Hello dear readers, greetings from Turkey. I am Tugba Çitlak from Turkey. I am currently doing my Erasmus internship at MBC Home. There are several issues about the internship and life in Lisbon that should be mentioned. First, the internship at MBC Home enables one to see tourist attractions while doing the internship. It gives you the opportunity to travel and work at the same time.
Second, before coming to Lisbon, I searched for the accommodations that are most suitable for me; yet it was a little bit late to have so many options because it was the last minute. Therefore, you should start to search for accommodation way before coming to Lisbon to have more suitable options including the fee.
Third, when I first landed in Lisbon, I was curious about how to travel: by bus, by train, by tram, or on foot. So, I learned I have two options: either I will buy tickets one by one, which can be very expensive if you travel a lot, or I will buy a monthly card by paying 40 euros for each month I stay. Then, I decided to buy a monthly card because I travel a lot and it will be much cheaper for me. In Cais do Sodre, I asked about the fastest way to get a monthly card and I applied for it from the other building of Cais do Sodre. After one day, I got the monthly card; to get the card faster, I
paid 12 euros. The total was 52 euros with the monthly pass used for every type of transportation in the Lisbon area.
Fourth, the prices in markets are average. Yet, there is one thing to mention: the discounts in the markets. To make use of the discounts in the markets, I got the cards of markets that I mostly go to. It enabled me to benefit from most of the discounts special to the market cards. Also, for those staying longer in Portugal, you can take a NIF number from the Finanças. It is because the products in the markets have many taxes on them; therefore, via the NIF number, you can get the taxes you paid back in the Finanças. I did not prefer taking a NIF number because I will not stay long in Portugal.
Lastly, Lisbon is a nice city with lots of tourist attractions, city life, and nightlife. For example, the most well-known sightseeing is in Belem. There are Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastry, Padrão Dos Descobrimentos, Pastéis de Belém, MAAT, Palácio Nacional de Belém, and Igreja Santa Maria de Belém. The other tourist attractions are in Sintra, Cascais, Estoril, Carcavelos, and so on. For me, it was a nice experience to come to Lisbon and see so many beautiful places. I would definitely suggest people come to Lisbon and not miss the chance to live in this city.
By Tugba Çitlak