Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Protect your Dreams

So one more thing before I head to bed, I stumbled across these 3 videos that I want to share.

Protect your dreams-


Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson, I shared this recently with Millah and Maia. Thank you both for reminding me how much I need to remember this, believe this, and share this.


We count! A black Agenda is the American Agenda- Powerful, powerful, powerful, I'm trying to sit at the next table.


Desire more from the world, demand it, obtain it, and share it.

Distance and Time


I find so much time to just escape through my mac book, for better or for too much time spent. Between reading blog posts from other sites, watching documentaries on different important figures(high profiled and low profiled), listening to music, watching movies, reading different news articles from around the world, chatting with friends on fb, phone conversation, skype, gchat: just feeling feed and full.
sometimes i just escape it all, being embracing aloneness.

However, I have neglected my own thusfarinlife. If it makes my blog readers feel better I haven’t been writing either. Even in my own personal journal its dating back sometime last month. When someone is MIA, we hope they are doing well. And I am. Been sick here and there, went to the doctor the for the first time since I been here got some meds and I'm surrounded by med students, so I am being taken care of and looked after(don't worry fam). Sleeping more with all the rain during the day: I typically have class early in the morning and then sleep. I guess I'm trying to catch up on all the lost sleep because usually I don’t go to bed till really late at night, I guess sometimes my head is in central time…lol(6 hr behind me).

Sometimes I hook up my phone with the intentions to make a call only to realize this time I feel compelled to have a personal conversation with myself. Embrace the moments when I am alone. Not a sadness type of feeling more like grounded and peace in mind. I think critically, askying myself those tough questions I may not want to ask, reflect on where i've been and where I am going and where god is leading me. Smiling and laughing at the things I've done in my life that are funny. Thinking back, looking forward and learning to be more present. Through all the distance and time I have spent here in Coimbra, Portugal I have grown. My mind has been expanded, challenged, I have a better grasp on not only who I am but the woman I want to grow into(knowing there is room to change and make mistakes), and more importantly I have been more deeply rooted in faith.I took this picture at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, England.

Moving to another country: knowing no one and not knowing what to expect can be a scary experience. You don't know who to trust, your worried about your language competency, your out of your comfort zone. No family, no friends, nothing is similar. This strangeness, this newness can only do one thing for you:force you to grow whether your ready or not. But this is not alone, during these vulnerable/unknown times you are with the Lord. Only person there, the only person you can trust, talk to, and carry you through all the times you may find difficult. And before you know it instead of God carrying you, you are walking side by side. There's nothing wrong with being carried, being helped, being vulnerable, being scared. Why should you, should I feel ashamed for feelings these emotions? There natural and the more we take them in, feel them, the more we learn about ourselves.

As I prepare to return home for winter break, I want to give love and feel loved. Period.

I appreciate my family and friends.

"We are who We are because Someone Loved Us."
-Cornal West

Such a powerful /lingering statement, makes you count all the people that love you and see you in them. As well as think about the people you loved, knowing you've shaped their life in some way. Leaving a lasting impact.




Sunday, November 7, 2010

Saudade

The word saudade has no direct translation in english, it can be described close with the words miss, or longing, but also it means to delight in knowing someone,place,thing. Saudade has these lingering sentiments of positive feelings as well as a sadness. Like smiling goodbye to a close friend who is moving to a different state for college(like all of my friends), and a tear roll downs your cheek. Inside your happy this person is going where they are called to be but at the same time you will miss their physical presence in your life.
This is probably one of my favorite portuguese words, saudade. It explains how I feel at the moment. I miss home and I wish I could be there, but at the same time I am very happy and feel bless for this opportunity to study abroad in Portugal. I am living and breathing everyday in Europe by myself, I came here knowing my program director via emails. I can count how many times I've seen her on one hand, and I've been here for about 2 months and some days now. So I basically came here with no one, an open mind, two big suitcases, and my portuguese phrase book. I must admit there are days when it's really refreshing to realize how much I am growing and how humble I am by this experience. I have met so many amazing people here in Portugal as well as other parts of Europe. They have really helped shape my experience to a positive one. Relationships. simple yet complicated. sometimes you have to let old friends go, for your own personal growth. (don't tolerate the apple in the barrel to be your life) relationships are so important in life, what would life be without them?Just like communication, I surprise myself sometimes when I speak portuguese or when someone talks to me in portuguese and I actually understand everything that they said. I get this big smile on my face and I nod my head with excitement.

But I will also admit there days that are hard for me. The days I wish I could just "jump" home just for a few hours, smell my mothers cooking, hear the school bells at Henry, hear the two dogs near my house bark at the neighbors walking on the sidewalk. I miss sleeping in my own bed. I miss my friends laughter, I can't remember the last time we were all together. Time has divided us but memories keep us together. I even miss my crazy first wave family. "where theres a will theres a Willie Ney," I miss long rehearsals, I miss memorizing lines and performing. I miss just bust and even the first wave checkins with Kahaema. I miss fleeing to Katrina for understanding, helping me remember education cannot come in the way of my learning and/or my growth as a woman. (shell woman). I miss state street with all those badger fans in red,lol. I miss everyone at FOL church, Pastor Gee's sermons were always real and deep. "Don't half way pray to God, he doesn't give you a half way blessing" so true!
Some of the FW family, when we were on our way to England for CTW. Man that experience was amazing, I still think about it.

