A little taste of the Mediterranean

About three weeks ago I spent our 4-day weekend (which they refer to as “Puente” or bridge) in Lisboa, and the Costa de Caparica in Portugal. I went with 3 other guys, and I learned from the planning of that trip, or I should say “non-planning,” that it’s better to plan out vacations ahead of time. That being said, everything turned out fine; it was just more stressful than it needed to be. Once we got to the Coast all of the stress related to finding how to get to the coast melted away with that sweet ocean smell and the rhythm of the tide crashing in at night. During the trip, Chris taught the other three of us how to surf. At the outset, he told the three of us that surfing is like a drug, and as soon as you do it once and get that rush, you’ll be addicted to it. This of course proved to be true. I thought at first that it would just feel like a more complex version of body-surfing, but there’s so much more to it, and I can’t wait until the next time I can try surfing again.
The people at the Costa de Caparica seemed to me to possess a much more laid-back attitude than those in Spain, which was another cause that contributed to the general relaxing effect the trip had on all of us. It was one of those vacations where when someone asks what time it is, you respond “Who cares what time it is?” It’s good to remember that time is a relative concept, and we don’t always have to intertwine it with our day-to-day lives. That’s a good life lesson to continually practice—I think—in order to stay composed and happy every day.
On the Sunday before we left, Joe and I went to downtown Lisboa while Chris and Ross stayed at the Coast to surf all day, and consequently got sunburned like a pair of beets. Joe and I visited the Castelo de Sao Jorge at the top of the city, which really did offer a breath-taking view of the city as I had been told by a number of people. We were specifically told by our Arte y Cultura professor that if there was one place to go in Lisboa, that was it. Joe and I got a couple of pictures of each other while we were standing on the raised battlements, with the entire city of Lisboa in the background. Funnily enough, while I was getting down from the battlement, and American woman said to me in English “You’re American right?” to which I responded “Yeah, why?” and she answered “Because you’re completely crazy, standing up there, you could’ve fallen!” But such is the nature of this trip, I am here to get that one picture that lasts for eternity, and to live life to its fullest every day so that when my head hits the pillow at night I feel I’ve been somewhere or accomplished something I couldn’t have done sitting in a class stateside.
To that end, I’ve been trying to get to know people from all around Europe that are here studying, and it has just been astounding to me the energy that all of us foreign students have together. Everyone wants to get to know each other, and everyone has a story to tell, there’s just so much to share, and sometimes what gets shared is a feeling beyond words because we are all sharing this experience together that has somehow created something bigger. It’s also hilarious to compare stereotypes with what people are actually like from other countries, and it’s interesting to hear what other people think about the United States. The other night I was witness to an exchange I will never forget, and have surely internalized after my time here in Spain. An American friend of mine and I had just met some Spaniards, and my friend asked this girl what she was doing next year which carried with it the connotation of school, work etc., to which she responded with a grin on her face “Well, I’m having another year.” The beauty was in the fact that she wasn’t pre-occupied with worries or where she would be next year; there was just a sense of glory and celebration to be alive and playing out her life story. Just beautiful.

---

---