Impressions of a Dutch Servas, after his visit to Portugal!

Recebemos esta mensagem de um viajante Servas, da Holanda, que muito nos sensibilizou e agradecemos. Com a devida autorização, transcrevêmo-la na versão original.

Servascontacts Louis van Wegen in Lissabon, October 2009.


Hello dear members of Servas in Portugal and Holland,


In former occasions I met members of Servas in Brasil, Spain en Scotland. This time I spent my holidays in Lissabon with the aim to learn Portuguese.

My contacts with the Portuguese members of Servas were very pleasant. Meeting them was a good opportunity to get a lot of answers to the questions I had. There have been a lot of things I wouldn’t have noticed without these persons that I met at this intimate level.

Of course all these experiences have helped me in the long process of learning to speak Portuguese, it has given me inspiration to carry on. Now in Holland I’m reading the book O Alquimista by Paulo Coulho in Portuguese and friends have had contacts with people they know who have interest in learning Dutch and make a combination with me and my wish to learn Portuguese.



I attended school during two weeks every morning and in the afternoon I took part in excursions organized by the same school. During these two weeks I met Alexandra Ribeiro and Raquel. During the third week of this holiday I had no school so I had more time. In this week I met Alexandra and Raquel again, apart of them I also met Carla Kristenson. Meeting Alexandra in the museum we both visited separately because I could’nt reach her by telephone was a very special experience. Meeting Raquel, her husband and daughter, and Carla at the presentation of Jose Saramagos book Caim, was another.

At Luisa and Nuno’s place I didn’t spend much time but Nuno lent me his car to visit Evora en Sintra. Talk about hospitality, this is an experience that I explained to very many persons I met the last two weeks since I’m home again.

Monica Carmargo took me to another world in the surroundings of Comporta. I would like to return very much with my wife, someday, somehow. This is because I prefer to spend my holidays in the company of her, our daughter, relatives and/or friends in the countryside.



All servasmembers who answered my e-mails, who accompanied me and who shared a part of their lives with me I want to thank very much.



Think of me when you visit Holland.



Keep op this spirit and have a good time,



Louis van Wegen.