Obrigada Portugal

If Portugal taught me anything it was to not trust google translate. When I was writing my thank you note to the placement because I had such an incredible time, I found myself saying "parking lots of love" and calling my supervisors "lions" by accident! But why did I feel the need to write them a note, you ask...

Although there were hills everywhere and the walk to placement was like a trek up Kilimanjaro everyday, making a difference to the community made it all worthwhile. I had never worked with babies before but by the end of my two weeks all of them knew me! The biggest achievement was getting a baby who cried all day everyday to stop crying and actually start to smile at me; this placement taught me that sometimes it's the smaller things in life that make it all worthwhile.

The trip was organised by the local team fantastically - there was always something going on, including the scheduled trips every week which aims to bring volunteers together. The local team were great at providing help and support to whenever it was needed - they made a real effort with every single person.

Lisbon also has a great social scene and there is always somewhere to go/something to do. It is very cheap to eat and drink out, as well as buying food. It is easily commutable to Porto and the Algarve by train, Cabo de Roca (the most western point of Europe) by bus and has a good metro in the city centre. You have to be prepared to walk when you're not in the city centre area.

Lisbon and Portugal have a very special place in my heart and I will be back.