I miss family dinners, the time you get to see everyone in the family at one time other than at a funeral. I miss that; setting the table, cooking, eating, everyone full and laying around. I'm laughing at the thought of all of us full sitting on the couch. We even play games together:Pictionary, Gestures, and Scrabble...ahh I miss that. But I'm sure there not missing the Scrabble champ Leslie to much..me being away gives them time to practice. lol
Last years Thanksgiving. Man I miss all that food oh ya and my family too..lol

Eu saudade minha familia. ->I miss(bittersweet) my family.
Eu saudade meus amigos.-> I miss(bittersweet) my friends.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Lutada

So the end of October there was a four day festival called "Lutada." They have this tradition here were the freshmen are called "collouidos," the one thing I think it is the closest to in the US is fraternity and sorority but in public, not divided by sex but by what school they are housed in(science, pharmacy, letters, etc.), and its basically all month long until "Lutada" but they are still called collouido not by their real name.
When I first witness this tradition it was strange because they poured beer over this girl head in my residence halls. Then when my classes started as I walked to class I would see more and more "activities" taking place. Making them sing songs in public, act out plays, tie an upper-classmens shoe, hold hands and walked down the stairs together, wear pajamas all day, play tag, basically they did what ever their group leader would say or another upper-classmen(which usually is a person with a harry potter cap on which is called a toga but I prefer to call it harry potter clothes.lol) anyways i went to two events, the first one was basically tons of students drinking and acting crazy on the street. it started at 12am till 7am, it smelled so bad, after about 15 minutes of people watching, i headed home. the other event I cant remember the name but this one was during the day 4pm till i have no idea. The collouidos dressed up in different costumes and there was basically a chaotic parade with tons of stoping and chants. Also the upper-classmens were eating on some kind of vegetable that i dont know the name of, the same vegetable that a rabbit would eat. And the colluidos had buckets of candy or silly things like an empty can of shoe string, they tried to sell while there. Not sure what they did with the money but it was only like cents and they didn't seem at all serious about selling. I posted photos and videos below so you all can witness what I did.
My friends and I
Snapping a few pics of the collouidos in action
The beginning of the parade
the warriors
a man screaming on a bus stop
superheros
more students
the vegetable they were eating
Did I mention they collect patches here?
(brought me back to my childhood memories at camp voyager I use to love canoeing and archery..lol)

Saturday, October 30, 2010

smile

Also big shout out to Jamillah: Happy birthday!!!

&

Congratulations to Ebani on her healthy baby girl Khamille.

I love and miss ALL my family

I'm smiling over here at their happiness

Praying

So I just found out that: In the United Kingdom they found explosive material package that had a destination in a place in the United States.

I picked the best time to come to Europe right? And this Christmas break I wanted to travel around Europe. The only thing worth doing is praying.

Praying for Haiti-There is a cholera break out going on that is killing many people and it has now spread to the capital city.

Sometimes I wish I had the heart for medical school so I can just be there for people. We all need help, especially medical help from a doctor. I wish I could be there, pack everything I have and just go. Just knowing that my extra pair of hands could help someone.


Contradictions

I’ve realize I haven’t posted any pictures of where I live. So below are pictures of my resident hall as well as the buildings and view around it. I live near the pharmacy school and biology classes. Also I live right next to an old antique church. I am beginning to become more aware of this contradiction of the city: old vs new. Traditional vs modern. I wonder how it will look 10 years from now, for some reason I believe it will still be torn like this. I mean not that the relationship is seen as bad, its just very obvious. Even in the people, on a daily bases the people I encounter are either students or an elder person (meaning like 70+). Sometimes on the bus I count them because I am so shocked how many there are, one time I counted 15(70+) people on the bus, on a regular bases I see like 7 or 8. The elder people here use the public transportation regularly, they still living their lives, which to me is motivational. When I reach that lovely age I’m trying to keep living and moving, not settle for my bed and a card game.

My resident hall


The old church right next to my resident hall (not in use)

Th new buildings, pharmacy school and other medical classrooms

To the right of the picture is another cantina=lunch room. also the hard cement benches they have..lol

The contradictions that exist here mirrors my feelings here: sometimes I like it here and sometimes I really don’t. It honestly varies I am loving the fact that I put this goal to study abroad and it is now my reality. Sometimes I feel scared when my goals and dreams come true. But the more my dreams/goals become a reality in my life and exist, the easier it is for me to think of new ones. I believe in them because God allows them to come true. And when one may not go my way or come true, it just wasn’t meant to be. I dislike that the student culture I have witness is something I really don’t want to be a part of. The student cultural I have witness is partying and drinking from 1am till 7am Tuesday and Thursdays. They party hard here, the first two weeks I experienced it but I honestly got burnt out and after self-reflection I realize it is something that “self” didn’t want to do it anymore. I had a desire to experience it and I also have a consciousness and a soul that deciphers that I really don’t want to participate. I guess I came here with an expectation that the student life would be different from Madison, the only difference are the drinks, times, music, and language.

