Portugal Blog

By Kushagrah Sahani

It was just another boring day in the college. We were about to leave for the day when our CR got a call and was told to make the class wait. Though it was 4pm and we were eager to head out, we had to stay on. Ma'am entered the room with a paper in her hand sporting an unusual smile. Ma’am straightaway approached the point which was about a conference regarding motor skill development and our role as physios for the same. We were then informed about the costs which was in the ballpark of 50 thousand rupees. A few of us showed interested and raised our hands for the same when were told that there were 3 slots available from the Sangli campus. The last point which was told was the Venue-Lisbon city, Portugal. The hand count miraculously tripled which led us all to burst into laughter. Besides 3 or 4 people in our class, no one had been abroad, including me. The smile on our faces said it all. I immediately called up my father and rushed through the details and asked for his permission. On hearing his answer, I was reassured of the fact that I have the best father on the planet. He approved of my request in a split second with a one line and said “Beta, money's not an issue. Go ahead!”. I immediately approached my principal and said that my father has approved of this and I would not let her down if I were allowed to represent my university. She considered my request and instructed me to convey a message to the CR stating that she needs the list of interested students the next day.

27 students had given their names for the same, out of which 3 were to go to Portugal. Our class was giving a test on the 3rd day of this list reaching the principal when my classmate- Metwi and I were called up to the Principal’s office. We reached her office with butterflies in our stomachs which only increased when we were told that the both of us had been selected from our batch along with our colleague Shardul. This was the 14th of July. We were next called upon on the 25th and were told that the 3 of us had to clear an interview to get selected, as only 3 students from the entire university were to go. All our plans were now dependent on that interview. On the 26th, which happened to be my birthday, we were told that we had to reach Pune on the 27th for the interview at 9am sharp. The thought that it was my birthday didn’t strike me as I immediately got down to work. I had my resume and statement of purpose to be written besides other paperwork. I got so engrossed that my mother had to call and remind me to go up to my teacher to seek for her blessings. Around 4.30 when the faculty was preparing to leave, I was busy typing Metwi’s and my resume and statement of purpose. We were pushed out from the department and having no access to a computer, we had no option but to use the public computer in our library. While on our way there, my roommate called me and told me to come to the canteen as a small party was waiting for me, to which I replied “Bhai tu hi kat le cake. Time nai hai”. After a brief pause, my roomie bombarded me with all the swear words known to mankind, leaving me no choice but to attend the party. On having celebrated my birthday with interview questions running in my head the entire time, I ran to our room and immediately started checking things off the list which were crucial for the interview. I was then forcefully dragged by my senior to her house to celebrate my birthday. I cut another small cake while working, ate my food while typing and drove while thinking. All I had in my head was that it was my first interview and I was not going to let myself down. I could not sleep that night as I had possible questions, counter questions, data on EU, my appearance etc. all this while being all alone, jitters, bouts of confidence, fear of failing and further question framing going on. I remember seeing the clock at 4.35am when my brain told me to nap for 15 minutes while my heart was telling me to do the opposite. I was woken up by Metwi’s call at 5am informing me that she had left her residence and was on her way to pick up Shardul in the taxi which she had arranged for our travel to and from Pune. I somehow controlled myself from panicking and immediately showered. I reached the main gate just in time. We left for a picturesque journey with butterflies in our stomachs. I had mixed emotions since it was my first interview and my first time in Pune. I promised myself to give it my best shot and not care about the result. We reached the venue by 8.30am and immediately got dressed. On seeing that the big bosses of my university were going to take my interview, the fear just grew. Our interviewing panel consisted of Kirti ma’am, Jaykumar sir and Karmarkar sir, each of whom held key positions in our university with decades of experience under their belt. On seeing our competitors, Shardul and I smiled at each other. 3 students out of the 9 were pursuing their MBA while the other 3 were from School of Physiotherapy, Pune. After a long wait of 1.5 hours, the first student was called in, only to come out within 3 minutes. We asked her whether she gave her interview or just submitted the documents because 3 minutes was too short for an interview. She said that the panellists were in a good mood and there was nothing to worry about in the interview. During this waiting time which lasted an eternity, we struck up a conversation with the MBA students, during which we asked them as to what their credibility was as business graduates in a sports event and how can they contribute and multiply the learnings? They were dumbstruck as they were not prepared for this question. They then asked us our educational qualifications as they thought that we were graduates as well. Seeing them give up their arms when they heard that Shardul was a post graduate and Metwi and I were undergrads was hilarious.

