3. UCLouvain Public Defense of my Ph.D.
As a double degree, I had to defend my thesis twice. My defense in Belgium officially concludes my Ph.D. of 5 years!
30. A "direct" flight via Male.
It was my first direct but not non-stopflight, from Istanbul to Colombo, via Male.
Every year, I have one new year's resolution - to outperform my previous years. :) I already have high expectations for 2020. I wish you a happy new year. Thanks for reading my list until the end. You may also read the blog posts of all the previous years as well.
It has happened to me more than once. But this year was a prominent example. I visited Porto precisely six years later. Porto was so unique and close to me. It had so much of romantic and energetic memories cramped in - all from 2013 summer. After that, we planned to visit it on multiple occasions. But somehow, we always ended up choosing a new city, instead of Porto every time we had time.
Deciding whether to repeat a city that left us with good memories, or finding a new country/city to visit is also a tough choice. Sometimes, we leave a town with such positive memories, and it is hard to resist the desire to go back. Porto was one excellent example. Since we did not revisit it until we left Portugal in 2018 summer, it almost felt like visiting Porto maybe a distant dream.
Lisboa, same places, alone - 2019
But then my Ph.D. defense was scheduled, and my university in Belgium was managing my flight. I found that flight via Porto was much cheaper than flying to Lisboa from Brussels. I used it as my opportunity to visit Porto once more!
Porto was still charming. However, it was much colder. Interesting, given that it was the same days as in 2013. I could not jump into the ocean although I was walking by the Matosinhos beach, the same beach we visited last time. I almost felt like having time-traveled, if not for those differences in the weather and the minor changes in the city. For once, the metro line between Sao Bento and Jardim do Morro was closed for renovations. On a night, I took the bus from Sao Bento to Jardim do Morro and walked along the metro line from Jardim do Morro back to Sao Bento. The silence and noise from far restaurants were an exciting mix.
However, it is always hard to experience those moments from the first trip as they are, even when we try our best. We always have the memories of the past, and it is not easy to have the same excitement. The longing - the saudade. We are back - but we are not entirely back. Time changes everything. It is not the same place that we experienced years ago anymore. Climate changes, environment changes, and everything else changes also - sometimes for the better, sometimes towards worse. We end up with disappointment when our expectation from the previous visit was not met during the second or a later visit — for instance, the weather. Not a single sunny day in Porto this time to enjoy a beach day, during the three days of my visit!
Porto Sao Bento Station, 2013
Even if the city itself did not change much, the people have most certainly moved - or at least grew up or changed. Depending on how we kept interacting, the people who were your friends there once may have become strangers. Unless you bring the same set of people from the past, the memories will not be the same. Sometimes friends from high school try to organize such trips after 10 - 20 years. But, what we will meet will not be those youths we remember from our school days. Rather, some middle-aged people with their own family and jobs. Bringing back everything to reproduce the same feelings and excitement is challenging - although I tend to believe it is possible.
We happened to visit Houston recently. It is one of those cities that we will revisit. Not because we like it so much. Of course, the city was lovely - at least the food and its diversity. But the actual reason to revisit is its Chinese consulate. Since the Chinese consulate is in Houston, I have a feeling that we may revisit it in 2021. I am looking forward to seeing how Houston will treat us next time!
When I arrived at Lisboa airport on the 23rd August 2012, I did not know that Portugal and specifically Lisboa would become the one-word summary of my 2010s. I also did not realize Lisboa airport will become my most frequented airport, even more than the Colombo airport, the airport of my home country. Within the years, Lisboa airport had also become a second home to me - making me feel relaxed and comfortable while I wait for my next flight.
View from our apartment
My landlord was waiting for me at the airport with my name on his iPad. He showed me around the neighborhood - the supermarkets, my university, bank, university admissions office, and other closeby places of interest such as Campo Pequeno. Shopping in Lisboa - both for groceries and other fun shopping - was quite fun. It has many shopping malls and supermarket chains. There were 3 major supermarket chains - Pingo Doce - the one I would always visit, Minipreco - a smaller but cheaper one, and Continente - bigger but a bit more expensive one.
