This year for the Christmas holiday, instead of going home to the United States like many of my U.S. peers in Madrid did, I decided to plan a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. Before I embarked on my journey, I wrapped up my English classes with a brief presentation of what Christmas is like in New York City. Most New Yorkers are familiar with the famous tree located in Rockefeller Center. This year, New Yorkers thought this tree was bland and wanted more bling on it. However, to someone in Spain, where the streets are sprinkled sparsely with mini fake trees and a string of lights here and there and are bare of the tinsel, garland, sparkle and lights that make New York look like it CREATED Christmas, it was a sight never before seen! Turns out (most New Yorkers missed this memo), Rockefeller Center's ode to Christmas was all about the tree! This year's Norway Spruce from Oneonta, N.Y., was the tallest to ever grace the city's Rockefeller Plaza, 94-feet tall! The scale alone blew my students away.
“We use to fuss when the landlord dissed us. No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us.” -Biggie Smalls
To conclude my presentation this term, I decided to show my students the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas by the famous American-German author Dr. Seuss. As a child, Dr. Seuss’ books were my favorite but The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas were my absolute favorites. As I watched the short film for the millionth time I felt like a kid again and grew excited for Christmas Day. At the same time, I was nervous about what Christmas would be like without exchanging gifts and spending time with my family around the Christmas tree for the first time in 21 years.
At the end of the movie, I read my students a famous quote from the book, “‘Maybe Christmas’ the Grinch thought ‘doesn’t come from a store…Maybe Christmas, perhaps means a little bit more.’” It wasn’t until after my trip to Lisbon that this statement truly resonated with me. Here's why: As soon as I arrived to Lisbon I was in disbelief. “I’m in Portugal!” I kept yelling to myself. People talk about going to Portugal but I don’t know many people who have actually gone. Right before my trip, I met Bruno at a Melanin In Madrid (a Facebook page for black people who are in Madrid) event. Luckily for me, Bruno was from Lisbon and he was traveling back to his home city on the same exact flight as me. He showed me all around the center of the city, gave me recommendations of places to visit, food to try and some historical background about Lisbon. My favorite part of our journey around the city was seeing the Christmas lights at night. When the sun went down and the lights turned on, the city of Lisbon came to life. Everything the eye could see was decked out with lights; the trees, governmental buildings, restaurants and even the famous Sao Jorge Castle! This was comforting because it reminded me of home and gave me a sense of the holiday cheer. I kept singing in my head and out loud, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” The nervousness I had before this trip quickly turned into calmness as Christmas approached.
On Christmas Eve, I decided to go on a journey to Belem with a few people from my hostel (1 Texan and 3 Brazilians). Belem is an area on the Tagus River best known for its seafood restaurants, houses decorated with colorful tiles and historic landmarks that recall Portugal’s seafaring past, like the 16th-century Tower of Belem and the sail-shaped Discoveries Monument. As my fellow travelers and I explored the town of Belem, we were amazed at how many historical structures were in just one area. In most cities there’s usually only one historical monument in a given area and then you have to travel at least 20 minutes to see another one. Not in Belem, there was an abundance of them. Among the other historical landmarks I saw there was the vast Gothic Jeronimos Monastery, a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome. It’s construction began on January 6th, 1501 and wasn’t completed until a century later (1601) and there is no wonder why. Upon first glance of the monastery, I was astonished! From where I stood at the entrance of the covent, I couldn’t see the end of it and as I looked up, I couldn’t see the top of it. It was massive and so detailed. It was the best place to be on a Sunday and of all Sundays, on Christmas Eve! We wrapped up our journey to Belem with a visit to Pasteis de Belem, a large bakery cafe that is most famous for Pastel de nata, a Portuguese egg tart pastry. This pastry was created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the Jeronimos Monastery and the same recipe is still used today. Pastel de natas are served hot with powdered sugar and cinnamon. They’re like a taste of Christmas heaven and they left me wanting more (as if eight wasn’t enough).
