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Lisboa in one year - the best of:

After 12 months living in Lisboa I opened my Lonely Planet guide for Portugal and looked back what has been done and should be done before once I leave Lisbon. Yes, I have decided I’m gonna stick around for another year for professional and financial reasons but after that I’m gonna start looking for something else. Even thinking of returning to Montréal. But here are the wisdom of the first year living in the portuguese capital. I know I have learned some. 

MOMENTS / EXPERIENCES:

After a photo shoot gone wrong because the sun rose in a wrong way I realized that the old trams which I have been wanting to take since I came here were EMPTY! So ended up taking one, actually severals on this random winter, sunny morning and just enjoying the ride while people rush to work, kids to school, shops open and the city awakens. The beauty of everyday life and that evident only for me. 

Numerous Couchsurfing nights that went on forever untill the morning without plans and with random people you had never met before nor meet again. Good times and definitely fun times!

Tinder dates that last for 7h while learning new areas of the city, stories, tips etc! Nothing major romantic but time well spent definitely!

Sunrises seen almost as many as the pasteis de natas eaten thanks to my early schedule at work. No matter how cold or hot it is - and how badly which ever of those suits you I love how the amount of light changes according to the seasons. Even in here. 

My hair looks so much better here than in Finland! No idea if it’s the vitamin D + zinc pills, the sun, the new SYOSS hair products or the combination of all of this - it is working! 

My previous experiences abroad have been intense but none of them has lasted as long as my time in Lisbon. I don’t feel like this is my final destination but I’m feeling the time in here will play a significant role in my life however. 

Obviously, Portugal gave me Eurovision. Despite of mixed feelings of how I look back at those weeks - obrigada! 

1 museum, 3 palaces, 2 fortress + multiple churches visited and about 1000 left to visit more.

 LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:

Hundreds and hundreds of Pasteis de Nata eaten. I know the best spots! Dare to say that I’m probably more expert than some locals.

After the negative first impressions I opened my eyes to my neighborhood and how great it is to live right here. Just local people without the tourists but still nice cafes, restaurants and shops. Whatever I need I know I can find it here! Can’t imagine living in anywhere else than in Alvalade-Roma-Areeiro area!

Seeing the beauty, the charm and history of the city and this country and why people come here and more importantly why they stay. 

How unique is this city compared to anything else I’ve ever been and my experiences in the moment of time. Lisbon grows and changes rapidly and how I see it today will be already gone by tomorrow. Thanks to this it is innovative, international, personalized and different but also fragile, dying what it is old and local. I think of my touristic choices more from now on and their affect after I’ve done whatever I came to do and left the destination.  

Knowing Lisboa spirit and understanding it a bit better every day. Embracing the details and colors around me – everything that makes Lisboa wrong and right but what makes it real. This city is a book to be read slowly and pages that continue forever.  

 LIFESTYLE:

Used to do Yoga before I came to Portugal but it was more random and not regular. Here however I can do it in my room as often as I can – just put some yoga music on from Youtube and tadaa! Another new hobby is bouldering/climbing which I don’t know how to do but I am still enjoying it!

Wherever you are and which ever turn you take on the streets of Lisbon – there will be a coffee shop! And not one of those international chains but an actual local portuguese cafeteria.

Never leaving empty handed from the markets where the hand made products are being sold (jewellery, clothes, souvenirs, etc). Especially the ones that you bump into randomly and unexpectedly.

Thousands of photos taken. I think I took better photos while living in Finland but I do have more material to go on here.

Exploring the country outside of Lisbon but not too far away not to be able to do day trips to visit the coast, amazing beaches, forests and mountains.

I ain’t a big fan of Portuguese food since I don’t eat seafood but instead I’ve had my eye on on the pastries and sweets since the beginning.

 PEOPLE:

Knowing all the right people when your computer crashes, or you need a photographing buddy who knows all the best places or you need a new portuguese teacher etc. Lisbon is not that big and the international crowd with the locals is easy to navigate if only you make an effort!

Portuguese are a proud nation realizing its faults and are always happy to show you around and share their expertise.

 When you break the ice with your neighbors, staff at your local store with people from here in general cause they are shy and somewhat distant in the beginning. But in the end you’ll get help, a friendly advice or whatever it was what you needed. They will go great lenghts for you. 

