My transition into Portuguese and Lisbon culture has been rather smooth. The CIEE staff have been a big component in making this process possible. From the start they have been there 24/7 to help us with any problems or concerns we may have. They have taken us on tours of different cities and have given us recommendations on places to go and things to do in and around Lisbon. Any issues you may being having personally, with friends, with your host family, etc. they are more than willing to figure out a solution to your problems. CIEE has also provided our group with a “buddy” system. There are three buddies for our group, who we meet with once a week. Each of them attend our university as well, so we frequently see them in and around campus. It’s a great way to learn Portuguese customs and make friends with other locals and Erasmus students- students studying in Lisbon from other parts of Europe.
Classes have been going really well thus far! My most interesting course has to be AHIST- Lisbon: City and Architecture. During this course we learn more about Lisbon’s beautiful architecture and discover new places in the city. Our professor for this courses has to be the most interesting professor I have thus far. You can see how passionate she is about architecture and the history of Lisbon through the way she teaches her courses and interacts with her students; thus our courses contain lots of interesting information and are very engaging!
