Hey there! It's been quite a while. I'm in the waning hours of my adventure in Portugal, sitting on a bench in the Zoological gardens (the free part), specifically the "Banco da Americana". Apparently this bench was built for an American woman who donated a lot of money in 1940, anonymously, and the only thing the zoo knew was her nationality. So they built a bench in the hope that some day she would come back to the zoo which inspired her to donate, and sit in it. Who knows, maybe she has?
And really, I'm sad. Eric's already left for the States and now I'm here in the city alone. Lisbon. It's beautiful in a very European way of oozing with history, fashion and modernity all at the same time. It strikes a balance between being a gateway - and destination - for tourists, and being a very functional city. I've found that both here in Lisbon and in all the other cities we went to (Oporto, Viana de Castelo, Coimbra, Faro and Albufeira), speaking Portuguese has been a wonderful advantage. Though by my accent they can tell that I'm not local, it often puts a smile on Portuguese faces. Amazing how many times I spoke Portuguese with a hotel desk cleark, they answered the phone in English, then went back to Portuguese with me. Slowly, but clearly.
It's also incredible to me how Eric and I can come from a year in places so far opposite (that they don't seem to be of the same world) and meet here, looking to do roughly the same stuff - that is, randomly hop on trains, stay somewhere warm, catch up on the past few months, and see...stuff.
It's also occurred to me over the past few days, especially on Christmas, how much I really still do miss everyone, and that maybe I should have gone back to the States. I keep waffling in that decision, but like I was saying before I left and I would have been saying in the States, it's only two years. There's a ton of ways to look at two years as 800 days of missed opportunities, etc., but no matter where you are, there are thousands of places you aren't, missing out on things you'll never do.
So this trip was really about realizing that - and that truly close friends are always in some way together. As promised, Eric and I talked about the future. It's really fantasizing, talking about the future, no matter how "realistic" it may be. The future's always a guess until you get there. But I admit, it's fun to gues.
What am I going to do? Where am I going to live? Who is going to be impotrant to me? Who will I be important to?
Maybe it's too early to think about this, but in a little over a week, I go down to Maputo to complete a physical exam, then come back to town to do school work, then the midservice conference comes around, afterwards the first trimester of school. 12 weeks later, I'm on a little break to see other parts of Moz. Then, 12 more weeks, my father visits, then the final 13 weeks of school. It's all sitting out there in front of me.
But first, Portugal.
I arrived in Lisbon on what felt like a very cold morning, under Eric's guidance. We got to the hotel after a significant hike - I seem to have forgotten about hills - and started exploring right away. We climbed up to the castle that rules Lisbon, in awe of its grandeur and power. From that vantage point, I'm sure the Portuguese monarchy felt like it owned the world, and in a sense, it really did. This relatively small country (about 8 train hours to cross the long way), a product of conquerors themselves, ruled the seas and colonized many different parts of the world. In the end, if 1975 can be considered as such, the country and language shrank finally from its incredible heights, leaving indelible cultural earmarks in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Portuguese has fallen from being one of the top 5 most-spoken languages, to being about 8th. The country consists of the mainland and a few beautiful islands. The people remain selfless and friendly, though the country has, in many places, fallen into disrepair.
This is not evident in Lisbon, though, a city that, in its sprawl, welcomes citizens of seemingly every other country on the globe in obviously modern apartment buildings, using slick new public transportation and every possible electricity-saving method possible. Though I see it every day in Mozambique, it was relatively shocking to see clothes hung out to try in even the more affluent areas.
Cars are quick and small, lights, escalators and other public appliances turn themselves off when not needed, gas and cigarettes are well-taxed and conscientiously so (though it's hard to find a Portuguese who doesn't smoke), the money is intelligently made (though it's the Euro, and Portugal can't take credit for that), all tickets are smartly and easily bought at vending machines, police are present and helpful - and stay out of the way - and pedestrian traffic is a major priority.
Lisbon is a city that, like other European cities and unlike most American cities, runs itself efficiently, cleanly and modestly.
Although Eric and I spent a lot of time looking for restaurants, mainly because the Portuguese schedule is so different than what we're used to, food in Lisbon was excellent, even when we ended up in average eateries. We spent about 2 hours the first night wandering the area around our hotel looking for a dinner place after a recommended Buddhist vegetarian place fell through. We found some very ordinary restaurants - and extraordinary ones out of our price range - but ended up settling on a place I can't even recall. I know I'd remember it if the food were bad, though!
Bed the next day was hard to get out of - being so warm, and me being so cold - but we did, and quickly hopped on a train out to Porto. The train was an Alfa Pendular, meaning that it was a high-speed tilt train. We were so amazed by the comfort and technology that the trip flew by. We arrived in Porto, found a great Pensao in the middle of town, and immediately started to explore, being wowed by the river cutting through the city, creating vine-covered walls for a couple hundred feet on both sides. The combination of rundown houses built into the banks, train tunnels weaving through the sides above them, and well-placed bridges all along framing the scene, brought back memories of playing with an old train set and adding scenery, much like the naturally existing environment here. Porto is definitely the most beautiful city we saw.
Peace
John