Unwrapping and first meal
I had to share the 4-room apartment with 3 others. However, I had arrived before everyone else. Therefore, I had the whole apartment for me for a few days. We also had a portion of an open-air balcony that belongs to us, that we later used for barbecues and parties. Our apartment was surrounded by 3 metro stations - Saldanha, Alameda, and Arroios. Alameda neighborhood has a beautiful park with a water fountain. For the first few days when I was still alone in Lisboa, my life was mostly limited to this triangle where I was walking around. I realized how much time I had saved while living in Sri Lanka, thanks to my parents who were doing many things for me - such as cooking, grocery shopping, and taking care of managing everything that does not need me personally. Now I am on my own, and I had to spend time doing a considerable amount of 'boring' things such as cleaning and grocery shopping. However, since the environment is new, I was still excited. I did feel like a fish out of water at times. My mom had gifted me a God Ganesh statue before I left Sri Lanka, which I had taken with me to Lisboa. The God Ganesh always secured a spot in all my apartments in Lisboa and elsewhere afterward.
1.2: Feeling young 2012 September - 2012 December
Campo Pequeno
Eventually, my three apartment mates arrived, and we lived like a team during our stay. Our landlord also made sure to help every one of us settle in, with the bank accounts, school administration, and initial shopping. He went above and beyond, showing us the spirit of Portuguese hospitality. We all went to the same university, and our university was at a walking distance. My classmates of the same Erasmus Mundus program arrived soon after, and the courses began on the 17th of September. We all became good friends, as we all had come from various parts of the world. Thanks to Erasmus Mundus, we all had a clique though. No one was left around.
The Alameda Park, in front of IST
The early days, i.e., the year 2012 was exciting. Everything looked new and fresh. I had visited France (Paris), India (Bangalore and Hyderabad), and USA (Mountain View/Googleplex) before. But this was my first experience living abroad. Luckily I was not alone in this journey, and it was pleasant! During my first year in Portugal, I maintained a weekly blog on my life in Lisboa. Everything seemed new and fresh, and I never ran out of things to blog about. We tried to learn Portuguese. I even got a certificate for the A1 level. However, my only regret in Portugal was not truly learning Portuguese. I never realized I would stay in the country for around 7 years. Indeed, it was not a continuous stay of 7 years — more of an on-and-off stay due to the Erasmus Mundus mobility requirements. Still, Portugal was my base country for the entire period. My initial plan was to stay just a year. But this lovely country and circumstances made me stay much longer.
Cascais Beach - my first beach outside Sri Lanka
We spent some time visiting popular places in and around Lisboa. We used the yellow bus, the Lisboa's version of the hop-on-hop-off buses you would find in any major cities. We paid visits to major museums and churches. Belem, Estrela, Oceanario, Sao Jorge Castle, Sintra, and Cascais/Estoril beaches - all those popular touristic destinations in Lisboa. Sao Jorge Castle, despite being within the city limits, feels like otherworldly. Sintra is just outside Lisboa. It is blessed with the beauty of nature and architecture. Lisboa Oceanario is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. Cascais beach was clean and nice - but later I would visit much better beaches in Portugal. We do not have a metro in Sri Lanka. I started to getting used to (and love) the metro journeys in Lisboa.
IST/ULisboa - Alameda Campus
Our EMDC program was a coordination of 3 universities - IST/Lisboa, UPC/Barcelona, and KTH/Stockholm. While half of us spent the first year in Lisboa, the other half was in Barcelona. We all would meet in KTH/Stockholm for the third semester, before breaking away for the thesis in the 4th/final semester. I also became the Erasmus Mundus Association (EMA) program representative (PR) for EMDC. It was fun, representing EMDC. Later, I also represented EMDC and EMJD-DC at EMA in the following several years and organized EMA days and participated in an EMA General Assembly.
Taguspark Campus
Some of our classes in the first semester were in Taguspark. A long shuttle journey twice a week also became part of our life. Taguspark is in the middle of nowhere. So when we had lectures there, we had to spend the whole day on the campus. Luckily, the Tagupark canteen offered relatively good food. All you can pick at once with a fixed price. We also had some good memories and made some local friends at the Taguspark campus. The Taguspark campus was also more modern than the Alameda one. Later during the Ph.D. I had the Data Quality course in Taguspark - thus reliving those Taguspark memories after 2 years.
Praca do Comercio
In Saldanha, right next to our campus was "Canela e Acucar", a cafe restaurant that offered cheap food, starting from 4.45 Euro. Bacalhau, the salty dry cod fish is a popular Portuguese food that we tried often. We also had several fish including Carapasinhos (the small fish, fried), Dourada, and Robalo. We also had other options such as Francasinhas. We learned one thing quick. If you ask for "Sumo de Laranja" you will get some orange soda. Not the real orange juice. You must ask for "Sumo de Laranja natural" for freshly squeezed orange juice for like 2 Euro or 2.50 Euro. The orange juice maker was virtually in every cafe in Portugal. We liked to have orange juice as it is natural and 100% orange. No water, sugar, or anything else added. The Civil department canteen food was 4.50 Euro, with daily options for 3 Euro food also. Then there were also subsidized canteens for students in the main building, as cheap as 2.35 Euro. We tried all the canteens - their food options and desserts.