I enjoy the people I have meet here. I really love the conversations I have been having. Understanding different cultural things about Europe, the similarities between countries as well as the differences besides the obvious: language. Learning about the different reasons for the other students to learn Portuguese as well as their first encounter with Portuguese. There are many Asian students in my class that express the job opportunities and how their families have moved to Portugal for work so they have followed as well to help or find a different job. The people from Timor here want to learn Portuguese because it is the official language in Timor but they speak another language(cant remember the name, sry). But I found that interesting, like does the government keep education away from the people? Is it hard to learn Portuguese in Timor? Like are their no teachers teaching it? I’m sure language represents power and the ones with power probably speak Portuguese and it’s a privilege to know it. I don’t know just guessing. I had no idea that Timor people spoke Portuguese, or that it is their official language.

I don’t enjoy the lack of art here. I feel like if I had more time here I could start like a dance club or an open mic or something, but I don’t have that much time here.(yeah!..lol) and I don’t want to start something I cant finish, I would feel bad about that. They have tons of partner dance classes like tango and salsa but im not really into partner dances. I like to watch and mess around with them here and there at like a party or something but I don’t want to devote time and money to it. Also there are ballet classes but there in academies so I have to enroll for a year and pay for a year and also I found some dance classes an hour away for meninos-little kids. Ya should have seen my face when I arrived there, the lady was like do you want to try out the class, I smiled at her and told her thank you but I will pass. I mean the kids were 6 and 7 years old skipping all around the room. But maybe when I go to Brazil I will be able to do more, who knows. I will try to come with no expectations, I see from experience here in Portugal that’s all wrong. You end up disappointed. I cant expect that Belo Horizonte will be my experience in Bahia, and I cant have those expectations. I have to go there with an open mind and willingness to try new things and new ways. I have a friend Caleb there now so I have been talking to him and he is just loving it there, he spent a whole year there, I kind of wish I spent one year there just because the first 3-4 months your finally feeling settle-made friends, u know were places are, you’ve traveled a little, school is going well, and then bam you pack up to leave. Lol. I mean I couldn’t do a year here in Portugal but maybe another part of Europe, like Holland(lol) that would be a great experience. There is soo much cultural there, man if it’s one place I recommend in Europe it is Amsterdam.

I like were I stay, the resident hall is really nice and the people are very nice and helpful. I am enjoying the food I am eating although I wish cereal boxes came in bigger boxes, I feel like I always purchase two just so I can use all my milk in enough time. I really love the pastries here, yeah bread has taken over my diet. For better or worse…lol

This and That

I must say my cooking skills have heavily improved. I have adapted to cook like Portuguese people here, which a typical dish is chicken, rice, and salad. Also I learned that an omelets is cooked anytime of the day, so I have become really good at making omelets. (Eggs are really cheap here).


Also,

The weather is changing here, its getting colder and the heat is not getting any stronger. So when it first got cold here in Coimbra I literally had 4 shirts on and two pairs of pants like everyday, but that was inside my room. Since they don’t believe in turning on the heat, yet there’s no type of heat circulating in the building. During the day its usually nicer outside than inside (weird right?) but now the heat works but only works for certain amount of hours. As I’m typing this at 2am the heat is off and won’t be back on till like tomorrow night. So when do I really feel the heat? Well approximately from 8-12, at 12 o’clock on the dot it shuts off. ;(

And I must add,

I have been missing art and feeling lose here without it. When I reflect on my old life in Madison: the bust schedule, rehearsals, meetings, classes, work, social life, performances, and DANCE!!! Man if its one thing I miss the most its DANCE, not just the class but the drummers, the people, the sweat, the way I felt after the class, I just miss everything about it. I had a slight experience like that when I went to Amsterdam and took dance classes but I need MORE. So I’ve been trying to do just that, dance! Its hard to find motivation though, get out of bed and dance by myself. (lonely)sounds a little crazy but I need it, my body misses the feelings dancing can bring.

ps Yesterday I finally woke up stretched for an hour and danced! it felt so good. I tried to do that this morning my my dance space (really the common area) was being in use, I guess I have to wake up earlier next time..lol

Aulas

One half of my classroom

Classes=aulas are going, sometimes I feel like I’m not learning anything and other days I’m excited and energize and feel like I am learning so much. But hey, that’s class anywhere right? The class structure is different here, for one there is none. People talk whenever the class subject goes from one thing to the next. I must say I prefer the structure in a classroom. It would be hard to be a language teacher especially my class because every student has different needs and are at different levels of Portuguese. Many of the students in the class are graduate students and are taking the course because they have a Portuguese boyfriend of husband. I feel like most of the stuff is all about what you do on your own time. I spent like three hours by myself studying Portuguese grammar and I felt like “wow I taught my self more than what my week of 30 hour classes have done for me” but I don’t know. I’m going to stay positive about my classes though, I mean sometimes I feel like I learn a lot and I am getting a lot from them. I really appreciate the professors because i know they have to explain many things two or three times. They have to help individual needs as well as class needs. The role of a teacher, so important.

ps. big ups to the teachers in my life:God, Mother, Grandma, (family in general), Casey, Doria, CW, Shvonne, Prof Sweet, Sims, Pastor Gee, Alicia, and Life. Thank you.

