Field Trip: Ouro Preto

Field Trip: Ouro Preto

  A group of a hundred students, all of the 8th grade of Colégio Marista Arrquidiocesano, took part in an educational field trip to Ouro Preto, a historical place, one of the most important cities in Brazil that is considered a historical heritage. From our trip, we have learnt not only about the history of Ouro Preto, but we also learnt how to stay together and how to deal with other students during a trip. It was very positive and healthy.

In the trip, we visited many churches, such as São Francisco’s Church, Nossa Senhora do Pilar’s Church and Santa Efigênia’s Church. These visits helped us to understand more about the Barroco Art. This kind of art was largely used on the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and caused a sensation of sensuality and movement for those who looked at a sculpture or image.
Another important thing that we have learnt was about the colonial period, as we found many streets and old buildings showing us how difficult life was at that time. There was neither electricity nor paved streets. In the beginning, the city was underdeveloped, because the intention of the colonizers was to get the gold and go back to Portugal. Nowadays, the infrastructure of the city is good, but it is a Patrimony, so it can’t be very changed.

We also noticed a lot of social differences in all cities. During the interviews,  local people told us about lack of sanitation and bad conditions of hospitals.

   One of the most interesting places to visit in Ouro Preto is Tiradentes’ Square. From this place, we have learnt more about Inconfidência Mineira and Tiradentes’ life. We learnt that he was a man who fought against the Portuguese to make Minas Gerais independent, and after that, he became an example for everyone. In the Square, there was a statue and a museum in his homage. 

Another important place to visit was “Casa dos Contos". This place had this name because it was where the colonists counted taxes and collected coins. This house had two floors. Upstairs, there was a kitchen, and downstairs, there was a room where the quarters of the residents stayed.

In the trip, we visited two mines: Mina da Passagem e Mina do Jeje. There, the slaves work was very difficult, because there was no electricity, so they couldn’t see anything. There were a lot of accidents of landslides and a lot of people died too. They needed to pass in narrow ways. We also learned that the gold extracted from these mines was a major source of wealth in Colonial Brazil. 

   We have stayed at Caraça Natural Park, an area of transition between ‘cerrado’ and ‘Mata Atlântica’, which has great diversity of animals and plants. We would say that this intense interaction with Nature made us think deeper about the environment.

  All of this was possible because the group became more and more united. The students had the opportunity to know their teachers better, and teachers made their effort to help us in the difficulties.  Everyone tried to make the others feel comfortable.

  We conclude that this trip was a great opportunity for us to learn more about culture, history and art, and at the same time, to get closer to our teachers and friends. We will take this learning for the rest of our lives!

Jo Terada 18

Luca Bartié 23

Rafael Arini 30