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not having a car – the freedom of walking everywhere with
no exposure to traffic jams or road rage
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the price of things in general...full week’s fruit and
veg shopping for about €6
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the helpfulness of the Portuguese people
·
the warmth of the sun on a blue sky day while sitting
outside a cafe (yes, even in December)
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the HUGE Atlantic rollers crashing down to the shore
(best the hour before high tide)
I
miss.......
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Connemara – and everything about it – the beautiful
colours/the ever changing scenery
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Galway
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Irish people in general
Social life
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| A very blurry picture of the Meetup group at Porto's 'Open Art changeover evening in November |
The MeetUp group in Porto has been a good source for meeting people and
getting out and about. I’d be lost without it as Espinho is dead as a duck at
the moment. It’s a bit hit or miss as to who turns up to the various events but
I’ve been to a few social gatherings and some exhibitions – Photography Museum,
etc.
Interesting mix of people from all over the world and it’s fascinating to hear their various stories (the first time at least). The single mum from Sweden (3 young kids but who doesn’t look like she has a care in the world – speaks 5 languages, boyfriend in Sweden, etc.) to the disenchanted Portuguese woman who has worked in the UN in East Timor and Senegal, now back in Portugal and itching to get going again (there’s definitely a story there which will be teased out at a later date), to the good old straightforward Brits who just want a bit of a laugh. This month I joined one group to visit the 2012 World Press Photography Exhibition, which was fantastic .
Interesting mix of people from all over the world and it’s fascinating to hear their various stories (the first time at least). The single mum from Sweden (3 young kids but who doesn’t look like she has a care in the world – speaks 5 languages, boyfriend in Sweden, etc.) to the disenchanted Portuguese woman who has worked in the UN in East Timor and Senegal, now back in Portugal and itching to get going again (there’s definitely a story there which will be teased out at a later date), to the good old straightforward Brits who just want a bit of a laugh. This month I joined one group to visit the 2012 World Press Photography Exhibition, which was fantastic .
Fancy a day out with
the Hash House Harriers?
In a roundabout way I ended up meeting Jennifer, English,
married to a very savvy Portuguese entrepreneur. Very nice with a few ‘Gosh’
and ‘Super’s throughout her vocabulary. Through her I went to the ‘British Club’ in Porto
to make a connection for an outdoor activity event that takes place every other
Sunday. The British Club is so stereotypical - quite a few hooray Henry's there
with their Gin and Tonics – definitely not my cup of tea. Anyway,
I met my contact and arranged to go on the next Hash and Hare outing –
affectionately known as ‘Hashing’.
The Hash House Harriers is an international group of non-competitive running, social clubs. An event organized by a club is known as a Hash or Hash Run, with participants calling themselves Hashers or Hares and Hounds. More information if you wish on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers
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| Start of the 'Hash' - I just followed along.... |
The Hash House Harriers is an international group of non-competitive running, social clubs. An event organized by a club is known as a Hash or Hash Run, with participants calling themselves Hashers or Hares and Hounds. More information if you wish on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers
It was hilarious. Basically the Hares lay the trail the day before(clues, which consist of bits of red or white ribbons, all with various meanings)
and the Hashers (i.e. me + group) go running around like loolahs trying to find our way
around. So, it’s a bit like orienteering without maps or compass.
But good fun.......with lots of booze afterwards and then lunch (the 'Bash') in a nice restaurant.
They really take the socialising afterwards seriously and I was lucky to get home around 7pm - having left the house at 09:30. (The event itself only takes about 2 hours!!)
At least I got out and about on a Sunday, got some exercise (about 12kms in total - mixture of jogging/fast walking and trying to find the clues) and met lots of people - all very nice. The aftermath in the car park was hilarious - all sorts of drinking rituals - like these three guys - who were drinking out of plastic urinals (all brand new!)
Next one I can attend is the 'Jingle Bells' Hash on 16th December with the 'Bash' in the British Club....hmmm...may need something to get me through that one!
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| Taking a breather - thank God - I need to get up to running speed |
They really take the socialising afterwards seriously and I was lucky to get home around 7pm - having left the house at 09:30. (The event itself only takes about 2 hours!!)
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| End of the Hash - Happy Hashers - now for the booze! |
Next one I can attend is the 'Jingle Bells' Hash on 16th December with the 'Bash' in the British Club....hmmm...may need something to get me through that one!
Apartment
living - the Sound of Silence - NOT
What can I say? Here are some of the sounds I experience on
a regular basis:
- the guy across the hall hacking his guts up for about 10 minutes every morning (I thought I was never going to experience that again after Nepal – the Sherpa’s doing the same at 6am every morning – it was a cacophony of the ‘clearing of the throats’ brigade). This guy takes the biscuit – unbelievably DISGUSTING to listen to. They tend to de-phelgm a lot more here than in Ireland –anyone who knows me well will appreciate and understand my aversion to all things to do with anything wobbly (seen/eaten/heard).
