Espresso and Friends for Life

My time volunteering as an English teacher in Portugal was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The "teaching" is quite minimal as it's a volunteer program for an assistant teacher. I assisted two different teachers with classes in grades 1-3. If you're looking for a lot of teaching experience, this might not be the program for you. BUT, if you're looking for a memorable and relatively short term experience in another country then this is definitely worth considering. The best parts of this experience were definitely the friends I made and the tiny little glimpse into Portuguese daily life that I was fortunate enough to receive. I didn't know much about Portugal before venturing there, but it is one of my favorite places now. Especially the city of Oporto!

Staying with a host family was amazing and the hospitality and general friendliness of everyone I met was very comforting. Since I ended up having a lot of free time, I traveled to many other parts of Portugal and really had a once in a lifetime opportunity to just explore. I've even considered moving to Portugal after this experience (though as an American it is not easy)!