Parque das Nações and Expo '98

Gil, the Mascot

Parque das Nações was built for Expo '98 World's Fair and incorporated into Lisboa. It is arguably my most favorite neighborhood in the world, with so many great memories. Over the 7 years between 2012 - 2019, I witnessed the growth and evolution of Parque das Nações. Old restaurants replaced by new ones. Old friends replaced by new ones. A good thing about migrating to new places is, you can start afresh. Life from bottom up. Meet new people and make new friendships. However, this also comes with a challenge. While you can make some nice friends, you will also lose that "best friend" moments. Most humans are wired to have their best friends from childhood and school days. Also, the quickly moving life makes you lose track of friends you made all along the way.

Pavilhão do Conhecimento

 

Also, not everyone that you meet on your path is on the same journey as you. In a flight, a few may be going to a new country for travel, a few may be returning home, and others may be traveling for routine business. While the Erasmus Mundus was my best memories so far, I cannot say the same for everyone. Others may have had a different experience. However, at certain point in our life at a certain place, we all crossed paths. Sometimes I imagine a future date where we can bring back all our old friends to Lisboa. It might be hard as we all are different continents and most have moved on with their life. I have developed this special bond for Lisboa, and Parque das Nações is surely a major part of it. I imagine a day I retire in this neighborhood decades later. :)