Erasmus Experience in Rio Maior, Portugal by Viktoria

Why did you choose to go to Rio Maior, Portugal?

My university offered me Turkey, Finland or Portugal. I was interested in Portugal long time ago, so it was obvious for me to choose this country. I didn't choose the city, this was my only option.

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How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

The first period is 5 months long for me, but I can make my stay longer with 3. 5 months more. I got 500 euros per month from my university.

What is the student lifestyle like in Rio Maior?

I can not really answer to this question, because I don't take classes in the university. I'm doing an internship here, so I don't really have anything to do with the university. I only see that on the weekends most of the students go home, so on the weekend there are not really students here, only local citizens. However, on weekdays there used to be university parties at the local disco. I can not say more about student life, because I'm not experiencing that.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Rio Maior to other students?

If they are students, yes. I see that Erasmus students have a lot of sport courses and possibilities to do different sports. But this city is really quiet and little, so if somebody want big city rush and a lot of parties and nightlife, then I wouldn't recommend Rio Maior.

What is the food like?

I didn't have chance to taste Portuguese food yet. Only sweets, which you can buy in every shop. They are really delicious!

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Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Rio Maior?

Thanks to Erasmusu I found a Portuguese girl on this page, who studies in Rio Maior and she offered me a room at her place until I found a place for myself. She and another Erasmus student helped me to find an accomodation. Without her it would be more difficult to find anything, because barely nobody speaks English here so it's quite difficult to communicate. But with her help it was easy to find a very good place to stay, and now I live here with 3 other Erasmus students.

How much does it cost to live in Rio Maior?

Well, until now, my scholarship has been completely enough for everything. I can buy normal food, I don't have to think about what I shouldn't buy. However, I don't buy the most expensive things. I can go for short trips around this area too. So 500 euros per month is enough if you don't have too big wishes about the food, accommodations during trips, and so on.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

I don't think that Portuguese language is an easy language. When I came here I thought it will be easier to learn and speak Portuguese, because I already speak 3 different languages, but it's not easy for me. It is only easy for the people who speak Spanish or Italian, because these 3 languages are quite similar. We had language course only 10 times for 2 weeks long. I think it's not enough if you are completely beginner. I'm trying to learn words at home when I have free time, but it's still difficult for me to deal with the language. It would be better if we had Portuguese language courses the whole semester, because I really want to learn it but it's really difficult to learn it alone, without any basics.

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What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Rio Maior from your city?

Well I live near Budapest in Hungary, so I travelled by plane from Budapest to Lisbon. It's a 3 hours and 50 minutes journey. From Lisbon I came here by bus, which was an hour and 15 minutes journey.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Rio Maior?

Well, there are not too many possibilities you can choose... So there is a pub, it's called CBS, where everybody goes before the parties. You can play pool and darts there, there is music always. It's also a nice place on weekdays, just to hang out. There is one more pub, where there are also parties sometimes, so it's a bar and a disco all in one, it's called Estribo. I don't really like that place, but a lot of people do. The most famous disco, where everybody goes, is called Fonte Velha. These three places are right next to each other. I don't really know other places to go out here.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Rio Maior?

I didn't have chance to try any restaurants here, and to be honest, I didn't even see any restaurants, except for some fast food pizzerias. But I'm sure there are some restaurants around here, but I'm also sure that they are hiding!

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

In Rio Maior there are mostly sport fields. But there is a town, which belongs to Rio Maior, it's called Salinas. There is a salt mine there and you can go there by foot, it's a 15 minutes walk. It's interesting, on the weekend there are also some tourists there. For more cultural sites you should go to other nearby cities, like Santarém, Leiria, Lisbon, Caldas da Rainha, and so on...

Salinas. Source

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Rio Maior in the future?

Bring sunglasses and raincoat! Most of the time here is sunny, so I don't know what I would do without my sunglasses. But when it rains here, it's heavy rain, often with wind, so you can not really use umbrella. The houses are usually cold because Portuguese people don't really heat their houses in the autumn/winter time. So some warm clothes are also recommended by me!