About Lisbon…
I love history and I love old - Lisbon with its history and cobblestone streets, and a castle right in the city! The people were great and gracious and kind, one of the things I loved the most was the approach to life.
Nobody walks around with their coffee, they sit and sip their espresso. The parks have cafes, and people just sit, relax, and enjoy. People take their lunch - everything stops at 1 pm for the lunch break, and that is how it is, there is no debate. Work is just a piece of life, it isn’t life. I loved the pace, the real connection piece that we don’t have as much in the U.S.
I loved the public transportation, I used the metro, and didn’t need my Google Maps by the end of the month. For 5 weeks I wasn’t behind the wheel of the car, which is incredible. Walking is such an integral part of life in Lisbon. I could just pop out of my apartment and walk anywhere.
About My Volunteering…
I felt that I was really able to offer value to APAV, my partner organization, which was focused around finances and fund-raising. I created a financial model that was based on population size, incidences of domestic violence in that community, staffing model and other factors so that they could plug the numbers in to see the cost of what it would be to run a center in a given municipality.
I worked directly with the executive director, Carmen, such a wonderful and lovely person and so dedicated to the work. They were also looking to raise money from the U.S., so I worked with them on a fund-raising strategy for how to approach US donors.
Favorite experiences and activities outside of working and volunteering…
I honestly didn’t do a lot of sightseeing in Lisbon, because I felt like I was living life! I went to popular places, but also many places where tourists don’t go. For example, we spent a night at an afro-beat pop-up club that we went to together as a group, and had a ball! There was an immersive light show at Convento Carmo, and we had dinner during the show. I also met some people through a Facebook group that I signed up for, and had lunch with them various times.
I did a lot with the cohort! One of my favorite things was going to Praia Ursa, a stunningly beautiful beach just 45 minutes from Lisbon! One of the other cohort members had picked an art gallery/vegan restaurant, and we sat for over 3 hours enjoying lunch.
When we went to a vineyard in the Douro Valley and the winemaker served us! Usually the winemaker is sitting on high somewhere, but no, he poured the wine, he brought the tapas and he took pictures. He wanted to be with us, which I felt was the spirit of the people that I encountered in Portugal. So generous.
Final Thoughts?
I have traveled a fair amount, however one of the cohort members had never traveled internationally by herself before, and I thought, what a great experience, Venture with Impact is a great way to travel for the first time! You have a framework, it’s structured, someone is watching out for you, and you have other people in the program to hang out with. For me as someone who is fairly experienced in international travel, it was really about digging into the local culture and living like a local.
I think that wherever you are on the spectrum of travel and giving back, or whatever it is that is your driver, the program allows that to happen.