Epal Project By, Patrick Copeland and Zach Thor 1B

Introductory During this power point, we will explain our ePals country, Portugal, and our own country, the United States. In addition, this power point will inform you about our ePals lifestyle and ours as well.

Geography (Portugal) Portugal is the western most country in Europe, located on the Iberian peninsula. The primary rivers are the Minho, Douro, Tagus, and Guadiana rivers. Portugal has a Mediterranean climate, meaning it is warm year long with short periods of rain. Some issues Portugal face with their environment are soil erosion, and air and water pollution.

Geography 2 (USA) In the United States, there are locations across the country that have differences in climate, but it is usually hot summers and mild to cold winters. The main mountain ranges are the Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains. Some rivers include the Mississippi River, Colorado River, Rio Grande, and Missouri River Similar to Portugal, there are air and water pollution issues as well as soil erosion issues, but there are more natural disasters including earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes in the United States.

Government (Portugal) The Portugal government is one of the four sovereignty organs of the Portuguese Republic. In the Portuguese government, the Prime Minister is the head of government, and the President of the Republic is the head of state. The type of government it has is a parliamentary representative democratic republic.

Government 2 (U.S.A) The government in America is run by one man, the president, with the help of the vice president, secretary of state, and congressmen all across the country. The type of government the United States has is a democracy. It contains three distinct branches of government: executive, legislative, and judiciary branch

Schools (Portugal) In high school in Portugal, the students have ninety minute long classes. Some days they have three classes and on other days they have four. The classes they take are just like ours, including basic math, science, and social studies classes, PE and health, and foreign language classes. Both of our ePals play soccer for their school teams.

Schools (Portugal 2) Their grade levels go by cycles, 1 st cycle, 2 nd cycle, and 3 rd cycle. Some school districts in Portugal have all classes in one day, but our epals have an A day and B day.

School 2 (USA) In the United States, students, in high school, take ninety minute long classes too. We also take similar classes like PE, basic math and science courses, English, and foreign classes. Elementary school is from 1 st through 5 th grade, middle school is from 6 th to 8 th grade, and high school goes from 9 th to 12 th grade. The grading scale differs across the United States but the grading letters are A,B,C,D, and E or F.

Customs/Traditions (Portugal) In Portugal, many families get together for holidays, especially for religious holidays. The most celebrated holiday is Christmas. Most families get together on Christmas Eve and have a big dinner, then on Christmas morning, they have a large feast known as the consoda. Both of our ePals spend Christmas Eve with their immediate family, then on Christmas day, they go to their grandparents house and open gifts there.

Customs/Traditions (Portuguese 2) During Sundays, many Portuguese people go to church, but some people go to monuments or statues and pray there. The most popular and played sport people play in Portugal is soccer.

Customs/Traditions (USA) Most religious American citizens take part in going to church on Sundays. Many holidays are celebrated in the United States, but the most famous holidays celebrated are Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4 th of July, and Easter. On birthdays, families and friends gather for the special day. Everyone surrounds the birthday person and they all sing the “happy birthday” song, and at the end, the person blows out all the candles.

Customs/Traditions (USA 2) On Christmas Eve, families go to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. During Thanksgiving, Patrick goes to Spain to spend time with his family, and I go to New York. We also watch the football games that are on during Thanksgiving. In the United States, the most popular sports are football, basketball, and baseball.

Family (Portugal) Portuguese families are very closely related and spend a lot of time with each other. During their past times, many families watch TV with each other and relax. Our ePals like to go to local soccer games with their families.

Family (USA) Zach’s family is comprised of his mom, dad, brother, and dog. They mostly spend time with each other when they are watching TV, on vacations, or when they go out to eat. Zach and his family go on many vacations to Florida and New York.

Family (USA 2) Patrick’s family includes his mom, dad, brother, sister, and his dog. Patrick and his family go to Spain every summer to visit his relatives. In addition, he goes to San Diego once in awhile to go see a San Diego Chargers football game. As a family, they like to go to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA.

Epal Comments “Outside school, I play indoor football, listen to music, watch tv shows like House, NCIS, Supernatural,etc.”

Epal Comments 2 “The usual Christmas in my family is Christmas Eve I go to dinner to one of my grandparents, and then on Christmas, I have lunch and dinner at my other grandparent’s.”

Epal Comments 3 “After school, I like to go home, have a quick snack, and go outside and hang out with my friends. We usually play soccer in one of our backyards.”

Conclusion After this whole experience with our ePals, we can definitely see how our lives and there lives are similar and different in many ways. Our school systems and religious views are similar, but some our customs and traditions are different.