O testemunho No. 1 da Ida (CML)

Hello Lisbon, once again!

My name is Ida, and I come from the northern side of Europe, from Finland. I have now been in Lisbon for almost two months, and so far it has been great! That said, the city is not new for me as I have been here before. 

First time as a teenager, when I had just turned 18 and was interrailing across Europe and taking my first steps towards independence.


That is when I first fell in love with the magic that only exists here: the setting sun that paints the city in all the shades of pink, getting lost in the labyrinth of small streets and finding something wonderful by accident, the people that embody an enchanting nostalgia (the saudade), the abandoned buildings that are keeping secrets of a millennia... 
However, this time I am here with the purpose of volunteering.

These nine months I will be working in the department of Social Rights in the Lisbon City Council, the principal legislative body. The department has a Banco de Voluntariado or “volunteer bank”, which recruits volunteers for organizations that need them. I have five lovely colleagues, and the ambiance in the office is nice and relaxed. 

So far, I have been learning about the work of the department and the volunteer bank, but soon I will start to go out to visit the municipal partners and associations that have volunteers to learn about their projects. The idea is to compile a video report about volunteering during the pandemic, the kind of needs that arose, and how the organizations could continue working under the restrictions. I’m quite excited about it as it is a chance to learn a new skill that will surely be useful in the future! 

Apart from work, I’m also really enjoying my living situation, as I managed to move in with a Portuguese friend (great for improving Portuguese ;)). The apartment itself is quite small, but on the upside, it has a rather big patio which is great for dinners with friends, gardening, and playing with the two cats, Artur and Gloria, who are simultaneously extremely cute and temperamental!

That’s it for now, 
Até a próxima!