Our batch was the last to enter and I was the first from Sangli to go in. On entering I was greeted by a smiling Karmarkar sir who offered me a seat and spoke casually in order to make me comfortable. I guess he knew that it was my first interview as soon as he saw me. He appreciated the fact that I being a physiotherapy student had worn my apron with a shirt and a tie. The first question that was asked to me was “Tell me something about yourself” probably the most cliché and most asked question in all interviews. My interview went on for almost 10 minutes during which I made plenty of mistakes- jumbled up words, made grammatical errors, added Hindi in between lines, made a fool of myself but all in all managed to pull it off. I guess each one of us makes tons of mistakes during our first interview and end up learning a lot from them. In the end I was content that I had managed to make the panellists laugh while answering all my questions to the best of my ability. I had a smile when I left the room and that was all the result I wanted. Metwi and Shardul went in next. Shardul and I had the longest interviews amongst all 9 candidates. We were told that the results would be announced by 6pm and that wait for 5 hours seemed like 50. The next 3 days passed by in a second with me going up to principal everyday with just question “Ma’am, are the results out?” but to no avail. When I went up to the principal on the 4th day and this time to my pleasant surprise Ma’am replied, “Yes, wait for me in class, I’ll come and announce.” Ma’am never came, neither could I sleep that night. Finally, on the 5th day, on 2nd August I lost all hope, called up Shardul and went up to ma’am with our combined request and said, “Ma’am, ye suspense mat rakho please, hua hai to bol do, nai to nai. Ye suspense thoda zyada ho gaya hai. Shardul ki bhi yehi request hai.”

Ma’am, with a straight face, said, Yes Kushagrah, I had to come and announce but got busy. Congratulations, you have been selected! I got the mail day before yesterday at 5.30 pm followed by the most loving smile. These words sounded like The Mozart Requiem. I could not hear anything else for the next few minutes, after all this was supposed to be one of the biggest opportunities of my life.

By 4th, I got in touch with my peers who had been selected for the same and we all started planning each step. Gayatri had been selected from School of Physiotherapy, Pune and Yug had been selected from amongst the MBA students.

I had my prelims starting from the 21st and I knew that if I had to go to Portugal, I was not going to get any preparatory leave and had only 18 days to cover up my entire second year syllabus. My troubles only grew when I had to run around entire Maharashtra and Goa with tonsillitis to get my visa. I travelled 5000kms by bus in the next 4 weeks, but I must admit, they were some of the most beautiful journeys I’ve ever made. I made 1 trip to Mumbai, 2 trips to Pune and 2 trips to Goa to procure my visa. I missed 2 prelims and a betterment exam in the process, not to mention my health. We struck gold on our first trip to Goa when the consulate official accepted our request.

Our departure was scheduled on 9th September at 6.30 am from Mumbai. I, being the closest to Goa, went there alone on the 7th to pick up our visas and reached home on 8th September. After a full day of packing and a ton of mistimed demands from the authorities, I was ready to leave by 11 pm. We reached the airport by 2 am where I met Kirti ma'am, Gayatri and Yug who had made their way from Pune. After an emotional farewell, I left for my first international trip to Lisbon, Portugal.

We left from India on 9th September, 2023 for an 8000km journey which consisted of 2 parts- Mumbai to Istanbul and further Istanbul to Lisbon with a 1.5-hour layover. I slept as soon as we boarded our flight from Mumbai as I had been awake for close to 50 hours and was dead tired. I slept like a log until the flight purser came to me with my lunch after I had ignored his wake up call for my snack. We had an Asian vegetarian class lunch which consisted of dry bread, butter, some rice with a paneer curry. The side dishes were absolutely cold and unpalatable. This was the first taste of the forthcoming adventure for a pure vegetarian and a teetotaller, in a country where eggs are considered vegetarian and beer is cheaper than water.