LANGUAGE:

I’m still a far cry from a fluent Portuguese speaking but when you notice you understand quite a bit of what’s being said around you – in Portuguese.

Finding music in Portuguese which I love – and it’s not Fado.

Diogo Picarra - Paraiso (2018) 

OVERALL:

When looking back the list I made before I left Finland - I've accomlished more or less everything I wanted. Only the language learning is the thing I'm a bit behind. So I’m on the right path here :) 

Sintra - first impressions

A small town at the edge of Lisbon metropolitan area that has a story to tell. The royals’ favorite the Portuguese and foreign ones, inspiration for artists and number one destination today’s travelers in Portugal. Sintra holds the country’s most iconic castles that will stand out from the rest of the world’s royal palaces.

Castelo dos Mouros and Sintra 

It was thanks to the royal family of Portugal who’d been chanted by Sintra mountains, fountains and the ocean around them for thousands of years. Many of the palaces served as ”holiday cottages” for several royal families during centuries. The most recognizable ones stand on top of the mountains,” of the moons” they used to call them in the ancient times and worth of every step you take uphill. The Palació de Pena used to be a monastery dating from Middle Ages and is today one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The transformation from a monastery into this colorful candy palace took place in 19th century by Prince Ferdinand. The castle has been forgotten and abandoned in between the centuries as impossible as it sounds. How can someone forget something so colorful, stands on top of the mountain and can be seen as far from Lisbon in a clear weather! The last Queen of Portugal spent her last night in the country in this very palace. Since Portugal turned into a republic the castle has been serving the public as a museum. Architecturally the palace has wide range of styles in it and can be divided into four sections which all enlighten its historical past.

Palació de Pena

Castle of Moors which no one quite knows where it started. Dating somewhat from the 8th and 9th centuries from the Muslim era, it is part of Sintra national landscape and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original idea of it was to protect the capital as the country. It holds the best views I’ve seen in Portugal so far. Some people don’t appreciate it cause it’s just ”the walls” but it’s great to take steps somewhere as this historical and pass all the flags of Portugal that have represented the nation during 900 years.

There are bus connections up there you know. Or you can take a taxi or tuktuk of course. Or do it like I do walk all the way up and down and die pretty much after the 5 hour adventure. Or I might have been just out of shape since we’re not exactly talking about Mont Blanc or Everest here just a few hundreds of meters going uphill. If you happen to be in Lisbon in the summer don’t miss the chance to visit Sintra. But if you can, wait since you’ll be making the experience so much more pleasant with less tourists during the winter season.

Some of my favourite houses found on my way up to the mountain

The reputation as a fairytale is highlighted by the forests and gardens around these two castles. Take an hour or two while getting lost in them. They also offer a cool shade during a hot day. Sintra holds more castles also but I haven’t visited them yet so don’t bother to write about something I haven’t experienced myself. Sintra’s small town is also an UNESCO World Heritage Site but didn’t think much of it. Except that it’s super small. Along the streets and in the parks folks sell all sorts local products. Some would say they’re touristic junk but I definitely refer them as worth stopping for!

In case you’re not into the enchanted castles you can always hop on the bus to the most Western point of Europe Capo da Roca. The bus ride for an 1 hour was quite nice driving along the small Portuguese roads through small villages. The actual spot which stands as the westernmost point is quite small but there seems be to a lovely looking natural park surrounding it. Didn’t fancy much of a taking a stroll on a super windy winter day so that’s yet to be discovered. But for someone who comes from a country with lakes and as flat as Finland – the rocks and that gigantic ocean was a powerful view. Knowing that the next spot of dry land is thousands of miles away. It was a place to be experienced with all senses: feel the strong wind coming from the ocean, hear the powerful noise of the waives rushing to hit the rocks and see all of that with your own eyes.

Quilty

As the year of 2017 was approaching dangerously towards its end and I towards my 6 months living in Lisbon.. which in fact was the biggest change of life during my 2017. I am still in process of learning how to live and be in Portugal but just to gather some of the lessons learnt… if any.

Not a post about Portugal without a local door!  

