Oiartza's Erasmus Experience in Lisbon, Portugal

Why did you choose to go to Lisbon, Portugal?

Well, in all honesty, I had to put down 8 destinations in order of preference and Lisbon was my fifth choice. I was allocated a place there and I took it. In the beginning, it didn't seem like it was worth it because it's situated so close to Spain, but the country itself is really worth going to. Portugal is beautiful, as is Lisbon.

Source

How long does your grant last for? How much money do you receive as financial support?

My stay was originally projected to be 10 months long and I was set to receive a grant for 7 months, but I ended up cutting my stay short, so I am now only here for 5 months and will therefore receive my grant for 5 months. I receive 250€ a month from the Ministry of Education, as well as another 100€ a month for having a student grant. Therefore, receiving 350€ a month for 5 months means I will ultimately receive a total of 1, 750€.

What is student life like in Lisbon?

There are loads of students. It's a highly recommendable city for undertaking an Erasmus exchange. There are students from a multitude of countries, especially those within Europe. Many events are organised for students by two agencies, ESN (Erasmus Student Network) and ELL (Erasmus Life Lisboa). Both of these organisations are for Erasmus students, and they organise trips, parties, etc. People usually just get an ESN card, but the ELL one is very good too. But, if you go out partying a lot and like travelling, it's recommended that you get both cards: the ESN card costs 12€ and the ELL, 15€.

Would you recommend the city and the university you attend in Lisbon to other students?

The city, definitely. It's a beautiful city, and the people are generally very nice. Perhaps a year-long stay would grow to be quite tiring, but, in my opinion, it's perfect for doing a semester-long Erasmus exchange. My university is the Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, and I'm studying in the School of Communication and Media Studies. In all honesty, I didn't like how the classes were organised at all. They put more people in the classes than they logistically can, and the classes are taught for 3 hours once a week; it makes it really tiring. It's also true that they are a bit over-indulgent with the Erasmus students, and of the 6 modules that I have this semester, we only have an exam for one of them. For the rest, we are assessed by group work and presentations. Besides, they make you take the Portuguese language modules in English or Spanish, so you end up learning no Portuguese.

Source

What is the food like in Portugal?

Personally, I really don't like it! It probably doesn't help being from Bilbao, a place where food is really good. The typical foods here are cod and egg tarts. The cod in a creamy sauce isn't bad, but the egg tarts aren't to everyone's liking... I personally don't like them because they are too sweet, but the Portuguese love them. In Oporto, 'la Francesinha' is very typical; search for it on Google because I'm not 100% sure of what it actually contains. It looks really bad and I don't really like it, but I will admit that it tastes better than it looks.

Was it difficult for you to find accommodation in Lisbon?

For me, personally, no, because I am a prudent person and I looked into accommodation far in advance. Some advice for you: the earlier you look for accommodation, the better. This is because the kind of people that say, "ah, I'll just go a week early and look then" or "I will look during the summer", are the ones who end up rushing to find somewhere to live, and what they do find is expensive and bad.

Here I will leave a link to my apartment's Facebook page.

In all honesty, the flat is great: it was completed restored and refurbished just 2 years ago. The kitchen is really well equipped, the living room is enormous, and it has a really cool Samsung TV. The terrace is great and it has some really impressive views. It's an apartment for 6 people - cohabitation is hard at times, but if you are lucky and find good flatmates, it will all be fine. The apartment has 4 single bedrooms priced at 270€ a month each, 1 larger single bedroom with street views for 295€ a month, and one double bedroom also with street views for 320€ a month. Honestly, a room that costs 270€ is above and beyond what's necessary to live comfortably - they are well-equipped and are more than sufficient for 1 person. The rooms are distinguished by colours: turquoise, purple, red, pink, orange, and green (my room). And everything in the house is like this - the pantry, the two fridges, the bathroom... it's all so each room has space for its things. The apartment is located in Marqués de Pombal, which is an excellent location, but the only downside of it all is that's on the 5th floor of a building that doesn't have a lift! It seems like a silly thing to complain about, but when you are climbing up all those stairs with your food shopping, there's absolutely zero fun to be derived from it, haha. Even so, seeing everything that it has to offer inside, it's really worth it.

Source

How much does it cost to live in Lisbon?

They made it out to be super cheap to me. My flat is one of the cheapest that I have seen; the majority fluctuate between 300€ and 350€. Public transport is very expensive, especially the buses. Food shopping is more or less the same as it is in Spain, although there are many offers here. There are two main supermarkets, Pingo 12 and Continente, which are both good. The most expensive thing in Lisbon is, without a shadow of a doubt, the nightlife. Entry fees very rarely drop below 12€, and the drinks are really expensive: in the 'cheapest' nightclub, a rum and coke costs 6€ and a shot, 4€.

