It was in 2009 the first time that heard about Portugal and it is in my heart since then.
I was almost 19 and it was my first time living far from my family. You might know that it is not so common for Italians to go to live far from their parents so early. The most of us love living at home almost till 30, someone also more than it.
I was almost 19 and it was my first time living far from my family. You might know that it is not so common for Italians to go to live far from their parents so early. The most of us love living at home almost till 30, someone also more than it.
Anyway, I went to Genova to study and I lived in a student residence. There I met one of the most important person of my life. She was Polish and she had 7 years more than me.
At that time she had already traveled a lot. For her everything started with an erasmus in 2005 in Portugal. We spent our evening talking, in English of course, and learning, a least I have lerned a lot from her. It was a new language, a new culture, a new perspective. My first big discovery: there was someone living outside my country which could understand me much better than people from my own country.
She was the first one who thalk me about Portugal and Lisbon. I remember the evening spent in our rooms showing the photo of this wonderfull country, and the portuguese and brasialian songs listened to together.
From then on it was a crescendo of coincidences which broght me to study and to work in Lisbon.
Soon after I met here Portugal/portuguese language/culture were something irremoveble from my mind: I bought books of portuguese writers and italians authors who have written about Portugal. I have fought also against the Student secretary to have Portuguese couse to attend in my student schedule.
Finally I arrived in Lisbon on the 2nd February 2011. I succeed in gaining an erasmus student scholarship to study the language and the culture there. I stayed there 5 months, but when I went back that country, that city was still an obsession, but a melanchonic one. I just fell in love with it and that was all, there was nothing rational in it. For the fist time I had experimented the saudade feeling on my skin. From one side I was happy since it meant that I was very involved into that culture, from the other side I was not happy at all, because I was suffering.
I had to come back, it was the only solution. I was back on March 2012 for my birthday, and then in May of the same year since I found an intership there. That was a good excuse to spent there 4 months more.
After a 2 years-pause I came back again in January 2015 but just for holidays with some friends. Everything was the same as I left: beautiful
So what is next? For sure I had to come back again and again to "kill the saudade" (matar a saudade). The saudade feeling is still in my heart and made me remind of my beloved Lisbon.
She was the first one who thalk me about Portugal and Lisbon. I remember the evening spent in our rooms showing the photo of this wonderfull country, and the portuguese and brasialian songs listened to together.
From then on it was a crescendo of coincidences which broght me to study and to work in Lisbon.
Soon after I met here Portugal/portuguese language/culture were something irremoveble from my mind: I bought books of portuguese writers and italians authors who have written about Portugal. I have fought also against the Student secretary to have Portuguese couse to attend in my student schedule.
Finally I arrived in Lisbon on the 2nd February 2011. I succeed in gaining an erasmus student scholarship to study the language and the culture there. I stayed there 5 months, but when I went back that country, that city was still an obsession, but a melanchonic one. I just fell in love with it and that was all, there was nothing rational in it. For the fist time I had experimented the saudade feeling on my skin. From one side I was happy since it meant that I was very involved into that culture, from the other side I was not happy at all, because I was suffering.
I had to come back, it was the only solution. I was back on March 2012 for my birthday, and then in May of the same year since I found an intership there. That was a good excuse to spent there 4 months more.
After a 2 years-pause I came back again in January 2015 but just for holidays with some friends. Everything was the same as I left: beautiful
So what is next? For sure I had to come back again and again to "kill the saudade" (matar a saudade). The saudade feeling is still in my heart and made me remind of my beloved Lisbon.
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