So much has happened since last night it is hard to decide where to start. We toured the historic port city of Porto today, which is north of Lisbon. We learned about the historic buildings, the unique history of the people here, and the agriculture practices of this country. One of Porto´s most popular exports is port wine. As part of our city tour we learned how they grow grapes in this rocky mountain terrain. It is because of the terrain that this process of preparing the ground, planting, and harvesting grapes is still done by hand and grand estates are dedicated to this popular export.
After our tour we loaded into a bus and headed to Villa Real which is 100 km north of Porto. We have met one of our hosts, and moved into the dorms for the next few nights and are adjusting to college life without college students. Right now professors are coming back after a month of "holiday", basically a long extended vacation. Students are due back in two weeks so the college dorm is fairly empty except for one or two students who were able to help us get a little internet access so we can communicate with everyone back home.
Starting tomorrow morning we will be immersing ourselves in the Portugal customs, language, and ways as we prepare to go forward to home stays and give presentations to host organizations about 4-H and our programs at home and learn how they address youth issues in this country.
Due to some technically difficulties, and time restraints I will be posting our photos from today on this site tomorrow and updating everyone about what we have learned. Everyone is having a great time and we are anxious to dig in tomorrow and learn as much as we can.
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2 comments:
Look forward to hearing about your experiences. Enjoy, have fun and most of all be safe. We want ya'll back in one piece and together.
Porto was great. I wish we would have had more time there to learn about the city and its revitalization, but I am excited to move on with our journey. Now that we have arrived in Vila Real, we have discovered that there is no AC!! For those of you that know us, us southern girls need our AC!! Even the University building was not air conditioned. Luckily we have found the mall and it has AC. I guess we will just have to spend more of our evenings there.
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