The bus stop I go to everyday :)

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Visit to an Igreja

Today I went to visit a Igreja=church with my friend Fellipe. Igreja de baptista- Baptist church. Felippe pastor in brazil told him about this church because the pastor is also Brazilian. Service started at 11:00am but we had arrived a little early and there was some sort of bible study going on. After that the culto=service began with a song and then welcomed the visitors. The people who were visiting for the first time were asked to stand up and share their name, where they are from, and what brought them to Coimbra? I was a little nervous about speaking but I said “ Ola bom dia, meu nome Leslie Thomas, sou Americana e estou estudante aqui em Coimbra.” Good morning my name is Leslie Thomas, I am American and a student studying here in Coimbra. There were other Americans there as well, from Texas that came to do missionary work, The pastor brought them up and they talked for a little bit just about why they came here and one of the guys expressed that he had been wanting to come here and share the word of God.

After that we sang a few more songs and prayed and then the pastor came up and before he preaches he showed a video. He explained that the video was in English which is good for the Americans who cant speak Portuguese because his sermon is about the same theme as the song, forgiveness=Perdão. The song was very beautiful and powerful. I was thinking in my head I should create a dance to this song and share. Maybe. After the song the pastor began to preach about forgiveness, he started with questions what is forgiveness? He quotes some scripture and began to elaborate on the meaning. He also asked and addresses these questions as well: Who needs forgiveness? And why do we forgive? It was a special moment for me being in the church and listening because I could understand parts of his sermon. To listen in another language someone talk about Jesus was beautiful. It reminded me the power of language and also how important it is to communicate. For example what if I met someone who didn’t speak English and wanted to know about the Lord, I would I be able to talk to them? What would I be able to tell them? Deus é amor=god is love. There was still many parts that I didn’t understand, especially when he prayed. He spoke very fast and soft which made it difficult to hear and understand. But just being there felt good. Sometimes its alright not to understand everything, but to feel.

I feel motivated to study more Portuguese today. I feel inspired to try harder at learning grammar. My biggest problem with the language is grammatical errors. I remember how to make the word in the past and present, the problems is within past and present there is indicative, subjunctive, present perfect, past perfect, pluperfect simple(I don’t know what is is in English) and future. And that’s not even all the tenses that exist. Furthermore when people talk they usually don’t speak grammatically correct so I am learning how to speak well but I cant write what I speak because ite incorrect. Learning two things at once, but of course I am able to speak better than I can write..lol eu preciso fechado meu baco a vezes e só ler=I need to shut my mouth sometimes and just read. Lol

Out of the biaxo

I know I haven’t wrote in a while I apologize. It seems I do so much thinking in my head that I forget to express it on paper (well blog form) There so much I want to share I just get overwhelmed even thinking about it. A brief synopsis of the event that happen last week when I thought I would be homeless:

