Ola! Boa Tarde!
I’m now back in College Station, sadly. Just kidding, but seriously I am excited for the semester to come and glad that I was able to gain a depth of cultural experience and personal enlightenment from meeting people from a different country that lead lives extremely different from mine. I think after going on the trip my perception towards the rest of the world has changed quite a bit, this was my first time going international so I really had no idea what to expect when going to another country, and I can say my expectations were blown out of the water.
The Portuguese culture and people were extremely admirable to me, all the small nuances and really big differences showed me that the world is really a huge place. Even going to small coffee shops and talking to people in convenience stores felt like a rushing experience. Personally, my favorite thing about Portugal was that basically everybody we saw walking the streets or at small restaurants all dressed really well. I never saw anybody in casual clothes like sweatshirts, sweatpants, ballcaps, or brightly colored outfits. Personally, I like the style of clothing the Portuguese wear and I myself probably spent too much money on clothes.
Firstly before I talk about the business side of things, I want to mention that I am not in a business-related major at all, so taking tours and talking to directors of companies in Portugal was sort of my first introduction to the business world, and I loved it. I’m not sure how it is in America but a lot of the businesses that we toured were heavy on familial ties and put heavy emphasis on the care of their workers. Another thing I noticed from the businesses that we toured was that most of the businesses seemed to really care about sustainability and the betterment of Portuguese society. I wonder if it is easier for Portugal to manage these large problems because they are a smaller country compared to America, or if they genuinely just care a lot more than we do, as from what I know about American business, which is not much, is that we don’t seem to be as passionate about sustainability and for the environment as the directors we in the group have met here.
Before going on the trip I had always wanted to travel abroad to experience different cultures and have the opportunity to say I have met many different people from diverse backgrounds and many different lives. Going to Portugal has cemented that desire and I am even more excited to go around the world and gain knowledge and respect for the people around the world.
