International Handicrafts Fair

Tonight I got to go to a handicrafts fair in Cascais with my friends Marcia, Pedro, and their sons Daniel and Lucas. This was the same festival they took my sisters and me to on our visit back in 2006. The craft fair was open for the month of August with lots of booths selling craft items linens, kids toys, pottery, clothes, jewelry etc. Paper lanterns were strung from the trees overhead giving a fun lighting feel. At 9pm there was a live concert in the open air park. The musicians walked out and I wondered what they'd sound like. There was a bass player, guitar (also played the accordion), clarinet, violin, and a drummer/percussionist. The clarinet player was the leader and I was pleasantly surprised with their music. What seemed to be an unusual assortment of instruments sounded great. Their melodies and harmonies fit so well together and the pitches were right on. The music definitely had a Jewish flair to it. The band played a variety of songs - mostly toe tapping and upbeat while others were slow with haunting melodies. Lots of the songs had a gypsy sound to them. I could picture a group of people dancing around in a circle (and then they asked the audience to form a circle and dance!). My heart started to beat a little faster, but those of us in chairs remained seated. Some "volunteers" from groups that had gathered on the sides came down front to dance. It was a fun way to end the day since music can be enjoyed in any language. The picture below was taken in bad lighting but you can see the stage and some of the musicians. The top picture is the entrance to the festival.

Weekend Thoughts

My roommate Gina came back from a visit to the market this morning with a surprise for me - a bunch of sunflowers! They brighten up our living room and make me smile. :O) There are a few random things that have stood out in my mind as being "different" so I'll share those with you.

*All the sidewalks are made of cobblestones and sometimes they are very uneven or even missing in places. You have to always watch your step, I haven't tripped yet but it's only been 2 weeks. I hear they get really slippery in the rain! It helps give a quaint small town feel, but on the practical side I can feel each individual stone and the unevenness beneath me depending on my shoes.

*There are roundabouts everywhere! This is a picture of the roundabout close to my apartment building. The next shot shows you one of the streets that I walk down on the way to school. It's about a 5-10 minute walk to get to school. There are striped white lines for pedestrians to cross the street. Pedestrians always have the right of way. You just step out and the cars are supposed to stop. Some of the cars come zipping up and I'm getting used to taking the first step even though traffic is coming. Obviously you don't go if a car is too close but sometimes I feel as if I'm putting my life out there. :O)

*Frequent trips to the grocery store are very convenient because Pingo Doce (the name of my grocery store) is located right in front of my apartment building. You can see the store on the bottom and apartments on top. My apartment building is located around the corner directly behind the store. There are always cars coming and going. It's quite interesting to watch the delivery trucks trying to back out when they leave with all the cars parked around. I'm amazed at how people can maneuver their cars in such tight spaces and parallel park too. I've seen tons of SMART cars - even a Barbie pink colored one. Below is a picture of my apartment building. I'm on the 2nd floor, just below the light on the lamp post.

*A few final thoughts. Dryers are not very common. People hang their laundry out to dry. I'm sure I'll miss my dryer in the colder months when things don't dry as fast. Tile is used everywhere - in apartments, for street names, and decorative designs along the road. Cement walls are also very popular. Yogurt is a big thing here - so much that some grocery stores have 2-3 aisles of it to pick from!
*School starts September 1st! You can check out the school website here: http://www.icsc.pt/. I'll have two half days to start out the week. That's all for now...thanks to those of you who have sent me comments or e-mails. It's great to hear from friends.

One Week Down!

I've been in Portugal for one week. The time has gone by quickly, but I've gotten a lot of things done. I have successfully gone grocery shopping, walked to and from school, done laundry, and used the gas oven. It's funny how the normal everyday things that I wouldn't have thought twice about before now feel like huge accomplishments for me! Our stove/oven is very small and tempermental (so I'm told). You have to light the burners as well as the oven with a match and there is no labeled temperature knob. If you know me I love cooking so I was worried that it might not go well. But I've made zuchinni bread and pizza that turned out so far.

The bad news I got this week as that my visa was denied. I'm not sure exactly why it was denied, possibly because I had requested my passport to be mailed back to me so I could fly to Portugal. The NY consulate may have wanted to pass off the responsibility since I'd left NY and am now in Portugal. Who knows...I'll have to go through the process from here. That will be on my to do list this week to find out more information!

Apartment Pictures

Getting Settled In...

I arrived in Portugal Sunday about noon. My friends Marcia and Pedro were there at the airport to pick me up. All my luggage made it, but I had to search for it in 2 different places. I slept very well the first night. My second night wasn't as good, but that's to be expected with adjusting to a new time zone!

My apartment is very nice. I’m on the 2^nd floor. There is a beautiful breeze that comes in and also a beautiful view to enjoy. The two pictures are the view from the balcony in the living room. My first day at school was Monday. I met the other full time staff as well as the pastor. In the next two weeks I’ll be working on my classroom and preparing curriculum that I’ll be teaching. Today, I spent some time looking over the new curriculum and getting my office organized.

There have been times when I’ve been completely overwhelmed with all the details of things to be done, but I know that I’m not alone in doing this. It's a new adventure one day at a time!

Getting Ready

I'm preparing to fly to Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, August 15th. It's hard to believe the time has finally arrived. I'm excited and anxious all rolled into one. I'll be teaching 7th and 8th grade at an International Christian School. There are 11 students signed up right now. At this point I feel like I'm ready to get there and start settling in. I hope to use this blog as a way to keep you updated on what I'm doing. I'd appreciate your prayers as I embark on this next chapter in my life. I am so thankful for the encouragement and prayers of family and friends.