I cannot show off with the time well spent since it took me 4 months to get myself to Sintra which is the #1 tourist attraction of the country and only 25km from the city and even longer it took to taste the Pasteis de Nata, which is the local and the most famous delicacy of Portugal. My portuguese skills haven’t developed either as fast as I would have hoped and I have hit some obstacles over there too. But at least I’m somewhat getting how to do things in local way...slowly. And speaking of! Here are somewhat the biggest hills of my Lisboa life so far. 

Pastéis de Belém, legend with a secret recipe since 1837.

SLOWNESS AND INEFFICIENCY

This has caused me the most stress and really question whether or not I am in the right country. I’ve changed bank and gym, I’ve had 7 different phone numbers from 3 different companies. After all of these efforts I have at least 2 out of 3 figured out. I’m realizing that the portuguese function more efficiently during the rush hour than only one customer standing on the line.This demands motivation and changing my way of thinking. 

MAKING FRIENDS

I guess I am a tricky nature. Uncomfortable with many, including with my own people, making friends carefully and trusting only a few rocks in my life. Life has made me this way and together with the character of Portuguese people (shy introvert) I knew finding my place socially might take some time. I still have not taken roots but I’ve made tons of people through Couchsurfing, Tinder and Facebook, made really good contacts and some potential friends. This has given me energy and motivation the most. The moments of joy and feeling of succeeding.

LANGUAGE LEARNING

I’ve never been to abroad without feeling so little like being abroad. Spending 9h of my day, almost 50 of my week in non-portuguese speaking environment – I could be in Timbuktu as far as I knew.. so you really need to make an effort during your free time to learn the language. Me and the negative mood I’ve been on have been my biggest obstacles I’ve been trying to overcome during these last few months.

I compare myself the ones that say Lisboa is the best place on earth. The ones that enjoy their every day they get to spend here. Because I’m not sharing the feeling. I’m not saying that I would not like to be here but it doesn’t wow me or creat me the feeling like I belong here, at least not yet. Lisboa is easy to fall in love when just visiting and it usually leaves the tourists hungry for more. And like mentioned before understanding this country ain’t always the easiest things to do but there are perks of living here which even I do enjoy..

This city is a caffeine addict’s dream. Besides restaurants and cafeterias, book stores and even garages have corner for people to enjoy their daily dose. I don’t usually like black coffee but gotta admit here – it’s not actually that bad. 

This city is for a museum lovers since Lisboa offers wide range from traditional art and historical museums that open up the character of this country until more special themed museums such as for water, coaches and pharmacy. I’ve read that there over 40 different museums in the city. Been to 1 one of them so far. I’ll get there.

Lisboa is an artwork. Hipsters, bohemians and everybody between will love it here. Each layer should be pealed one by one offering new flavours and tastes. Some say I do it too slowly but there’s magic discovering your surroundings doing it the way I do. There’s the art that’s been created on the streets, new pieces coming up every day but then there are the ones that are born within years even centuries made by its people.

Lisboa holds a majestic aura and its spirit is bold. Existing in the borders as we know it for 900 years the country’s different phases are everywhere. The streets I stepped into last July don’t look the same to me anymore. I understand better what was here before me and what has made the things as they stand in front of me. 

Portugal is known for its sunniest weather and mild temperatures even during the winter months but when we Finns have got used to warmed houses the portuguese are lacking the entire heating up the houses-systems. Rainy days are nice cause the night temperatures keep up around +10 degrees when in the clear nights they go as down as below +5. But then there are days when it’s almost +20 degrees and you can walk home with your coat open without heavy gear to keep you warm.

Looking forward to 2018 since for me the spring has already started. Every day gets lighter (not that it’s even really that dark in here) and warmer towards the summer.  Also I think a full year in a foreign country gives you quite educative image of what it’s like to live there. Spending less will only show you one side of the coin. So not quite done yet with Lisboa. 

Greatest moment: borrowing a book from phone box!

3 X

While living in Lisboa I’ve been reading this blog called ”Visual Diary” written by Finnish woman living in Lisboa. She writes about design, finnish and international but most of all life in Lisboa. She has nice pics and good point of views, tips about the city. And since I’m lacking inspiration and activity here copied this 3 x idea from one of her posts.

