ONDACITY

29/11/2017

Walking down the street, you might come across the following painting on one of the walls.
It is an image that can bring so many things in mind. For me, it just brought one question:
How do you spread happiness to others? How do you help them enjoy life, just a little bit more? What's your weapon of joy?
On my side, I love to help people follow their path in life, and this is one of the reasons I love working for OndaCity. OndaCity gave me the chance to talk with so many wonderful international students, while building our community. And every time I could, I tried to help them realize how they can pursue their dreams and work in an area they love working in. But I consider myself amazingly lucky because those discussions helped me so many times understand better my life. I want to thank all of our guests with who I had so many wonderful conversations over those months for the input, the enthusiasm and the joy their brought to me and OndaCity! We love having you around!

27/11/2017

One of the reasons I loved Lisbon when I first came here to study, was because of all those amazing artists, performing infront of my eyes in the streets of Lisbon.
People playing music, artists pretending to be statues, jugglers throwing objects in the air.
I was lucky enough to live in Mouraria, one of the most traditional areas of Lisbon, right in the center of the city, so I was, almost daily, taking a walk on those streets. Lisbon is a great city to study, to explore, to discover.
What do you love about Lisbon? Let me know in the comments :-)
Dimitris

25/11/2017

One more beautiful article about Sesimbra, one of Portugal's most beautiful beaches. Although the weather is getting colder, I thought it will be nice to share this article by Melanie, one of OndaCity's guests:

Today is beach day – and I really wish everyday would be beach day. Lisbon has, seriously, some of the most amazing beaches to offer, and some of t...

24/11/2017

Ok, today I would like to talk about travelling!
You see, I visited the monument of the discoveries and went all the way to the top. From up there you can see the picture I just posted. You can see... the world.
This is a wonderful place where people like to go, and jump on the map to all the locations they have traveled to. You can see students playing around and sharing stories from the places they have been.
I love these stories. But those stories would never have happened if those people hadn't decide to get out of the comfort zone, study or work abroad.
What about you? Do you have any plans of travelling soon?
And for those whose Erasmus days are passing too fast, was Lisbon the right place to visit?

22/11/2017

Stop! Stop! Yes you! Stop! Smell this.
I stopped. What just happened?
This morning I decided not to go straight to work. You see next to us, we have Mercado da Ribeira (most known as Time out market). You can find wonderful restaurants inside, a market and even secondhome (a beautiful space filled with entrepreneurs following their dreams and changing the world, one piece at a time).
So, this morning, I decided to pass through the market. As I was crossing, a woman just "screamed" at me: Stop! Stop! Yes you! Stop! Smell this.
And she gave this lemon. I stopped and smelled it. And then I though:
We never do that anymore. We don't stop. We go from one thing to another, or we just spend our time in front of a screen. Immediately when we have no time to do something, what do we do? We reach out for our mobile. We check. And then back to what we were doing. We don't stop.
I made a promise to myself to stop more often. To stop and See more often; to stop and Smell; to stop and Listen. And I feel so lucky, because Lisbon has so many places to stop, so many places to experience: viewpoints, the bridge, the river, expo, Alfama, the center, the parks...
What is your favorite place to stop in Lisbon? Let me know in the comments, I would love to know!

20/11/2017

A tuk-tuk. Why would someone post about a tuk-tuk? Well, let me explain.
When I arrived to Portugal, four years ago, there was not a single tuk-tuk. To be honest, till that moment, I hadn't event heard the word.
And then one appeared, about two years ago. Before you knew it, tuk-tuks were everywhere. Literally, everywhere. Tourists were enjoying them so much!
But, the locals... Well, when you live in one of the most traditional and beautiful areas of Lisbon, Alfama, you are not used to the noise. There are only a handful of cars that can pass through the tiny streets of Alfama. And now, suddenly, everything changed: noise, a huge number of tourists, people squeezing next to doorsteps to let the tuk-tuks pass. The locals expressed their dissatisfaction.
And Lisbon, as usual, found a balance. I will not tell you what it is, I want you to go there, walk Alfama and discover it yourselves.
But this is not a story just about Alfama. Tourism has been increasing more and more every year, Lisbon keeps winning international awards for best destination or safest city. We love to be a part of that, and see how this beautiful place transforms and finds new balances!
I have talked before about Lisbon as the city that accommodates beautifully the old and the new. This is one more of those times that I remember why I am in love with that city...
What do you like about the city? Let us know in the comments!

18/11/2017

Here is Alfama, through the eyes of Melanie Malz, one of OndaCity's guests. Interested in discovering some cool little corners? Take a look!

Today has been quite a crazy day – and a moving one (literally!). For a few days, I decided to move in with two friends from my university, who liv...

17/11/2017

"This is not fair!" I said. And it felt so bad to witness it. It felt even worse when I got involved. But something stopped me. But you have no idea what I am talking about so let me take you a step back.
You see, I happened to see something that made me feel angry and weak at the same time.
In the metro, I saw a father, a father of two little boys. And the father was screaming at one of them in Portuguese. I was holding my son at that moment and he was giving me a big hug. I felt so bad about the little boy and, with a strange Greek-German accent I screamed at the father, also in Portuguese: "HEY! What are you doing there?" The father stopped and looked at me. Now, I have been involved in martial arts for many years, even training others for a while, so it was obvious that I was ready to get physical to protect the child.
He asked me back "What do you want?". And then I stopped, I froze. What was I doing? I know that a father screaming to a child is horrible, but how much more horrible it must be to see his father in a fight with someone? My son was also watching. Who am I to judge? I had no idea why that father was screaming. He might be a wonderful father, but in the worst moment of his life.
I got out. And then I saw again the picture I just posted. It is in the center of Lisbon, in Rossio square. " the city of tolerance" it says (ok, no hashtag). And it truly is. Lisbon is so welcoming to all international people, expats and students. The Portuguese people are so polite and ready to help, the city invites you to discover it. It just made me remember: we do not know what a person passes through, but we are always so fast to judge. We have no tolerance, our corners are so sharp.
I love this city, it helps me grow every day.
How do you feel about Lisbon? I would love to hear your story, I would love to know how it helped you grow.

15/11/2017

This is a picture of Lisbon's pavement (well technically not pavement, but of a pedestrian street, Rua Augusta, that leads to our office). Why would someone post a picture of a pavement? Because this is a special pavement. And I know some of you would say that I get excited about the stupidest of things, and I do, and I want to share it with you.
You see, this is one of the unique things that I love about Portugal. People spend thousands of hours, putting one by one these little stones. They could do it the usual way, throw some cement and get it done in one day. But no. They wanted to make something beautiful, something special. And they did.
I feel that our lives should have more of that. We are all focused in getting more, finishing faster, doing things the easy way. But life becomes so much more beautiful when you decide to find something beautiful, something beautiful for YOU, even if it takes time, even if it means nothing for other people.
I don't have something like that, but I would love to have. I miss it.
Do you do something in your life, something you find beautiful but others might not?

14/11/2017

A beautiful article from Melanie Malz, one of OndaCity's guests. It turns out that moving to another country forces us to rediscover ourselves, especially when we are somewhere around 21 years old. Take a look and let us know if you can relate:

There are a few things the Erasmus semester is known for: S*x, Alcohol, Travel, Fun, Study. Kind of in this order I guess (which does not mean I follow this order). But once you’ve …

10/11/2017

Follow our team building experience on a caravela today! Check our insta stories!