Maya Estrera ‘25

The following post was adapted from a conversation between Maya Estrera ‘25 and Rae Peeples ‘25, an intern with the Global Engagement Office (GEO).¹ 

Maya is a double major in Environmental Studies and Film and Media Studies at Swarthmore. Maya studied abroad in Lisbon, Portugal, through the SIT program, “Sustainability and Environmental Justice.” Lisbon wasn’t on Maya’s original list of locations and she went into this experience with no background in Portuguese language. But she now feels comfortable navigating Portugal independently, and is grateful for her immersive experience in environmental studies and the bioeconomy.

What can you tell me about your program and coursework? 

There were around 20 people in my program, and we had all of our classes together. My SIT program was partnered with a Portuguese university.  Our program existed as a separate entity within the school; we weren’t ever in classes with local students.  But classes were held in a seminar room on campus, so we would often just meet people when walking around. 

The first few months of the SIT Portugal program are structured with classroom-based courses. My three classes during this part of the program were “Bioeconomy and Energy Resources,” “Environmental Justice and Advocacy,” and “Environmental Research and Ethics.”

Once the classes were over, we had a month dedicated to our independent study project. I did my research project on electric vehicles.  Other projects in our group included food waste or the impact of disposable cups used by restaurants and bars. One student created a documentary film.

The coursework felt really balanced. We had paper assignments that were spaced out every couple of weeks. After class, we were encouraged to explore. The program did a really good job in helping us become more familiar with the city.   In classes, we would have critical conversations around topics like ecotourism.  We were able to self-critique our own contributions to the serious housing crisis in Lisbon (as visitors who had flown in for a few months to occupy housing that could have gone to locals).

Surprisingly, as I was kind of hesitant about it at first, my favorite class may have been Portuguese. Our teacher was this lovely woman named Margarita. I hadn’t been in a language class since AP Spanish in high school. This was a more intense and practical experience. Because no one knew Portuguese, this class also became a bonding experience for the group; we could all laugh about our stumbles.  Our teacher also set up a language exchange with students at the university who were learning English.  The goal was for all of us to speak to each other in each other’s languages to practice, while also helping us to make new friends. But because they were so much more fluent in English, this didn’t feel like a fair exchange!

What was your life like outside class?

We had a lot of built-in travel during the program.  During the first few months, there were a lot of group field trips and excursions. All of them are covered, which is really nice. As a group, we went to Spain.  We went to the eastern part of Portugal.  We went to the Azores, which are the islands of Portugal.  We also went to the north of Portugal, to Porto. 

When in Lisbon, I spent a lot of time in parks and exploring the city.  I went to museums, ate great food, and often went to the beach because it was really close by. 

The program encouraged us to get involved and take part in volunteer and community initiatives.  I took part in some beach clean-ups.  I also got involved with a food pantry organization that redistributes leftovers from restaurants and grocery stores to families in need. 

Once the independent study phase starts, you can structure your own time more independently. I spent some time in the south of Portugal, which has really beautiful beaches. Then, after my program, I went to Morocco. 

How was the housing and food? 

Getting from my apartment to school was a bit of a trek, but it wasn’t too bad.  You could walk the route in maybe 20 minutes or so. Or, you could take the subway for around 15 minutes. But the walk was really nice.  My apartment was pretty much in the center of the city. Some of my friends lived in suburbs further outside the city.  Public transportation in Lisbon was very good. They have an underground subway as well as an above ground trolley.

Portuguese food itself is… maybe not my favorite. A lot of fish; they’re big on cod. That said, Lisbon is a great city with a lot of different cuisines. I would say that generally, the food was really good and was very affordable. 

We received a meal stipend.  And because we lived in an apartment-style dormitory, we did a lot of our own cooking. I would cook together with my friends to save money. But also, I think you could have gotten away with going out to eat pretty often. 

What were some of the most memorable experiences from your semester?

Because I was abroad in the Spring, we celebrated Carnival, which is a big holiday in Portugal. So fun. They had a festival in the main park in Lisbon; right in the very center of the city. It went until like 6am or something. I never stay out all night, but we made it a goal to go out the entire night until morning. The festival ended; we all came out and the sun was up. We thought about going to the beach but we were all so beat that we just laid in the park. 

Another major holiday is Carnation Day, which celebrates the anniversary of the non-violent Carnation Revolution that overthrew the dictatorship. It just happened to be the 50th anniversary when I was there.  Everyone had carnations.  There was a big celebration with fireworks in the main plaza that faces the harbor. 

What’s something that you learned about yourself studying abroad?

I think what I learned from being abroad was to be more flexible and that I worry too much. 

Lisbon wasn’t even on my list originally because I wanted a program that was going to fulfill some of my requirements for my film major.  There weren’t many film options that appealed to me, so I decided to focus on a program that would fulfill my environmental studies requirements instead. Honestly, I kind of just stumbled into this program. I knew that I didn’t want to go too far. I knew coming out of winter, it would be pretty cold in a lot of places, and I wanted to go somewhere warm. 

After all of the immersive experiences I had on this program, I’m so glad that I chose to focus on environmental studies. I can still remember the days before flying out, when I was so stressed and anxious about everything.  But then, I flew in, landed, and all went well.  Two days into the program, I felt like I already knew people who would be my really good friends. I challenged myself to learn a new language. And I learned that even though I didn’t stick to my original path, everything worked out. 

1. The views and/or opinions represented in the GEO blog belong solely to the student(s) and do not represent Swarthmore College; students are not liable for any errors or omissions in the personal experiences they share. ↩︎