from now on , I will try to type some of my posts in English because I have to speak English in Lisbon and I want to improve it.
First, transportation:
Thinking about how to reach my dormitory from the Lisbon Airport made me nervous. My father said,
"You can take a taxi; you don't have to save your money," but I disagreed with him.
After the passport control, a friend of some friends of mine, who had already been in Lisbon, met with us to help in transportation.
However, there was a problem for me: their dormitories was different from mine.We got on to the Metro. Anyway.....
My plan was like this : first, I would get off at 'Cais do Sodre' Metro station. After that, I would get on the 'Cacilhas' ferryboat and then finally, I would get on the 'Universidad' tram.
So, my stress decreased minute after minute, hour after hour.
I though that the transportation would be confusing and complicated like in Ankara, but I was totally wrong. The bus lines, metro, tram, and ferry are all very simple and useful!!!
For transportation in Lisbon there's a card called VIVA viagem.
You can buy this temporary card from charge machines at the metro, ferry, etc. stations. If you are a tourist and you come to Lisbon for vacation, you can use it. The card fee is 50 cents and you recharge the card for your travels:
If you come to Lisbon for Erasmus or an internship, or you just have a long period of stay, you should use the permanent VIVA Viagem Card:
You can buy one from transportation box offices, the fee is 12 Euros, and you can either pay a constant monthly price or pay as you go.You give a photo to the officer to put on the back of the card.
In conclusion, transportation is a bit expensive in Lisbon compared to Turkey, but it is very comfortable and easy.
Erasmus organizations :
There are 3 organizations for Erasmus students: ESN, ELL, and Erasmus Lisboa.
ESN is the best one compared to others. They are really talented and experienced about events and communications. Moreover, volunteers don't earn money from events (at least I think so).
ELL and EL ; They are not so bad. I only hang out with ESN even though I have also ELL and EL card.All the cards are 10 Euros. I recommend only the ESN card. The others are a waste of money.
Places to visit:
I don't like to visit historic places so much, it's not my style, however, I wanted to visit some places because it was my first and maybe last time in Lisboa for a while.
You should see Belem because there are some monuments about discoverers, gardens, and churches.
It's not so important for me, therefore I didn't remember the names :D If you really want to visit and travel to some historic places and if you are Turkish,I can give my travel guide. I have never used it yet.
Here is the other photos of historic places:
Sintra:
Cabo De Roca (westest point of europe);
Panteo Nacional:
Sao Jorge Castle
After these walking trips, I gave up taking photos. I'm not comfortable with a bag and I have to take a bag for a camera.
Daily Life :
In Lisbon I don't live with my parents. However I have to survive here.
When I was in the dormitory and I was alone, I cooked for myself. There weren't so many options; pasta, frozen pizza, toast. That was all....
This was our dorm ;
The dormitory was so far away from the city and it was dirty, but I didn't even think about moving into a flat in Lisbon until Ilker came here.
He convinced me and we moved in to Lisbon. In our rooms there are no windows. The kitchen is dirty compared to the dorm's kitchen, but these situations aren't problem because I realized that living in the center of Lisbon is the best thing I did in my Erasmus life. Everything is close to me. Thanks to not having classes, I have no transportation problems now. I can go out everyday.
Everyday, we prepare at least one meal and have the other meal at McDonald's. We wash the dishes because the washing machine isn't working. Everyday these kind of tasks take me nearly two hours.
Some mornings, I go skating, though only the riverside is suitable for skating i.e. the Alges walking road :
Yessss... This is my everyday life (at least the visible part of my life) in Lisbon.
So what do I feel about my life here?
The answer is simple: people belong in their homeland. I realized that I belong in Turkey, my home, my family.
Sometimes I really get tired being alone here. Different cultures different people. Five months is really insufficient time to make close friends, especially for Turkish people. Thank God my friend Ilker is here, but I know that everything is only temporary in this city; my bed, my room, my dishes, etc.
What I want to say is, living alone is very hard. I have to everything myself without any work-sharing. Sometimes I want to talk to someone in Turkey and I have to wait for it. I have no choice.
Daily Life :
In Lisbon I don't live with my parents. However I have to survive here.
When I was in the dormitory and I was alone, I cooked for myself. There weren't so many options; pasta, frozen pizza, toast. That was all....
This was our dorm ;
The dormitory was so far away from the city and it was dirty, but I didn't even think about moving into a flat in Lisbon until Ilker came here.
He convinced me and we moved in to Lisbon. In our rooms there are no windows. The kitchen is dirty compared to the dorm's kitchen, but these situations aren't problem because I realized that living in the center of Lisbon is the best thing I did in my Erasmus life. Everything is close to me. Thanks to not having classes, I have no transportation problems now. I can go out everyday.
Everyday, we prepare at least one meal and have the other meal at McDonald's. We wash the dishes because the washing machine isn't working. Everyday these kind of tasks take me nearly two hours.
Some mornings, I go skating, though only the riverside is suitable for skating i.e. the Alges walking road :
or Santos running road ;
If you are skater, I strongly recommend buying dog repellent. Some dogs are very aggressive.
This happened because of a dog. Fortunately my hand is okay now. :)
Yessss... This is my everyday life (at least the visible part of my life) in Lisbon.
So what do I feel about my life here?
The answer is simple: people belong in their homeland. I realized that I belong in Turkey, my home, my family.
Sometimes I really get tired being alone here. Different cultures different people. Five months is really insufficient time to make close friends, especially for Turkish people. Thank God my friend Ilker is here, but I know that everything is only temporary in this city; my bed, my room, my dishes, etc.
What I want to say is, living alone is very hard. I have to everything myself without any work-sharing. Sometimes I want to talk to someone in Turkey and I have to wait for it. I have no choice.
There is a good side and a bad side ; The good side is, I have time for thinking about my decisions in Turkey. I have become more sure about my relationships. I have reviewed my friends. I'm trying to imagine what will be best decision about my problems in Ankara.
The bad side is, everything is changing day after day in my homeland so when I go back to Ankara, everything might be different. Who knows?
Another situation: I have lived with Ilker for two months, but for us there is nobody to talk to sincerely because our native language is Turkish and we are close friends (at least I guess). From time to time we get bored of talking to each other, It's natural I know, but it makes me nervous since I value our friendship. I watched Requiem For a Dream with Ilker. It was the first time I have ever watched this movie so it really affected me and I felt quite depressed. Though Ilker slept well because It was his fourth time. I can't talk to anybody now. If I was in Turkey I'm sure I could find somebody to talk. I decided to publish this post now. When before I would publish this article after I finished it, I have changed my mind. It will be a living Project. My best compliments. Adil can | ||
