Having the opportunity to study abroad in Lisbon has been one of the best experiences of my life. I have learned so much and grown unimaginably as a person. Through my internship, I was able to study chronic pain and Fibromyalgia, both of which I did not know much about. Being able to tailor a presentation towards the goal of educating people with Fibromyalgia was interesting. I had to make sure that the wording of my presentation was precise so that it did not seem as though we were trying to say that people with Fibromyalgia are causing the pain they experience. Although diving into this neuroscience-based research was not what I expected, I found it to be surprisingly interesting, especially the aspect of people with chronic pain’s brain firing pain signals when there is no visible lesion. 

Some parts of this program that took me a little bit to get used to included self-paced, independent study and work. I thought it would be more like internships in the States where you have hard deadlines and someone always asking for updates. However, I really liked the independent aspect of work in Lisbon because I was encouraged to research what I found interesting, and I had to learn how to pace myself, as well as keep myself accountable to finish my work on time.

From this experience, I will definitely take some of what I learned to future endeavors. The acclimation to another culture took a while; it was really important that I immersed myself by going to local shops. I tried ordering in Portuguese and spoke to locals and those visiting about their experiences. By doing this, I was able to find really good cafes and restaurants. Something I did that I think helped me a lot was people-watching. I was able to learn so much about the language and how people interacted with one another. One of my favorite things I observed was how they say goodbye to one another in Portugal: they say Tchau Tchau with two kisses, one on each cheek.