So when I arrived in Portugal I was arranged to stay in a residence hall call Teodoro. The first week it was just me on the first floor with no roommate, it was great. I began to meet new people that lived in the baixo=basement and these people would stay in the baixo for a few days or weeks and then find an apartment and leave. Or they would return to their home country. I met people from Australia, Italia, Brazil, Angola, and Spain. Well the following week after recieveing a room mate and getting to know her I was told I had to move in the baixo. Well let me tell you about the baixo. It is very dirty and no one cleans up because people are constantly coming and going. The bathrooms have tons of hair everywhere, trash is overflowing and it smells(because here in Portugal the sewage isn’t great so you have to through the toilet paper in the trash). There are ants that rule the kitchen everyday. Once I found out I moved downstairs I double checked with my program director Ana Paula and she told me this is correct because I am a mobility student(mobility and ERMUS-students from Europe) have to live down there. I explained to her that it was very dirty and I didn’t want to move. She told me there was nothing she could do because she doesn’t work for the residence halls(I know that) and that I should look for an apartment. Yeah she is very helpful. I barely see this woman, I think there shouldn’t even be a program director if they are not helping you. I mean help besides the financial parts and helping me with class (which she didn’t cause she was out of town). I don’t know, but it makes me want to start my own program or be a program director for a university or school because I know first hand what the students needs are. It’s hard to move to a completely different country and just JUMP right into a new culture. A person has many concerns and questions, but it’s hard to express to a program director if they appear not to care. But hey not everyone in the world wants to be your friend, and we all learn that. Easy or hard way. Back to the story, I moved to basement and then I started looking for an apartments. SUPER HARD TO LOOK FOR APARTMENTS. I mean signs are everywhere but I get so nervous and I worry about how I am speaking Portuguese on the phone. I seen a few rooms but they were not right for me or to expensive. A friend from brazil who just moved to Portugal for school as well asked me did I want to move in with her? I told her I’m only her for 6 months and she expressed that’s alright. Well the two problems were her house was far and expensive. But on the flip side it was super clean, nice, big, and I would have my own room. The best part was the bathroom, it was brand new and ha not only a shower but also bath tub. So after thinking about it I decided I would rather spend more money to live with people I know kind of well then move into a place with complete strangers. So I moved in and gave my keys to the old residence person. After putting all my clothes away and making my bed I began to put up pictures and make it feel more like home. Well to my surprise the next day the lady who invited me to live with her and her other roommate came to my door and told me they wanted to talk to me. Well, it was early in the morning and I hadn’t woke up yet, so after getting myself together I listened to what they had to say. They told me that it would be better for them if I found another place to stay because they are staying in Coimbra for 2 years. I was shocked! I just moved in and you want me to leave?? What kind of stuff is that? I was confused and kept asking them why? Like what do you mean? You knew I was only going to be in Coimbra for 6 months, what’s the big deal? Then they said “It may be hard to find someone to move in after you leave.” Yeah ok. Well after that I packed all my stuff and bounced. Left my key on the table and say tchau=bye. I took a cab back to the residence that I just left. The lady was surprised and I tried to explain to her the situation. I was so upset that I couldn’t even think straight. I asked my friend Natalia to help me explain the situation in Portuguese. The lady told me that because I gave her my keys I lost my spot in the residence hall and I would have to find somewhere else. Well where was I going to go now? Ugg man I was super stress and worried. I think because of this situation and the fact that I was already overwhelmed about everything in Coimbra and I just broke down (a little bit, I’m alright now). I sat down in silence for like half an hour trying to figure out something. My friend suggested that I should see the head lady of the residence halls, so we walked to her office. We had to wait because they were on lunch break. So after want felt like forever she came to her office and opened her office with open arms. She was so warm and nice, I felt really calm talking to her. After explaining the situation she was concerned and wanted to help me. She said that she could find another room in the baixo for me or I could move into Polo III. My friend told me that I would love Polo III and that it was very clean and nice. Its father than Teodoro but its alright. So just like that I became happy, I gathered all my things and moved into Polo III after I left her office. She told me if ever I needed anything even to talk that I could come to her office, I felt sincerity in her voice and I told her thanks and I would visit her. Polo III is really nice residence hall. Its like 5-6 min by bus and 10-15 by foot, but its perfect to me because its super clean! Everything is white in the inside, I mean except the kitchen and the commons areas(like harry potter) have beautiful bright colors. The kitchen is a bright green which always puts a smile in my face. I currently don’t have a roommate (cross my fingers it stays that way) and I have meet nothing but nice people. Vanessa and Felippe have been really kind to me, we have lunch and dinner together often. They are both from brazil, Vanessa is here for 6 months and Felippe is here for 2 years( I told him good luck, but he likes it here so he shouldn’t have any problems). Vanessa is a great cook! She cooks the most flavorful foods I have ever had, we had this pasta with cheese and spinach and she made the tomato sauce from scratch, ummm.. man almost better than my mommas food..lol not.

Well, things are good now! Classes started October 11 and already got my head spinning. I have a packet of homework and a test next week! I think I’m going to bring my cell phone and use the voice recorded for my terra Portuguese course which is Portuguese geography. I really enjoyed the class, its an intermediate class and my other classes are elementary, but within elementary there are 3 levels and I’m in 3 ;) I have Portuguese language, conversation, composition, laboratory, and Portuguese geography. However the laboratory class I don’t received credit for at UW Madison so that’s why I am taking the Portuguese Geography course. So the laboratory class is optional although my program person told me is a great class that I should take. It’s a class were you learn the sounding of each of the letters and how to speak “proper Portuguese.” I put it in quotes because what I am learning here is kind of opposite of what I learned in school and in Brazil. The Portuguese speak with there mouth fechado=closed and the Brazilian aberto=open. Its easy for me to have a conversation with a Brazilian and understand then Portuguese people. I don’t have to many Portuguese friends here to even practice understanding, and my professor’s speak slowly and clearly so I have no problem hearing them. I must admit I am counting the days I am in Brazil, but of course I am taking FULL advantage of my education here in Coimbra because it’s a great university with lots of HISTORY. Like the harry potters that walk around every day..lol ps. cant wait till November a new harry potter movie comes out!

I'm serious, there just missing wands. lol

Excuses me have you seen harry around?

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Holland

So I am currently in Amsterdam, Holland(Netherlands). I have been here since last Monday to participate in the Afrovibes festival, which are dance and theatre performances from South Africa. Also I came to take dance classes and hang out with my friends from Poetry Circle Nowhere. I met them in England in July during Contacting the World-international theatre festival from groups all over the world.

At the MC theatre

Amsterdam is so amazing, since I landed in this city it has touched me. In the airport my mind was blown by all the beautiful people! Amsterdam is one of the most diverse cities in the world, it may be number one. There are so many things to see and visit and experience here. Even just walking around you find yourself finding something. Many times while I traveled here I would get lost on the tram, but it wasn't scary or anything, I ended up discovering something new. I love how everyone rides bike here, as if the whole city decided they were going to GO GREEN. I love how in the grocery stores everything is HALF the size as in the US. I love the fact that they don't give to-go boxes at restaurants. I love the fact that the bathroom is broken into two completely different rooms: the toilet room and the washing room. I could go on and on about what I love, but I want I'm going to head into the city and enjoy my last full day because i leave tomorrow afternoon.
ps..There is soo soo soo soo much more to Amsterdam than marijuana and red light district. It saddens me to know that this is the only thing that is spread in the US about Amsterdam.

