Portugal-Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Some people might relate: just a moment ago it was Christmas, everything was festively decorated and one was eating way too many cookies and played board games with the family. After one filled their belly over the holidays and got a gift or two, then comes those strange days between Christmas and New Year's Eve when everyone seems to lose the feeling of time and space and doesn't really know what to do with themselves. At least that's how I feel.

After a relaxing week of Christmas with my family I travelled back to Porto on the 27th of December, where I was welcomed back by the best Portuguese rain. At least I didn`t have to feel bad that I slept the rest of the day after the long journey. Freshly recovered on the next day, I was expecting visitors from Germany and developed a new hobby "Waiting at the airport and watching friends and families greeting and hugging joyfully in the arrivals hall". It's nice to be surrounded by this atmosphere of joy and love (yes, the kitsch of too many Christmas movies is speaking out of me here). Then, with my friends, once again the question came up: What do you do in Porto when it rains? The only true answer to this is: go out to eat. Because in the centre there are dozens of charming places to brunch, dine and drink cocktails around every corner. Just the right thing for those weird days between Christmas and New Year's! So, we tried a different café every day (Is there a better way to spend your Christmas money?) and watched even more Christmas movies.

To escape the hustle and bustle of our shared kitchen on New Year's Eve, we went out to eat at a fancy place in the centre. That meant for me: for the first time of my life, I would be eating a multi-course menu and no raclette on New Year's Eve. In addition to numerous courses (artfully draped on small plates), there were always full wine glasses and a cheerful atmosphere. As midnight approached, 12 raisins per person were distributed, which in Portugal are traditionally eaten at each stroke of the bell. Each raisin represents a wish or good resolution for the new year. Since I always have too many plans and to-do's anyway, I just stuck with the 12 wishes. My Italian roommate later told us that there is a very similar custom in Italy, but with fresh grapes. To my delight, the restaurant also served sparkling wine, called Espumante, for the toast. There were no fireworks because of the bad weather, but there were still many people in the city when we moved after dinner, more rolling than walking to the Ponte Dom Luis I. to admire the sea of lights of the city.

2023 started with a lot of rain, but fortunately the next few days were a little drier, so we could still tick off some of the tourist program. And I was also able to successfully swim or surf in a wetsuit. After the departure of my visitors, the plan for me is quite unspectacular and consists mostly of studying. Although I doubted my time management from time to time, I am now very confident about the next few weeks and the successful submission of my finals.

I'm conflicted about the new year. I got back to my shared apartment in Porto after the Christmas holidays with a feeling of "coming home" and was happy to return to my home of the last four months, where I found many new favourite places and inspiring people. At the same time, I'm insanely looking forward to Germany and the central heating, my bike, which makes all my trips so much faster, and little things like intuitively finding my way around the supermarket. You could say that in some respects I have settled in well in Portugal, in others it would probably take quite a while longer than just this one semester. The time to say goodbye has already begun, since a few people have already finished their internships or have only online assignments and are already jumping into a new adventure. Overall, I have to say, I'm also ready for a new chapter and looking forward to a fresh start.