Months away: creating & living my best memories

Sintra – AMAZING place

Porto

me being the Hunchback for a day and playing bells

Sugar cotton skies

Dancing in Lisbon

Porto

Magnolias in Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra

Lisbon – Tower of Belem

Cascais

Lisbon – New Years eve

Me and Fernando Pessoa

Cascais

Serra da Estrela – loved this place so much!

YES! Buying my uniform

Beautiful Lisbon

Sunsets in Porto

Serra da Estrela – sunshine

Botanical Garden – Coimbra

It’s been 4 months again and I’m finally back!

I have SO much to tell, to write about. It’s been such crazy, amazing months!

I met beautiful places and this city I live in that I always considered a bit mine, I met such wonderful people, I walked A LOT and I learned so much!

During this time, I made an extra three-times-per-week German class (which I absolutely LOVED) next to the main campus, I started ballet in October (and I can feel I’m getting stronger every class and I am SO happy to be able to be learning and dancing – I’m doing 4 classes per week – three usual classes and one conditioning and barre-terre class). ALSO, I did a Bollywood workshop and it was sooooo nice! I was a volunteer twice (The first time at an Opera project and the second during a 7 week Bienal of Contemporary Art) and loved the experience. I and my family played the bells in Sé Nova Monastery and was so incredibly nice! Thanks o part of the work of an artist of the art exhibition I was volunteering on.

I was in doubt about my course in the beginning, but now I can say I chose a subject I love to study and I have thousands of different plans for the future, which include a career in this area, on my ballet brand Merci, and dance-related projects, as well as much other stuff. Future planning.

My family came to visit me during the holidays and it was the best, even that I had to study in the meantime because I was going to have a super big exam ( and they haven’t finished yet – not sure if they ever will or it’s just a myth…) but we could visit and know a bit more about Portugal: Porto, Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Fátima, Aveiro and, of course, Coimbra. It was the best to have them with me and it was the worst to say goodbye, miss them a lot, but we always in touch.

I will add the details later or mix in the next stories because it’s way too much to write in one post, but I’m glad to be back and ready for this new year and the new semester.

(Also, I’m planning to do the 6th grade RAD exam – really looking forward to it!)

Love,

Arissa Ayumi