The West is Awake: December 2012

I love..........

· not having a car – the freedom of walking everywhere with no exposure to traffic jams or road rage

· the price of things in general...full week’s fruit and veg shopping for about €6

· 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)

· the HUGE Atlantic rollers crashing down to the shore (best the hour before high tide)

I miss.......

· Connemara – and everything about it – the beautiful colours/the ever changing scenery

· Galway

· Irish people in general

Social life

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 .

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’.

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.

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!!)

End of the Hash - Happy Hashers - now for the booze!

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!

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, 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 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

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.

Usually they WANT to learn and are not being forced into lessons by their parents. PS....before I get the backlash from all of you who have/had the teenager experience – not ALL are like that – but it’s the 20% that does your head in!

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.

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

The school term is almost at an end (December 15). Lots of prep for tests and correcting tests, etc. But before that I have a few days off because of a public holiday, so off to Madrid for a couple of days on 7^th December. I’ve never been so looking forward to it. Good belt of time off at Christmas (unpaid of course) so I’m heading with my good friend Susan B. To Mallorca for 10 days for some hiking and R&R. Hoping to be fresh as a daisy for the January term, when I’ll have to up the ante with my ‘creativity’ with lessons before either I or the students go bonkers!