O testemunho no. 1 do Mohanad (SPEAK)

 

Hello everyone,

“Sonder” is a rather unpopular word in the dictionary that most people never hear of in their lives. It refers to the intersection of different people’s lives by the tiniest chances that occur in everyday life. Think of it like the butterfly effect, where the smallest action you take can change someone’s life completely.The reason why I absolutely believe in the meaning of this word is that this testimony comes from sonder—everything that led me to this moment was unexpected.

I never saw that I will be an Erasmus volunteer until this year. I never saw Portugal as my next destination for a whole year until this year. I never expected to live away from Egypt and my family for this long time, but I am here and I am grateful.

I am Mohanad (aka Moka) and I am a 25-year-old aspiring polyglot (multilingual) and film enthusiast. My first few weeks in Lisbon were very overwhelming but in the most beautiful ways. I had a great time exploring the city on my first week by myself and with my mentor Rita and my flatmates.

I remember going to the beach with my flatmates on the weekend it was the rainiest day of the month by far (And there was also a non-comforting Tsunami warning sign) but it went more than okay. The following week, I visited Spin’s office and also went to SPEAK’s office for the first time we had dinner later on the same day to welcom

e me and a new person on the team. I am truly in love with where I work! (Just google it; it is called Casa do Impacto)

My second weekend was even better because I visited Madrid for the first time and spent quality time with a close friend there. Not the biggest fan of the city because it is super crowded and this is why I like Lisbon because it has this cozy feeling that no other city I visited felt the same.

The cherry on top of my first month was attending on-arrival training on the last week of the month in Braga. I went there with two other flatmates and had an amazing time meeting new people, learning about ESC programs, and doing various fun activities and hangouts.

  

I can tell you about many other things that happened during my first month, like when I tried Ramen for the first time in my life, dying my hair also for the first time, watching two spectacular films at the cinema with Portuguese subtitles, visiting the most magical place in Portugal, Sintra, and other warm little moments with my flatmates and new friends, but words won’t be able to describe how amazing this first month was. I am looking forward to the next few months with new wonderful memories and even more wonderful people. And hopefully, the next time I write, I will be able to maintain a basic conversation in Portuguese. 

Ciao!