I have spent three months now here in Porto. The place has shown to be even better than I expected. Porto is located at Northern Portugal and the name refers to harbor. There goes a river, called Douro, between Porto and Vila Nova De Gaia. The riverside, Ribeira, is really beautiful with different colored houses. The city is really lively and I think there is always something going on in here. The streets are filled with street artists and University students with their Hogwarts uniforms.
I have done two practical trainings in here, the first one was at the biggest hospital in Porto, Hospital São João. I stayed at an Orthopedics ward for ten weeks. The hospital was really old and big, I managed to get lost in there several times during my stay. My next training took place in a recently renewed hospital, CMIN. I stayed for four weeks at an Obstrectical ward. I really enjoyed this training because I like to work with mothers and babys.
Our school also arranged us a short Portuguese language course, which was really nice. I had been studied Portuguese a little already and during my stay I’ve noticed that I’ve learned a lot. The language is really difficult so I am proud if I am able to visit a supermarket or a coffee house with using only Portuguese language.
The mentality of taking care of things is a little bit different than what I was used to in Finland. People can sometimes be a little slow and things can delay. But I have learned that you shouldn’t stress about it because it’s worth nothing. It’s better just to adapt to this “amanhã” style. In the hospitals the treatment can be a bit different but especially in my last training I think the basic care is the same than in Finland. Some things can vary because of cultural differences and I think that’s the biggest different. Sometimes I was suprised about the level of for example hygiene, but all in all I would say that the treatment is not so different.
In my spare time I have tried to enjoy Porto as much as I can. I went to see two FC Porto football games which I really liked, visited the Port wine cellars, Matosinhos beach, parks and local markets. You can easily spend the day just walking around the city center and visiting the city of Vila Nova de Gaia and look at the breathtaking views from the bridge. Also, I would like to point out the amount of hills in Porto. You can’t avoid them, so good shoes are necessary.
I have also travelled around Portugal, Lagos in Algarve, the capital Lisbon and the beautiful islands Azores. Now my exchange is soon coming to an end and even tho I am really exited to go back to Finland I am going to miss this place.
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