I have
only been gone for about 3 days, but it feels like an entire week already!
World Tour began with a flight to Newark Airport in Jersey Thursday evening
which was neat because we got to see the New York Skyline illuminating from
above. The Statue of Liberty looked so small next to the sea of skyscrapers. We
later had a flight from Newark to Portugal that was about six hours long. The
plane left at 8:00 p.m. and arrived around 2:00 a.m. Indiana time, but it was
8:00 a.m. in Portugal when we arrived. Needless to say, I only got about 1 hour
of sleep. It was my first experience with jet lag.
Friday was a fairly relaxed day. We had guided bus tour of Lisbon in the morning and were released for independent study time for the rest of the day, which is basically just exploring the city on our own. We also had a group welcome dinner at our hotel, Hotel Roma. Saturday began bright and early with a walking tour led by my professors, Rod and Les. We rode the metro to Lisbon’s Park of Nations exhibition, the location of a previous world fair. The entire area was designed by talented architects and designers. The next location we visited was downtown Portugal, which is also the most historic area. Downtown Portugal looked exactly how I’d imagined an old European city, and it was awesome! Rolling hills, crowded pedestrian streets, and live music created the unique atmosphere. I even got to experience a guy trying to pick-pocket me! Thank goodness I had nothing for him to get ahold of. We climbed a huge hill that led to a castle located at the highest point in Lisbon. This is the greatest part of the entire city. The views up there are priceless. No matter how many pictures you take; you can never capture the beauty of the place. Later that night a friend and I got roped into visiting an upscale neighborhood across town. After one metro ride and about 3 miles of walking, the destination was pretty disappointing, so we got a taxi back to our hotel and ate at a small bar nearby called The Cockpit Bar.
Portugal was my first experience outside the US and Canada, and because of that I definitely felt uncomfortable, even though it is a very safe city. A new language, culture, and city was a little too much all at one time, but I am sure I will get used to feeling like the outsider. Despite that though, it was a relaxing city, except for the taxi ride across town. That was terrifying. The food was pretty simple and bland. Fish and lamb are a couple main dishes that are very popular, and I got to try both meals. It wasn’t the best, but definitely edible. It just felt like the entire country was on a diet.
The first few days have been enough for me to realize that my participation on this trip is nothing short of a miracle. I am so very blessed to have this opportunity to discover the earth, one city at a time. I am going to need so much faith to make it through though. Right now I just can’t fathom doing this for the next 100 day because it is intense in almost every aspect! I just have to remember to take it one day at a time.
Friday was a fairly relaxed day. We had guided bus tour of Lisbon in the morning and were released for independent study time for the rest of the day, which is basically just exploring the city on our own. We also had a group welcome dinner at our hotel, Hotel Roma. Saturday began bright and early with a walking tour led by my professors, Rod and Les. We rode the metro to Lisbon’s Park of Nations exhibition, the location of a previous world fair. The entire area was designed by talented architects and designers. The next location we visited was downtown Portugal, which is also the most historic area. Downtown Portugal looked exactly how I’d imagined an old European city, and it was awesome! Rolling hills, crowded pedestrian streets, and live music created the unique atmosphere. I even got to experience a guy trying to pick-pocket me! Thank goodness I had nothing for him to get ahold of. We climbed a huge hill that led to a castle located at the highest point in Lisbon. This is the greatest part of the entire city. The views up there are priceless. No matter how many pictures you take; you can never capture the beauty of the place. Later that night a friend and I got roped into visiting an upscale neighborhood across town. After one metro ride and about 3 miles of walking, the destination was pretty disappointing, so we got a taxi back to our hotel and ate at a small bar nearby called The Cockpit Bar.
Portugal was my first experience outside the US and Canada, and because of that I definitely felt uncomfortable, even though it is a very safe city. A new language, culture, and city was a little too much all at one time, but I am sure I will get used to feeling like the outsider. Despite that though, it was a relaxing city, except for the taxi ride across town. That was terrifying. The food was pretty simple and bland. Fish and lamb are a couple main dishes that are very popular, and I got to try both meals. It wasn’t the best, but definitely edible. It just felt like the entire country was on a diet.
The first few days have been enough for me to realize that my participation on this trip is nothing short of a miracle. I am so very blessed to have this opportunity to discover the earth, one city at a time. I am going to need so much faith to make it through though. Right now I just can’t fathom doing this for the next 100 day because it is intense in almost every aspect! I just have to remember to take it one day at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment