Ink & Instinct: Notes from Portugal
By: Crystal Yeh, Wharton ’28
GRIP: Churchill’s in Porto, Portugal
On the first day of my arrival to Portugal, I bought a mini black notebook. I wanted to collect notes, stories, and words of wisdom. A yearbook of sorts.
“Just one step at a time and you’ll be fine!” – M.
2025 is the first year I have been out of the country, which I have Penn to thank for. Going abroad might have been one step, but it was a leap of faith. A leap where I had many people to catch me on the other side. The same people where I was learning their names and favorite colors on the first day have now become my go-to people for beaches, festivals, and restaurants. The spontaneity is just as fun or even more so than the planned itineraries. Just say yes, and you’ll go far!
“Hamlet use to say that great things are created in a space between method and madness. Go for it! The world is yours.” – W.
I had no prior knowledge of wine or worked any traditional hospitality or tourism jobs beforehand. The best tool in my toolbox for learning was just asking, “why?”
Why do we lay the bottles horizontally?
Why are the barrels sized that way?
What’s the difference between the flavor and aromas?
And just like that, in that first week, I gave my first tasting. I picked up my pen and wrote in my notebook everything I learned and sketched every detail I saw. In my madness, I began sketching scenes that passed throughout the day. A boat passing through the river. An old pair of friends playing chess by the water fountain in the park. A couple celebrating their honeymoon. I haven’t sketched in over two years, but I felt myself in that flow between method and madness as the ink hit the page. My curiosity expanded as I flipped the page.
“Faz o bem sem olhar a quem” – B.
Do good regardless of who it is and what they have done. With each stranger I meet, I hope to learn their backstory. Where they are traveling from, what occasion they are celebrating, and the memories they share over a glass. My greatest surprise was meeting a pair of friends from my hometown. Regardless of gender, age, status, or race, I welcome each customer with open arms. And, with my coworkers, I will always ask, “How can I help?” Put out good into the world, and the world will smile back at you.
As I continue my internship this summer, I hope to fill my notebook, but I know that even when the last page is used, my story is still unfinished.
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