There are tons of canals here gives the city a constant flow of calmness even when there are tons of people here speeding here and there. The water is so tranquil.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Trip to Viana do Castelo and a surprise visit to Spain

So this past weekend, Sept 17-19 My program facilitator Ana Paula and I took the train from Coimbra to Porto. Once arriving in Porto her boyfriend picked us up, for he was joining us on this program trip(right??) and we drove to different parts of Viana do castelo. Viana do castelo is a very traditional city. We seen traditional shops that sold traditional outfits.

The Museum of traje-which is the traditional clothing worn by the woman of Viana do Castelo (inside the museum there are tons of different tradition costumes worn by the women during special festivals. For a wedding the bride and groom wear all black with white trimming. Also on the last floor there was hand made gold that was worth over 5 million euros=very expensive
During festivals woman wear colorful hand-embroidered costumes plus 20 pounds of gold jewelry around there neck!
Outside the Museum

The ocean was beautiful
Praça de Republic, common place where shops and restaurants are located

The view
Inside the church
A church that dates back to 16th and 17th century


The city is really up north and on the coast so often times we stopped to see the scene. The scene was the same: waves, the sound of the sea, and a sense of tranquility. After a day of traveling we headed to the hotel, got settled in, and we met back up to have dinner together.

For dinner we ate at a place called Ol Magel. I order facana which is a type of fish that came with salad and rice. The keep the head on the fish here, I wasn’t scared because I was so hungry..lol plus I grew up my fishing and eating fish because my mother loves to fish.


My dinner

The next day we went to visit another small town Fortaleza. We just walked around and took pictured of the view. It felt like we were visiting an old castle. I enjoyed the whole trip away from Coimbra surprisingly. I told myself to make the most of the trip even though it would be me and my program director and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was pretty cool, he cracked tons of jokes but everyone they had to break them down because I didn’t understand any of it.

Fortaleza reminded me of a castle

The streets and in the background you see the one way entrance

Smiling with the view

Another view

For lunch we drove like 15 more minutes and we were in Spain. It was my first time in Spain and I was really happy about visiting two countries in one day. We visited a city called Tui and another city name Baiona, both were also on the coast. We had lunch at a place call Xamon, it was really small in the side but had tons of tables outside the restaurant. There were tons of people there, it must have been really popular. I kept saying obrigada but I meant to say gracias, I almost forgot we were in a totally different country where they spoke Spanish. The power of languages and communication, it amazes me every time I travel. One minute I was hearing Portuguese from Ana Paula and her boyfriend and the next minute I was hearing Spanish. I ordered a tortilla com queso and jamon ( that’s ham and cheese something) I thought I was going to receive like an actually flour tortilla shell with cheese and ham, to my surprise I received basically an omelet with ham and cheese. It was so GOOD!

Welcome to Spain

'
The city of Baiona
The restaurant in Spain, hanging pig legs
Information about the city

After that we drove back to the hotel, I fell asleep in the car, two hours later I woke up and we were still driving. We were lost. We pulled over to the side of the road and then after a few minutes he got back in the car and said I see the bridge back to Portugal. I stayed awake from then on, I don’t like not knowing where I’m going, so I watch intently out the window. Once we arrived back to the hotel it was still very sunny out and so I decided to lay out in the back of the hotel because there was a pool. To bad the water was very cold otherwise I would have got in the pool. The hotel we stayed in was really nice. I never had a whole hotel room to myself ( now I know how you feel –mk) I laid around mostly at night, turned on the tv and tried to find something on the four channels to watch. The second night the movie PS I love you was on so I enjoyed watching that as I waited to meet back up for dinner. For dinner we walked across the street to a small little restaurant I forgot the name of it but it had a home feel to it. I order salmon and it came with potatoes and cabbage( but this cabbage taste very different from the US because usually I wouldn’t eat cabbage, but this was good). If it’s one thing I spend my money on its food, I always make sure I eat well. The next morning we ate the free breakfast ( bread, cheese, ham, fruit, tea, coffee, and water) and then we left the hotel to head back to Coimbra. It took like 40 minutes to get to the train station. We got on the train from Porto to Coimbra, took about 1hour or so. The rest of the day I did laundry and cleaned up. Talked to my friends about my weekend and cooked a big dinner so that I don’t have to cook the next day :)

Then Monday came and I went to this beach called Faivela. It was really nice because its like a hidden beach so there wasn’t a lot of people there. I enjoyed the sound of the water, there were these mini falls, to get to the beach we had to walk across a wooden bridge. At first I was scared because the bridge looked dangerous but to my surprise the water was clear I could look down and see the bottom. The water was so shallow, like to my knees if even that. With the sun and the sounds of the water it was destined I spent my whole day there. Something about me and traveling, its like a light switch from the busy Leslie that has to do list and scheduling meals and shows in Madison, to the chill Leslie that has no plans and leaves when I please. I enjoy both lives, for when I am in Madison I long for calmness and uncertainty and sometimes when I travel I miss having a schedule and business. I feel bless to have experience both. Realizing there necessary, and I’m fortunate to have to choose one over the other, I just live in both, and it creates a wholeness of self.

