Natalia Lashley ’27

During my semester abroad in Lisbon on the CIEE Language and Culture program, I was awarded an Intercultural Enrichment Stipend to spend several days exploring the Algarve in the south of Portugal. 

Stepping Beyond Lisbon 

While studying abroad in Portugal, I was exposed to the richness and undeniable beauty of Lisbon, the country’s most famous city. My home base allowed me to fully immerse myself, but I wanted to expand my horizons and get a more comprehensive understanding of Portuguese culture and experience. In order to learn more about Portugal’s linguistic, cultural, and environmental diversity, I organized a short trip to the Algarve in the south of Portugal.

My motivations for this trip began in my program’s Urban Ecology course, where we discussed the differences in Portugal’s built environment and infrastructure, as well as how phenomena like tourism and climate change shaped these regional realities. Tourism transformed these communities, and I wanted to see firsthand what this impact looked like. 

During this trip, I wanted to deepen my understanding of local experiences and culture within these areas. While traveling, I visited churches, beaches, historic sites, and community gathering spaces to interact with and learn about each communities’ unique identity and traditions.

Tourism and Environmental Impact

The Algarve was breathtaking, with gorgeous beaches and winding streets paved with bright colored tiles. This beauty, however, is also the area’s primary economic output and opportunity.

Each beach was filled with hotels and restaurants with English signs, symbolizing how tourism completely transformed these coastal communities. Tourism leads to beach erosion, increases pollution, and threatens coastal ecosystems by harming native animals and plants. This damage is greatly attributed to coastline construction, and at every beach I visited I saw giant cranes and demolition sites for brand-new luxury buildings. The concentration of visitor activity actively jeopardized the area’s natural resources and habitats. 

This made me critically think about the real nature of tourism, and reconsider my role as a tourist. These developments brought real economic changes to the area by helping local business and providing job opportunities. However, tourism also threatens coastal ecosystems and, as my visit made clear, redefines access to public space by creating a hierarchy that prioritizes tourist’s comfort and experience. I reflected on my linguistic privilege, as development and investment was made to enhance my experience, rather than many locals. 

From navigating both the positive and negative realities supported by tourism, I committed myself to becoming an “intentional” tourist rather than an “extractive” tourist, who consumed the area’s culture and environment without consideration, or appreciation. To practice this intentionally, I interacted with locals, critically thought about my privileges, and expanded my cultural and experiential view with kindness and consideration.  

Linguistic and Cultural Exchange

When I first came to Portugal I knew virtually nothing about Portuguese culture or language. Learning how to speak with locals and sharing in their tradition were the most defining and important aspects of my abroad experience.

Language is far more than a way to communicate, rather it is a powerful tool for sharing experience, history, and cultural identity. 

Initially in Algarve I was hesitant to practice my Portuguese, as I was afraid I would be met with judgement. But, with every conversation my confidence and appreciation grew, and I was able to learn so much about the rich and unique culture of the Algarve. I spoke with locals in churches, on beaches, and in stores, and with each conversation I overcame my preconceived notions based in fear and uncertainty.

In these interactions, I found myself again interrogating my understanding of place and identity abroad. Locals assumed I was Brazilian or Angolan, and I spoke Portuguese as a first language. This was the first time I was perceived to be a part of the majority, which is something I’ve never experienced in America. These moments challenged and then redeveloped my understanding of race, citizenship, and language. 

Becoming an Intentional Tourist

My time in Algarve was an amazing experience of intercultural exchange, environmental and cultural observation, and personal growth. This trip allowed me to see the intersections between tourism, privilege, and environmental change. I thought deeply about my own role as a student, a community member, and a tourist. 

I interrogated my privilege and recognized the importance of purposeful learning and experience as a visitor. This led me to think of broader dynamics between locals and tourists, specifically how visitors can learn from and enjoy other places and cultures without being extractionist. 

This trip to the Algarve gave me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the diversity within Portugal, strengthen my Portuguese, and most importantly, begin to become an engaged, reflective, and intentional global citizen.