Despite our busy schedules and group projects, we still had lots of fun. Our university also hosted some interesting events, such as the annual musical evening of Arraial Do Tecnico. Music, snacks, and beer. That was fun. Thanks to our diverse friends, we even had our own "cultural days" or international students' days - including a Chinese party and a Brazilian party. We also visited the Hindu temple close to Telheiras in Lisboa, as well as the mosque in Sao Sebastiao! As time passed by, I experienced my first autumn in Lisboa - much wetter and colder than the summer. I enjoyed my first Halloween in Lisboa, meeting new friends.
Bairro Alto
Every Friday evening we would visit the "Erasmus Corner" in Bairro Alto where we have beers and some drinks and meet other exchange students as well as some locals. Bairro Alto hosts the Erasmus Student Networks and an Erasmus Bar. The place had a unique smell of beer, Portuguese and international food, and the occasional smell of urine from some corners. Bairro Alto is popular for its cheap beer - 1 euro per cup. Bairro Alto neighborhood was also special for me - especially the view from the corridor where I had a birthday celebration in 2013.
My first new year in Lisboa was exciting. Despite the exams, I decided to do a big shopping, because I was so energetic. I also had received my scholarship money. So why not? Falling in love in Lisboa was a wonderful feeling. The experience was mesmerizing. We recall the new year of 2013 and the romantic memories of Praca do Comercio (with the Terreiro da Paco metro station) every now and then. After several years, we still fondly recall those first 6 months of 2013 as "those days".
On the way to Freeport from Oriente
I also had started to travel outside Lisboa. I first visited Fatima with 2 of my Sri Lankan friends. It was an average Portuguese village, if you remove the religious significance. But it was also my first trip in Portugal outside Lisboa. Therefore, it was special to me. During these days, EMDC also had our Winter Event in Nuria, Spain. We met our EMDC mates from Barcelona for the first time. It was also our first international trip from Lisboa. We traveled to Madrid and Barcelona and stayed in cheap youth hostels - dorm rooms and bunk beds. We enjoyed the snow and a real winter of -11 C. It was also my first time getting drunk. In my entire life, I had got drunk only twice. First in Barcelona (2013) and then in San Francisco (2016). Strong memories.
Romantic Parque das Nacoes
Not all walks are memorable as our extended weekend (Thursday evenings - Monday mornings) walks. Parque das Nações had become our regular romantic getaway. We walked by the riverside, from Cabo Ruivo, Oriente, Moscavide, and until Sacavem. Over the years, we witnessed how the Parque das Nacoes neighborhood evolve. We visited all the restaurants along the river. Some restaurants later closed down and new ones, including a fancy Chinese restaurant appeared years later. We also visited the newly popping up restaurants in Parque das Nacoes. We fed the seagulls close to Oceanario and also fed the geese in Estrela park. I got used to walks and metro rides between my university (IST) and ISCTE-IUL. We also frequented the Hard Rock Cafe in Restauradores and Starbucks in Rossio train station, as they both are close to each other. In the blue metro line, we also visited Santa Apolonia. The photos bring back vivid memories.
Drinks at Hard Rock Cafe Lisboa
Arroios neighborhood had a Dim Sum restaurant. Although the service was bad, the food was good. Therefore, we visited it several times. There was also a Chinese buffet restaurant, which was similar to every other Chinese buffets in Lisboa. There was also a Portugalia that we visited once. Estefania neighborhood, in between Arroios and Saldanha was a good one for a walk from our apartment. We used to buy lots of things from Pingo Doce and take them back home. Eventually, we also started to visit the nearby Continente.
A night walk in the Avenida neighborhood
We watched several movies. At times, two movies back-to-back in the same day in the same shopping mall. We also had the loyalty cards from the movie theatres! There was also a night we decided to stay in the streets just outside Centro Comercial Colombo after a late night movie from 2 am until 6.30 am when the metro station eventually opened. Yes, we were crazy. :) I also started cooking in Lisboa. Initially I started for fun and to save money. I became quite good with cooking eventually. I actually was enjoying cooking various interesting recipes. First I followed the recipes to the letter. Later, I started to innovate. I used to post photos of my cooking to Facebook, until I retired from Facebook in 2015 December. Eventually, as I started cooking, I reduced the freqeuncy of my visit to the Nepal restaurents. However, I would still take my friends to a Nepal buffet.
