Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal

Just when I sat down to write this entry, I received an e-mail from university. They told us that they mustpostpone classroom teaching for yet another week. Unfortunately, some students of the Instituto Politecnico de Lisboa infected themselves with the corona virus and the uni decided that it was safer not to start lessons on-site for another week, even though the incidence is under 40 now. I am curious how the situation will develop and if the university will eventually offer classes on-site again.

Flying to Portugal was relatively relaxed except for a little inconvenience with the lab responsible for my testresults. I asked them several times how long it will take for the result to be send to me and they assured me there would be plenty of time -in the end, I nearly had to do one of the ridiculously expensive PCR testsat the airport.

I have been in beautiful Lisbon for a few days now and already feel at ease. It is even more beautiful than I imagined,and I enjoy every second.I also try to improve my Portuguese every dayand try to challenge myself. My Spanish is quite good,but Portuguese is something completely different. To me, it always sounds like a mixture of Spanish and Russian.

I have already tried Pastéis de Nata, a little puff pastry tartletwith pudding inside. Pastéis de Nata was invented in the 18th century by monks of the Jerónimos Monastery in Santa Maria de Belem. Back then, the monks used the egg white to colour the nuns‘ robes and therefore had a lot of egg yolks left. In order to use it, they started baking delicious little cakes. Today, the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belem, located near the monastery, is said to be the only place that sells the original pastries. There, the pastries are called Pastéis de Belém and not Pastel de nata.

According to a Portuguese saying, a bride who eatsa pastry will never put down her ring.This is why many newlywedcouples visit the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém and eatone our two pastries there, as a lucky charm for their marriage.

I am not planning to marry any time soon, but I would still eat one of the pastries. And who knows, maybe it will be a lucky charm for my future marriage, I will be prepared for everything :DThere is just one thing I am struggling with a lot. Basically every day, I am invited to a house party, just like 50 or 100 others. Most of the time, they are held inside. Even though I am invited and all my friends from uni are going, it would feel wrong for me to go. I am so thankful for the open-mindedness of the people here in Portugal, but as I am still processing so many other things, I have decided to just wait a little bit longer until I go to parties.

It was great that Portugal let Erasmus students come for the semester and I know that the people here have been very strict and disciplined in order for the numbers to go down so rapidly again. That is one of the reasons why I do not want to break the rules: I want to be just as good as they were.
In addition, I am so happy that I can already go to cafés, museums and bars or relax at the beach. It is also very likely that I will soon be able to go to university again, something German students will have to wait for much longer. I really do not need big parties just yet. Also, some of the events organised by Erasmus Life Lisboa start next week, such as a trip to Nazaré. I am really looking forward to the trip, and who knows, maybe I will even learn how to surf.

“Lisbon is one of the smallest capital cities of Europe, but is known to be one of the prettiest”. I do not know where I read this anymore, but it is definitely true. The city is not too big, and it is easy to meet new people, but still it always feels like freedom and everywhere I go, I have this stunning view. There is not much hustle in the city, and it is easy to just go with the flow and relax.I do not need morning meditation, I just need the sunrise view from Miradouro de Santa Luzia, one of the best viewpoints of Portugal, which is also called the country of light.I am planning to get in as much light as I can over the following weeks.