- the loud television next door – are they DEAF????
- the French woman constantly shrieking (and I mean SHRIEKKKKKKKKKing) at her teenage daughters – they’ll be scarred for life. Although when I was telling the school secretary she reminded me that in the UK (I’ve given up trying to tell people that I’m from Ireland) people speak very softly to their kids and here in Portugal they shout at them – nothing wrong with that!!! (ehh....try verbal abuse)
- the flushing of the toilet from the apartment upstairs at 6am every morning
- the small yapping dog across the street...........and I mean YAP, YAP, YAP, YAP, YAP (anyone got a BB gun??)
Yapping dogs in general are a
feature around Espinho. You see them with their little heads out the
apartment windows yapping at everything that goes by. Their owners must be
desensitised to the incessant YAKKKKKINNNG .....it
definitely takes some getting used to – but also reminds me of all those
art house films I’ve seen based in France/Spain/Italy, etc. – this is how a
lot of people live. I’ve given up and am using ear-plugs to sleep.
Men, men, men.....yakking in groups everywhere. On the beach – old men marking their territory in their ‘trunks’ (Y-Fronts – haven’t seen them for a few years!). Very passionately discussing various points of view. Can’t understand a word they are saying but it’s amusing to watch – like a play being acted out. And just when you think they are about to come to blows by the intensity of the conversation – one of them stomps off, the hand is thrown up in the air in what seems like disgust ......but wait.....here he comes again to continue the ‘discussion’.
Men, men, men ....sitting on the wall by the Prom every day...Yak, Yak, Yak
Men
Men, men, men ....sitting on the wall by the Prom every day...Yak, Yak, Yak
Men in restaurants – definitely not something you’d see in Ireland. Lots of small and large groups of men – workers finished for the day coming in for a beer and light bites – I was recently in a large popular cafe in Porto and there were six men at the next table looking at pictures on a iPad. One of them had to be about 100 old.
Massage (my favourite thing) – Wonderful Mary from Venezuela
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| Meet Mary the Massage Therapist from Venezuela |
Through Carolina I’ve found a massage therapist who only
charges €10/hr
if you go to her house – which is in a town about 8kms away, so on yer bike but
worth it.
I’ve been going weekly for the past 4 weeks and the cumulative effect
is fantastic. Now I just lose my patience after 30 minutes in the classroom, (instead of after 5).
She is very, very good and
varies the massage each time, using hot stones, reflexology, etc.......do
not know how she survives on that money but I’m not complaining as I couldn’t
afford Irish prices for the same treatment here.
Teaching ‘Light
Bulb’ Moment
Early days yet but I think I know that teaching teenagers is not my forte. I have (a) no tolerance, (b) no patience and (c) no interest – in dealing with their testosterone-fuelled behaviour. I think my next gig will definitely be adults if at all possible.
Is China
taking over the World??
There are ‘China Shops’ are all over the gaff here – it is eerie -
about 15 of them in Espinho alone. They are more like shops operated by Chinese
people, then shops selling Chinese goods. An interesting phenomenon. Apparently
they are taking over and putting a lot of the small shops here out of business.
There are a few that are big and very well stocked, and then there are the
smaller versions, badly laid out, full of junk – some of it useful but most of
it tat....usually with one person sitting at the cash register all day with
nobody coming in to buy.
There are
a couple of theories.
There are
a couple of theories.
One is simply that China is taking over anything to do
with trade and commerce in the world! Another is that in doing that they set up
loads of small operations – loss leaders – until they have pushed all the other
small shops out of business, and then they consolidate with the bigger versions
and hey presto – they have a monopoly! Another theory is that they are ‘fronts’
for money laundering. Apparently they are
also big in Spain and springing up all over. There was recently a major scandal
involving mostly Chinese mafia in Spain where billions of Euros in goods and
money was recovered. 85 people arrested, 60+ Chinese. Watch out Ireland!
Christmas
So.....until the next time when the Ho, Ho, Ho and all that will be well over...........Merry Christmas.
Some more Hash House Harrier photos....
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| Varied landscapes - town/sea/country |
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| These guys wanted to join us but couldn't find the ribbons |
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| Maria 'posing' during one of the searches for the ribbon |
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| The self-named 'Gaudi' Restaurant for the Bash |
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| Virgin Hashers completing the initiation drinking ritual. Thank God there weren't enough Urinals to go around! |
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| Pit stop halfway through the Hash - beer of course! |