Beautiful view of Obidos
My first spring in Lisboa was refreshing and romantic. We made boat trips to cross the Tagus river, which separated Lisboa from most of everything. From Cais do Sodre port, we would take a boat to Cacilhas in the other side of the Tagus river. From Cacilhas, then we take a bus to the beach towns such as Costa da Caparica. We attempted our best to see dolphins in Setubal. But we failed several attempts. ;) Óbidos was a town that we loved visiting - its cherry wine / ginjinha (ginja) in a chocolate cup was truly unique, best of both worlds. We played Chess there while enjoying some ginja in a romantic hotel (Pousado do Obidos). We visited Obidos once again later for its chocolate festival. We also went to the Freeport open-area shopping mall twice, taking the bus from Oriente.
Typical Portuguese food along the river
We frequented many good restaurants in the city. There was a Nepal restaurant, Restaurante Kathmandu, in our road. I was frequenting it, especially because it was the closest to Sri Lankan food I was able to get while in Lisboa. I took many of my friends to that restaurant at several occasions. I also visited some other Nepal restaurents. We also frequented Restaurente Destino, a friendly restaurant in Restauradores neighborhood. We would often walk from Restauradores to Avenida, along Avenida da Liberdade.
Finally, the summer was back to Lisboa again. By this time,
Porto Matosinhos Beach
I decided that I would come back to Lisboa for my master thesis. Therefore, my stay in Lisboa is not going to be limited to just one year. :) We also started to feel the pain of friends saying goodbye, as the semester ended. Some were in Lisboa for just one semester! I would love it if every wonderful people stay with me, and not to leave in the middle. :) But life is always moving.
My move to Stockholm came close too. I had to go to Sri Lanka before that. We visited Porto and Lagos before I left Portugal. Saying goodbye is hard. But I reassured I would come back. Since we were spending time in Porto and Lagos before I left Lisboa, time went real quick when we were finally back in Lisboa. I came to Lisboa 10 months back with a free memory. I left Lisboa with a strong association to the city. I knew I would be back soon.
1.4: Party Never Ends 2013 August - 2013 December
Vila Franca de Xira riverside walk
While I was in Stockholm, I visited Lisboa twice. First, immediately after arriving in Stockholm, to enjoy the summer in Lisboa and Setubal. Then, during the mid-semester break, which was already wet autumn in Lisboa. During my second visit, we also made a metro station trip, visiting each and every neighborhood connected by Lisboa's extensive metro line - that we had missed previously. We also visited Alcantara-Terra, the touristic riverside of Lisboa. We also visited Vila Franca de Xira by train. It is a riverside town that can be reached by the train from Lisboa that goes towards Azambuja. The town hall had a free open wifi by the riverside in the town. But when I visited the town later, the wifi was no more open for public.
The beautiful Lagos
When I am away from Lisboa, I often think of the days I spent there. Despite my 7 years there, most of my memories revolve around 2013 - specifically those days, the first 6 months there. The memories are addictive and intense, and they are like a drug - I can feel the blood circulations with the memories. My memories of Portugal also is correlated with a few songs I listened to during my stay in Portugal. There are a few songs, mostly of Romanian origin - I always associate them with those romantic memories of Lisboa - because I listened to them for the first time during those days. Some songs bring back the memories of youthful moments, nostalgia, and the longing feeling that is defined as Saudade in Portuguese.
I always made sure to revisit the places that I loved visiting such as Obidos and Evora. But I never revisited Porto and Lagos later. Therefore, those memories are sealed as the memories of 2013 summer. But I, of course, want to revisit Porto and relive those memories. It will always be like time traveling to 2013 if I revisit Porto or Lagos. On the other hand, the place may still be the same. But it may not be possible to recreate the exact moments. We can try.
Porto was a city that we enjoyed most during those days. After my return to Portugal in 2014, we always wanted to go back to Porto - but we never did somehow. Every time we ended up in another city. It became close to reality during the 2016 Christmas vacation. But we ended up going to Zurich (and Liechtenstein and Austria) instead. This time, for my Ph.D. defense, I flew from Brussels to Porto airport. Of course, first I had to fly from Atlanta to Brussels. Interestingly, my stay in Porto was on the same days, as in 2013 - 25th - 27th June. That was a coincidence, not at all planned. Since I never had a chance to visit Porto after 2013, coming to Porto was like opening a time capsule, wrapping up a story which I left half-written six years ago. I had to work on rehearsing my Ph.D. defense presentation. Therefore, I did not have much time to enjoy Porto or Portugal until I have defended my thesis on the 1st of July. Porto airport was remarkably similar to that of Lisboa airport, in its size, shops, and decoration.
