Lisbon,Portugal
I always strive to live like a local when I travel and I had a chance to do that in a big way when I spent the month of September working and volunteering in Lisbon, Portugal. I was able to do this through a program called Venture with Impact, a U.S. based nonprofit that pairs professionals with nonprofits in four international cities: Chiang Mai, Thailand, Medellin, Colombia, Mexico City, Mexico and Lisbon, Portugal. For a program fee Venture provides accommodation with WIFI, access to a co-working space, social outings with others in the cohort, and an in-country coordinator for support. They also match you with a nonprofit that can use your experience and skills. This cohort was small, only five of us, from a wide range of backgrounds. But we bonded and spent a lot of time together.
I was assigned to work at APAV, a Portuguese agency that supports women who are victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking. I did pro-bono financial analysis and fundraising strategy plus continued to work with my clients back home. This made for some LONG days, but it was so worth the opportunity to be involved in such critical work.
Tip for Roaming
I knew I was going on this trip several months in advance so I was intentional about setting up meetings at times that worked best with European time zones, but I was driving myself crazy trying to convert time zones in my head. Google calendar has a feature that allows you to have multiple time zones on your calendar so you have a visual of appointments in your primary time zone and the temporary one.
Lisbon is an amazing city full of diverse people, history, and old world charm. People stay out until 6 am with no worry because it's extremely safe. Much of the diversity comes from former colonies: Angola, Brazil, Capo Verde, Macau, and Mozambique. Lisbon offers easy access to the rest of Europe and Africa. While I was living there, I went to Marrakech, Morocco, only a 1hr and 30 min flight away. (That’s a separate post).
With this diversity of cultures, to talk about Lisbon without talking about the food would be negligent. Lisbon has amazing food with seafood occupying a significant portion of most menus, cod is top fish in Portugal, ironically cod is not found in the warm waters of the Portuguese coast. It is a cold-water fish that is imported dried- called baccalau. It’s reconstituted with water then cooked with lots of olive oil and served with potatoes. The average Portuguese adult eats 200 pounds of cod each year. Crazy! Pork is the meat of choice, but there are numerous vegan and vegetarian restaurants.
One woman in the cohort, Cassie, is a vegan so we ate in vegan restaurants a lot to accommodate her dietary needs. I must say the food in the vegan places was fantastic. One day on a beach outing, she found a restaurant - Flores Do Cabo which was also an art gallery. The decor was just so earthy and warm and the artwork was spectacular, and the food…we were there for THREE hours.
There are numerous beaches in close proximity to Lisbon and were an unexpected surprise. I didn’t go to many, but others in the cohort usually went several times during the week. I joined the group for one beach trip to Praia da ursa in Sintra, Portugal, about 45 mins from the city. A shared Uber got us to the top of the steep cliffs that led to the beach. The views were incredible and the hike down (and up) was quite challenging, but so worth it. As is the norm in Europe, there was a fair amount of nudity. I appreciated the lack of self consciousness - no gawking, no whistling just everyone minding their own business. That day was one of my most memorable of the trip.
Another was the weekend the cohort took the train to Porto and then rented a car for a day trip to the Douro Valley wine region. Our in-country coordinator arranged a boutique winery tour with lunch at Quinta do Jalloto Winery, a family-owned winery where the winemaker himself served us tapas. Sublime. The Douro Valley is full of large and boutique wineries set among a stunning landscape of mountains dotted with picturesque small towns along the Douro River. If you travel to Portugal, the Douro Valley can't be missed.
Local Life in Lisbon, Portugal
Although most Venture participants share an apartment, I requested and paid extra to have an apartment by myself - at this stage of my life I’m just not willing to share a bathroom. It was a 4th floor walk up (with a/c!) in lively Bairro Alto. This neighborhood is full of restaurants, bars and coffee shops. On the two-block walk from my apartment to the main street there are 7 restaurants, 4 markets, a gelato shop and a pastelaria (a coffee/sándwich/pastry shop). Every block has a Pastelería because the Portuguese LOVE espresso, even after a dinner that ends at 11pm. Oh yeah, they eat dinner late.
I sought out and met a lot of Black American expats and people in the process of becoming immigrants. Portugal offers one of the least restrictive immigration policies in Europe and with its low cost of living, high safety and healthcare rankings and beautiful weather, it has attracted immigrants from all over the world. I befriended a woman who arrived in Lisbon when I did, and before I left, she had bought an apartment. Although she has relatives in the Netherlands and she speaks Dutch fluently, she chose Lisbon because of the fantastic Mediterranean weather. She can get to Amsterdam in a few hours for less than $50.
Tip for Roaming
If you want to connect with locals join Facebook expat groups for the country you are planning to visit. I was able to meet up with several people in Lisbon that I connected with through Facebook.
Through this amazing experience, I lived like a local, I:
Walked everywhere or took the metro. UBER is pretty cheap so I used it as well. Lisbon hills are no joke, so walking was my exercise.
Hung my clothes to dry on the clothesline -everyone did. The apartment had a washing machine but no - I hadn't done that since I was a kid.
Walked to and from the grocery stores and farmer’s markets and bought only what I could carry in two bags. The food was so FRESH! Also inexpensive compared to the U.S.
Sat and had coffee in the park since every park has a coffee (and alcohol) kiosk.
Met people for lunch or dinner and cultural events several times each week.
I really appreciate how Portuguese culture embraces a more balanced approach to life.
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