Blogs from Porto, Northern, Portugal, Europe - page 26

Left the hotel at 6:30 this morning for the Dublin airport. Got a little worried when our flight was slightly delayed about half an hour (because that was the way my flight from Charlotte to Frankfurt started), but we got to Porto OK (well, most of us did....) Sadly (and surprisingly), three of our group had to stay in Dublin because of visa troubles. One is Chinese, and the other two are Peruvian, and they had visited Germany before coming to Ireland to meet the class. Turns out that they had applied for a "multiple entry" visa but got a "single entry" visa instead (and didn't realize this before they left). So, their entry into Germany counted as their one entry, and once they left Germany for Ireland, they couldn't get back into Portugal and Spain. ... read more

The school had a little ceremony for Juliana, who is from Columbia and has been studying here for a month, and me. Mostly fr her since she's been here longer is part of a group class, whereas, I was only here a week and had a private class and didn't reattly become part of the school the way she did. Very good atmosphere at the school, especially for young folks. It served me well, but I was only wanting to learn the language. Anyway, it was a very nice little party with Port and pastries. It's raining lightly here today, so it makes leaving a little easier. If I can, I'll make an entry tomorrow, but I may not since I don't know what kind of internet services they have in Guimaraes where I'm going. It ... read more

I had a different teacher today from Monday and Tuesday, a young woman, studying to be a teacher and is now doing her student teaching with two other students. Since she’s from Porto, she was able to answer most of my questions about life here. Her passion is for literature, writing, poetry, etc. he even quoted from memory lines from Portugal’s most famous poet, Luis Camoes—I probably spelled that wrong, but I’ll for sure do some research on him when I get home. Great lesson! I told you yesterday that I would go to the planetarium today, but I found out it is not open on weekdays, so I went to the trolley car museum instead. What luck! There were two actresses, who put on a show for a group of six year-olds. I’ think I ... read more

No, that’s not Portuguese. That’s an Italian rhetorical question—literally, “Who made me do this?” The obvious answer is that whatever situation you're in is of your own making. You did it to yourself, dummy. I always say this like a mantra when I first go to a foreign country because it's so much work to figure out the simplest things, like flushing the toilet. Sometimes it is a flat panel on the wall, sometimes a flat panel on the lid of the tank, and sometimes it is a knob to turn, rarely a handle to push down. However, I always have something happen that makes me glad I got myself into this. I hear a cell phone meow on the bus. (lots of original ring tones here). A short stocky woman about my age, slowly unzips ... read more

Amazing! Lots of coffee shops, but narry a single Starbucks anywhere! Cell phones are ubitiquous--lots of thumbs flashing, doing texting rather than long conversations in public places. I took the train to Porto today and now have the rest of today and all of tomorrow before I start school on Monday. The class is only for two hours, so I should get to know Porto pretty well. My host family is a wonderful woman, Consuela--grandparents were Spanish so she got a Spanish name. Very jolly lady, very helpful in spite of the fact she speaks no English--her hands work very hard to make up for what she knows isn´t understood by me. AND, thank God, only one short flight of stairs instead of 4 incredibly long ones. I met her brother. Not sure if he lives ... read more