Olá from Lisbon, Portugal!
My name is Sophie Wyszomierski and I am a senior graduating at the end of the summer with an Honors degree in History and Museum Studies. June and July, I spent my time in Lisbon as a full-time research intern at the Faculty of Architecture in the University of Lisbon. I researched the work of Portuguese Architect Francisco da Conceicao Silva and how his designs reflected global trends towards sustainability in architecture from the 1950s into the 1970s.
I fell in love with the history of Portugal long before I arrived. After taking a course on Portuguese history with Prof. Molly Warsh, I became fascinated with the unique story of how such a small country had not only produced such complex and rich domestic cultures, but how it exercised its influence globally over time. I was excited to dive into a more focused area of Portuguese history with architecture. My majors are adjacent to architecture in many ways, and I now hope to pursue a graduate degree in the subject in the near future, so this internship opportunity would be my first ever chance to dive into working in the field.
Upon arrival, I was giddy not only to explore the country, but to get a glimpse into my future as a college graduate. This felt like my opportunity to have a “real world” professional experience: living and traveling on my own, budgeting, and working in an environment where I was not really an outside student, but more a member of the team. This was not my first internship, but it was the farthest from home and the most involved out of any other professional experience I had before. I hoped to build confidence in my ability to thrive outside of a classroom environment while learning as much as possible about a new field that I wasn’t sure I knew enough about to work in.
I was incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to learn and grow throughout the two months I’d spend in Lisbon, hoping to show myself, more than anyone else, that I was capable of the task ahead of me. I was worried that there would be too many obstacles, too many changes all at once, or simply too much to learn and do in such a short period of time. I put my trust in my program and my internship supervisor, Prof. Paulo Almeida, to guide me through the next two months of work and exploration, knowing I could rely on them to give advice on professional and personal concerns.
Over the first few days, I had the chance to settle into my residence and attend SiPN orientation sessions before starting my internship. Although some of this time was devoted to some sightseeing, mainly in Belém and Alfama, I spent most of my first few days adjusting to jetlag, learning my route to commute to work over both a train and a bus, and exploring more essential locations like the grocery stores close to my residence.
I had no idea what all Portugal had in store for me over the next two months.
