Touch Down in Lisbon

Bom Dia! After over 30 hours of travel, our entire group arrived safe and sound in Lisbon. For many students, this experience was full of firsts - first time traveling without family, first time on a plane, first time using rail transport, first time in Europe, or first time leaving the United States. But every single student took on the challenges of these “firsts” with enthusiasm, flexibility, and a spirit of cooperation! 

The highlights of travel day included a few students practicing their French and checking out the shops during the Paris layover, meeting fellow program participants from all over the U.S. in-person after weeks of chatting online, and finally making it to Lisbon, without any hiccups at Immigration or Baggage Claim!

Arriving in Lisbon, students were exhausted but excited to discover that our accommodation was a beautiful dormitory with private rooms, attached bathrooms, and an entire floor just for our group! Some rooms have an excellent view of Estádio da Luz, which is said to be one of the most beautiful stadiums in Europe. We are also within walking distance of one of Lisbon’s largest shopping centers and a beautiful park that overlooks the city.

On our first full day on-location, we were debriefed on CIEE’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies, which includes a 5-day period of “soft isolation” to ensure we don’t bring the virus into our host community. During this period, we are spending lots of time building a strong community and group dynamic. We learned about one another’s motivations and inspirations for joining CIEE and the World Government Lisbon Program. For some, this inspiration came from a Tiktok video, for others - it was their passion for diplomacy and international relations, for others - a chance to learn in-person after a year of virtual learning or an opportunity to immerse themself in another culture and experience what it means to be a global citizen.

In our first few days, students enjoyed walking to the park during free time, ordering ice cream in Portuguese after their first language lesson, meals and games on the terrace, meeting the awesome instructor of the course, Bruno, and peer discourse on global politics.

As our soft isolation winds down, students’ anticipation over seeing everything Lisbon has to offer continues to grow! We have so many fun and interesting activities planned for this weekend that will give us an even better taste of Portuguese society and way of life.