3x HAPPINESS

1.       My job.

2.       New WORKING bank account

3.       New friend(s)

I’ve been rolling in this cicle of negativity lately so here come the positive topics! Nevermind how depressive and hit down I get at the end of the day I’m always happy that I do what I do. It ain’t perfect and it has its down sides but I like the things that I work with and people I work with. Besides I have a new bank account, it’s portuguese and it works! No more need to transfer my money to my finnish account to have access to my funds. I’m also slowly starting to feel like having friends here. People who know this takes time. Good friends. Nice friends.

3x FEARS

1.       My parents dying

2.       Failure

3.       Addiction

And we move on straight to the other end. These are top 3 fears. The number one is obviously inevitable and realistic one. They are my only family and reason why I’d even go home in these days. And they have been good for me, been there for me when I’ve needed. Number two has clearly happened multiple times but still it’s one of the things I keep avoiding and fearing the most. Awful every time. Aaaaand I’ve had my share of alcohol and nicotine used by other people in my life so I hope never to be in a situation controlled by substances.

3X ARTISTS

1.       Laura Pausini

2.       Melanie C

3.       Gianna Nannini / Céline Dion

Gianna Nannini - Fenomenale 2017. 

I love music! I don’t know how to play it or sing it or anything else but boy do I love to listen. These are my favourites, some I’ve mentioned before here in my blog. Discover them if you already haven’t and don’t let prejudices control your mind too much.

3X LISBOA LOVES

1.       Colours/details

2.       Coffee shops everywhere

3.       Glasses and fanny bags

It would take a lifetime to discover all the details that are all over in this city… in the walls of the buildings inside and out. The windows, door and balconies. Equally interesting are the people who live here. Everything is rich in colours and shapes. Never have I ever seen a city filled with so many coffee shops. Besides of actual cafeterias – almost every book store and even car repair shop have a coffee maker and table for you to enjoy your afternoon espresso!

3X EXPERIENCES

1.       Montréal

2.       Meeting LP

3.       Spain

When I was kid I used to go through the geography books at the local library and read every sentence they said about the French speaking Canada. Château Frontenac was a sanctuary and I was a pilgrim making my way to Québec. Even after three years after my MTL experience I think of it as my proudest moment, biggest achievement and happiest time of my life to have been living there. Meeting Laura Pausini, was not part of the plan. I used to listen to her songs, over and over again. But she was distant, it took me years to have courage enough join her official Fan Club and even longer to attend her concert. Now after 23 years of being a fan I’ve met three times, who knew! Spain was unexpected factor also where I ended by a sudden, impulsive, random chain of events. Twice. In the most distinctive areas of the country that gave me life long friends and experiences.

Montréal, the best place on earth. 

3X FINLAND LOVES

1.       Ice cream

2.       Lakes

3.       Sauna

Here are the things that I adore in my country and that I always miss when I’m abroad. The most important obviosly there at number one. Finland is so under estimated as an ice cream destination. We do consume it almost the most in the world, you know! And coffee! Finland is obviously a summer destination with lakes and sauna on the list even though they’re great in the winter time also. But nothing is better than swimming in a finnish lake. The best sauna is at my god parents summer place.

Lahti, my hometown and lake Vesijärvi. 

3X HOBBIES

1.       Music

2.       Photography

3.       Gym

Music subject has been covered up there so let’s move to the photography. I’m not an arty person but I’m fascinated by the world through the lense. You can capture the big scene or focus on the small part of it. Afterwards change colours or bring out the shades to process what I’ve seen and maybe help people to see the beauty in ordinary things around us. Physical exercise is often seen quite shallow thing to do but for me it’s almost the same thing as sitting at a therapist couch. You go through things. You challenge yourself. And most of the times you return lighter home. Emotionally lighter for sure. 

Laura Pausini.

Here’s the Visual Diary blog for any Finnish speaking people who’re interested: http://www.lily.fi/blogit/visual-diary

Every day is a Monday

As much as I’d love to tell you that so much has happened since my last post and this huge number of events is the reason why I haven’t updated this blog I’m afraid the situation is quite the opposite. I have been just really tired and unmotivated to write anything. So not much has evolved since my last post but I thought an update wouldn’t hurt anyone. 