“You don’t need magic to disappear, all you need is a destination and a great hostel!” -Unknown
For my journey to Lisbon, I booked a room at the Living Lounge Hostel and I couldn’t have picked a better place. It was right outside of a major train station and best of all, it had such a comfortable feel to it. I didn’t expect so many people to be traveling by themselves (like me) but the hostel was filled with friendly people from all around the world (which I appreciated the most). My favorite part about the hostel was the lounge area that consisted of communal tables. Each morning breakfast was served at these long tables which facilitated a lot of my initial interactions with people from the hostel. Every night we (people staying at the hostel) had the opportunity to sign up for a three course dinner (for 10 euro) and have a chef serve us at these tables as well. For Christmas Eve, I participated in the dinner. The chef served us a traditional Portuguese Christmas dinner; vegetable soup, cod fish casserole, salad along with what seemed like an infinite amount of sweet cakes and pastries. Of course, wine was involved (Spain and Portugal have some of the best wine and it’s inexpensive)!
After dinner, I brought in Christmas Day sitting at the communal table playing cards with two guys from Australia, a woman from Ohio and Bryon (the guy from Texas who I went to Belem with earlier that day). Later that evening, a woman from Moscow joined us and that’s when it hit me! That’s when I realized what I love about hostels. You never know who you might meet. As I sat at the table socializing with all these different people, I looked to one of the Australian guys sitting to the right of me and he whispered, “Isn’t this cool? We’re here with people from all four corners of the world.” I began to grin, a grin that showed all my teeth and replied, “Wow! You’re right! This is f*cking awesome!” We stayed up until the early hours of the morning drinking, joking and having serious conversations about love and life.
“Dear Santa, I’ve been good all year. Most of the time. Once in a while. Nevermind, I’ll buy my own stuff.” -Pinterest
I woke up Christmas morning just as excited as a child who believes in Santa Claus. As I contemplated what I was going to do for the day, I suddenly realized that just about everything was closed. That’s the thing about visiting predominantly religious places, the entire city shuts down on religious holidays. Christmas Day in places like Spain and Portugal is viewed more as a national holiday; a day of calmness and rest, rather than a day of celebration like back in the States. This is something I wasn’t used to. In New York City, you can find several stores open on Christmas Day. In fact, my best friend told me that she got her nails done and even bought an outfit on Christmas Day. Meanwhile in Lisbon, I struggled to find breakfast. Thank God for Starbucks and Google.
By doing some quick research on Google, I discovered that the Oceanarium was open so I quickly got dressed and hurried to it. The Lisbon Oceanarium is located in Parque das Nacoes, which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo ‘98; an official specialized World’s Fair held in Lisbon, Portugal in 1998. The theme of the Expo was “The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future”, chosen in part to commemorate 500 years of Portuguese discoveries. The Lisbon Oceanarium is the largest indoor aquarium in Europe. During the time that I journeyed to the aquarium, I noticed how quiet the city was. I was the only person on the train platform and one of the only people on the street. When I got to the Oceanarium, I was instantly absorbed by the peace the sounds of the water brought me. I spent about two hours in the Oceanarium, taking my time to admire the wildlife in each exhibit. The habitat that shocked me the most was the one that represented the North Atlantic coastal areas. This habitat included some sea-birds of the Alcid family such as puffins and razorbills. I found this habitat interesting because the birds weren’t caged or restricted behind a glass wall. The razorbills were flying around the room and for some reason they kept circling me and flying right above my head. I stood there screaming for about 5 minutes because each time flew in my direction, I was convinced that they were going to fly into me at any moment. The cutest habitat for me was the one with the otters, I had never seen one in person and they were so adorable! I truly enjoyed my trip to the Oceanarium because there I experienced tranquillity and most exciting of all I found Nemo (and all the other fish from the movie)!
People frequently ask me why do I travel alone and I tell them, “I was never going to go if I waited for someone to go with.” At the beginning of my journey I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision to travel by myself especially during the holidays. I was nervous about being alone on Christmas but throughout my journey I realized that I’m never really alone. The world is full of friends waiting to get to know me and based on my interactions with the people from my hostel, I’m wise beyond my years and pretty f*cking dope! So for Christmas did I get new pair of UGGs, money or a new bag? No. Instead I received comfort knowing that as I travel solo, being totally responsible for myself, it’s inevitable that I will discover just how capable I am. And it turns out, I’m VERY capable!
“Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store… Maybe Christmas, perhaps means a little bit more.” -Dr. Suess