Studying Abroad in Portugal
Fall 2022
I spent my last semester of college studying abroad in Portugal. Through a program called SIT, I studied sustainability and environmental justice in Lisbon. So much has happened over the summer that I hadn’t given this program a ton of thought before I was on a plane. I think giving it little to no thought was actually a good thing for me. I hadn’t given myself time to contemplated on all the “what if’s” and overthink the fact that I didn’t know anyone and was moving to a different country.
There were 10 students in my program total, which felt really nice for me and a similar dynamic to how my high school was. I lived in Anjos house with my friends Mia, Noelle, Charlie, and Jake. You would love them. We binge watched House of Dragon and the Harry Potter series together. One of the best parts of the entire program was the incredible friends I made, and the people that I met. Since the program was quite small we were able to become quite close.
During my time in Portugal the school had us do field excursions to Cáceres, Azores, Porto, and Faro. My favorite activities were hiking through a volcanic crater in São Miguel, olive oil tasting in the South, vulture watching in Spain, and wine tasting in the North. Before coming here I rarely drank and didn’t give much thought or appreciation into the food I ate. This experience has completely changed the way I see food and alcohol. I’ve put a lot of thought into my relationship with food and how eating vegan is a huge part of my identity. While this is true, this belief also closed me off to people’s way of life. I understood this more when I went back to São Miguel for a second time to do research for my ISP (independent research project). My classmates and I took Lisbon by storm going to every cafe, museum, park, and club. We got really into eating a pastel de nata a day, and listening to house/techno music.
During my ISP I visited 3 farms where I spoke to farmers about their practices and experiences. Each farmer was so kind, and was teaching me things that I knew I would take with me into the Peace Corps. One of the farmers was even familiar with Hawaiian plants and asked me about poi! Surprisingly, my favorite farm that I visited was a dairy farm. I took a hiking tour in town earlier that day and was talking to my guide who just happened to be a dairy farmer. He invited me to his farm that afternoon, so my advisor and I drove to see him. My advisor is the best, and we work so well together. I feel lucky to be his advisee. The farmer showed me all of his pastures and I even milked a cow! It’s crazy to me how new age environmental is mainly taught indoors. The act of milking a cow was so mind blowing to me that it really showed how removed I am from the process of where food comes from. This made me realize that it wasn’t the taste of animal products that I miss, or even the ease of not having dietary restrictions; it was the relationships that I missed. It was being able to be apart of my community when we sat down at a table.
I learned that most of the Portuguese population in Hawai’i is from the Azores. There were so many unexpected similarities in between Hawai’i and Portugal that were a great comfort to me while abraod. From values to plants, the connection between Hawai’i and Portugal made my heart smile.
This experience has taught me a lot, and pushed me in many ways. While I won’t be speaking much Portuguese in the future, I feel empowered to be in a new place, make new friends, and grow in unexpected ways. My friend Ayla told me that at the end of every new experience she has does “high, low, buffalo” with her friends. This just means a high of your trip, a low of your trip, and then something weird or unexpected. My high was hands down the people that I met, and the impact they had on me. My low was the entire visa process, and being afraid of getting deported. And my buffalo was the oceanarium and second hour of Portuguese class… if you know you know. One of the biggest things I’ll be taking away from this experience is believing in fate. This is a popular belief in Portugal and one that I adopted into my life there. I am beyond thankful for this experience, and feel that it served a powerful purpose in my life, and with the work I will do.
