My adventure to the Style Outlets

So, a friend of mine told me about the Style Outlets, a shopping center full of outlet stores from all the brands in Portugal. Imagine my happiness as

Malina + Shopping = ♥

So today I finally decided to go. She said: you take the metro line to Póvoa de Varzim and get out at the Movida Centro station. When you get out, you walk in front and at some point, you see it. It's easy!

If it'e easy, then let's go! I go to Trinidade, I change the metro and I realize when I reach the Franco station that I haven't validated my andante card. :)) I laugh at myself and get out of the train. I wait for another 15 min. for the next train to Póvoa de Varzim to arrive. It's an Express, so I take it. I'm really happy at this point and already imagine myself shopping, in sales heaven. 

But wait!

The Express train doesn't stop in every station! I realize this only when it's too late to get out of it. I understand from the announcement that the train will only stop in Varziela station. That's just great! That's one zone further than where my ticket goes! So now I'm in metro hell. And the laughs to myself are all gone. While praying I don't meet anyone who checks the tickets, I get so luck my way. The train stops! I get out and wait for another 15 min. for the next one to come. 

Ok, now I'm at the Movida Centro station. But where is the city I imagined this station to be in? Where are the streets? How do I get to my shopping heaven? I ask around and

Wait! What?

Where do I have to go? On this little path next to the train lines and through this forest like 500 m, then under that bridge and to the left?

Ok, I can do that, it's plain day, what could happen to me? I just have to hurry with the shopping so that the night doesn't catch me walking this roads!

'Good plan', I say to myself! But, surprise, surprise! It's already night when I leave for home.

I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid!

But, yeah, I was 20% afraid. That's why I ran for like 100 m!
:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Waking up is hard

The week before I went to see a movie screened especially for Erasmus students by ESN Porto. The idea behind this event was that we get to know more about Porto through the eyes of artists, people able to communicate to us through images, sounds, suggestions and, as the case with cinematography, to communicate to us through other people.

The movie shown was 'Jaime', the story of a 14 years old boy that lived in Ribeira with his mother, twin sisters and his mother's boyfriend. It was shut in Porto in 1999 and it is directed and written by Antonio-Pedro Vasconcelos.

As a native of Ribeira, Jaime is very poor and quite unhappy that his mother decided to separate from his father. Thinking that if he bought a motorcycle for his father, then he would get a job, start earning some money and change in the eyes of his ex-wife, Jaime decides to start working during the night without his mother knowing about it. But as sometimes bad luck follows those who are already unfortunate, Jaime gets fired from his job at a bakery, finds another job, but his mother's boyfriend steals his savings, his father commits suicide and his best friend dies while working on a construction site.

The tragedy that surrounds this little boy is at times unbearable and, although the movie has a happy ending as Jaime finds a less dangerous job and his mother gets rid of her loser boyfriend, a feeling of misfortune stays with you even after the movie is over. At least, that's what happened to me.

This story is important to me as it changed the way I see Porto today. When I first arrived, because of all the  great stories I've heard about the city from other Erasmus at my university and from Erasmus coming from ISCAP and because what I saw here, Porto was a fairy tale city to me - the city is beautiful, the people are warm, the party never ends. What more could I ask from a city to have a perfect Erasmus experience? Nothing! Life here was going to be amazing.

And it is! But after I watched this movie, Porto seized to have a fairy tale image for me and became a real city inhabited by real people and not just Erasmus students, with problems of their own (real problems, as I call them) and not just a dilemma of whether to go to this party or the other, of whether to go to the beach, to visit another city or stay at home to study/read.

As the aura is gone, as Porto is a bit less the Mecca of Erasmus students, I feel a little sad, as you would feel when you woke up from a dream. Surely, I still live in my perfect Porto and I still have the same 'hard' choices to make, but from time to time I stop and think about the real Porto. As I am bound to live my Erasmus life here, I am happy I don't live in the 'real world', at least not in Jaime's real world.

While I was writing the above sentences, I realized that as Erasmus students, we don't live in the 'real world', we live in a carefree world.

Am I right? What do you think?

If you want to laugh...

Ha ha ha, I just discovered this application on the Internet and I had to share it with everybody.
I laughed so much my head hurts.
Just go here and do your own:

http://theuglydance.com/?v=begfjtcjth

Hello, world!

Welcome to a place where people are happy, parties never end and the sun shines (when it doesn't rain!). But don't be mistaken, this is no Brasilian city by the sea. This 'alegre' port is right here, in 'old' Europe.

It's the city of Porto, in Portugal, where for the next 5 months I'll be doing my Erasmus. I'm already sure I couldn't have chosen a better place to be, but you're free to disagree and also welcome to comment on everything I have to say.

I want to make this blog a chronicle of my stay here, so let's see if I succeed!

I've been here for 3 weeks now and I love everything about Porto. I even made friends on my second day here!

So, see you soon! And hope to hear more from you!