Predeparture topics

A few answers to the questions you could have before the departure :
about transport, things to bring to Portugal, examples of prices, and the dilema : should you learn portuguese before you come...

• Choose your transport

By plane
Localization of the airport of Lisbon
By plane you can often travel with a 20 kg luggage in the baggage hold, and a little one you can keep with you in the plane

The airport is located within the city, and there are various means of tranport to Pragal:
Autobuses ( Company Carris 1.35€), underground, taxis and even train.
Of course, if you let Mó de Vida team know when you arrive, Nuno will pick you up.

By bus

The company you will probably use is Eurolines.The weight of your luggage is not important, but its size is.

Buses are not very comfortable and the trip may seem very long, nevertheless it is cheap and may be a pleasant way to discover european landscapes while you are travelling !

In Lisbon, there is two eurolines bus stations
Oriente station:
it is located at this adress:
Av. D. Joao II Loja G203 - Gare Oriente - Tél. 218 957 398
Sete Rios station: Rua Lucília Simões, 13A 1500-386, Lisboa
Nuno from Mó de Vida team usually picks you up at the bus station.

By car
Roads in Spain and Portugal are pretty good, and there are very few tolls, especially in Spain. Gas is cheaper in Spain than in Portugal, so you would better fill the car up before the frontier!

You can park near the apartment Mó de vida provides to the volunteers, even if it not always easy to find room to park the car. Anyway, once you are in Pragal, you won't need your car anymore, because there is public transports near the apartment.

By train
If you want to come by train, you will have to search information in your home country, and search the train company of every country you cross.
portuguese rail company : comboios de portugal
Depending on your home country of departure, prices may vary a lot. Of course, the longer the trip lasts, the more expensive it will be. That is why it might sometimes be cheaper to buy a interrail ticket.

• Things you should bring in your luggage

The flat currently rent by Mó de Vida for the volunteers is very well equipped.
Nevertheless, we strongly advise to bring warm clothes ! Why ? First, because there is no central heating in portuguese houses, and sometimes winter is not so much warm ( at least this year, January 2009 !! ) ; and then because Mó de vida world shop is also very cold !

And in order to enjoy your free time, you should not forget:
- sleeping bag and maybe a tent, for your trips during your stay
- sports equipment, because there are lots of sports facilities near the flat: swimming-pool, a big park, many sports associations ...

• Prices in Portugal, a few examples

Bars
Beer : 1-1.5€
Coffee: 0.70€
tea:1.5€
Caipirinha: 3€
Glass of red wine: 2-2.5€
Restaurants
Main dish + drink + desert : about 10-15€
Cinema
With EVS youth card:
Cinema São Jorge (Lisboa, avenida da Libertade) : 2-3€
Others : about 4.5€
Gas
Cheaper in Spain !
As an example, on january 2009, diesel costs about 0.90€ (about 0.80€ in Spain)
Cigarettes
Also cheaper in spain !
About 3.5€ in Portugal

• Learning portuguese before your departure ?
  

Yes!
It is of course useful to know a few words in Portuguese before your arrival, we can't say it is not!
There are lots of books with cds that may help you speak and a basic portuguese in a few weeks.
For those who already speak a latin language, written portuguese is very easy. Nevertheless, oral portuguese is really special ! Pronunciation may seem very strange (lots of ssshhh and nasal sounds) and difficult to understand. That is why watching portuguese movies for example may be useful to get used to listening to the language.
The use of portuguese verbs is also hard to learn, because the portuguese verb sytem is quite complicated, with rules you won't find in any other language!
No!
As it was said before, if you already master a latin language, you won't be totally lost when you arrive in Portugal.
Moreover, many members of Mó de Vida team speak other languages, such as english, spanish or french...you will always find a mean to communicate !
You will also be provided portuguese lessons, from the beginning of your EVS. The current teacher is Rodrigo and classes are scheduled once a week.