Portugal: Time Flies!

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 second week in Lisbon. I cannot believe this trip is 2/3 over already! The first week of the program felt like it went on forever (not in a bad way) because of getting used to the time change, constantly exploring new places and the general culture shock of learning to live in an entirely new and unfamiliar place. In contrast to this, my second week in Lisbon has flown by!

This week consisted of more shadowing in the local teaching hospital (this week in General Surgery), exploring Lisbon further, and making the most of my time abroad. As I have become more comfortable in navigating the city, and more confident in my (VERY) limited Portuguese phrases, I have wandered farther and farther from my apartment to discover more of the city.

Some pleasant surprises that I have encountered this week have been how friendly and willing to help the locals are. In the past, I have been very afraid to ask locals for help while abroad and felt embarrassed at not knowing much of the local language, but the Portuguese are a very welcoming and kind people that love to help others.

A highlight of this week was a group dinner that everyone on my program attended, which was a cooking class. In this class, I prepared a traditional Portuguese tomato stew that is served with an egg cooked in it and toasted bread. I was surprised to learn that it is one of the very few Portuguese dishes that is vegetarian, and that it is very rare to find any dishes that are traditionally vegan. Another highlight of the week was visiting twoseparate castles: one in Lisbon and one in Óbidos. It was very interesting to see such old structures, and to see how tiny and steep the passageways were!

Overall, I am excited for the next week, but also very sad that it is my last week in Lisbon. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Portugal so far and have learned so much from my experiences here. I am very sad that I have to leave so soon!

This is a picture of the traditional Portuguese stew that I learned how to make in my cooking class. I was very surprised at how simple and pure the ingredients that went into the dish were, and how much flavor it had!
This is Saint George’s Castle (Castelo de S. Jorge), located in Lisbon. The castle which has previously been used for many different purposes, including military barracks, and a royal palace, is now a fascinating museum that has beautiful views of the city of Lisbon.
This is the castle that I visited in Óbidos. This is a medieval castle that was the first castle in Portugal to have rounded towers, rather than rectangular towers, due to their structural integrity when under attack.