The Joy of Coming Home

Like many American university students, I decided that studying abroad was a must for my quintessential college experience. I spent my whole life looking forward to living and studying in a different country, inspired by the experiences of the people I looked up to most. And when it came time to choose where I was going to study, I decided I wanted to do something different and outside of my comfort zone. All of my friends chose programs offered through my university, and while that option sounded wonderful and slightly less complicated, I wanted the opportunity to study with students from schools all over the States, not just UC Berkeley. Plus, I knew that there would be plenty of opportunities for me to visit my friends during my time abroad!

So, eventually I landed on Lisbon. And as the program’s start date began to approach very quickly, I started to finally come to terms with the fact that I was moving halfway across the globe! But even so, I really struggled to visualize what my life would be like in Portugal. My thoughts were so clouded by the idea of visiting other parts of Europe during my time abroad, that I forgot about actually living in Lisbon!

Well, after 17 hours of travel, I finally arrived in Lisbon, excited and anticipating this new chapter of my life. Over the next month, I stayed in Portugal and worked through the transition that is moving away from home to a country you’ve never been to. There were many bouts of homesickness and just as many moments of pure joy and amazement. Bit by bit, I began to assimilate to the Lisbon lifestyle. I slowly gained the confidence to order a latte in broken Portuguese, discovered the joy that a simple pastel de nata could bring, and enjoyed day trips to Cascais and Sintra. During this time, I felt such an immense feeling of optimism and excitement for my new life and everything to come––including my future travel plans!

Now, well into my time abroad, I have experienced the traveling part of this journey. My first trip, just over a month into the program, I went to Madrid to visit my best friends from school. And it was amazing. We ate all kinds of tapas, went to jazz clubs, and ate our weight in churros dipped in maybe the best chocolate you’ll ever taste. I felt so lucky to be in such a beautiful city with my best friends, and I started to worry that I would be too sad to leave when Sunday inevitably came along. But something interesting happened instead. Rather than feeling the symptoms of the well-known Sunday Scaries, I was filled with excitement for my return to Lisbon. And when my plane landed at Humberto Delgado Airport, I felt like I was returning “home.”

We all know the saying, “distance makes the heart grow fonder,” and as cheesy as it sounds, I couldn’t agree more. Being away from Lisbon made me remember all the reasons why I wanted to go back. And as I waited the excruciatingly long amount of time it took for my plane to deboard, I started to think.

There are so many obvious reasons why Lisbon feels like home: Flea markets, yoga classes, access to any and every cuisine, to name a few. And let's not forget an almost perfect replica of the Golden Gate Bridge right at my fingertips! For these reasons, Lisbon afforded me an almost immediate sense of comfort and ease.

And there are also so many aspects about Lisbon that I had never experienced back in the States that I now consider to be my norm: Always opting for public transport (that is actually clean and comfortable), late and long meals, and not to mention a completely new language (which maybe hasn’t become my norm just yet).

My first few weeks here were a complete whirlwind, filled with so much awe in the newness of everything. It was exciting but also overwhelming, and there were a lot of times when I worried I would never find my place here. It wasn’t until I had time away that I was able to appreciate the life I am living as a student in Lisbon. While I am so grateful and fortunate to have had such incredible travel experiences during my time abroad, I can easily say that at the end of the day, I am extremely thankful to have the opportunity to always return back to my new home, Lisbon.