Not in Kansas anymore!

Hello amazing people,

A few weeks ago, I crossed the last farewell before departure off my list: Lisbon. The city which had been my home for the past four years. Even though I fell in love with it, a country mouse such as myself never did quite become a city one. I must admit that I never got used to the capital’s fast pace, for instance.

After traveling from Pico Island, my hometown, to Lisbon, from there to Brussels, spending the night at the airport (while trying to sleep!) I finally entered the last phase of the journey: flight to Ljubljana, Slovenia.

During which I felt an incredibly strong sense of nostalgia. Oh, if only there were a word to describe it. Actually, there is! A very Portuguese one: saudade.

“A vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present. Not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness” – Audrey Bell, in Portugal.

This feeling is quite present in Portuguese/Brazilian art, but you can find other examples too. Here’s an Arcade Fire song about it (they said it themselves): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHLISaLe44

I do consider, however, that saudade should only be a friendly reminder of everything that we’ve experienced. It mustn’t keep us from moving forward.

That in mind, it reminds me of a beautiful quote that my classmates inserted in the Valedictorian Speech: Those who pass by us do not go alone and do not leaves us alone. They leave a little bit of themselves, and take a little of us (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry).

A lot has happened ever since I arrived here almost one month ago. Which I’ll make sure to write about in the next post.

Have an incredible day,

Ana