A Black Girl In Portugal
I’ve wanted to visit Lisbon for as long as I can remember. So January 2024, I decided to make my dream a reality.
Initially I planned to go solo; I learned in my 20’s that often times people have the best of intentions and love the idea of travel. But when the rubber meets the road and it’s time to book the flight, you might be on your own. My last solo trip was a 10-day visit to Amsterdam January 2020, and prior to that I took my first solo trip to Panama City, Panama March 2016.
Cut to when I told one of my dearest friends that I was going to Portugal. She said she was interested, and thought her friend might be too. In this case, I believed her - we’d traveled together before, and I knew she wasn’t about any funny business. So much so that she bought her airfare before me! If there was any reconsidering the trip, that was out the window. I bought my ticket not long after.
My sister’s birthday was among the days we’d be there, so I asked her if she wanted to join us. She said yes and bought her ticket too. And just like that my solo trip turned into a girls trip and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people. They made the experience everything.
We realized quickly that we’d all be on the same flight from JFK to Lisbon. I’d be flying to NYC from Chicago, my sister from Dallas, and my friends would drive from Connecticut. I highly recommend (if possible) to all be on the same flight. It just worked out that way for us, but it made settling into Lisbon much easier and quicker since we all arrived there together.
The first thing I noticed being there was how diverse Lisbon was. Within hours of leaving the airport and entering the city, we met a Black man working at a restaurant who said he moved there from Baltimore to work in Soccer and has never regretted it. This was one of the reasons I wanted to come and felt affirmed to hear about his experience. As life changing as travel can be, I always consider as a Black woman if where I’m interested in visiting will be welcoming and hospitable, especially to someone who looks like me.
Portugal reminded me to slow down. Everywhere you’d go you’d see people sitting at small cafes and restaurants in the middle of the day connecting with each other, phones nowhere to be seen. There was no rush. What was most important was communing with friends and loved ones over food, drink, and music. People seemed happier and less stressed.
I noticed how residents put effort into their appearance, and the impressions of themselves that they gave to others with how they looked. It didn’t matter if it was just a trip to the market to buy some fruit. Everyone looked great. In the US, it is unusual to dress up for seemingly mundane trips outside of the home, but it inspired me to put a little more effort into how I looked if I was going out, no matter where. If I was leaving the house, I need to make the effort to look good. It doesn’t matter where I’m going and who I see.
Portugal reminded me how important it is to know more than one language. I’ve had an on-again, off-again, relationship with the Spanish language, and whenever I travel abroad I’m always mentally kicking myself wondering why I’m not more fluent or can’t comprehend more. I was able to have a few conversations in the language, but I wanted to speak more, often felt limited and would default to English. I’ve come a long way from a couple years ago thanks to almost a year of weekly virtual lessons, but those are currently on hiatus and I have to figure out a way to incorporate Spanish into my daily life to become fluent. Native English speakers often don’t consider that we remain fluent because we speak and hear the language everyday. I’m realizing more that is also the key to learning other languages. Immerse yourself.
I can’t overstate how much I enjoyed my trip to Lisbon. We went at the end of January, which I think was well-timed as it was less populated than it tends to be in the summer months, and the weather was not too warm. We averaged 65 while we were there, and just made sure to bring one more layer if we needed while out at night.
I’ll be back, I’m sure of it. My friend and I are trying to figure out when, and if all goes how I’d like, I’ll be back in Lisbon January 2025. Fingers crossed.