I have started studing portuguese, probably the biggest change so far! And I’ve decided to take the local approach while doing it. SLOWLY. So far had only a few classes and I’m not being nearly as active during my free time as I would want to but I am building an idea in my head of how this language works. Many things are similar from other Latin languages since I’ve studied Spanish, Italian and French and then there are other things that are completely new and bizarre. And it is surprisingly hard to let go of the things that have become familiar to me in other languages. But in time.. #patience

I found my teacher Carla on Facebook. She’s a local, 30-somewhat-year-old kindergarden teacher who teaches portuguese for foreigners also. Many TP (teleperformance) employees as well. My employer does offer free language courses but since almost all employees come from somewhere else the classes are quite popular and waiting lists long (6 months in fact). So I thought I’d ”speed” things up.

Discovering music in portuguese...even though they’re from Brazil I think. 

This way of studying gives me also flexibility which I couldn’t have had while studying in a group even though it might have been cheaper. I usually have 1,5h lesson once a week so I’ll have time to do something else also during the week. Carla lives on top of many hills of Lisboa, somewhat in the old part of the town, at least compared to the area where I live. I just love to go to her house cause the streets are filled with tons of details, doors, walls, ghost house, local life without too many tourists.

To support my language learning I try to read the news in portuguese at least once a day and I’m also in search of PORTUGUESE pop music. Because music has been a huge help every time I’ve studied a foreign language. All I find is Brazilian artists, nothing wrong with them but I’m very picky about the pronunciation as I am at quite early stage of learning. Don’t wanna learn the wrong thing here. If you have any suggestions please don’t hesitate to tell me!

About differences between portuguese spoken in EU and overseas..

My weekly routine is a mixture of on-off routines… gym, yoga, tinder dates, couchsurfing events.. I’ve come to a habit of spending my Saturday evenings with a bunch of couchsurfers. Dinner and drinks – always having a good time. Besides of travelers there is quite an impressive number of locals being active also.

Tinder I use even less for a romantic purpose but I do use it. And I’ve had some pretty good friend dates. Even though you wouldn’t meet the person again it’s educating to hear different life stories and opinions. Especially when you’re a foreigner living in a new country. Great new areas, bars, cafes etc discovered through these! Have an open mind!

Pink street. Pretty touristic but a good selection of bars, live venues etc. I often end up here with couchsurfers..

I found a nice gym about 15min away from my place. Monthly fee is 30€ unless you sign a contract for a year when you pay 10€ less monthly. There’s also a female section separately which is not big but it’s calm and works for me. It’s cheap and you can notice it sometimes in the machines but like I said I manage. And it’s open 24h/7 so I don’t need to check the opening hours.

Banks and phones don’t still work the way I’d like them to but I have my Finnish ones so what the hell.. I try not to stress about things. Let them go on their pace and ignore the things I can’t control.

Flat stuff! Our laundry machine was broken for three weeks and when we finally got a guy to fix it – it took like 3min! So portuguese slow. Anyhow it works now which is amazing! Meanwhile I went to this self service laundry place around the block.

I’m starting to know Lisboa. The historical capital with obviously strong artistic vibe. Now and as in the past and probably in the future too. Almost every street, statue, square is named after a poet, writer, musician or an artist of some sort. Reading the history of the city opens up to me differently now when I can walk on the same streets and pass the buildings where this country was built, shaped and later on changed numerous times.

Financially I’m better here. I make pretty much the same money (after taxes and rent) as I did in Finland but with things being cheaper here - I’m more free here financially. My employer clearly has some sort of reputation here and the company is widely known but I don’t care what other people say. My experiences have only been positive so far. At least to compared to Finnish companies in a similar field there are many things to be grateful for. 

Work is allright. I still go there. Training has been over for quite some weeks now and officially I should be on some sort of pro-level. Mornings ain’t my favorites especially when they start so damn early. I wake up 4:30am to catch the local train at 5:44 and be at work 6:30am. There’s a lot spare time there but at that time of the day there aren’t much connections to choose from. But location-like I’m super lucky cause the train to work is the best and fastest option in the city. And my body has adjusted quite easily to the new rhythm and I’m pretty ready for the bed after 8:30pm. And it’s nice to skip the rush hours when coming and going though social life is hard to plan when you’re starting to get sleepy at dinner time (portuguese eat late).

