Arriving in Lisbon

I have been blessed enough to have two opportunities in the same year to travel and study abroad. I loved my experience that I had in Brazil, and so far I am really enjoying the chance I have to be studying in Lisbon, Portugal. It is definitely a whole different world over here than I have ever experienced before in my life. It is certainly much different than both North and South America. Everything is so beautiful and articulately designed, and it is incredible to think that these incredible buildings, monuments, and castles were built so many hundreds of years ago. It is amazing for two reasons: one that they are still standing today, and two that those who built them were able to do such an incredible job with the little technology and machinery that they had to work with. I also have enjoyed learning about the history of the country and how it all ties in with the incredible things that I have been seeing. To be quite honest though, life here has been quite the adjustment! Much differently than the study abroad that I went on to Brazil, I arrived here on my own without a group of other BYU students by my side or a great professor like Vanessa to take us and guide us through our journey step by step. Although that was nice, it has been a good experience for me to fend for myself a bit and figure things out on my own. I have enjoyed learning how the city works, how it is laid out, and how to get around. This, along with the intense jet lag that I experienced at first, have been the biggest adjustments. Other adjustments include the people, food, and language. The people here are much different than those in Brazil. They are not quite as giving or warm towards other people as they are in Brazil. It's not that I don't like the people here, some of them are very nice, but it will be hard for any people to replace the love I have for Brazilians. One very kind person that I have met is named Tiago (pictured below). He is a member of the same University that I am attending and he was set up by the University to be my "buddy". He picked me up from the airport when I got here, and we have hung out a few times since I have been here. He was a big help before I knew anyone. He is a really nice guy, and I have enjoyed getting to know him. The pictures below are from one of my first nights here that we went out to dinner, as well as a beautiful train station that we passed by at night. The food is also much different, a little bit drier and not quite as flavorful as I am used to, but I am enjoying it nonetheless. I am starting to pick up on the language differences as well. Although I speak Portuguese, there are many words, conjugations and accents that are different that I am trying to adjust to. All in all, the experience so far has been great! I am looking forward to the next couple of months to be able to fully experience what Lisbon and the country of Portugal have to offer!