The West is Awake: A Portuguese Experience

Life goes on.....some of my experiences/observations on life in Portugal

So, settling in nicely into life in Espinho - weather excellent up until about mid-October. Since then it has been a bit more unsettled but still incredibly mild - it's a joy to move around in and....when it rains you can actually use an umbrella here, without it being blown to smithereens, like in Galway!. I've pretty much set up most systems, bank, Internet, mobile phone, etc. and now actually have time on my hands. I love this new 'flexible' mode of working - suits me far better than a 9-5 job. Granted I'm not earning much but my other persona aka Ms. Frugal Franny has kicked in and everything is soooooooo cheap here (for what I need anyway), that I'm enjoying the free time more than having gobs of money to spend on stuff I don't need.

School:
Still no textbooks for a lot of the students. The nightmare continues. We finally received the teacher's resource books to steer from but a few of the classes are still without the student books. TEFL is normally taught in a more 'flexible' environment and while grammar is definitely taught, it generally takes second place to the verbal aspect. But in many language schools, particularly in Europe, the focus seems to be on preparing students for the internationally recognised Cambridge exams. That little bit of paper is a foreign student's entry into the global workforce or the opportunity to study at an English language university. In contrast to adult classes where the students are more concerned with learning English to use in an everyday or business environment. At least the initial 'panic' and uncertainty over the unknown has subsided and I'm getting into a groove and routine and enjoying it.

Market Day in Espinho

This market (every Monday) is reportedly one of the largest in the whole of Portugal. I was gobsmacked the first time I went to it. It is ginormous, especially when you take into account the size of Espinho. People come in from all over the region. Although I usually only buy fruit and veg there (need to be sure to go to the 'authentic' farmers' stalls - some of the stalls look like the owners have been to the Cash and Carry to pick up their supplies!). This market has literally EVERYTHING you could possibly want - chickens/ducks/birds/garden produce/fruit and veg /incredible cheese stalls/meat/household goods.......

I bet these babies could catch
some pretty big Mice!

Tools of the trade

Curtains/quilts/material/kitchenware/ pins/needles/thread...you name it, this market has it. Fun to wander around. Sadly some of the people on the very small stalls are very poor looking farmers.

Fish Heads and other slippery things

A whole pavilion is given over to fish. Nuno, if you are reading this - I apologise. You were so happy to recommend the salted cod fish as (a) being delicious and (b) being a specialty of Northern Portugal - but I don't really eat fish (sacrilegious in this country/and in Galway/and in Boston - I just cannot get into it) and the smell of the salted codfish in the supermarkets makes me want to gag!! Mea Culpa!

Buttons and bob and threads ......

Transport - getting around

After trying to source a second-hand bike for a couple of weeks I gave up and bought one a new one. Didn't really want to do that as I will more than likely be leaving next summer but I need something to run around on. Got a cheapo clunky hybrid and it does the job, although it is a bit heavy and hard going for any serious distance. As is the case in many countries in Europe, you can take your bike for free on the trains, which is great. The day after I bought the bike I decided to take a train ride to Ovar - a town south of Espinho and cycle from there to St. Jacinta where there is a nature park/dunes/etc.

End of the bike ride in St. Jacinta -
this guy doing his Tai Chi - what a setting!

It turned out to be further than I anticipated - 58kms in total and believe me - on that clunker I was exhausted. I will be limiting those kinds of trips in future. Porto is an 18kms bike ride and most of it is on bike paths and by the sea - the last part is gorgeous, along the river Douro. You then have the option of either cycling back or taking the train......you live and learn.

Cats

we share our environment in Espinho with many, many cats – some of them are scrawny looking characters (except this one), although they seem to be regularly fed with rubbish scraps from the apartments......interesting recycling of food. Because most people live in apartments, dogs are not as common. One of my students told me that in his apartment block there is a limit of two dogs – so tough if you want to live in a particular block and the quota has already been reached. They’re big into pet birds though – you hear them chirping on the balconies all the time....