EUROVISION IS APPROACHING!!! Anyhow here you can see my local train station, the shopping mall where I have my lunch sometimes, do my shopping and see the area in general where I go to work to every day..

Days vary and are colorful because of the people who call. Got some pretty legendary stuff already in good and bad. Some calls take a lifetime and others not. I get calls about 20-40 every day. Even though my job is to listen people complaining I still like it! I like to work with the hotels stuff, flight stuff and tourism stuff in general so it makes everything nicer. There are a lot of RULES because we work in a customer service, because we handle payments and refunds, because we work on the phones. I know they exist for a reason so I don’t mind.

Even though things don’t work always as I’d like them to or even understand why they are as they are, I am super grateful for the helpful co-workers around me though who have the patience to give me a hand every time I need it. Apparently I’ve done some sales also cause I won a competition on the other Monday. But still it’s gonna take a long time before I’m gonna feel being good at what I do.

Weather like..it’s still very summery here at least during the days almost reaching +30C every day. But mornings especially at the hour I wake up, are chilly sometimes even cold. My room is freezing with the +15 temperatures  during the nights and I was also sick on the other weekend. Not much rain thouh. Yet. 

I’m actually looking forward to the cooler weather, less tourists and scenery changing. For the next post I’ll promise to get cracking – to make some progress with the Lisboa/Portugal to do list of mine.

They’re just clouds

Can I jump into that part when I’ll have it all it figured out? 

Month has passed by in Lisbon for me and I feel like I’ve done nothing! #Patience

I cannot help but to compare these first weeks to my last adventure in French speaking Canada. Shouldn’t do it cause the situation I’m in now is very different than what I lived back in 2013. In Mtl in the beginning I had 1,5 month time to look for a trainee job, make friends, get the official stuff sorted out and to know my new environment - pretty much against my own wish cause original plan was way more efficient and didn’t include that much “wasted time”. It wasn’t untill now that I realized how important that time off was in that moment.

But this time around, I started to work only after three days after my arrival here and even though there has been some extenuating facts like that I had an actual job waiting here for me, my employer did almost all the official paper (tax, bank account etc) work for me and that I’m working in an EU country now without visas and even in my own language. Still these days and weeks have felt pretty tiring and I miss the times like the first weeks in MTL without schedules and doing things in my own pace. 

But things are good. I still haven’t been robbed, raped or attacked in any other way. Safety first, right?. Even though to be honest living in Portugal feels weird. Sometimes I’m caught up with this thought that how did I end up here (more like a confused kind of way than in a negative one) until I remember all of this is a result of my own terminated work and planning. I haven’t quite been caught up by the local life rhythm yet. I still don’t have a phone number, ACTIVE bank account, washing machine has been broken on and off at the flat, things work still in an incredible slow motion for me (especially the official ones) nor do I speak the language. Luckily these things are temporary and fixable in time especially that I have a NIF (local tax number now which is the key to everything here). #Patience

But inspiring factors do come in my way every day. Small things whether it’s the beautiful morning scenery over the river, a brand new day rising on my way to work OR the lively street with its coffee and ice cream shops I found around the corner from home, meeting new people, even just for a once and being exposed to the new life stories that are educating and different from my own.

The city is cool though! It has a spirit and I’m liking it! I’ve been through most of the main areas of it and I do have a thought in which part you do this or that. The same areas may offer you a totally different things during the day and night. Been walking a lot... and how do I love that everything is pretty much in a walking distance here! And for every day there’s a new door or a window, balcony filled with interesting details. How can anyone get tired of these streets!? Been to a beach couple of times also (where you do have to go by train though). It was alright, you know very... sandy. Discovered some cool areas beyond the beach also. 

Portuguese learning is kind of slow. Surprisingly. The waiting list for the free (offered by my employer) language courses is over six months long so in the meantime I have to figure something else out. I try to watch youtube videos, listen the language being spoken around me, read the news in portuguese and do some serious studies by myself with the book I bought. #Patience. 