We reached Portugal on 9th September by 4pm and exited the airport by 5.30pm. We spotted a Lisbon tourism help desk right outside the airport and the lady at the counter helped us with our hotel address and how to get about the city with ease. She walked us through the city’s metro and bus network, major stations and also the major tourist attractions for teenagers like us. We walked over to the airport metro station and seeing the entire city setup, I instantly fell in love the city. I saw that the entire city was well laid out, after proper and meticulous planning and execution. We got our travel cards for a princely sum of 50 euros each, which were compatible for all types of public transport (metro, trams and buses) throughout the city except trains and ferries, for which we had to pay separately. The entire city is connected by 4 metro lines- Red, Yellow, Blue and Green which can take you from one corner of the city to another within 20 minutes. The airport was the beginning of the red line while our hotel was near a station on the yellow line called Camp Pequeno. We were lucky to meet a jolly Bangladeshi at a sunglasses kiosk at the metro station who started talking to us in Hindi and explained the metro system to us in brief. We reached our hotel after changing 2 metro lines and got a knack of the city layout in the meantime, referring to the metro lines drawn on the inside of each coach in the metro. The local people of Lisbon were very helpful as well and understood the plight of us tourists. When we saw our metro station from the outside, we could not help but click a few photos as it didn’t seem like a metro station rather looked like the entrance to an amusement park. We soon located our hotel and got settled in. After relaxing for a while, we went down to the metro station’s food court where I purchased the most expensive vegan bowl of noodles in my life for 9.90 euros. From that very moment till I landed back in India, I couldn’t stop conversion of each and every item from euros to rupees. We were lucky to meet a group of fun-loving and cooperative local boys having dinner, who told us all the major tourist attractions and places to enjoy the nightlife offered in Lisbon. We slept like logs that night after buying the most expensive water I’ve ever purchased- 1.5 euros for 1 litre of mineral water. From that moment on, local water stations, bars and taps were our only solace. We got up the next day, Sunday, by 8 am to tour Lisbon as this was the only day when we could travel and see the city. We left the hotel and went straight to the Oceanaria- The city aquarium with the Sri Lankan teachers Walter sir and Tanuja ma’am, whom we met after our breakfast. They were very tired as they had been travelling for the last 2 days, but still managed to find the strength to accompany us. We crossed many picturesque buildings, malls and statues and a long walk by the river while on our way to the aquarium. We were lucky to get 10% discount coupons from our hotel-VIP Berna Inn which were put to good use at the ticket counter of the aquarium and got a 2.5 Euros discount per person. The aquarium was a one off experience. I found several rooms arranged cylindrically around a gigantic tank filled with sharks, eels, stingrays etc. I found nemo and dory in the same pond with a colony of penguins in the next room with a variety of tropical fishes in the room after that. Several tanks housed assorted fishes like jellyfish, starfish, sea urchins, sea horses with associated amphibians. Each tank had a detailed explanation of the animals inside them and their habitat. After all, Gayatri’s stubborn request led us to something beautiful and worthwhile.

We had our lunch at the McDonalds nearby, bid farewell to the Sri Lankan teachers and headed towards another major landmark in Lisbon city- Marques De Pombal. The circle had a tall and brilliant statue in the center. We then walked down to Downtown while shopping at the makeshift shops along the way. I enjoyed the 2km walk while enjoying the sweeter than ever apples which I had stolen from the hotel’s buffet breakfast counter while Kirti ma’am and Gayatri indulged themselves at the local shops. I too bought a small fridge magnet. We soon reached another major checkpoint in Lisbon called Rossio square from where we spotted a small queue for something. Unknowing, we approached it, and soon learnt that it was for a tram ride up the hill. We met a few other tourists who were just as clueless and boarded the tram with us in hopes that the experience will be worthwhile. The journey lasted only for a few minutes but was fun as I had never seen or experienced a tram before. Once on top, we walked in the direction of the traffic without the slightest clue as to what to do or where to go. We stumbled across a shop for female clothing and I caught a beautiful green top for my sister from the corner of my eye. On inquiring about the prices, I learnt that almost 75% of the items were on sale and I purchased the piece for close to 30% of its original price. We then proceeded to eat as all of us were starving. On seeing us Indians, the waiter appointed his Bangladeshi colleague who spoke to us in her broken Hindi and understood our misery of eating tasteless and bland food for the last few days. We went on to order the most expensive “Khichdi” we’ve ever had- 25 euros along with cut up chillies and stolen black pepper. After all, stealing is our birth right from the buffet breakfast table. Post dinner, we walked down a little further and saw an energetic street hip hop performance only to get lost after it. We walked about in a circle when we realised that we started off from right in front of the metro station.

