Portugal - #BIMdannmalinPortugal

Shownotes

You want to go to the beach right after university to get some sun or to get on your surfboard? Then definitely listen to this episode. This is what Sebastian's everyday life in Lisbon was like and he highly recommends a semester abroad at ISCAL University. In addition to general information, such as how grades are counted, he talks about Lisbon's tireless party scene, his shared flat life in Lisbon and great excursions in beautiful Portugal. Let's start the journey!

Contact details:

E-Mail:  bimdannmalweg.fwiwi[at]thws.de

Instagram: @fwiwi.thws

Credits:

Moderated by Lara Yargiman

Produced by Lara Yargiman and Sonja Zügner in cooperation with the economics student body of THWS

Sound and editing by Sonja Zügner

Transcript

Lara: Hi and warm welcome to the THWS Podcast “BIMdannmalweg”. In this podcast we are going to talk about the experiences of students that went abroad. Today’s guest is Sebastian! Glad you’re here, would you like to introduce yourself?

Sebastian: Sure. Like you said, my name is Sebastian. I study International Management, and I’m at the 8th semester already. So I’ll be finishing soon, and I’m writing my bachelor thesis at the moment. For my semester abroad I went to Lisbon.

Lara: At which university?

Sebastian: It’s called ISCAL. I think it was the only possibility in Lisbon.

Lara: Why exactly did you decide to go to Lisbon? Was it like a dream of you to go there?

Sebastian: In my application Lisbon was actually my first choice, but it was more of the best fit choice. I wanted to go somewhere sunny, warm and where I can find a beach – and where I can actually have a good time. So I decided to go to Lisbon, and luckily I got it.

Lara: Do you regret your decision?

Sebastian: Absolutely not! Even after my semester abroad I went to Lisbon another 5 times. I think about going again after my bachelor.

Lara: Would you like to tell us about the process and ERASMUS? Where you lived, and so on?

Sebastian: It’s a little while ago, but I’ll try my best to summarize it. The application was pretty simple. You write down your three favorites, and then you’ll have to wait if you got in immediately or not. Fortunately I got in immediately. After that I applied to ERASMUS which was simple too. And then you just wait.

Lara: So pretty easy I guess. Did you then live in a dorm or a shared apartment?

Sebastian: I think this was the most difficult part because back then I didn’t speak Portuguese. So here’s a tip for you. Try to learn at least a bit of the language before going to the country. A friend and I were searching online, but it didn’t really work out. We had a conformation, unfortunately it was a fake, so we got tricked right at the beginning. But we didn’t lose money or anything. In the end we also got a good place but separated of each other which wasn’t a problem. I ended up in a shared apartment with six other people. It wasn’t as chaotic as you might think at the beginning. There’s been two Portuguese, a Polish couple, three Germans and me!

Lara: And I guess you had some nice parties!

Sebastian: Actually not that much. We had an elderly lady living underneath us. She sometimes visited us, but we couldn’t really talk because as I said we didn’t know the language, but she was very nice. She showed us how it sounded to her whenever we were stamping on the floor, and it was very funny.

Lara: Sounds nice! Regarding the courses, where they in English?

Sebastian: Everything was in English and I think very well done. Of course, we also had a Portuguese course, but it was also in English.

Lara: What about the ETCS? Where there any problems regarding the crediting?

Sebastian: No, I had no problems. It’s not been that many, so I couldn’t replace a full semester, with my three courses. Which were the Portuguese course, business simulation and marketing. So 6 credits for each course, 18 credits over all.

Lara: So we talked about university a lot now, maybe you can tell us a bit about your sightseeing and everyday life in Portugal.

Sebastian: Sure, let’s start with sightseeing because that was also the first thing I did. For the first two weeks we were like the typical tourists. We basically walked everywhere even though it was a little bit steep. Lisbon has these seven hills which you’ll realize if you walk a lot. For example, we visited Belém, where you can find the famous Pastel de Belém or Pastel de Nata. Originally they are from Belém and I really love these sweats. It’s a must-eat! There also is the Castelo de São Jorge and many nice viewpoints. I also have to say Lisbon has a great location, it’s at a river but also close to the ocean. It took me around 20 minutes from my apartment to the beach and that’s just amazing.

Lara: Wow! Did you also visit other cities in Portugal from Lisbon?

