Arshpreet Kaur

“My name is Arshpreet, I am from India, Punjab, and I am 15 years old. I have been living in Portugal for about 3 years. I have two siblings and I go to school in São Teotónio.”

Arshpreet lives with her family in Brejão, in a typically Alentejo-style house. Her parents work in intensive agriculture companies. She always invites us in when we give her a ride home. Her mother has snacks and drinks prepared.

“We came here for a better life, for work. Here there are better conditions.”

As a child in India, Arshpreet used to exchange clothes with her best friend and make new outfits with her mother's scarves. She has always enjoyed being creative. She loved playing outside and talking to older people. Nowadays, she is passionate about photography.

“In Portugal I feel amazing. However, sometimes in school it can be difficult with the Portuguese people, when they don’t treat us the same as the others. Otherwise I feel fine. I am having more portuguese friends now and it feels good to be here. At school I speak portuguese and at home I help everyone with it. My mom always calls me to ask 'What is this? What is that? What does this mean?”

When we first met in 2021, she was a shy and discrete girl. She was in the 7th grade at São Teotónio School, attending Portuguese as a Non-Native Language (PLNM) class.

“I remember the first day. Your presentation and you telling us what you do and what the project was. At first, I thought it was boring.”

Over time, Arshpreet gained enthusiasm for the project, and in our first performance, she gave a Punjabi lesson to the audience on top of a stone table in the darkness of a forest.

“Suddenly I felt it was changing, it was getting more interesting and enjoyable. It was when we started to meet with more people, mixing up groups, then learning new dances, writing.”

In the second performance, Arshpreet taught the Punjabi alphabet, asking the audience to repeat it with her in a crowded square.