I got here by myself so I basically didn't know anyone the first few days. In some way I feel like I still don't know anyone, but I guess that depends on how do you define "knowing someone".
So, what are the experiences so far...
Portuguese girls in average are not as nearly as pretty as Croatian girls.
They put kitchen tiles on the outside of their houses in the old city core.
There is a tradition in Portugal that the students wear funny looking "Harry Potter" outfits (black suit with some kind of cape).
It is not obligatory, but they respect this tradition very much.
They group in some way, and leaders of those groups also carry around some sort of wooden spoon that I first thought was a rowing paddle. They wear it all the time when they are outside, regardless of the weather. It amazes me to see how many of them are doing it. It's like carnival whole year long.
Not everybody can wear it, though... First year students need to pass the initiation period during which they are compelled to do all sorts of humiliating activities. This lasts from the start of academic year until May.
In May there is a holiday with huge ceremony in the streets of Porto where all freshmen can finally wear these black uniforms.
In a way I can understand it because there is a lot of young student that come here from many parts of Portugal to an unknown environment to study. For them it's a way to bond to other students who are in similar situation.
Still, I could never picture myself wearing that.
A majority of people don't speak English. I guess that is the case in all nations that speak one of the biggest languages in the world - Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, ...
People are often late for appointments. And I don't mean 5-10 minutes late. 30 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes... that's the range. Or many times they just don't show up. This is not just my observation, I heard it from a lot of people.
The Erasmus students here are 50% Brazilians... Prior to my arrival, I heard all these stories about Brazilian hedonistic life-style and general laziness. But I have had contact with only one Brazilian with those characteristics and only over e-mail.
In my experience, foreign students come here to party. It's high school all over again for them. Party all the time, drinking also... I don't mind that. I like beer, sangria, martini... But the way they drink, it's not for humans.
Before I came here, my expectations were not high. I thought I will make some Portuguese friends, go surfing, play futsal in the afternoon, learn some basics of Portuguese language... basically integrate myself in a domestic culture.
These goals now seems hardly achievable. People here have their own lives, friends, daily routines, families... it's difficult to get involved in all of that.
On the other hand, the Erasmus students are more often willing to connect with new people. So that makes foreigners form their own groups instead of mixing with the locals.
I live in student residence Alberto Amaral. It's cheap (130€), I have two-bed room all for myself. But at any time that could change. I don't have kitchen, but student canteen is a hundred meters from the dorm. I have my own fridge. There is a microwave in the lobby, also a big fridge and TV with like a hundred channels. I don't it watch very often, only English Premier League on weekends and Champions League during some weeks.
One thing to take into consideration if you are on exchange in Porto during winter or early spring: ordinary flats here don't have any kind heating installed. Rooms in a dorm do.
Laundry is done in a special room here in a dorm. You need your own detergent, softener and whatever... Washing machine works on special coins. One coin costs €2. There is also a dryer (usage is free, no coins), and the ironing board.
Student canteen, price of lunch or dinner is €2.30, but it's not even worth the money. You always have 4 menus at your choice: Vegetarian, Meat, Diet, Fish. I only haven't tried Diet. Of other three, Vegetarian seems to be the best choice every time. The meat in the canteen is simply awful.
Transportation.
The city is divided in zones. When you buy a monthly ticket, you have to choose which zones you want to include. Price of monthly ticket depends on number of zones you use. I use two zones and pay monthly ticket €22.5.
For now my estimation of monthly expenses are like this:
€130 - accommodation
€30 - transportation
€280 - food
€7.5 - phone
Those are some kind of fixed monthly costs. There are also one-time purchases (glasses, spoons, knives, cleaning detergent, sponges, iron...) and variable monthly costs. Variable monthly costs (drinking, chocolate, ordering a pizza, ...) you can always cut down if you need to save up money.
Hello if youhave been in Porto can you tell me student rooms price and if you have heard about this erasmus rooms porto www.erasmusroomsporto.com
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