deartraveller

Dear Sara,

This week I decided to take a break from all the craziness of the unknown world and headed back home, to familiar sites. No, I’m not giving up! But since Robert had to come to Portugal to a conference in Faro, I seized the opportunity to visit my folks in Lisbon. Since I hadn’t been home for quite some time, my parents decided we would spend the day walking around downtown and Chiado. The strangest thing happened though… I have walked around the city tons of times, but yesterday… I don’t know… If felt different, it looked different… Everywhere I looked, every person, every shop, every road sign, they all reminded me, in some way, of some country I had been during my journey. My eyes were opened wieldier than ever…

I understand now that we truly live in a globalised world. If we didn’t neither one of us would have been able to go around the world, jumping from one country to another so easily. Now that I think about this, I understand that this doesn’t happen only here in Lisbon, but in almost every place I have been so far… And the perks are so many: the reduction of barriers between countries allows an easier exchange of goods and services, this way no matter if we are in Portugal, in Canada or in China we can find the same things anywhere. I have eaten McDonald’s in at least 10 different countries! Plus travelling is so much easier now, especially inside the European Union. Information is another relevant aspect: since communication is quicker we can know in an instant what is happening in any other country in world, through TV or the Internet, as easy as snapping your fingers! However, globalization is like a two-edged sword. With it come also negative consequences. Losing your cultural heritage because of the influence of another country’s way of life is one of them. Besides, since we find the same things everywhere, people tend to look alike. I hate it when I see another girl with the same piece of clothing as me!

Well, cultural reflections and fashion dramas aside, it was a wonderful afternoon! First we went to Belém, and saw the Tower of Belém and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. One word to describe them? Beautiful.

Then we had lunch in the Expo park and ride our bikes by the river. Another word? Peacefull.

Later, we headed across the river to visit the Cristo Rei, it’s like a replica of the one in Brasil. A word? Stunning.

We finished the day having dinner near Terreiro do Paço after shopping in the Augusta street. For desert I made them take me to Santinis! I never get tired of those ice creams. A word to describe these? Delicious!

I'm looking forward to read your next letter, tell me your latest adventures!

Miss you,

Érica.