Pembroke Travels: Cassie Lloyd-Watson and Olivia Walsh

Pembroke undergraduate linguists Cassie Lloyd-Watson (2021, Spanish and Portuguese) and Olivia Walsh (2021, Spanish and Portuguese) were eager to spend their first Oxford vacation bringing their studies to life in a ‘real world’ context. In September 2022, with financial support from Pembroke, Cassie and Olivia took a trip to Lisbon to improve their language skills and experience Portuguese culture first-hand.

During their trip, Cassie and Olivia spent weekday mornings on a language course run by The Institute of Portuguese Language and Culture (IPLC) at the University of Lisbon. They were given grammar and vocabulary lessons alongside listening and speaking exercises, and were encouraged to engage in conversation with other students and staff.

In their report, Cassie and Olivia remark on the valuable opportunity to hear and speak European Portuguese with their teachers, while being exposed to Brazilian Portuguese in conversation with the cleaner at their apartment. They also developed a greater appreciation of different Portuguese dialects, recalling: “in Porto, if you want to order a coffee you should ask for a ‘cimbalino’, or, in Lisbon it’s a ‘bica’. Life in Portugal, however, revolves around coffee drinking and ‘café’ is understood everywhere!”

When not in classes or completing homework, the two spent time exploring the different districts of Lisbon, travelling to nearby towns, and visiting historical monuments – often making interesting links with their studies. They describe stumbling across a statue of 16th century poet Luis de Camões: “the monument is a nation’s tribute to a major figure of the Portuguese Renaissance, and it was especially interesting for us to see as the Portuguese Department in Oxford is named the Instituto Camões Centre.” While staying in the city, they witnessed a rally for Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula). Moments like this not only familiarised them with Brazilian Portuguese, but also with Brazilian politics and its cultural importance.

On one of many trips out of the city, a visit to nearby Sintra saw them explore the ancient ruins of Castelo dos Mouros (The Castle of the Moors). Walking around the remains “vividly brought the history of the Moorish occupation to life. Cassie especially enjoyed this visit, as she is interested in medieval history and plans to study relations between Christians and Moors in the Iberian Peninsula for her extended research project during fourth year.”

Their visits to various monuments were interspersed with afternoons spent soaking up the atmosphere and character of Lisbon’s historic districts. Cassie and Olivia describe “eye-catching buildings with pretty pastel exteriors, attractive terracotta roofs, decorative azulejo (ceramic tilework) and elaborate wrought iron balconies; as well as beautiful churches, quaint praças (squares) and an eclectic mix of street art.”

They conclude that “we both loved our time in Lisbon and it hugely enriched our learning. Our language skills improved, especially our confidence in speaking, and we really got to know the city well. […] Back in Oxford the experience is now helping us to make a more informed decision about where to spend our third year abroad, in Portugal or Brazil, as we need to choose either European or Brazilian Portuguese for Final Honours School.”

Read Cassie and Olivia's full report here.

Cassie and Olivia’s trip was funded by Pembroke’s Tutorials Plus Award and the Picot Prize. Learn more about our travel funds here.