Coffee shops
The Portuguese love their coffee - almost as much if not more than the Italians. There are literally hundreds of coffee shops/small Cafés on every corner of practically every building. I've sourced my favourites (basically the ones who understand me and give me the type of coffee I want!). In most small local Cafés you can get a double shot with hot milk for €0.85. Unbelievable. Always a bit more expensive at beach cafes and in the major cities (e.g. Porto) but rarely more than about €1.20. Many people just pop into the Café....order an espresso......drink it in about 10 seconds.....and leave. Mainly the people who linger for any length of time are: me and old people.....groups of men of women who go to the same place every day.

Fishing

Haggling for sardines

There are loads of fisher women who wheel barrows/carts around selling sardines (just like Molly Malone - never thought I'd see a real live Molly Malone).

They have a plaintive yell that can be heard all over town. they claim the fish are fresh from 'our sea' that day but when asked everyone throws their eyes up to heaven about the validity of that claim.

Fishing seems to be a national pastime in Portugal.

This is a daily ritual on the beaches in Espinho....lots of people fishing (as opposed to the seafaring type fishermen). You can see fishing lines the whole length of the beach.

Menlo John Francis and Cape Cod Bob: you'd both be in your element here!

Rubbish/Trash Collection

They have a 'quaint' custom of collecting the rubbish EVERY evening. You just tie it up and place it in the hollow of one of the many trees on the street. Great for apartment living as you don't end up with smelly 7-day rubbish but not sure about the environment - Ari??

They do have bottle and recycling banks dotted around but it's the daily rubblish pick-up that intrigues me.

University 'uniforms'

There is a tradition here that after Freshman Year - students wear black suits for the guys and black skirts, tights and jackets for the girls - all topped off with a black cape - it looks bizarre on people so young.
Also, I couldn't believe they would wear a big, heavy winter cape in September/October type weather. Then I met Miguel outside a shopping centre and he explained that the 'colourful' badges on his cape were for various clubs/fraternities he belonged to.....etc. He was as proud as punch to have his photo taken.

Miguel in his 'University' cape

Trip to visit the city of Guimarães

I decided I had enough of preparing for classes and it was time to take a short trip to explore further afield. A recommendation I received was to travel by train to Guimarães, which is currently the European Capital City of Culture. It's a medieval city and also the birthplace of Portugal. I really enjoyed the day - I'm not normally one for museums and galleries/castles, etc., but everything was on a relatively small scale and easy to get around.

I heard singing coming from Mass at one of the famous churches I had visited earlier when it was empty and went back to have a listen. The choir was incredible - could have been on stage. I noticed also last Sunday in Espinho the choir in the local church was excellent. One other interesting fact was that on both occasions the churches were pretty full - bit different from modern day Ireland.

Stairway to Heaven....Castle

Exiting the stairway to heaven

Came across this 'Angelorum' Exhibition in one of the museums......very interesting...a mix of religious and modern interpretations - I loved the modern ones!

One of the Stations of the Cross dotted on
the street - looked like people's doorways

Roasting Chestnuts in Guimaraes

Ebony and Ivory - wouldn't have to
worry about noisy neighbours here!

Typical narrow street in Guimaraes

The Duke's Palace

Back view of the castle

The beautifully restored castle 'ruin'

Not really progressing with learning Portuguese. In an English-speaking environment and no opportunity to take lessons. It's a tough language to learn but I am picking up some of the essentials. Lots of people speak English which helps.

Social life not up to much but last Friday was a Red Letter Day! I joined an online group called MeetUp which is for locals/ex-pats, etc. to meet up (get it??) and do different things. I met with a couple of interesting people and hopefully this will lead to some more activities. Of course I feel like the granny in the group but I'll get over it. Heading next Friday to do a tour of the art galleries in the 'artist quarter' in Porto so we'll see how that goes.

I'll sign off with some random photos taken over the past month...I travel into Porto about once every week and am slowly finding my way around (believe me when I say that I am always getting lost) - I'm like the finance dummy who needs to use their fingers to count - except in my case I need to physically turn my body and the map in all directions to orient myself!

Missing - Connemara and the stunning colours/hiking/Irish people but looking forward to the next 6 weeks and then Christmas break - sure don't teachers have a great life!! (that last comment's for you Louise!).....Hel

Random Images from Porto & Espinho

One of the many beautiful churches
dotted around Porto

Crazy kids jumping from the lower
bridge into the Douro

Art Deco House at the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (Art Museum not up to much but the grounds are lovely and this house which you can visit is very cool)