I have new room mate. The french girl moved out leaving a disaster behind her… HUUUGE mess in her room, kitchen and elsewhere in the flat. She even threw a party which the neighbours called the police for. Clearly the best thing is that she is gone. I try not to be judgemental but in my experience the french GIRLS make the worst roommates (and trust me I’ve had some back in Mtl). I’m sure there must be better ones but I just seem to have an incredibly bad luck of always bumping into the messiest, noisiest and the most selfish ones. Feel free to proof me wrong in here anytime! Now me and the austrian girls are living with this hungarian guy which we’re not sure either but I guess it’s better. #Patience. 

Work is a bubble where you spend most of your day, your week and forget that you ever left home because all I do is to speak Finnish/English and have quite little touch with the Portuguese way of life. My choice though. It has its ups and downs. For a week we did take some actual calls and tried to help the customers in the best way that we could and hopefully without screwing things up too much. Despite of huge amount of information we’ve already been exposed and that we’re still not aware of, I still think this is the coolest job I’ve ever had! But it is hard to try to learn so much in such a short period of time. #patience

We’re back at the class room for another week or so before we can call ourselves actual travel advisors. I know there will be frustration and bunch of other negative emotions caused by endless list of reasons I can already think of. I have a feeling the road is gonna be long. But through it all, at the end of the day I know I’ll be enjoying this once I get the hang of things! It’s not one of those many jobs you do just to survive, to get by through another day while you’re keeping your eyes open for something else. More right, more suitable, more you.

This is right. This fits. This is me.

(God, I really hope I can still stand behind these lines after months from here. Nor get fired :D)

5 days

As my Portuguese adventure approaches (6 nights left to sleep in Finland) I made a short list of things what to expect my life to be in Portugal. Probably things won’t turn out this way but I’ll let you know how it went. This is how I feel NOW. 

I tried to create a positive list that reflects my interests. So don’t be disappointed not to find out the impressive numbers of how many corks the country produces or how many sunny days does it have in a year. Because those are not the reasons why I’m moving to Lisbon. 

(any of these photos are mine - since I haven’t been able to take them yet!)

UNDERSTAND

The history of Portugal and Lisbon. Being one of the oldest nations, countries and cities in Europe I expect the old times to be present all around me. In the architecture, the way people are, in the language...

Portugal was the first country to descriminalise the use of all drugs in 2001. And apparently the numbers of addicts etc. have gone down since then.

Portugal was one of the countries that the recent economical crisis’ have hit hard. Since then the figures have improved and been going up but still Portugal is still considered a poor country.

Things will happen SLOWLY. Also the matter of times when people say to meet at 5pm this doesn’t mean 5pm but 30min or more later.

SEE

Street art. Lisbon seems to be very colorful and ”arty” and free what comes to creating the art.

LEARN

Portuguese and to be able to communicate with over 200 million people in the world.

EAT

Great food. Apparently a lot of fish. Wine obviously. Good coffee! Ice cream on the other hand I have not very high expectations.

DO

Excercise. Lisbon is being built on several hills (still not sure is it 7 or 8, I keep reading different figures) so discovering my new city will go for a work out untill I get my gym membership going on.

Travelling. As one of the most greatest travel destinations in the world I expect to see a wide range of pretty amazing things while living in Portugal.

(the red forest in Sintra)

FEEL

Warm. Portugal has the warmest winters even thou they can include cool winds and quite heavy rain. But when compared to Finnish/Canadian winters I’ll be fine. 

Safe. Portugal has been rated as the 5th peaceful countries in the world and even though no stranger to crimes – with a use of a common sense you should survive without being mugged, raped, beated up or murdered. Just don’t wave around your wallet, jewellery, expensive camera etc. in a “come and get me” like. Check out the areas where NOT to go alone/in the night and don’t get too drunk. Or so I’ve been told.

EXPERIENCE

Fado – music. The poetic, melancholic tunes that seem to express the most deepest emotions of the nation. Similar to the one that swept Europe of its feet at Eurovision. 

Portuguese CouchSurfing community.

Lower cost of living. But this doesn’t mean  that I expect to have tons of money but compared to Finland for example, things will be cheaper for me.

MEET

Shy but friendly people. They apparently have pretty good English language skills also which will help me ‘till I get my portuguese skills up to date. 

International spirits at the office as outside of it. This doesn’t mean not-portuguese but people with an open mind. 

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