On February 25th, 2018, I had the privilege of  spending Sunday afternoon and evening with Sara Lorenzano.

 

t was Sunday, February 25th, 2018 at 2:30 P.M. when I first met 29 year old Sara Lorenzano on the Duoro river in Porto, Portugal. She is a Porto local born and raised in Crotone, Italy. The day was not too warm and not too cold. Sara had long dark hair and wore a beautiful black dress with red roses on it, black stockings, and black, knee-high. Sara’s gestures were modest and soft, the type that couldn't hurt a fly. Her English was excellent. She moved to Porto, Portugal not knowing any Portuguese or English but learned them both in seven years. She reminds us all that anything is possible when you set your mind to it.

 

Sara was reading Pride and Prejudice, a romance novel. It was in Italien, her mother language. This novel highlights the importance of marrying for love and not just money. Sara relates to it because her boyfriend and true love is living in Italy, but she is living alone in Portugal. Sara was rather sad when I first met her because she was thinking about how much she misses him and the hard choice of leaving her accountancy job to return to Italy to be with him.

 

At 3 P.M. Sara brought me to Buondi, a café built into the Dom Luis I bridge on the Duoro river to have an espresso. Dom Luis I designed this bridge as well as the Eiffel tower in Paris, France. The place was lively and she pointed out that the best seats, closest to water, are always taken.

 

Sara was surprised when I told her I’ve never smoked before; it is quite normal for people to smoke in Europe, unlike in the States. She humorously told me it’s a “stupid” habit.

 

Only moments later did Sara show me her other true love, Joana. The cat’s name is a typical Porto name. She is named after the festival of San Joao, that happens every year on the night of June 23rd in the city of Porto.

 

Sometimes love is painful. Even though Joana gives her scars, Sara still loves her anyway. Universally, people are willing to risk getting hurt for those they love.

 

Before Sara and I got up to leave, she took a photo of a couple sitting on the Duono river. The couple reminds her of her longing to be with her boyfriend in Italy.

 

As we strolled through the city, Sara showed me these yellow arrows that can be seen throughout Porto. Catholics painted them as a pilgrimage leading the way to “Santiago de Compostela,” where biblical apostle St. James is allegedly buried. Sara is catholic herself and would like to visit St. James in the future. She told me that she would also like to go to Sunday mass more often.

 

We then headed to pingo doce, a local grocery story Sara usually visits. Sara was parched, so we  picked up a large bottle of water for only a couple of euros.

 

Sara has many memories of Matosinhos beach. This was our last stop, and I’m thankful Sara enthousiastically showed me around Porto, and I am glad I got the experience to learn more about her.

 

On the day we met, we were both melancholy because we were searching for something. Instead of working in business, Sara would like to work as a teacher in Italy. I was searching for a photo story to tell and was having no success. However, once we started chatting, both of our days got much brighter. Both of us made an effort to learn about the other, thus bridging a gap between two cultures.