Letters from Porto
Well… more or less….
So! We’re finally here… after six long months of crossing our fingers and hurriedly completing Cas!
you know the back log of how we applied for it… here’s how we got there… physically.
We left Goa on the night of the 12 th of September 2019. The flight was pretty nice, if of course you
exclude the fact that a guy almost died… breathing issues, they gave him oxygen, he’s fine now. Our
flight from Mumbai to Istanbul was amazing… delayed, but amazing. We had movies at our disposal,
free drinks, and amazing food. It was great! Well, until we reached the airport that is. We reached
the airport and figured we had less than an hour to catch the next flight and then we just ran all
through the huge Istanbul airport, only to find the flight had taken off. That’s right, we had missed
the flight to Porto and were stuck in Istanbul with no currency, no internet and no way of getting
word to our parents. *cue the panicking* We ran from pillar to post, asking for help, wondering
where to go. We went to one information desk which informed us we’d have to pay 200 USD as
penalty for missing the flight, but later on, we found the right desk which gave us free new boarding
passes and a stay at a five-star hotel, because apparently it wasn’t our fault. So, we randomly went
out to Istanbul and lived there for a day, after which they took us back to the airport, from where we
caught the flight to much awaited Porto. The flight was long but nice and we made a friend on the
flight too who helped us get in touch with out landlord. We then dropped Charmaine off to the
university and then retreated to our room, which also happens to be an attic.
Coming up next:
Who are our flat mates…?
Porto University
Find out exclusively in Aether 7
Dear Tigers,
It’s been a while since we got in touch with you, but here’s what happened in the past few days.
We found out that we have two roommates, Christopher from Brazil, who is doing his PhD in
Psychology at the University and Anastasia from Russia, who is doing her Masters in Business
Studies at the University.
Parties for international students have begun full swing. If you happen to be in Porto on a
Wednesday or on a Friday, going to one of these is a must. Everyone drinks and dances like
there’s no tomorrow, and as long as you stay away from a few guys (that happen to be total
creeps), you’re good to go.
I decided to attend a rehearsal held by the ‘Tuna Feminina do Faculdade de Letras da
Universidade do Porto’ which happens to be an academic group solely made up of girls that sing
and play traditional Portuguese songs and the occasional Spanish songs too. It consists of
multi-talented girls studying various languages in our Faculty and belonging to different degrees.
It truly is a very beautiful experience. One of the seniors asked me to sing for her, after which
she decided to put me in the ‘alta’ (voice with the higher part of the harmony).
On the whole, life here is very hectic as we are still auditing different classes in order to finalise
our papers for the semester. The Professors are very nice and are always willing to help. When
they realise the fact that we are from Goa, there is no end to their joy. The people of Porto are
amazing human beings, always willing to help and ever so polite. We already feel at home here.
Check out our letter in the next edition for some juicy details on J. K. Rowling’s inspiration for
her world renowned ‘Harry Potter’ series!!!
Until then, Ciao!!!
Lots of love,
Amy and Sru.