O testemunho da Annalise

Today marks my third day in Lisbon doing my ESC project with Spin. I'm currently waiting to register at the health centre which has given me a *lot* of time to reflect, so I figure now is a good time to write down some of my first impressions.

After a hectic day of travel (thank you RyanAir), I arrived in Lisbon and spent my first night in the beautiful Casa Anjos. My first couple of days at the office happened so quickly! It feels a bit as though I've been dropped into a fast-flowing river and right now I'm just being carried by the current. I hope that I'll find my footing soon enough, and am very grateful to be sharing this experience with some other new volunteers. Meeting the lovely Tavi, Ksenia, Viviana, Ana - and everyone else! - has been an amazing comfort.

From my coworkers to my flatmates, I feel like I have already met a bunch of really interesting people - our energies are different, as are our perspectives and life experiences. It's really stimulating to be surrounded by diversity of thought and culture. I can already tell that I am going to learn a lot during these months in Lisbon.

Thanks to the introduction meetings at the office, I now know a little better what to expect of my day-to-day life at Spin. It's a beautiful space and seems like an environment that is open to collaboration and new ideas, so I'm very eager to help out where I can and hopefully contribute my own project ideas.

So there are my first impressions. I look forward to facing new challenges and exploring what is now my new home for the next 9 months :)