Well after the beach headed home to cook dinner and then I talked to my new roommate in our small room. Her name is Datianna she’s a first year student studying chemistry. I think I may try and find my own room though, I really value my privacy and if I can find something for the same price or cheaper than why not? I have some friends that are looking for apartments now so I could just get a room with them. J

Oh ya, today at the beach I wrote my first poem in Portuguese so as I close this post with a poem:

O som de agua faz me completo

Eu escucho por reposta

Porque eu tenho medo de preguntas

Porque eu tenho medo da reposta

Então eu aprendeindo eschuchar o som

The sound of the water makes me complete

I listen for the answer

Because I’m scared to ask my questions

Because I fear the answers

So I learn to listen to the sound

Monday, September 20, 2010

Chickens?

So I also went to the beach called Fugeria that was like an hour and half away. The weather has been great here and I have been trying to soak in as much as possible.
My friend Natalie and I took a train and on the way we meet some friends, Brazilians. the convo went something like this "Brasilera? Brasiliera. Brasileria!" and then we all hung out and talked. While on the beach I meet some chickens. Yes some chickens, that tried to dance, surf, fly, and also try to take a young lady to dinner.


My friends and I and our new friend the chicken.


The chicken trying to ask this young lady out for dinner, but once she told them she wanted chicken they left. lol

People on the beach
My friends and I again

I'm Back

I know I know, its been a while but I've been trying to learn my way in Portugal. I will try to update at least once a week. Every day I have no obligations or plans and for some strange reason everyday becomes FULL and I'm busy.
From last time I wrote(about two weeks ago) I experienced the night life in Coimbra. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the most popular days to go out. Every barr here is always packed full of people, majority if not all students. They also have places where a people dance, called discoteci. I went to an african night one with a few friends i met that are from cape verde, it was really fun. But guess what time it started? Like 1 am!! thats another big shocker here, people go out at 1 or 2am and don't come home till 6 or 7am. I don't know how they do it, they must take naps but every time i ask people if they take naps they tell me no. I get so tired waiting for 1am around 10 and 11pm. My brazilian friends I always telling me to stop acting like a baby..lol and come out. It's funny to think I'm in Portugal and majority of the friends that I have made are from Brazil. It's so much easier for me to understand Brazilians speak Portuguese than it is to understand the people of Portugal. But i will honestly say that the portuguese people here have a way of giving bad vibes to brazilians here. whether its in a joke to another friend, or a certain look. I may not understand every word but I definitely understand body language and the vibes people give off to one another. It's mostly Portuguese people "correcting" Brazilians on the way they talk as if they speak some other language. To me, I thought the people would be more kind but you see this competition, this attitude that says"I'm from Portugal and speak portuguese and you don't." I'm not Brazilian however spending time with my Brazilians friends its seems at least once a day some Portuguese person makes some joke about Brazilians.

The week after that I celebrated my friend Natalia birthday and that was a lot of fun. It amazes me how nice and happy all these people around us were about her birthday, people who have never even met her. The bartender Avo, has become a friend of ours and he made a whip cream and oranges cake for natalie. It was a really nice gestures and afterwards he danced on the bar..lol