Beautiful view from the bus
I bought the 72 hours Andante card for 15 Euros, although I knew I would not optimize it as I would not have much time left after spending a few hours presenting my thesis presentation every day. My hotel was in Matosinhos. It was in a walking distance from Praia de Matosinhos, the beach we enjoyed in 2013. Unfortunately, and weirdly, Portugal was colder than Belgium. Almost in the 20s while Belgium was reaching the 40s! So I could not go into the water. I cannot catch a cold and lose my voice before the defense. The beach was empty except for the surfers, a few tourists who did not want to miss their vacation to the unpredictable cloudy and cold weather, and lots of seagulls! There were also people just starting at the beach in their street clothes. Anyway, it was still lovely to be in Porto 6 years after, and in Portugal after one whole year - the longest I have ever stayed away from Portugal after moving to Lisbon in 2012 August from Sri Lanka. It was like picking the pieces of artwork and stitching them together. Memories scattered everywhere.
The beautiful Douro River
During our last visit to Porto, we missed the opportunity to visit Povoa de Varzim, the town in the far northernmost end of the red line of the Porto Metro, unfortunately, due to a metro/train strike. Not this time. I made sure to make a metro trip to Povoa de Varzim. It was a cute little neighborhood. Every time I went on a train/metro trip, I kept a copy of my presentation slides with me so that I can go through them whenever I wanted to. Although I passed through the Douro riverside a few times, I did not take the river cruise this time. I also walked from the metro station Jardim do Morro to Sao Bento in the night, enjoying the river view in the night lights over the bridge. The river had a romantic atmosphere. Probably, it is just my memories. I cannot say for sure.
Night view from the bridge over Rio Douro
The main streets of Porto, especially, Avenida dos Aliados and the Marques neighborhood, all felt so familiar, even after six years. I did several random walks, without using a map of any sort. Not once I got lost! Eventually, my time in Porto came to an end. I had to take a train to Lisboa. It was precisely six years ago, on the same day, we were leaving Porto to Lisboa full of sadness. That time too, I knew I would be leaving Portugal soon after. This time, I leave Porto with more positive thoughts, somewhat excited and a bit nervous too - as the defense is approaching and I was still fine-tuning my presentation. I also had a feeling I had prepared for this presentation much more than for any of my previous presentations. Overpreparation is not good either, I usually say. But still much better than going to your Ph.D. defense unprepared. Anyway, I got on the train, saying goodbye to Porto. I will be back to Porto on the 4th of July from Lisboa - to return to Brussels. I won't have any time for sightseeing in Porto on that day.
5.2: Just once more - Just once more
A cat made of trashbins
Finally, I arrived in Lisboa, my most favorite city I have ever lived. First things first. I reached my hotel in Saldanha neighborhood. The hotel itself was horrible - but close to my university. So I could comfortably reach my defense without a commute by public transport.
I had to go to Povoa, a village in the Vila Franca de Xira region to collect our suitcase from a friend. I downloaded an offline Google map of the village to my tablet so that it was easy for me to locate the apartment. I also had a mobile Internet on my mobile phone in any case. I purchased it from Vodafone, as Vodafone had locked my phone when I bought it and did a half-job unlocking it when I requested and paid for that in 2013 January. My phone, therefore, never worked with other carriers for data. We had left 23 kg worth of a suitcase with a friend before we left Lisboa last year. It was nice to recover our old things. I also repeated
one of our favorite walks from Moscavide to Parque das Nações once more.
But this time, from the Moscavide train station, rather than the metro
station. Little did I know that Moscavide train station is much farther than the Moscavide train station to Parque das Nações. It was also a
heavy walk since I had just collected our old suitcase. A
long walk indeed, reaching the bottom of the Vasco da Gama bridge from
Moscavide train station and continuing south towards the Centro
Comercial Vasco da Gama.
Tagus river and the Vasco da Gama bridge
I met my supervisor at earliest on Friday to get his final opinions on my presentation. I had previously received the opinions of my co-supervisor in Belgium before leaving Belgium as well. Over the weekend, I iterated over the presentation based on the feedback I received. Later at the hotel, I eventually moved the contents from that
old suitcase to my current checked in luggage. Then I tried to sell the old suitcase to the Cash Converter. They rejected it as apparently it was a bit too old for their taste. Therefore, I left the
suitcase near the donation box. I had to throw away some old clothes in
my current suitcase to give space to the things from the last year.
