Tuesday 24 November 2015

A fresh coat of paint

Apologies for not posting here for a while. I know I have apologized before and promised to post more often but I did not live up to my promise. Hopefully this time I will keep my promise.

It's been four months since I left my homeland, the beautiful and charming Goa. But it feels like I was in Goa just yesterday. It's strange that I should feel that way. But facebook, twitter and social media makes you feel like you are in the same place all the time.

To be precise, I left Goa on the 20th of July along with my twin brother Karl and his wife Astrid. I mentioned in an earlier post how I had to carry two huge suitcases as opposed to their backpacks as I was moving long term (I still don't know. But I'm sure it will be a while before I see Goa again).

I fell in love with Belgium at first sight. I had high hopes in Belgium being a beautiful country and I was certainly not disappointed. Among the cities in Belgium, Brugge has to be right on the top. Sadly we couldn't visit Antwerp but Brussels, Liege, Gent and Leuven were absolutely top notch. If you imagine fairy-tale towns, Brugge a Gent feature right at the pinnacle. Add to that, the flavour of Belgian fries wafting around and Belgian beer to wash down the butter!

Next was the Czech Republic, for which we could afford just three days to Prague. Again, picturesque, exotic and windy! It's a city you can walk around all day, even though you keep bumping into tourists (just like ourselves) every three seconds. "Beef goulash" was my favourite dish in Prague and I would give a thumbs up to the beer too! Oh and definitely, for a budget trip, Prague makes perfect sense!

Shortly we would arrive in Portugal, a country I'm so familiar with and where I would finally be putting down my bags. Lisbon is definitely one of my favourite cities. Even though it doesn't compare to the plush cities of Belgium, it carries a certain charm that keeps you never wanting to leave. It was at Portugal that I bid adieu to Karl and Astrid and would shortly commence my student life.

Student life has been nothing short of delightful. I'm enjoying my new foray into academia and being a student again. Student culture in Portugal is among one of the most exciting parts of Portuguese culture and I've done my bit to try to immerse myself into it.

Three and a half months have passed since I moved to Portugal and I consider it one of the best decisions I have made.

Christmas is approaching and I'm looking forward to a wonderful season.

Signing off!

Mark

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