Portuguese Learning Community and Resources

*Source: Marco Spangaro 

Can you present and talk a little bit about yourself? 

My name is Marco, and I’m from Italy. To be more precise, I’m from Udine, a city near Venice. I’m 25 years old. Regarding my academic background, I initially studied mechatronic engineering in Italy. However, when I moved to Portugal, I began studying electrical and computer engineering, focusing on energy. This area includes topics like power plants, electrical machines, and related fields. 

Can you tell us where you did your mobility? How and why did you choose the place to go? 

I did my double degree program in Lisbon. Before starting, I had a few options to choose from Barcelona, Yokohama in Japan, and some schools in France. But for different reasons, I ended up choosing Lisbon. First of all, there was this course in electrical and computer engineering, and I felt it was the best option for my future career. Then, I started looking into the city. Everyone told me Lisbon was a touristy city, but it still had this authentic vibe. It felt different, especially compared to somewhere like Barcelona, which is more international. 

What language did you study and why is it important for you to learn languages? 

My entire master’s program was in English. There was a rule that if even one mobility student was in the class, the whole class had to be in English. At the beginning, learning Portuguese was difficult for me. When I left Italy, I thought, “Okay, Portuguese is a Latin language, so it should be easy for me since I already know Italian.” But in the end, it wasn’t really like that. For example, Spanish is much easier for me to understand. Brazilian Portuguese is also easier compared to European Portuguese. Of course, English is super important because we use it everywhere nowadays, not just in your career or academic life, but in so many other parts of life too. And learning another language, like Portuguese, is always interesting. I think it helps open your mind in some way. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to meet new people. For example, if I’m in Bairro Alto (place in Lisbon) and I meet a Portuguese guy or girl, I can say, “Oh, I know ‘Obrigado!’” And that can start a conversation. 

LANGUAGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE 

How was your experience getting used to the language?  

I would say I learned just a little bit of Portuguese, and maybe that’s because I never really pushed myself to learn it. Also, my Portuguese friends were really good at speaking English, actually way better than me. So, it was just easier to talk in English, and for that reason, I almost never spoke Portuguese. But I think that, after spending two years there, I can understand it, however talking is a bit different, though. My Portuguese is better because of my mobility in Portugal. Also, my landlord was an older Portuguese lady who only knew a few words in English, so when we talked, I had to develop some skills in Portuguese. 

What advice would you give to someone who is starting to learn a new language? 

I think my advice would be: don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes I had that fear, and that’s probably why I never really improved my Portuguese. But I guess it’s pretty normal to feel that way. At the same time, it’s also completely normal to make mistakes if you really want to learn. 

Did OLS help you to improve your language level? What do you think about the platform, do you think it is useful, do you advise Erasmus students to use the community? 

Yes, of course, it helps improve your language level, especially if you’re just starting to learn a new language. For sure, something like this is really useful. I guess if you already have good skills in that particular language, it might not be as helpful. After a certain level, you really improve by talking and practicing, and that’s a bit of the problem with schools too, you learn a lot of grammar, but you don’t always get the chance to practice speaking in a casual way. 

MOBILITY EXPERIENCE 

Was it your first experience abroad? How long did you stay there?  

Yes, it was my first experience abroad. I stayed in Lisbon for two years. 

How was your mobility experience? 

If I had to summarize my experience in a few words, I’d say it was the best two years of my life. I came from a small city in Italy and moved to the capital of Portugal, which offered so many opportunities in all aspects of life. One thing I really liked was that I tried to spend more time with foreigners than with Italians. There are a lot of Italians in Portugal, but I think you miss the point of Erasmus if you stick with people from your own country. I met people from Colombia, Brazil, South America, and all over Europe. I created bonds that are still strong today. I did four mobility programs, each lasting six months, and I’m still in touch with the first people I met when I arrived in Lisbon. We even organized a trip together after the Erasmus program ended. This experience also gave me the chance to explore other cities. For example, I had a friend in Toulouse, France, so I visited her a couple of times. If I hadn’t gone to Lisbon, I probably never would have visited Toulouse. It was amazing. 

As for Portugal, I absolutely fell in love with the country, and I definitely want to come back. I feel nostalgic now. I also remember trips to the Azores and Madeira, which are memories that are still really vivid in my mind. For example, I remember walking in the Azores in the rain, but we were still having the best time. Even walking through the forest in the rain, felt like a unique experience. 

When it comes to places, Lisbon is my favourite city in Portugal, but I also really like Porto. It’s a bit colder than Lisbon, so I prefer the warmer weather in Lisbon. I’ve also been to the Algarve twice, and it was really nice. I didn’t go during the high season, so I wasn’t there for the party scene. I was more interested in seeing the beautiful landscapes. If I had to compare Madeira and Açores, I’d say I prefer Madeira, mainly because of the weather. In the Açores, you can be walking along and it’s sunny, and 15 minutes later, it’s raining. But in Madeira, the weather was much hotter, and I even swam in the natural pools. So, for me, Madeira is definitely my favourite place in Portugal. 

Any advice you would like to give to someone preparing to go on mobility? 

Before starting my mobility program, I didn’t really receive any advice, and I don’t think it was necessary. My advice would be: just be open to meeting new people. Be open to going out with someone you might not normally feel comfortable with in other situations. Live the full experience. There will be bad days, but that’s part of the process. In the end, you’ll even look back and appreciate those tough days. 

How did the mobility/volunteering/internship help you to grow? 

Talking about academic life, I think the quality of teaching in Portugal is a bit lower than what I experienced in Italy. However, there’s something important in Portugal that we don’t have in Italy: a lot of labs and group projects. And I think that’s really important because, when you start working, you need to be able to work as part of a team. Portugal really helped me improve my ability to be part of a team, to know how to lead a team, but also to step back when someone else is more experienced or skilled. It taught me how to accept advice from others. 

It also helped me improve my English. When I left Italy, I had a good level of English on paper, but I realized it wasn’t as good as I thought because I wasn’t used to speaking it. Over time, though, it definitely got better. 

Would you like to do an interview for the OLS Portuguese Community? Click here and let me know if you would like to participate! 

I would like to thank Marco for his time and great chat! Obrigada! 

See you, 

Juliane, OLS Community Manager - Portuguese