View in Sintra
I decided to do a "quick revision" of all the places I have
visited during the past 7 years. This included many places that I had
visited several years ago, such as Belem, Sao Jorge castle, and my apartment of 2012 - 2014 in Arroios / Rua da Ponta Delgada. Overall, my time in Lisboa was really a
time-travel kind of experience again, often with a feeling of
overlapping timelines - as if searching for my younger self. The only
difference was, I wasn't alone when I visited all these places during
the past years. This time, it was mostly a solo trip.
I had a walk over the Parque das Nacoes riverside, not once - but thrice during this visit. The area was full of memories, from the range of 2013 - 2018. I felt like searching my 6 - 7-year younger-self - and also the younger selves of her and our friends. I almost felt like we are still here after six years. The memories kept me in a state similar to intoxication! I truly missed this place — lots of deja vu. I also realized that my preference for Lisboa, and Portugal in general, comes mostly from the fact that I had great memories there. It was nice to meet a few friends in Lisboa - of course, the majority of my friends had left the city over several years. I was the last to leave among our Erasmus Mundus friends.
The large waves of Praia das Maçãs
I had lunch at Restaurante Kathmandu and Canela e Açúcar restaurant. The former is a Nepalese restaurant in Rua da Ponta Delgada, the street of my first ever apartment (2012 - 2014) in Lisboa. We used to visit it frequently in 2013, almost daily at a certain point - sometimes twice a day! The latter is close to my lab. My friends and I used to have lunches there in 2012, almost daily. Sometimes also dinner. Both restaurants maintained the price. The price did not increase over the years. I could not say the same about the quality or even the quantity of food for the same option in the menu. But it was good to relive those memories.
On the day of defense, 1st of July, I woke up early. The hotel had a balcony, from which the early morning sunshine reached my room abundantly. I left to my lab and met my supervisor again. The defense (30 mins of presentation) and the following question-and-answer session of up to 2 hours went pretty well. I passed with a distinction. Now two free days before leaving Lisboa, to Porto, and then on the same day, to Brussels airport from Porto airport. The first day, I decided to go to Praia das Maçãs, and the second day, a random trip across Lisboa.
Good bye, my romantic Lisboa
Praia das Maçãs is where one of my most favorite songs, Inna - Amazing, was shot. Finally, I had a chance to visit this lovely remote beach myself. I had to take a train to Portela da Sintra, and then a bus from there. The waves were very strong and quick! I enjoyed some cocktails and a frozen shot in a nearby cafe overlooking the beach. On my return trip, I took a toy train to Portela da Sintra from the Praia das Maçãs village. The beach is a red flag guarded beach. That means not suitable for swimming due to its strong currents. Good for surfing, as I observe the big waves hitting the rocks and the beach as well as the surfers riding the waves.
The
second free day, my whole day was in Lisboa. I was doing a random metro
ride and bus ride to cover as many places as I can. I was revising my
six years in Lisboa (2012 - 2018). I even went to Belem, which I hadn't
visited for several years. I went to Restauradores, Rossio - Praca do
Comercio, Baixa - Chiado, Bairro Alto, Alfama, Alameda, Arroios, Cais do
Sodre, and several other neighborhoods. The day eventually came to an
end, and I did not have many things left in Lisboa that I did not cover
during this trip. Of course, I did not visit Centro Comercial Colombo
and ISCTE-IUL, two of our most frequented places. But it is not
necessary to visit all the places again during this short trip, I
reminded myself. I had visited the most important ones, where I had the
strongest memories. I felt like a time-traveler most of the times. I was
checking whether I could run into my old friends or our younger selves
from 2012 - 2013.
Back to the starting points..
Finally, it was time for me to leave Portugal again. I felt this was a better ending than what I had in 2018, exactly a year ago. I now have defended my Ph.D. thesis. That leaves me with no real attachment to Portugal or Lisboa. Of course, I have a strong cultural alignment with Portugal after my six years of life there. This trip also completes my seven years of student-life in Portugal. I still have to defend my thesis again in Belgium, since this is a double degree. But that has nothing to do with Portugal or my Portuguese university. I thank Portugal, as I eventually leave Lisboa to Porto in an Alfa Pendular fast train. I came to Portugal for my studies in 2012. I searched and found myself in Portugal over the years to follow.
Now, in Porto, I was switching from the past and the present at the same
time, as I was waiting for the metro to the airport. My Portugal trip
was successful and now is a return trip. It truly felt like time traveling since I felt many things were frozen in time as if it was 2013 summer again. I am also leaving Porto once
more with a more positive note, compared to 2013, when I left Porto with
lots of questions. At present, from Porto airport, I board the flight
to Brussels. Goodbye, once again, Portugal. Until I see you again
another time!
