Submitted by Rebecca Sayeg on the 2020 winter session program in Portugal sponsored by the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences…
Today marks the end of my first week in Lisbon. Due to how many great new experiences have been crammed into that short time, I cannot believe it has only been one week! The best phrase that I can think of to describe my first week would be “culture shock”. From the architecture, to the people, to the way of life, things are very different from the familiarity of the United States.
Some of the highlights of my first week in Lisbon have been the walking tour of Lisbon, and shadowing doctors in the local hospital. On the first full day in Lisbon, my whole study abroad group went together on a guided walking tour of Lisbon. The city seemed so large and unfamiliar to me and I was in awe of how beautiful everything was. On the tour, we climbed to the top of the Arco da Rua Augusta (the Arch of Rua Augusta), which gives a beautiful view of the city center, visited a museum detailing the history of Lisbon, and visited another district of Lisbon, known as Belém. In Belém, we visited a street fair, and a monastery known as the Jerónimos Monastery. Another major highlight of the week has been shadowing doctors in the local hospital, Hospital de Santa Maria.
Throughout this first week, I have been surprised to find how beautiful and varied the different buildings are around the city. What is truly crazy to me is that all this beautiful architecture is the result of hard work, done by hand, and now that we have the technology to construct beautiful buildings with ease, we build much less ornate buildings. Another fact that I have found very fascinating is how friendly the people here are toward visitors—they all find it exciting to practice their English and have been very helpful and welcoming. Overall, this week has been incredible, and I am so glad that I have two more weeks to explore and learn!
