Farewell to Lisboa!

Tonight we leave our friendly port of Lisbon for the open Atlantic Ocean! We’ve had seven wonderful days on shore with numerous sights, sounds and other sensations! On the formal side of things I’ve been a participant leader with the International Business and Communication undergraduate learning circle students, a group of 66 very diverse and dynamic learners. More on that latter … Fortunately for me my partner participant leader was Yas, an energetic and highly capable IRC (Intercultural Resident Coordinator). AFP’s (Academic Field Programs) are coordinated learning experiences with partner Universities, businesses, tour companies and other organizations. As in most learning opportunities, some were better than others. A few samples of our learning adventures …

• Introduction to ISCTE, (business school)
• Learning about Sonae and experiencing Continente (department store)
• Visiting and learning about the Belem Tower & Monument of the Navigators
• Learning about early explorers at the Maritime Museum
• Experiencing the Jeronimos Monastery
• Sampling products and learning about Belem Pastries
• Feeling the “bumps” and “eating” dust on the Sintra Jeep Safari
• Standing “on the edge” at Cabo da Roca
• Wandering the streets and experiencing Sintra
• Experiencing and learning about mythology and history at Quinta da Regaleira
• Learning from the Jeronimo Martins (food distribution) experience in Poland from the Strategy and Development Director, Margarida Martins Ramalho
• Exploring “Entrepreneurship – Theory & Practice: A Dialogue Between Entrepreneurship and Culture” with Professor Virginia Trigo from ISCTE
• Receiving a hospitable presentation and tour about Grupo Luis Simoes, a trucking and logistic company, from Antonio and Andreia
• Learning about Audax, a centre for entrepreneurship and family business at ISCTE, from Rui Ferreira the Director
• and so on and so on …

On the informal side of things, numerous sights, sounds and other sensations were also enjoyed. These include …

• Savouring the fine port and wines (and beer) of Portugal
• Experiencing “life” in the port community
• Tasting the local cuisine (e.g. cod dishes, sardines)
• Enjoying a “real” cup of coffee (cappuccino)
• People watching at the many outdoor restaurants
• Meeting locals in their home environment (e.g. the Estonian server in the cafeteria, Valdemar the Renault car salesman from Porto)
• “Feeling” the local culture on the many forms of transportation (i.e. buses, street cars, metro, train, by foot & taxi)
• Sharing the experience of Fado music and Portuguese dancing with Dana, Shirley and Bachir at O Forcado in the eclectic and delightful Bairro Alto district
• Hearing, smelling and watching life on the streets of Lisbon during our various walkabouts
• Joining all of our students for a night of food, fado (“Tuna Academica de Lisboa”) and fun hosted at, and by, the University of Lisbon
• and so on and so on …

It’s been fun, flavourful, educational and exhausting! I need a rest.

-Ken

Portugal has been amazing. It was far more amazing than I thought it would be! Dad covered a lot, so I will make my share short. The days have been pretty laid back. The first day, we walked into town and saw the main square. It was beautiful. Musicians filled the streets, as well as outdoor restaurants and civilians. We walked around down there, until I crashed. They (Dad and Bashir) dropped me off, and then went out for dinner. I had dinner on the ship that night.

For 2 days, I rested and just chilled out on the boat. It was relaxing. On day 3 in Lisbon, we went on our AFP, which was a discovery walk/tour of Lisbon. We ventured into the Belem area of town, which is historic and beautiful. We saw monuments and statues, followed by a maritime museum. It was neat to see the paths the Portuguese took in their explorations, as well as seeing the models of their ships. Following the museum, we went to an old Catholic monastery. It was absolutely beautiful. It was decorated so incredibly inside and out. After that, we went to the legendary Belem Pastries shop in the Belem district. They have a secret pastry recipe that only three people in the whole entire world know. It was delicious. I truly think it was just sugar and butter, but it was very tasty. Following that, we got back to the ship in time for lunch.

On day 4, we had an amazing adventure. We went on our Sintra Jeep Safari. We got in jeeps and ventured off. We first went to the most western point of Europe. The people of Europe used to think this was the furthest west you could ever go. If they went any further, they thought they would have fallen off the world! I lost my sunglasses at the end of the world. What a story to tell. We got back into the Jeeps and then rode down a narrow, windy cobblestone and dirt path that led us through the bush and into a little village. It was so amazing! They had a little marketplace, colourful buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, and local inhabitants. It was the true Portugal. It was so beautiful and cool. It is what you see in those movies. We didn’t stop there, but we got a pretty neat ride through. We kept going and ended up in a nice park. No vehicles can go in there, but the jeeps were exempt. It was a nice ride, as well! We ended up at a beautiful viewpoint of the area. We sat there for a bit and nibbled on our lunch, and then went on our way to Sintra. Sintra was a beautiful town full of cobblestone streets, back alley shops, and amazing foliage and sights. I could definitely live my life there. We were left to explore freely in Sintra. After an hour or so of exploration, we were regrouped and walked to a palace. It was astonishing. The garden was massive. Everything there was so picturesque and perfect. We got a very informational guided tour and walk around the area. We got to the top and walked down ‘the 9 stages of Hell’. It was a 9 story hole that you could walk down. The fall wouldn’t be pleasant. Rituals used to be held at the bottom of the grotto. We waked down, and then escaped through a little, pitch-black passageway. Scaring people around the dark corners was quite a laugh. We walked to the end and then got a tour of the actual palace. It was beautiful as well. Tired and sore from walking, we left Sintra in a tour bus. We got back to the ship after a long day. Sleeping wasn’t hard after that day.

The next day was a rest day. By the evening, I was quite bored. So the video crew, the two other kids, and I went out for a night filled with Fado music, food, and Sangria, which is absolutely delicious, by the way. The night was beautiful. The music was so pretty. I passed as 16 so it was all good. =)

The next day was a breather day. Stephanie, the coolest faculty member on this ship who is from London, and I went out to the center of the city again. We pretty much just wandered around. We looked for new sunglasses for me, but were unsuccessful. It was fun anyways. That night, we got dinner actually served to us. It was really weird and random. The university held a dinner and entertainment night, but I was so tired so I stayed in that night. I went to bed early. So now we are on to today. Today, we got up early (9:00!) and went back to the city again. I got all of my hair cut off by a local barber! It was really funny. Communicating was so hard but funny. A great ‘cultural experience’, right? I also got a whole bunch of clothes. It is so cheap in Portugal! I got 3 nice tees from H&M for 9€! I spent probably 120$ cad. It was well worth it though. =)

Now we are awaiting our departure for a 12 day excursion. It will be pretty cool! I am looking forward to Panama.

I am becoming friends with a lot of cool people. The students and staff are so nice and cool. I really got to get going on school work, though. I doubt that will be a problem with a 12 day sea voyage, though.

Well, that is all for now.

Time for our Titanic voyage across the Atlantic! Let’s just hope that we don’t sink.

Wish us all luck!

-Davis