Finding Her in Heritage

My brother had always encouraged me to study abroad and the start of my junior year seemed like the perfect time to start that adventure. I drew my inspiration for choosing Lisbon, Portugal from my anthropology professor and the many stories he told about living in Portugal and falling in love with the language, food, the people, and the culture. 

Growing up with immigrant parents I guess you could say that I had a different upbringing compared to most of my peers. Of course, there were times when cultures would clash leaving me stuck between my Portuguese and American identities, but over time I learned to embrace the best of two worlds. I had always wanted to visit mainland Portugal, but I never thought that I would get to experience living here which has provided me with an even better experience than I could have imagined. Studying abroad wasn’t originally part of my academic plans, but here I am in my senior year and this is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Having grandparents from the Azores growing up, I thought I had a good understanding of Portuguese culture. I figured my trips to the Azores as a teenager, eating bacalhau and seeing my traditionally dressed grandmother cook octopus on Christmas made me an expert on the Portuguese experience. However when I arrived, I realized The Portuguese people are young, and Lisbon is culturally diverse and thriving city. 

Long story short, I received a scholarship for my study abroad but with the condition that I study in Bahia, Brazil. That year changed my life and lead me to study abroad another semester in Florianópolis Brazil and earn a minor in Portuguese. As an advanced speaker of Portuguese being in Lisbon is a dream come true to be living my day to day life in the Portuguese language. Even the walk to the grocery store is never dull when you are surrounded by history and smiling Portuguese faces. 

Studying abroad seemed like the perfect opportunity to do this. I must admit, before coming to Portugal, if someone asked me where Lisbon was I would have had no clue. This however actually gives great insight as to why I chose Portugal as my study abroad destination. The chance to come to a place I had no knowledge of seemed like another great time to expose myself to beautiful new places, people, and things.

I started learning Portuguese by accident. I spent the majority of my life learning Spanish as a second language. Although my dad is from Peru, I never spoke Spanish with him growing up. I think this is how my love of languages arose. Frustrated that I never learned the language of my dad’s family, in school I dedicated myself to learning Spanish and to sounding as “Peruvian” as possible. Now, two and a half years later, I am a Spanish and Portuguese major studying abroad in Lisbon, Portugal. I never imagined that I would learn to speak Portuguese as quickly as I have, or that I would come to love the Portuguese-speaking world as much as I loved learning Spanish.

Studying in Portugal was one of the best experiences of my life! I’ll always remember the friendships I made and the wonderful memories from traveling all over the country. I learned about Portuguese culture which has influenced me in profound ways that I treasure very much.