My time in Lisbon has come to an end, and what an amazing 3 months in turned out to be. Firstly, I cannot thank the John Speak Trust enough for the scholarship I received. It was a big part of why my time in Lisbon was so successful. The money I received allowed me to really make the most of my time by fully throwing my heart into the Portuguese culture and experiences, as well as the chance to travel around Portugal to experience the different sides.
I had never visited Portugal before and went in with little to no preconceptions. Lisbon was an amazing city with the most incredible infrastructure and buildings. My route to work every morning was filled with different churches and castles along the way, and the view of the Belém Tower every morning was very special. I was very lucky to be able to get away most weekends to surrounding villages and regions for example Cascais and Sintra.
A big part of developing my Portuguese language skills was down to my living situation in Lisbon. Living with native speakers, but also sharing the host family with a friend from Angola meant I got the chance to experience a different style of Portuguese. I was able to pick up such important learning points at different moments. For example, the Portuguese radio that would play all day long, and the heated dinner discussions helped me understand a part of Portuguese that I do not believe I would have got by reading a book.
Moving abroad to work in another country was a scary experience to begin with, however I instantly felt at home in Lisbon. I was able to build up my confidence with speaking Portuguese and after a few weeks, was starting to interact confidently in most situations.
To anyone reading this I hope you get a chance to visit Lisbon and experience the widely underrepresented Portuguese culture. I could not have asked for a better experience and look forward to hopefully one day return.