Sebastian: We did small trips. For example one hour away from Lisbon is Sintra, there are many beautiful castles and parks, which we visited sometimes. We also made many trips to the sea and also went to Spain where we met other BIM students. Porto was nice too, we did wine tasting over there. But I didn’t travel that much inside of Portugal. Around Lisbon, you can actually see and experience a lot.

Lara: I also heard you were surfing a lot?

Sebastian: Since I only had three courses I had two whole days off every week, which I often spend at the beach surfing or at the swimming pool. There’s a really pretty indoor swimming pool with 50 meter lanes, which I visited two times every week.

Lara: And how was your everyday life? When did you wake up every day?

Sebastian: I have to say the Portuguese people are very relaxed. I think the first people that work start at 9. So University never started early, my courses started at 11 when they were early. I could start the day very relaxed, went to Uni if needed, if not I went to the beach or to the park if it was nice weather. You can also relax at the river, so similar to Würzburg, you got many spots to just relax. Most of the time I then met up with others. And in the evening we almost always went to party somewhere. And I tell you, you won’t be able to compare it to Würzburg. Lisbon has many spots and also ERASMUS corners where you can drink very cheap. At the river there are also many clubs to party.

Lara: Did you have any expectations to the semester abroad and did they come true? Or would you now do anything differently?

Sebastian: I didn’t really have any expectations which was good. I just went there and thought about what I could learn from this experience. I think I might not did the best out of it, but it was really great. I would have done two things differently, which is to start learning the language earlier so that I can learn more in the semester. And the other thing is that I had excellent grades but if I think about it now I should have gone surfing even more often, thinking about the current situation.

Lara: What a nice conclusion. Did you have a lot of contact to other Internationals or Portuguese people and maybe get some new friends?

Sebastian: I lived together with two Portuguese, so I definitely had contact. I also had a Buddy who showed me a lot, but we weren’t hanging out together all the time. I spent more of my time with the Internationals because they simply had the same lifestyle. What was really cool is that I got to know a really nice Brazilian there, and we are very good friends till now. We even went to Uni together and I already said I went to Portugal another five times. So we meet each other always there because he lives in Lisbon now.

Lara: Nice to hear that. On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your semester abroad?

Sebastian: As you know, you can never say 10! But definitely a 9.

Lara: Can you describe the semester in 3 words?

Sebastian: Fun, adventure and experience!

Lara: Thank you! What about food. Did you cook a lot or eat out? Any special tips?

Sebastian: If you love fish you will love Lisbon! It’s very fresh, but generally everything is very fresh, like fruit and vegetables. If you ever visit Porto you have to try francesinha. It’s a heavy meal but if you’re able to eat the portion you’re pretty good. I made it! It’s toast with bacon, cheese and fries, gratinated with cheese and with a cheese sauce. Sometimes the bacon is a whole steak. It’s really crazy! As I already said Pastel de Belém or Pastel de Nata is also delicious. Portugal also has great and very cheap coffee, it’s around 30 Cent. So food and snacks are great!

Lara: Is there anything you’d say is important to bring to Lisbon?

Sebastian: Remember to bring long pants too! I only thought about the sun, but sometimes it’s really windy. But Portuguese only wear long pants, no matter the weather. It could be 40 °C outside and a real Portuguese would still wear long pants.

Lara: What did you learn from this experience?

Sebastian: I learned a lot about being open and relaxed. We Germans are often very strict at many things, like being on time. In Portugal, they don’t mind it if someone is late. My professors sometimes came 30 minutes late, and it was totally fine for everyone. Sometimes you just need to relax a little because the world won’t go down because of it.

Lara: What was the most beautiful moment in Lisbon?

Sebastian: On New Year’s Eve we partied and had a lot of fun. And then my Brasilian friends said that it’s their tradition to see the first sun rays of the New Year. I was already exhausted, but we then went up to the castle I talked about and sneaked inside. We brought a bottle of wine and saw the first sunrise of 2019! It was really beautiful.

Lara: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Sebastian: The people there are very nice and helpful, so if you need anything just ask them. But there are also many people that want to sell drugs. Because weed is decriminalized, consuming it is allowed in Lisbon but not selling it. But what they are selling are no real drugs. As a person that looks like a foreigner they’d probably talk to you but just don’t buy it!

Lara: Good tip! Thank you for coming Sebastian. If you have any questions feel free to send him a message or just send us a mail to bimdannmalweg.fwiwi@thws.de and visit us on Instagram! Thank you for listening and see you soon!

Sebastian: Thank you and goodbye!