As a first time international traveler, I was nervous to embark on a journey to Portugal. With a bookbag full of cameras and a suitcase with tightly packed linens, my partner and I held hands as we patiently waited on the runway for departure. I had given some thought to setting an intention for the trip and decided I would use this opportunity to create my first travel film. Little did I know, Portugal would challenge my perspective as an artist and change my relationship with film. 

Any lingering anxiety about the trip was quelled within hours of arriving in one of Lisbon’s oldest towns, Alfama. Many Africans occupied the streets here, a reality that surprised me as I did not expect to see many folks that looked like me. These were people of Cape Verdean and Angolan decent. They gazed at me with familiarity and admiration, waving and nodding as we passed by. What was further disarming was that many people spoke great English. One younger man stopped me to tell me that I looked like a movie star from New York. I would learn that Americans are easily identifiable abroad. 

This day was a special occasion, my partner, Danielle would be celebrating her birthday and we had booked a sunset boat tour with a wine tasting. Not long before sunset, a pod of a dozen dolphins surfaced and began traveling swiftly beside the cruising boat, laughing as they splashed about, we all grabbed our phones and cameras to take pictures. In this surreal moment, we knew we had arrived in a special place.