Therefore, adding everything up, my monthly costs come to 413, 85€, which, when broken down, is comprised of the following: 270€ for rent; 35, 65€ for public transport; 8, 20€ for mobile phone; and, approximately 100€ for food, which works out at between 20€ and 25€ a week. But, if you eat out some days, buy yourself something, or occasionally go out at night, you can end up spending around 600€ a month, which is what I usually end up spending. But, if you are a big party animal, that figure will be even greater.

What is the language like? Did you attend any classes at the university?

The language is challenging. Those who say that Portuguese is the same as Spanish are liars. I took an intensive class for 2 weeks, a total of 40 hours, at my university and I reached A1 level. I couldn't go to the A2 course because it clashed with my other classes. And it's true that if you have classes in Portuguese and you speak the language whilst you are out and about, you will master it in the end, but you will be extremely lost during the first two months. If you have classes in Portuguese, don't miss out on taking a language course. If you have classes in Spanish or English and you want to leave actually having learnt some of the language, sign yourselves up to one of the courses at the university - they are usually quite cheap.

What is the cheapest way of getting to Lisbon from your city?

I'm from Bilbao, so I would say by plane, although the "cheapest" option doesn't really exist - everything is expensive. If you book your tickets in advance, and also depending on the dates that you travel on, you can find some for around 120€ round-trip. However, normally, these tickets costs somewhere in the region of 150€.

Source

Which places would you recommend for nightlife in Lisbon?

It depends on what you like when going out. There are three 'nightlife areas': the area with bars for Erasmus students is Bairro Alto, which is accessible by exiting the metro at Baixa-Chiado and walking a little bit, and all the bars have cheap beer and sangria with a beautiful lookout to enjoy while drinking; the bars that the Portuguese frequent more than the Erasmus students is Cais do Sodré, which has a similar atmosphere to Baixa-Chiado, but is overall more Portuguese; and finally, the area with the nightclubs, which is near Cais but next to the river, the most famous of which are Urban Beach, Place, and Lust in Rio.

One thing that I am going to tell you with regards to the nightclubs in Lisbon is BE CAREFUL! Security don't mess around here: if you do something that they don't like, they will give you a good beating without a second thought. I know a guy from my Erasmus programme who had his jaw broken by security at a nightclub, and they had to operate on him, so be careful. I also wanted to tell you that nightlife in Lisbon is very expensive. If you buy alcohol there, which is really expensive, the cheapest bottle is around 7€ and tastes like aftershave... Entry to nightclubs generally costs around 12€ (with 2 rum and cokes included), although if you are a girl, or just simply depending on the day, or the people there, you could get in for just 8€ (with a rum and coke and a shot included). Even still, it's going to cost you approximately 12€ each time, and even though this includes drinks, they are tiny, so you would need about 5 to get reasonably drunk anyway. Drinks cost between 6€ and 8€, depending on the club, and are around 10€ if you want Redbull too. The cloakroom charges 1€ per item of clothing. Then, after all that, you have the cost of the taxi home, which varies depending on the time you want to leave and from which nightclub... it's around 8€ to 10€ to the Marqués de Pombal area. All in all, you are going to end up spending an absolute minimum of 20€ on a night out.

And eating out in Lisbon? Can you name your favourite places?

The truth is that I like going to the places with sweeter foods more than any others, haha. There is a really cool place in Cais do Sodré called Time Out. It's like a pavilion with lots of different food outlets and tables in the centre; you take what you want to eat on a tray and then you sit where you want, it can be a little bit expensive (depending on where you eat) but it's a pretty cool idea. In the LX Factory, there is a really good burger place. With regards to typical Portuguese food, I don't know which places are good because I personally don't like it, but I know that there are lots of places in Baixa-Chiado. In terms of desserts, I recommend Pop Cereal, a place that sells hundreds of different cereals from all over the world, which is really good, and Nut Mania, which makes all of its desserts with Nutella in one way or another. Both of these places are located in Baixa-Chiado.

Source

And cultural hotspots?

Do any cultural visit available, as Lisbon is culture in its entirety.

Any advice you want to give to future students in Lisbon?

I came here thinking that I would not enjoy my Erasmus exchange with being in such close proximity to Spain, but I insist that Portugal is not Spain's 'ugly sister' by any means - it's beautiful. Portugal is amazing, it has so much to see, spectacular landscapes, and lots of fun events to suit all tastes. I highly recommend this city for an Erasmus placement.

P. S. Compulsory visit: the Azores. Easily the most beautiful place I've been to, and you can get there for as cheap as 20€ (round-trip) with Ryanair from Lisbon-Ponta Delgada.

P. P. S. Important: if you fly with Ryanair, be it to the Azores or any other place for that matter, do your check-in online in advance... they charged us 45€ for not doing it.

Source