Purpose and Belonging in Lisbon: Maurice's Volunteer Story

Arriving in Lisbon

When I arrived in Lisbon, Portugal on the plane the first thing that stuck in my mind was, “when are we landing?”. It was maybe 3 or 4 times when the plane was above some buildings and I wondered if it was close to the airport. Once the plane lowered a little bit and we flew above what looked like a coast with tons of red tile roofed buildings, I realized we had arrived.

Lisbon is beautiful. What I noticed the most immediately and will always remember is the Sun and how close it appears. I knew that of course the Sun will look different depending on where you are. Something about the sweltering closeness of the Sun and how large it appeared was very inspiring to me.

I had a couple of days after my arrival to acclimate the hostel, make some new friends and explore a bit of the city. I even did a tuk tuk tour around Lisbon and had the best pina colada I’ve ever had in my life.

The first day at my placement

My actual first day at my placement I think my mouth hurt a bit from smiling so much. The Portuguese word “obrigado” (thank you) became permanently etched in my brain. I enjoyed the atmosphere at my site. The food smells are wonderful. They would offer us chocolate ice creams and coffee at the end of the day and i always looked forward to it.

My highlight was actually the monotony of daily tasks like chopping/prepping foods like meat and vegetables. I finely sliced so many carrots, onions, garlics and learned how to prep chicken and meats. I absolutely upgraded my cooking skills. Which I did not expect to gain from this experience.

Listening to a language I did not speak

A part of me wishes that I was able to speak Portuguese (soon come?). Though for me it was an immersive experience just standing at the sidelines and listening in on lively, enthusiastic conversations in a language I didn’t understand yet found to be so beautiful. Something about this was memorable for me and a total highlight.

I enjoyed listening to the Portuguese language and seeing how passionate they are. They always would check in on me to ask if I was ok. I got the impression that their culture wants everyone to be at ease.

The woman who trained me

The woman who helped train me mostly was an older Indian/Portuguese retiree who helped out at the center on days she could. She was so knowledgeable and calming. She spoke fluent English so she was often my main point of contact during my time there. She taught me so much about marinading meat for one. For two, I also learned some amazing cleaning tips from her.

She was a former yoga teacher. Her calm, grounded energy helped me as someone who can be rather nervous. She would constantly talk about how there is no need to rush yourself and stress. “Just do your best an what you can. You’ll finish when you finish.” This was a foreign concept to my American mind but the sentiments still resonated.

Bom momento

I am so grateful to have visited the beautiful country of Portugal and city of Lisbon. It’s been a joy meeting so many dynamic people and learning their stories. It’s been amazing getting to see so much and I am excited to see even more.

I think volunteering in a different country is such a cool experience. It’s given my trip a sense of purpose and belonging. Thank you so much to IVHQ for this opportunity and thank you to Portugal for your beauty. Bom momento!