Castles, Culture and Camaraderie
Before I begin, let’s just set the stage….I’m a girl from the corn fields of Central IL, I’m not well traveled and I’ve never been to Europe until this experience. WOW what an amazing place Portugal is.
Over the last week I’ve not only gotten an education on how seamless the Havas Village in Lisbon works, but my hosts have gone out of their way to give us the opportunity to get out of the office and enjoy the amazing culture of Lisbon.
Have you ever seen a Castle in real life? Wow, just wow. Living in the US, such a young country, we don’t get the opportunity to experience structures this prominent and expansive. In Lisbon, we explored the Castelo de S. Jorge, a hilltop moorish castle complete with ancient statues and live peacocks that walk the grounds. The next day, we traveled via train to the small town of Sintra where we took in the sight from 2 additional castles: The Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, and WOW can you say VIEWS! At each sight, I had chills. I am just so in awe at how these cities can honor the architectural, provincial and historical significance their cities are built on, while also balancing such a modern, progressive and hip culture. It’s amazing.
On that note, the culture is crazy here. It’s true, I have my share of fun and late-ish nights in Chicago, but to borrow from the cultural lexicon….they get LIT in Portugal! From the tapas and never-ending house wines to the parties that don’t start until 12am to the bass bumping Portuguese hip-hop, you feel a sense of belonging where ever you go. I was able to go down to Pink Street, a famous area of Lisbon which used to be sort-of a “red-light” district, and I also attended the biggest Halloween party in the country thrown by Fox Networks. In both situations, even as an American outsider, every person I encountered treated me like I’ve lived here my whole life….even the Uber drivers!
In terms of work, camaraderie is the best way to describe how the Havas Lisbon Village operates. They all have such an apparent mutual respect and trust in each other’s vision and point of view. This week, I sat in on an inspiring new business pitch briefing/brainstorm. The room was filled with people from all disciplines and the rich conversation, debates and give-and-take was truly exciting. We each walked away with a mini-assignment and a feeling like we made meaningful progress TOGETHER. And that same camaraderie extends to the relationships the teams have with clients. In another meeting, our team felt as if the insight (provided by the client) could be stronger. We worked internally to align on a hard hitting insight that strategy, account and creative felt comfortable with, worked together across disciplines to merge ideas with the client insights, presented multiple ways in and had separate client conversations to make sure everyone was on the same page…..AND all within in the timeline. I’m so impressed by the internal team’s dedication and due-diligence to set the work up for success, I can’t wait to see the work!
So, whether it’s castles, culture or creative insights, the camaraderie between the people of Portugal is aspirational and un-matched. Bravo!
