O testemunho da Alessandra

 

Only a little more than two months in Lisbon have passed, but my time here has already been packed with wonderful things!

They have not been the two best months to experience Lisbon - cold, everyone sick all the time, and a rain that never ends - but I was able to find a lot of beautiful people and places to warm my heart during this dreadful weather!

The city itself is beautiful, and does not lack things to do - concerts, dances, social centres, bars and pretty viewpoints - but my house for sure is the loveliest place, always full with the best people and the best friends I could meet.  I felt very welcomed from the first day, and I sadly had already said goodbye to some amazing folk, which I will miss - but all the new arrivals that come are always so nice! I was also very lucky to already have some friends here, which helped me have a lot of fun and do some very cool stuff around the city. 

But the reason I came here, the work at Spea, has been no less: why can't wait for the good season to travel all around and work closer to nature. I already learned so much about birds, in the office as well as in the field. I was lucky enough to spend some sunny days in Ria Formosa, Faro, and some other pretty reserves around here. Everyone is really nice to me and so experienced. I'm really happy to have this opportunity to learn from such a team, and challenge myself with new tasks. 

And another thing I’m so glad to be learning, and challenging myself with, is Portuguese! I never had the chance to learn another language apart from English, and I’m very happy to finally do it. I love the language, as a fan of Brazilian music, and now I’m discovering some really wonderful Portuguese music authors and genres too! Thanks to my passion I could  make a lot of progress in this little time - and I just enjoy studying and speaking it every time I can.

I can’t wait for the next months to be sunny and filled with lovely times and new discoveries about birds, Portuguese and, of course, myself and my future :)