As I turned 32, I was reflecting on my 3 decades of life in a few
countries, and writing a series of blog posts over the weekends. During
my life, I also did my bachelors, masters, and Ph.D., which left me with
long-lasting memories. Consequently, I ended up summarizing my life in
the few countries in a few blog posts.
As I reach the end of my Ph.D. studies this summer, I am also heading to the third episode of my life, the first being life in Sri Lanka, and the second being the student life abroad. My student life has been remarkable and memorable. As I reach my third episode, I often end up recalling those days, the student life when I felt so energetic and young. But I pledge to continue to be positive and have good memories, not feeling too old. It is more fun to look for a more exciting future, rather than vividly recalling the past. Of course, it is always refreshing to revisit those old places that I loved several years back (for example, Porto). But it is also essential to create new memories and continue having positive memories as always. :)
There were many times I left Lisboa to live in other cities. But I knew that we would return, and usually stored our things securely in safe storage before leaving the city. But this was the first time packing everything, throwing away our 6 years of stuff. The city has loads of memories, and it is overwhelming. I have a feeling that the best part of my life so far, was in Lisboa. Not in Colombo, where I grew up.
Migrations consume lots of energy - especially if the migration is permanent. Portugal was my home for the past 6 years. Although I was moving back and forth between countries, I always returned to Portugal within a year. This year leaving Lisboa was first time as in a permanent move. I will of course go back for my Ph.D. defense soon. But not to live there again. At least no plans in the future that I foresee. We were dropping our clothes that are still relatively new into the donation box since we just can take 1 checked-in bag each in the flight. Later I realized, I dropped my metro card inside mistakenly with one of the shirts. Several months later in Atlanta, I found the taxi receipt from Lisboa in the pocket of my jacket, which I luckily still did not wash. On the taxi to the airport, I had mistakenly dropped a new umbrella and a water bottle from the side pockets of my bag. Leaving a country, throwing away almost everything we accumulated over several years is in fact somewhat a painful experience that we got used to. In fact, that explains our minimalist lifestyle during the past few years in EU.
Memories of Porto, still strong after 6 years
Sometimes we want to go back to visit a few of the places that left strong and pleasant memories in the past. However, it is not always easy to recreate and relive those memories. I wanted to spend some time in Porto before leaving Portugal this year. It was always in my list since we last visited in 2013. However, due to time limitations, we could not make it this year. It will remain forever as a memory of 2013 summer, until I manage to visit it in the future. This takes me back to the memories of Kista and Farsta in Stockholm. I stayed in Kista for my 2013 falls semester in KTH for my EMDC masters program. I used to visit Farsta frequently those days for a walk and for the shopping mall. Farsta also had a Hindu temple. After I left Stockholm and returned to Portugal, I visited Stockholm twice. Once for my masters graduation at KTH and once when I returned from ACRO summer school from Karlstad. I managed to visit Farsta during my first visit. But I missed Kista during both of my visits. Kista is not much of a fun except the shopping mall which also hosted our student accommodation as well as our Kista campus (far from the main KTH campus).
Memories are the best part of a travel. I sometimes like to travel to new places. Often I just want to go back to a place that I previously enjoyed and loved. Even if I go back, the same places do not always give the same memories. Things change. Places also change. Thus our experiences.
We were considering spend the year end in Porto, a place that we visited in mid of 2013, after completing the first year of our MSc. It would have refreshed our memories from 3.5 years ago, as we did not visit the place lately. However, we changed the plan at the last moment to spend some time in Zurich and the neighbouring towns. It is a cold winter - yet not much snow remaining in Zurich except for Üetliberg. We hiked Üetliberg in a foggy morning! Magnificent views. The trip was also a very cleverly planned one. Proud of myself. :P
This was the first new year we spent away from Lisboa. We were in Lisboa for each new year since the 2013 new year. 2017 is different. :) The last time we had a year end trip was in 2013 December (to Helsiki and Copenhagen). However, we had returned to Lisboa for the 2014 new year. This was a year end trip after 3 long years. Good memories.
[28/06/2013] - Lisbon - Week 44: This week was full of farewells and tears as most of us have already started leaving Portugal, finishing our first year in EMDC. This week's highlight was the visit to Oporto (better known by its Portuguese name, Porto). The trip extended from the 25th to the 27th of June.
