A Taste of Porto: Growth, Connection, and Discovery Abroad

GRIP: Wine, Heritage, and Hospitality in Porto, Portugal

Cover photo: Cálem Cellar view from Dom Luís I Bridge (taken with with Nikon D3200)

If someone in the past would have told me that I would be spending my freshman summer after college in Porto, Portugal giving wine tours, I would have called them absolutely insane. Now, during my freshman summer, I find myself immersed in Portuguese culture. This, as well as being an expert in Port Wine (delicious I may say), was not something that was on my bingo card for my college journey. My GRIP experience has been one of the most influential and eye opening experiences in my life. Through my time here, I have been able to see the beauty of this amazing city, as well as create lasting bonds with my coworkers that I will be able to leverage for a very long time. It has been an experience that I can reflect on and think about so many aspects that have been serving me so well up to this point.

While this placement has allowed me to cultivate relationships with my fellow students, it has also allowed me to spend a lot of time with myself. Initially, the commute to work was something that I looked at as nothing less than treacherous. It was a forty minute walk up and down extremely large hills, and I had only myself to think to and sit, or in this case, walk, with my thoughts. Something that really struck me amongst my first couple of walking commutes was the beauty of the city of Porto. The terracotta roofs of the buildings, the windy streets sculpted by tall, flat buildings on each side, and the city squares with open spaces and amazing architecture. Porto is a very walkable and vibrant city. Through this, I began to see the value in doing things by myself. I was always someone who thrived off connection with others and being around my friends, but being here in Porto allowed me to see the beauty in spending time solo. I began to bring my camera everywhere I went, snapping photos of everything and anything. I feel much more connected to myself and in-touch with my feelings, as it is only my camera and I to sit with them. For better or for worse, I found out about the Metro and have been using that since, but the beautiful views that I get never get old.

Another aspect of this placement that I have been very happy with is the connections I have developed with my coworkers. The first day was daunting, as I am not someone who speaks Portuguese. Immediately as I walked into Cálem, I heard multitudes of unfamiliar languages being spoken. Thoughts of not being able to understand anything started racing through my mind, until two of my coworkers came up to me and introduced themselves with a smile, speaking near-perfect English. Days passed, and I realized that all of my colleagues were wonderful and extremely interesting people. It was fascinating to connect with them over certain things, love for football being a main point, and also to learn about how their perspectives differ from mine. Despite the language difference, we still were able to bond. If a conversation was in Portuguese, everyone would be more than willing to translate, and even help me to pick up some Portuguese. Since my start date, I have been invited over to two different colleague’s houses for dinner, as well as taken an amazing trip to the national park called Gerês. Through increased interaction with them, I can feel my worldview growing, as I feel that different perspectives are very important to create a well-wounded person.

“Hello everyone, my name is Jayden, I am American if you could not tell by the accent or maybe lack there-of. Welcome to Porto and welcome to Cálem. Today I will be giving you a tour of our wonderful cellars, teaching you about Port Wine, its history, and then leading a tasting at the end of the tour…”. This is the typical start to my visits that usually gets a laugh out of the clients. Learning about Port has been extremely interesting. At Penn, it is very easy to be caught up in your area of study, in my case finance, but it is always great when you are able to step outside of the bubble and learn about something else interesting. In addition, I have loved being able to speak and interact with a diverse set of clients, as there are so many interesting people that I have met. There are many people that I meet that I would never have gotten to know if it weren’t for them coming on one of my tours. This has also taught me the value of consistency. I need to make sure that I give each tour the same amount of energy, and show up in the same way I do–whether it be my first or last tour of the day. There has been a lot I have been able to learn through my experience working at Cálem.

While things seemed very unfamiliar at first, Porto has turned into more than just an internship placement, but my temporary home. The people that I have met here will turn into lifelong friends of mine, giving me a community abroad that I have plans to visit. I like to compare my experience to cleaning up wine glasses in Sala de Provost, the tasting room. At first, things were unfamiliar and I was not too sure what was going on. At this same time, I was only able to take one or two glasses in my hand for them to be cleaned. As time went on and I began to learn more, develop more relationships, and experience Porto more, I grew as a person, and began to be able to take more glasses. Now, I feel very comfortable with my colleagues, giving the tours, and with Porto as a place–I can now hold up to twelve tasting classes with my two hands. As I grew in this experience, my ability to carry glasses has grown as well. I am looking forward to the next month of my internship.