My name is Adrija and I am from Latvia. I arrived here with my friend Anna.
I chose Rato because I wanted to try volunteering abroad, and my mother already had some contacts with Rato and she offered me to come here and try. We are here for short term volunteering – 2 months. I finished high school in Latvia and as a way to find out what I want to do next in life I came here to explore the world.
In Latvia my passion is sports and art. I am riding BMX and painting, drawing art on walls, snowboards, hats, pants, and a lot of other objects.
This is part of wall painting in my room.
On the first day we went to the Rato office and they were celebrating their 24th anniversary. We were listening to a lot of Portuguese, but could not understand it. We ate a treat provided by the organization. I can say that I really like Pastel de nata.
The next day Nuno and Mimi talked with us about the projects and things we are going to do in these 2 months. Mimi also taught us how to use a Portuguese computer keyboard and showed us how to write the blog.
Let’s talk about the weather. Before I came to Portugal, I expected it to be warm and that’s why I didn’t take a lot of warm clothes with me. I knew that in March it is like 14 to 18 degrees in a day, but didn’t know that the wind is going to be so strong and cold. Also didn’t expect the rain that much. Thing I am most shocked about is that in our volunteer apartment it is pretty cold. But we are going to get through it. Otherwise when it’s sunny, the sun is very warm and beautiful.
Also on Friday Mónica took us by her car to make transportation cards. I loved the beautiful city views when we drove up and down the town. Views are amazing!
The views with streets are different from what I usually see in Latvia. The enviroment is interesting. All the palms and different kinds of trees are nice and beautiful to see.
My first impression about all the organization people around us is amazing. They are very nice and funny.
