The Last of Our Travels Together
As our time abroad comes to an end, most of the SEA group decided to take a weekend trip to Porto, Portugal. We wanted to spend our last weekend of travel together as a last hoorah before we went home. We started our trip with a walking tour to see the sights and explore the city. The tour guide was a local who told us many stories about Portuguese culture. To end the day, we enjoyed a delicious home cooked Portuguese meal from the hostel. The next day we went on a tour at Taylor’s Winery to learn how Port wine was made. On the way there, we ended up taking a wrong turn making it a long uphill walk but it allowed us to see the other side of Porto that was less developed. Our hostel was close to the center of the city where there were lots of large buildings, hotels, restaurants, and shops so we didn’t really get to experience the real Portuguese culture until we got “lost” and were able to see the side streets and houses. We finally found our way there and returned to our hostel the “right” way and went out to dinner together. At the restaurant we had a little difficulty ordering because the servers did not know English well and none of us knew Portuguese. We were able to get by with the little bit of Spanish we knew but the menu was still difficult to read and order from. In the other non-English speaking countries I’ve visited, I’ve always been in large cities where most people know some English and menus are typically translated so it made it a little easier to understand things. I learned that by attempting to speak the language, people are much more patient and willing to help you even if you only know how to say hello, please, and thank you. Porto gave me the opportunity to experience foreign cultures in a new way and forced me to adapt quickly. It was a great last trip! I’m glad I got to spend time with the rest of the group before we make our way home to the United States to see our friends and family again.
As our time abroad comes to an end, most of the SEA group decided to take a weekend trip to Porto, Portugal. We wanted to spend our last weekend of travel together as a last hoorah before we went home. We started our trip with a walking tour to see the sights and explore the city. The tour guide was a local who told us many stories about Portuguese culture. To end the day, we enjoyed a delicious home cooked Portuguese meal from the hostel. The next day we went on a tour at Taylor’s Winery to learn how Port wine was made. On the way there, we ended up taking a wrong turn making it a long uphill walk but it allowed us to see the other side of Porto that was less developed. Our hostel was close to the center of the city where there were lots of large buildings, hotels, restaurants, and shops so we didn’t really get to experience the real Portuguese culture until we got “lost” and were able to see the side streets and houses. We finally found our way there and returned to our hostel the “right” way and went out to dinner together. At the restaurant we had a little difficulty ordering because the servers did not know English well and none of us knew Portuguese. We were able to get by with the little bit of Spanish we knew but the menu was still difficult to read and order from. In the other non-English speaking countries I’ve visited, I’ve always been in large cities where most people know some English and menus are typically translated so it made it a little easier to understand things. I learned that by attempting to speak the language, people are much more patient and willing to help you even if you only know how to say hello, please, and thank you. Porto gave me the opportunity to experience foreign cultures in a new way and forced me to adapt quickly. It was a great last trip! I’m glad I got to spend time with the rest of the group before we make our way home to the United States to see our friends and family again.
No comments:
Post a Comment