Porto
We reached Porto - Campanha on train by the noon. We got the andante card for 3 days (72 hours), so that we can freely travel around using the buses, metro, and the funicular. We could check in by 2 pm. We reached Trindade, by metro, and started walking to Aliados, and to Sao Bento, along the yellow line of Metro, visiting all the interests on our way. It seemed like all the cultural heritages of Porto are clustered between Aliados and Sao Bento. Having the lunch at Sao Bento, we took the metro to the station Marques, and checked in at Tropical Residences. The evening trip included a visit to Jardim do Morro in the yellow line. Unlike Lisbon, the metro in Porto was sometimes sharing the roads with the traffic, as it was going on the ground at some places. This was often imposing delays in the metro journey, and slow downs, unlike the uninterrupted underground metro of Lisbon. The bright side of this was, we were able enjoy some sceneries on our way, unlike the complete darkness of Lisbon. Unlike Lisbon, and similar to Barcelona and Madrid, the metro was going from left to right, and many lines shared the same platform in many stations, making the journey a bit more complicated for the first timers.
Rio Douro
Rio Douro and Ponte Dom Luis I
The cruise on the Douro river was remarkable for the 50 minutes, for the 10 Euro paid. It also included a free tasting of a chosen port from white, rose, ruby, or tawny, in a port cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. We went towards Taylor's, which is one of the most popular ports. However, it was closed when we reached, as they close by 6 pm, except for the restaurant. We walked to the other side (Porto/Sao Bento side) of the Douro River from the Gaia side (down from Jardim Do Morro), by walking over the lower deck of the Ponte Dom Luis1 bridge. The upper deck holds the metro line, where the lower deck accommodates the pedestrians and the traffic. Though Ribeira looks beautiful by the river from Jardim do Morro, the dinner was not that extra-ordinary. We have had much better in Lisbon for the same price. Since the funicular that connects Batalha top of the hill with the river side Ribeira, had already stopped when we returned, we had to climb ourselves, which was not that easy, considering the vertical path.
Matosinhos Beach
Seagulls in the Matosinhos Beach
The second day started by travelling towards Matosinhos in the blue line. Matosinhos Sul has a beautiful beach. Water was still cold, regardless of the warm summer, preventing us from having a bath or swim. However, we didn't fail to notice that many others were already in the water! After the beach we visited Casa da Musica and Bolhao. We had some drinks at the Majestic Cafe, one of the oldest cafes in Porto. We paid a quick visit to the Dragon Stadium (Estadio do Dragao). We did some window shopping at Boa Vista, which is full of shopping
centres. Many of the shops were having good discounts, and from the
first look, it seems we could even buy some clothes back home. Realizing
the weight limit imposed on us by the flight carriers, I decided not to
buy anything but food and drinks to consume at the moment. Since we had explored the yellow line on the first day and the blue line on the second day, we decided to explore the red, orange, violet, and green lines on the third day, which is supposed to be our last day in Lisbon. We noted that orange line has nothing that induces our interest, and violet was just connecting the airport. Compared to green line, red line is longer, and was going towards Povoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde by the river Ave. But unfortunately, a quick check to the website of the Porto metro revealed us that there is a national strike of metro, train, and buses.
Strike!
The funicular descending from Batalha
The third day had to start with an altered plan due to the strike. Metro was still running only in the city center with blue line and yellow line, with a lesser frequency. Having everything explored in the blue line, we decided to get back to the yellow line, checking out from the hotel before 1 p.m. This time we didn't miss the Funicular dos Guindais. It was interesting to travel up and down and very convenient. We sat by the river for a while, and got back to Sao Bento, visited Se, had lunch, and got back to Vila Nova de Gaia. The sun had already started to burn us. Since the train was not functioning for the day, we had to return using the Rede Expressos from Sao Bento to Sete Rios - Lisbon. Rede Expressos provides cheap tickets to the students. It was just 15 Euros, which was half the price of the train tickets in the second class, which costs 32 Euros. Though I hate strikes, I admired how the unions coordinated their strike in a national scale. We spent the rest of the time at the nearest Elcorte Ingles before returning to Lisbon. If we could compare our first day at Porto with the visit to Obidos, and the second day with Setubal, the third day was just like a visit to São Sebastião.
Though we were enjoying the trip, we could not hide our tears, fearing the distance of a thousands of miles in the upcoming days. We have learned much more than Distributed Computing during our ten months of stay in Lisboa.
Yagheli da? I am Pradeeban, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Alaska Anchorage. My research focuses on networking and big data innovations for healthcare and Circumpolar North. Before moving to Alaska, as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, I researched and built efficient frameworks to schedule and execute biomedical informatics workflows. I have an EU Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Distributed Computing (EMJD-DC) from INESC-ID Lisboa / Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal and Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. I received my MSc degree, Erasmus Mundus European Master in Distributed Computing (EMDC), from Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal, and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden.