We took a metro and headed for our hotel as we had a long week ahead of us.

Monday, one of the biggest days of my life started on the wrong foot. We were late to leave and reached the science campus at Camp Grande, only to realise that we had reached the wrong campus. We then contacted the organisers and were instructed to reach another of the 16 campuses of the University of Lisbon, which was almost 14 km away from Camp Grande. We hailed taxis and rushed to the venue, but unfortunately missed almost ¾ of the president’s address. We then underwent the documentation formalities and had lunch. During lunch, we interacted with the students from Indonesia and Bangalore. Post lunch, we had our first lecture for the conference. It was an interview with Norberto Mourao- a Para canoeing champion from Portugal. He had some commitments and hence couldn’t be available for the interview physically and gave it on Zoom. His coach Ivo Quendera was translating each line for us as Norberto was not fluent with English.

He was one of the toughest humans I’ve interacted with. He unfortunately lost both his legs in a bike accident when he was 28. When he woke up in the hospital, seeing his mother in tears sitting beside him, the first sentence he said was “Bring me a pair of dumbbells”. I looked at him with a sense of awe and disbelief as to the level of mental toughness and optimism he had as a person who had shaken hands with death only a few hours ago. This statement of his taught me how to value life as it is a very short and fickle journey. He started his journey as an athlete after his accident and was on the world circuit within 2 years. He repeatedly emphasised on the importance of having a good team and effective communication. He was extremely humble and said that all his accolades were his teams and not his alone as he is nothing without them. He is still competing at the age of 41 and is currently preparing for Paris Paralympics in 2024.

During the coffee break, I held onto his Coach-Ivo sir as I had some doubts and took up almost 20 minutes of his 30-minute break. After a brief break he started off with his lecture and it was one of the best lectures I’ve ever attended. He had 360deg knowledge about his profession and each detail regarding it. He emphasised that he was just a part of a huge team and each player is just as important as the other. He walked us through each step with regard to Special Olympics and Special Olympians and the difficulties faced by them. He also told us that a holistic approach to sport was needed and we need to tackle all obstacles and target all population groups and laid special emphasis on focusing on both ends of all spectrums in order to have an effective and healthy community.

Tuesday-Day 2 started off on the right foot as now we knew where and how do we have to reach the venue. The first lecture was taken by Nuno Januairo sir on adapted sports. It was a very boring lecture but the message was very important as it said that all classes of disabilities have to be targeted effectively in order to make such programs successful. Post lunch, we played seated volleyball, wheelchair racing, bocher and korfball. Korfball is an authentic Portuguese game in which each team consists of 2 men and women respectively and the rules of the game were gender specific. It was fun to try out a new game especially when you have played basketball all along, as the height of the goal for this was higher than basketball and had no backboard. Bocher was similar to “Kanche"- a traditional Indian game which is played with marbles. While on our way back, our director ma’am had a few commitments with her colleagues and hence we were told to go back on our own. We, being outside the city had to take the bus as none of us had the Uber app. We had to switch 2 buses and 2 metros to reach our hotel. The apparently doomed bus journey was one of the most beautiful experiences I had in Lisbon. We crossed several buildings which showcased the rich and flamboyant Portuguese architecture with beautiful parks. At night, Tanuja ma’am, Kirti ma’am, Walter sir, Gayatri and I sat in Walter sir’s room to have dinner. Sir offered us traditional Lankan fish curry and onion pickle which I politely refused being a vegetarian. I learnt a lot about their lives and the hardships they faced growing up. We bonded really well in those 2.5 hours.

