Algarve Portugal was definitely a tourist city. I was in a country that spoke Portuguese and not once did I “have” to use my Spanish or gestures. EVERYONE spoke English and when some would begin to speak Spanish, they were immediately stopped and asked to speak English. It was bizarre, but refreshing.
Friday afternoon all the students made their way to the beach. This beach was different than Cadiz and awesome. The waves were massive (to me); in fact no was allowed to swim because of their danger! So, most people stood along the shoreline and let the waves crash into them (every once and while some rebel would run into the waves and begin swimming; but then the British lifeguard would blow his whistle obnoxiously and write out a ticket.)
My friend and I left the group and decided to be adventurous and run along the shore and climb around the bluffs. We looked like little kids playing in the waves... squealing when the giant walls of water would crash into us…we just kept giggling and running along the shoreline for almost two hours! Then, Friday night I went to dinner with students I’ve never hung out with…extremely REFRESHING!
Saturday was the best day of the trip. For the morning I had a normal sized breakfast, finally. In Spain, a few pieces of toast and your drink choice…are served and afternoon most of us students took a bus to Lagos, Portugal. It was a smaller tourist town with a ton of history. The port city had a significant role in the slave trade…
Anyways, I went on an awesome boat ride around the sea caves, took an hour of solitude (ventured off by myself…walked through a Portuguese art expo and checked out the town’s strip), bought groceries in a Portuguese supermarket, had a picnic with friends on the beach, swam in the rain (I forgot my swimsuit, so another student lent me her white wife-beater/tank top. So, I joined 15 other students in the water with my underwear and a tank top on…I know, I’m WILD), and visited with students I’ve never talked to before.
Saturday night, I put on a dress (got a little fancied up) and went out to eat with some students at a Portuguese restaurant and ate some awesome food. The portions were huge, the prices were reasonable, and the company was awesome (once again students I had never hung out with before)! But then as always, when night comes and drinking begins I turned into a pumpkin (more solitude…) please pray for church community because I haven’t found one yet.
Overall, I enjoyed myself. Met more people in the program, ate normal (American) sized breakfasts and took advantage of long hot showers. Plus the break from (the Spanish diet of ) tapas was exactly what I needed!
