This is from MatildE

You know that saying «started from the bottom now we are here»? Well, the bottom start of my life was 20 years and a few months ago in Portugal, Lisbon. My name, as you can already guess by the title of this pseudo-autobiography, is Matilde (with an emphasized E, just to clear out that it is not pronounced with an A as it is Alt-J’s song). Right around when I turned ten, I moved almost as far north as you can go (but then again, Portugal is not that big) to a small town named Braga. At the age of 18 I decided to go back to my roots and apply for a college in Lisbon (the city does have my heart). Therefore, I am currently a Social Communication student and I love everything that is behind cameras: I love photography, I love filming and editing videos; but what I find myself particularly passionate about is capturing the realness in people.

Every time I leave my country, once I go back, I feel I love it even more than the last time. So, why decide to leave it for so long? I believe I am constantly learning new things about myself. This whole adventure in a foreign country is no different. I might be away from what I know as home, but I am gaining knowledge about myself, and even about my surroundings, more than I ever did. At the end of the day, we are all still trying to figure out who we are. That is just part of entering adulthood. As a portuguese singer once said, «the journey is the destination», indeed it is. It does not matter how you ended; it matters how you lived. So, at some point in our lives, home starts to be a state of mind and not a state of where we are or who we are with. At least I try to keep in mind that «time fades, we only have half a life left; if we look back, we lose what is coming».
But why Munich specifically? I have the ambition to discover as much of the world as I can. Dive in into new cultures. Connect with history. Have my eyes open to embrace reality. Germany always intrigued me, so I started to learn German. I do not know if you have ever heard about Fernando Pessoa, he is quite a celebrity around Portugal. He was a very literate poet and once he claimed «a minha pátria é a língua portugesa», which means «my home is Portuguese language». In fact, I also believe that there is a lot you can say about a country and its culture by learning its language and I find German, not only challenging, but also amazing. So here I am, “squeezing” Germany so I return to Portugal with a brand-new variety of sensations given by this wonderful city.

Up until now, my Erasmus experience reflects the SDRR effect. I know what you are thinking. It could in fact mean Sex, Drugs and Rockn’Roll, however I see it quite differently. The S stands for Saudade. That is a portuguese noun that cannot be translated in any other language, which makes it literally unique. It is basically the feeling of missing someone or something; so, as you feel love, sadness or anger, you can also feel saudade. The D is for Desperate housewife. Seriously, nothing happens to be magically clean or done as it normally would. I, for once, understand my mom when she starts to act hysterical. Lastly, the double R represents Really good beeR (bless you Oktoberfest).

At last, but not least since you are going to hear from me soon, what do my eyes say? Well, I would guess we have not yet seen it all.