Wednesday-Day 3 was very exciting as were where going to Setubal for our field trip to learn and participate in water sports. We woke up early morning and reached the university by 8am. We left for a 50km journey during which I offered everyone “Matthi”- a snack from India. On reaching, I couldn’t see a soul on the beach and that moment was absolutely surreal. We immediately got changed and were handed out kits which contained an apple, a pouch of Ice tea, some crackers, and a map of Setubal besides others. We were divided in batches and assigned separate sports. I having some experience in water sports was comfortable in the water and didn’t have to think while paddling. After a long and strenuous stretch of kayaking, we then moved onto single and double handed rowing, speed kayaking, standing canoeing, self-sailing and boat sailing besides swimming. The water was very cold and I having high fever could not swim even though my heart was longing to do so. I guess the visa struggles got the better of me. After packing up, I shamelessly went up to the organisers to ask for some apples as I was starving and to my surprise, sir handed me a whole bag of apples which would end up lasting me the entirety of the trip. We then went to a restaurant where a very supportive waiter made us “Pulao” in her own way where she mixed 2 different dishes- sautéed vegetables & rice with a little seasoning which we all loved. More than 70% of the group had gone to a neighbouring restaurant where they indulged in the local sea food and beer. Having our stomachs full, I went for a short walk which was a serene experience and can’t be described in words. On our way back, I enjoyed the scenery while on call with my family and friends. On coming back, I had a quick shower and left for souvenir shopping with a teacher from LPU-Namita ma’am. We again walked our way down from Marques De Pombal to downtown where I shopped for souvenirs for my teacher’s, friends and family, while on our way to our official dinner. We reached the restaurant almost 45 minutes late but were just in time for the starters. After having a dish with gigantic mushrooms for main course, we headed towards our hotel after a long day.

Thursday-Day 4 was a very informative day. We had 2 lectures, the first one being- Gender inclusion in sports by Ana ma’am while the second one was on Sports events management by Tiago sir. Ana ma’am’s lecture was a very hard hitting lecture as it targeted the gender bias we have as a society. It also spoke of betterment of society by empowering women which involved simple and effective steps which could be taught to anyone with ease. Tiago sir had lot of on field experience as he had worked in multiple Summer Olympics, Estoril open, Volta a Portugal besides others. Post lunch we played traditional games from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India. As for India we conducted Kho-Kho, Tug of War and Lagori. We enjoyed a lot as the teachers became kids while playing with us. Post conference, I witnessed some of the most scenic views of my life which looked straight out of a Hollywood movie. The setting sun in between 2 streets with perfect symmetry was mesmerising.

Friday-Day 5 was a rather emotional day as we were to bid farewell to all our newly formed friends and mentors. We had a lecture in the morning on Special Olympics by Isabel ma’am and were given time to prepare for our speeches thereafter. Post lunch, each student had to speak about their experience and time in Lisbon. I was the last student to speak and received a thunderous applause after my talk. I received a lot of feedback from my teachers especially Evan sir from Spain. He taught me lessons I will carry till the end as they are essential pillars of public speaking. Public speaking is an art known to few and the person who can manipulate the psychology of the crowd and therefore their emotions, is said to be a good orator and Evan sir taught me the same being a PhD in Psychology. Once we left the University for the last time, we went to a local mall-El Corte Inglis. It was a popular mall in Lisbon which offered a special “Tourist Card”. This was a masterstroke in terms of the shopping experience as I personally got a 25 Euro discount on goods worth 250 Euros. This discount was backed up by their tax free card which ensured zero troubles at airport customs duty. The icing on the cake was the tax refund I received which brought up my discount to a whopping 50 Euros. I finally made the purchase I was running around for the last 6 days- A watch for my sister with a free pen for my father. By the time I was engrossed with my shopping; my teammates went to another mall- Amoreiras whose terrace offered a 360deg view of Lisbon. This was the BEST part of my trip to Lisbon and ill not forget a single minute of that experience- a must do if you visit Lisbon.

We got up the next day by 7am and started to leave. It didn’t seem like Lisbon was ready to bid farewell to us as it was raining cats and dogs, but somehow we managed to reach the airport on time. The emigration officer was surprised that we were leaving one day before our expiry of our Schengen visa’s and suggested we visit another Schengen country in the meantime which I laughed off. After travelling for close to 12 hours, we landed back at Mumbai Airport on 17th September at 4.30am. I bid my team farewell and reached home and slept with a big smile as I knew that I had to start studying for my university exams which were only 13 days away once I wake up.

By Kushagrah Sahani