So Long, Lisbon

The end of any big trip abroad can be rough. Reentering your old life, adjusting back to routines, going back to the familiar. It can be so rough that CIEE educates students on this process and explains how it may feel for their first week back. And still, I don’t think we were prepared to go. 

How do you leave a place so beautiful, a culture so rich, and a community so full? And why would you want to?! The sad thing is that all stories must come to an end. The good thing is we have a new story to hold on to for the rest of our lives. 

Our story began after long flights, awkward airport greetings, and long orientations of how our trip would go. It continued with goofy morning energizers and roll calls. It was highlighted with trips to Tomar, Sintra, and Setúbal. Along the way were lessons on lagoons, estuaries, and oceans as well as dissections and fieldwork. Singing became a key part of our trip, whether it was about cigarette buds, children's Portuguese songs, Unwritten, or my personal favorite, Hot To Go. And of course, the trip was rooted in life-changing excursions like surfing, snorkeling, and kayaking. Eventually, our time dwindled down to final journal reflections, farewell dinners, and tearful goodbyes to our temporary family. 

These big moments were the heart of our time in Portugal, but at the soul of the trip were the people. It’s hard to put into words how unique the bonds made on this trip are. One morning you’re playing games to help remember your classmates' names, and a few days later you can’t imagine sitting next to anyone else at breakfast. Someone who was once a stranger is now your karaoke soulmate. The girl you met at orientation is the same person you spent an afternoon with running through the city trying to find your way home. The program leaders that forced you to play duck, duck, goose (or duck, duck, grey duck for our Minnesotan friends), are also the ones who raced you down the river in kayaks or cheered as you caught your first wave surfing. These people and the connections made turn a group of strangers into family in just three weeks. It is magic. 

Some time along the way you wake up one day and you’re different. You’re changed. You’ve become a part of something bigger, your world is a little smaller, and for the first time, it’s yours. This program allowed us all to join a new culture and be a part of a family, if only temporarily. You really are changed when this is over. Portugal is a part of you and now you are a tiny part of Portugal. 

So how do you leave a place and people like this? To start, you hold on to the memories as much as possible. A key aspect of CIEE programs is nightly journal reflections. It gives groups an opportunity to reflect on what they’ve learned and all they’ve accomplished. For many students, it even became a favorite part of their day, usually because these reflections ended in group dances or sing-a-longs or laughing so hard your stomach hurts. It was also the chance to reflect and record all those tiny little moments you hope to remember when you’re old and gray (or for our students, the horrifyingly old age of 27). We spent this time each day recording everything we remembered in as much detail as possible, trying to capture the magic we experienced in a bottle to hold forever. 

Sadly, we won't remember everything. We may one day forget what causes upwellings in the ocean, or the Latin name for six different types of ducks. We may forget who we shared a kayak with or what number we were in roll call. We may forget the tune of “Bom Dia,” or the name of the most beautiful beach we ever went to. And maybe one day we’ll even forget a few names and faces. 

But we won’t forget how it all made us feel. 

We’ll remember the feeling of the sun on our faces as we caught our first wave while surfing and how much our throats hurt after screaming along to karaoke with new best friends. We’ll remember how exhausted we were after early morning wake-ups and the feeling of the wind in our hair as we danced classic Portuguese dances in the park. We’ll remember the rush of just barely making it back for curfew and laughing until we cried at an inside joke lost to time. We’ll remember being part of this incredible family, if only for a moment. We’ll remember how Portugal made us feel, and let it change us forever. 

And now we’re ready to go. 

I don’t want to say goodbye. Instead, I’ll say so long, Lisbon and obrigada.