Natalie and I

The bartender Avo dancing

The whip cream oranges cake



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Finding/Making my way


Today was a pretty chill day compared to yesterday (monday sept 6, 2010).. let me give a mini recap so I can get back to today.
Monday I basically had tons of paper work to do and turn in at the University of Coimbra. I THOUGHT I was starting courses, to my knowledge courses start OCTOBER 11, 2010 I have a placement test oct 8. I'm like what??? What am I doing here so early? I couldn't been home chilling. I mean why does the program have documents stating that it starts sept 6?? and this is suppose to be a study abroad program right?...um.. this is AN EXCHANGE. except in my case I'm the only one for this semester. The program= set up courses and housing but other than that you have to learn how to jump, skip, sing, fall, whatever you have to do. Luckily for me I've been bless with not only traveling experience, but faith, a family on my back and a history of people holding their head up high. Besides my afro curly head weighs to much to be walking with it down. So when I go out by myself I'm always smiling at people and looking like I know where I'm going. shooot I usually never know where I'm going I just walk around and find what was never lost. One thing I've notice is that there are no streets signs, so all my memory of the neighborhood I live in is based on landmarks. for example: turn left at the supermercado (grocery store) keep straight till you see the pay phone, right at the barre, then walk all the way down the streets it curves down but don't worry and then cross the round-a-bout and then your there. lol
So that Monday after a busy morning and the news of me not starting courses till next month I just ate and slept.
Now on to today, Sept 7, 2010 I had lunch with my friend Sonia and her boyfriend at a cantina which is basically like the university food services but guest what?? ITS GOOD. They give you a full plate of food and its only 2,50euro compared to the nasty chicken fingers i had at the irish pub that was like 6,30euro ( I must have payed for the location). Anyways after eating lunch and talking we had coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker at all but here they drink it all the time. Its coffee and cigarettes. After I drank the strong coffee I just walked around in hope that I would find a dance organization in the student organization building. I seen some flyers but I didn't find an actual person to talk to. Headed back to my room to just chill.
Later, in my search to dance I went back to this ballet shop i stumbled upon and the same lady was working there from before, her name is Isabel. I must have been there for over an hour we just talked and talked. She encouraged me to keep practicing my portuguese and reassured me that I would pick it up. Isabel is a master student working on her final dissertation, which she turned in today so she told me to wish her luck because she doesn't want to do another year of school. I told her how I have been looking for places to dance so she gave me some names and said she would take me if I liked, of course I said yes (with streets with no names and google maps not that helpful i could use all the help i could get). After talking to Isabel I walked to the mall to find cheap food, I found something better than that! As i entered the mall i walked in no particular direction and then I immediately thought about the mall of america and how the food court is on the top floor, so I took all the escalators to the top floor. BINGO, all the food places were there and a movie theatre. After looking at all my options I settled for KFC, man it was so delicious!! the spicy chicken taste like the spicy chicken back at home, but as far as them french fries oh they never made into my stomach they went straight to the trash, but the corn on the cob..man I know someone seen me cheesing when I was eating.
As I left the the mall which is shaped in a huge circle i seen a picture of a woman and a man dancing so i walked a little closer and realize that inside this mall up three floors was a dance place. I went up the stairs to read the schedule. The studio is called sabor latino it has mostly latin dance classes for couples and women. I found one hip hop dance class, african dance but i need to figure out what ritmo means the class is labeled ritmo africano but that class is friday. So i'm looking forward to Friday and before that I'm going to check out some other studios. If all fails and dancing is too expensive here ill just dance on the tennis courts in the backyard of my residence..lol or something. Or I can join the gymnastic club I seen information about it at the student organization center, they have aerial dancing and I've always wanted to try that. I got options, things are always looking up when your attitudes up. When you travel, well actually anything in life, your attitude can dictate everything if one allows it to.
Well I'm off to bed its 1 15 in the morning here. A quote to sleep on:
"To feel today what one felt yesterday isn't to feel - it's to remember today what was felt yesterday, to be today's living corpse of what yesterday was lived and lost. "- Fernando Pessoa (Portuguese writer)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Exploring my new surroundings

The very next day (Saturday Sept 4, 2010) I look forward to my honey cluster cereal. I pour my ligh fat milk in the cereal and it taste so weird. i tried to force a few more bites in my mouth. Why am i forcing myself to eat this? I pour it out and head to my room for my I miss america drawer which is filled with family photos, candy, english books, my cell phone, and oatmeal. I grab my never-let me-down oatmeal and eat it with a smile.
I meet a few Portuguese students here so I talk to them for a few hours. One of their names is Sonia.
My friend Sonia
She is a master student study biomedical engineering (I got a head ache type that). She is really nice and helped me set up the internet for my lab top. Just remembered I been in Portugal and haven't been able to contact anyone because the phone card I receive for free from STA with like 10 minutes on it..lol wasn't working on the pay phone(are they suppose to?) I finally contacted family and friends, I set up the magic jack and then my mac dies in the middle of a great skype convo. I can't find an adapter for my computer, I thought I brought one but I couldn't find it. I head to the mall to purchase one, I buy one all excited, I get back and realize that it only allows two prung american plugs and not 3 prung. I go back to the mall trying to search all over to find one, with my mac charger so they understand what im looking for. No luck. in my sadness (so dramatic..lol) I stop at this little cute shop and order a crepe. Again I'm not sure if I sit where ever or how it works i don't want to just assume I can sit anywhere, the garçom (waiter) understanding my confusion speaks in english and tells me I can sit where I like. I think uhh why does everyone speak english here. It's going to be hard for me to earn Portuguese if everyone speaks english, watches all the american television series, and blast american music on their stereos. Well the garçom askes me later why i looked so down and Iexplain how I really would like to charge my computer so I can have communication with my family and friends. He tells me about another mall that may have an adapter, he says ill be right back. He comes back a few minutes later with this map he drew, he further explains what bus I need to catch and where to get off. I thank him, pay him for my crepe, and with my spirit lifted set out to find the other shopping mall.
I find the shopping mall I look around, get lose, get help, and then they tell me that they don't have it. In my despair I decided to buy food for dinner, food always cheers me up..lol. I have my hands full of groceries and wait at the bus stop for what seems like a whole hour. Bus finally comes, I think I'm on the wrong one. I sit patiently to afraid to ask the bus driver, for some reason I just have confidence in my directions even though I never even been here before..lol well I see a familiar land mark, I push the stop button and get home safely.
The next day (sunday Sept 5, 2010)I met a few other girls who were staying downstairs one was from Australia, one was from Czech republic and three of them were from Brazil. A few of us took a mini tour of the campus with our awesome tour guide Sonia.

A statue of a hardworking woman
A restaurant called the Manga=The Mango
The streets are all weird like this kind of reminds me of Inception

In the Botanical Garden
Another beautiful water fountain
It's tradition to throw the freshmen in the pound
Steep stairway that leads to all the barres