O testimunho do Nico

12 months, 365 days
Living in Lisbon was a surprise in all aspects, I didn't have many expectations, I just wanted to experience life in a city, keep on making music and possibly participate in a project that was “cultural” related, the EVS experience gave me this and so much more.

I believe I had a rather atypical EVS year, interfacing with the other volunteers, a lot of them traveled a lot, both in Portugal (continental and islands) and around Europe, but since the beginning I choose to try immerse myself as much as i could in the Lisbon music scene, first through the free Jam sessions that allowed me to play with people from all over the world then trying to participate in as many musical projects as possible from a jazz / funk band to the Brazilian carnival bloco to collaborations with electronic artists, all this musical activity has changed a lot the perception of myself as a musician and an artist, this evolution had already begun with the return from Mozambique, but here has found fertile ground, if before I saw music as a hobby now I see it as a possible career, as something that could happen in the future, with this new mentality I decided to enroll in a music production course that ends in March next year extending my stay in this beautiful city, which I now see as a second home!

The experience in the library was very gratifying and formative, the fact of having a lot of free time was an excellent school in terms of initiative and creativity. During the summer there were activities with children that kept me busy both in terms of time and in terms of creativity, then after September in which the Feria Da Luz took place I had no idea how to occupy my time so I had decide to divide my time in 2 parts, a part dedicated to study / personal projects and the other dedicated to the organization of activities/helping in the library, in addition to this I had the opportunity to participate in the various events of the Junta de Freguesia.


Another key part was living in Casa Marvao, located in the historic district of Mouraria, it is more a community than a house, there's people who come and go every month, it has given me the opportunity to live and share with persons from all over the world and get in touch with cultures that i didn't even know they exist, it was (and it is) very tiring from a social perspective sometimes (14 people and a single kitchen is not a simple situation to manage) but always stimulating from a creative standpoint, living here has made me know beautiful people that i still have contact with, we have organized parties, artistic projects, jam sessions in the living room etc etc.
Definitely the part that marked me the most.

Despite having spent a year here, the city continues to surprise me, from discovering breathtaking miradouros to neighborhoods I had never seen, I still love walking, stopping in a bar to drink a cafezinho with pastel de feijao (pastel de nata is way too mainstream)

I could go on talking for hours but ultimately the concept is always one
.

Thanks Lisbon

Thanks EVS