Student Reflection by Joaquina Mendive (C’27 W’27, Portuguese target)
This summer, I was fortunate enough to study Portuguese in Lisbon, Portugal for four weeks. Through Huntsman summer funding, I enrolled in Lusa Language School while living in the city. It was a vast cultural experience, through which I not only reached a C1 level of proficiency but immersed myself in the vibrancy of Lisbon. Through Lusa’s courses, I acquired peers with whom I could practice and mentors who were there to help me and will continue to do so. In the dynamic environment, I interacted with students from all ages and walks of life, which made this a truly enriching experience. I was also able to make lasting friendships with fellow students from all over the world.
Last year, I began studying Portuguese with Professor Mercia Flannery, which quickly became one of my favorite experiences at Penn. I didn’t realize just how valuable the language portion of Huntsman would be to my academic career, as I attended class nearly every day of the week. Professor Flannery was from Brazil, and the accent and dialect differ more than anyone would think between the Portuguese-speaking regions of the world. Thus, I sought an experience to similarly expose me to a different Portuguese-speaking culture, while furthering my understanding of this complex language from a multicultural and multidimensional perspective. I enhanced my proficiency in the language to a C1 level while interacting, acquainting, and befriending myself with a country so rich with culture and a potential location for my semester abroad.
There are many things I will be bringing back with me to my studies from this experience. First and foremost, my development of Portuguese proficiency will serve me very well this year as I further my journey in acquiring the language. Furthermore, this experience was about cultural exposure and appreciation, something essential to the Huntsman and Penn experience overall. Every day, I’m surrounded by peers and professors from vastly different walks of life with a diverse wealth of knowledge. I am continuing to learn the value of seeking those conversations with those people which will teach me more about the different human experiences around the world than any other resource. Lastly, this experience taught me the importance of allowing myself to reach outside my comfort zone, and sit there comfortably. I enrolled in this program without knowing other students beforehand, and without having familiarity with the country. These reasons are precisely why my summer was as enriching, insightful, and formative as it was.
The Huntsman summer funding was what made this opportunity possible for me. Providing the ability to enroll in the school and board in Lisbon, allowed me to seek experiences outside of the classroom that were equally as meaningful, including seeing all the cultural emblems in and around Lisbon that only further acquainted me and taught me about the country of Portugal. The Lusa Language School was an amazing resource both in my studies and in out-of-the-classroom experiences, taking us to the most important museums and towns around Lisbon. A favorite moment of mine was when I learned that the mother of a friend I had made at the school was a Huntsman alum living in Portugal, proving that Huntsman students are truly global. I am greatly appreciative of this one-of-a-kind opportunity and to the Huntsman summer fund for this formative experience as a globally-minded student and citizen of the world.
