DAY 4, April 22
Reflection by Reade O’Hara ’25
On the fourth day of our Portugal adventure, we had a riveting schedule of events. From our 9:00 A.M lesson in Portuguese, to our guided tour of the Fragata D. Fernando II E Gloria and the Estadio Da Luz, many members of the choir consider today to be their favorite day so far on our journey.
Starting the day with a 7:00 a.m. wake-up, we made our way to the main lobby to have breakfast together. Shortly after, we had a brief rehearsal together, perfecting the choir’s unanimous favorite “Coffee” song.
Immediately following our rehearsal, we made our way downstairs to have a Portuguese lesson by Professor Angelo. Although our teacher promised us that we would be fluent in the language by the end of our hour-long lesson, I can assure you that the majority of us are still not even close to that goal.
We had a few minutes to gather our things before we left for our tour of the infamous Fragata D. Fernando II E Gloria and the Submarino Barracuda. On our tour of the Fragata, we learned about the roles of each of the workers on the sixty by twelve meter ship. Our impressive tour guide informed us that the ship sometimes held up to 600 people and 1000 different animals.
After our informative tour of the two ships, we had some free time around the area to have a bite to eat and buy some souvenirs. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and a lot of us got some sun (some, unfortunately, got more than others).
We met up as a group and embarked on a short bus ride to the world-famous Estadio Da Luz, home of the Sport Lisboa e Benifica soccer team. We started our adventure at the stadium by going through their museum; their showcases of their trophy collection was nothing short of spectacular. The museum showed the history of the club since its creation in 1904.
Following our tour of the museum, we followed our tour guide, João, around the stadium. Together, we first saw a replica of the entire stadium showing us a glimpse into what we would be experiencing shortly after. We then walked around the upper deck of the stadium, seeing the field from a fan’s point of view, and we stopped for a moment to take pictures of the stadium. Later, we visited the stadium’s locker room and even got to walk on the outskirts of the field, seeing what it would be like to actually be a player on Benifica Football Club. Promptly after our tour concluded, our wonderful instructor, Pablo, told us that we would have ten minutes to buy souvenirs in the shop, so we all hurried to look around and possibly purchase some merchandise.
After our tour of the stadium, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner together at a local restaurant where they served rice, chicken, french fries, and a plethora of desserts. Following the conclusion of our meal, we boarded back on the bus and went back to our hotel to have a brief, yet informative meeting together, led by Doctor Rozenberg.
Today was an informative, adventurous, and jam-packed day with fun activities, and our experience thus far in Portugal has certainly not disappointed.
BC High Concert Choir 