Introduction

      I had the privilege of visiting Lisbon, Portugal for my long weekend. The best way that I can describe Lisbon is “lively.” The streets are full of life, as are the people, the architecture, and the food. 

        While it is clearly not a direct comparison to compare the small seaside city of San Sebastián to the capital city of a country, Lisbon is still unique to any capital city I have visited in my life. Never have I seen a city so full of life, from Madrid, to Rome, to Dublin, to cities in the US. 

        Firstly, San Sebastián is very gentle, from its climate, to its geography, to its language. Lisbon, however, is a bit harsher of a city, which makes sense seeing as it is the capital of its country. The language of Portuguese is not as soft as Spanish, and the steep hills upon which the city is built are certainly not as forgiving as the flat stretches of San Sebastián. The wind gusts of Lisbon are much stronger than the sea breezes in San Sebastián, and the temperature is not as mild and steady.

Community

         Lisbon has a sense of community that I can only envy. Every person that I encountered was so kind to me. I was someone who was clearly a tourist who could hardly say 15 phrases/words in their language, yet every local I encountered was so generous to me. One lady sitting across from me on the train took my empty cup to put in her bag of trash because she saw me falling asleep holding it. Additionally, in the neighborhood of Príncipe Real, where we were staying, there are many pracas, or squares where people gather all throughout the day and night. During the day, people sit on benches and read, have conversations with the neighbors, and sit around the square in restaurants to eat incredible food owned by families. At night, everyone from the whole neighborhood gathers to stand and sit in the park and talk and laugh with one another over drinks that are sold right there in the square. It was so amazing to be part of such a welcome and lively community.

              Lisbon is also an incredibly safe city. While in San Sebastián, I cannot even begin to count the amount of times that I have been catcalled by big groups of men. While I rarely feel truly unsafe here in San Sebastián, I do frequently feel uncomfortable. The entire weekend (Thursday-Sunday) spent in Lisbon, I did not get catcalled once, nor did I feel unsafe whatsoever, even when walking in just a duo of two girls. The second we stepped back into San Sebastián off the bus from the airport, however, carry-on bags in hand, there were whistles to greet us. 

Public transport

One thing that San Sebastián definitely does much better than Lisbon, however, is their public transport. The buses in Lisbon were always late, more expensive than San Sebastián even though the city as a whole is less expensive, and so crowded. The trams, cars, and buses all share the street which leads to quite a bit of traffic. We rode the iconic Tram 28 through the city, and it was extremely packed as promised. At each stop, the driver would yell for everyone to push back further into the tram to make more room in an already packed car. Evellyn overheard some lady, in Portuguese, say “I will need an emotional support animal after this,” which truly epitomizes that experience. It was, however, nice to see the city without having to trudge up the dreaded hills by foot.

Language

         I was lucky enough to get to travel with my best friend Evellyn to visit her sister who lives in Lisbon. They both grew up in Brazil, so naturally, speak fluent Portuguese. I have had a few Brazilian friends and coworkers throughout my life so I knew a couple phrases in Portuguese, and she had taught me a few things going into the trip. I also listen to Evellyn speak with her mother all the time in Portuguese and can usually understand the context if I listen carefully for words similar to Spanish. However, “obrigada,” “tudo bem,” and “bom dia” could only get me so far. 

        Immediately upon arriving at the Lisbon airport from the Madrid airport I felt immensely incompetent. This is the first country that I have been to that I couldn’t at least order food in the spoken language. I felt like a burden to everyone around me having to ask them to translate or order food for me. This has definitely been an experience that has inspired me to work on my Portuguese. Over the weekend, though, Evellyn and her sister taught me many more phrases to add to my vernacular and I got much better at being able to follow a conversation between other people. When I understood the context, I could usually follow the conversations to an extent if I really focused and people were talking slowly.

Conclusion

          Evellyn’s sister warned us that three days was not going to be enough time for Lisbon, and while this is true, I do not think even an entire lifetime would be enough time.