took part in it together with my schoolmate Carmelo.

It consisted in preparing an international cocktail and a fantasy cocktail ( the latter was a cocktail whose ingredients were chosen and mixed by the participants themselves).

The participants were 36 taking part in preliminary heats.

Carmelo was unlucky because due to a mistake he made he was excluded ,while I took part in the final round even if I gained the second place.

It was really a good experience that we hope to repeat in the future.

This work has been written by Alessandro and Carmelo.