An Alarming Day!

Hello - it's been a while since I've blogged and wanted to fill you all in on a few new developments. Last Thursday was a big day. I was the first teacher to arrive at school and let myself in and prepared to punch in the alarm code. I've done this before without problems but last Thursday was a different story! The key pad is a little worn out (especially for some of the numbers in the code) and I couldn't tell if the first number I punched in was recognized so I pressed it again and continued with the rest of the code. I wasn't successfull and was soon greeted by the alarm going off - sirens and beeping! AHHH - I thought to myself what do I do? I tried to call the school secretary but there was no answer and the phone at school began to ring. Trying to listen to the voice speaking in Portuguese on the other end (over the alarm going off) I launched into why the alarm was going off and that I was a teacher. I could tell the person didn't know English and they told me to wait a moment. I felt helpless. Seconds later Pedro stepped through the door and I felt a huge relief that he could take over and explain what had happened. The alarm stopped going off and the day continued. I haven't had to deal with turning off the alarm since (I've been to chicken to arrive early!).

The day started with excitement and also ended the same way. Each year the high school and junior high students play the teachers in soccer, basketball and some other sports. The students vs. teachers soccer game is on December 15th. I agreed to play in the game and thought it would be a good idea to practice up a bit by joining my students and the high school in their PE class. The high school teacher often joins the PE class each week and the PE teacher encourages it. I thought it would be a good chance to get to know my kids better so last Thursday I brought my PE clothes and headed over to the soccer field about a 5 min. walk away. Not 10 minutes into our game I was kicked by one of the students when we were both going after the ball. My leg instantly started swelling and I sat out for the rest of PE class. I was able to walk back to school but felt some discomfort. I used ice and kept my foot elevated as much as possible. Over the weekend my leg/ankle didn't improve.

Long story short, yesterday I decided to go get some x-rays after getting some advice from friends. I had my first Urgent Care clinic experience! A friend was able to take me there and help. Thankfully we did not have to wait very long to be seen by a doctor. I wish I had a video camera to record people's reactions to my foot - it's not pretty! He sent me off for x-rays. That was another experience! He insisted that I not put any pressure on my foot and brought a wheelchair for me to ride it (another first!). Good news is that there are no broken bones or fractures but there was a lot of "trauma" - that's what the dr. kept repeating. He wanted to imobilize my foot and told me to stay off it for 10 days. He said it needs TIME and REST. I now have a permanent ace wrap on it and am to use crutches for the next 10 days!

I was supposed to go to Ireland with my roommate during our Thanksgiving break but decided that it wasn't very practical for me to try to do that on crutches so I'll be staying in Cascais for Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to the peace and quiet and time away from school. I'll certainly miss the adventure of exploring Ireland but know there must be a reason for me to have this extra time. Hoping that's the last of my adventures for a while!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! :o)

Success!

Well -- whew! It's been a long week I think I had an appointment somewhere each day this week - but I'm happy to report that I have an extension to my tourist visa. Thanks for your prayers! God has certainly been at work this week! I'm thankful for the people that helped get me to different offices and spoke on my behalf to get all the right paperwork in order. It was stressful standing by and hearing conversations back and forth in Portuguese and not understanding, but knowing by the tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language that things weren't quite in order. Yesterday afternoon (after paying some fees of course!) I received a sticker in my passport that gives me permission to stay until mid December when my flight leaves for Rochester! The next thing to pray for is that I'll be able to enter again in Januaary without any problems since I've technically already spent my 90 days.

The other exciting news is that my roommate Gina and I decided to go to Ireland for our Thanksgiving break. Gina found some cheap airplane tickets on a direct flight from Lisbon to Dublin - so we'll be there for about 4 days! I'm excited to have the chance to travel there and we're both glad that the language will be English! If anyone has any travel tips for places to go/see in Dublin I'm all ears!

Visa Challenges!

My 90 day tourist visa ends on Friday. We've been scrambling this week to get that solved. Yesterday afternoon I left school early to go to the SEF office (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteirae) in Cascais. We waited for a little while before speaking to 3 different people to get information before leaving. Basically I need to apply for an extension on my tourist visa - another 90 days. After that, the next step is to re-apply for a long term visa since my first attempt in the states was rejected. To get the extended tourist visa I needed to make a trip to Lisbon to have a criminal background check.

This morning when I arrived at school I was warned that the trip to Lisbon might be today and I should be prepared to leave my class (and make sure they had work to do)! Sure enough, about 10am the pastor came in and asked if we could leave in the next 20min to head into Lisbon to get my criminal background checked. I wrote a list of work on the board and explained why I was leaving. I said I should be back sometime before the end of the day. I had to chuckle when one of my Greek students leaned to her neighbor to clarify why I was going to have my criminal record checked! Some of them were afraid that I wouldn't be back!

After waiting in line about two and a half hours our number flashed up! They were helping #80 when we arrived and our number was #139. I did a lot of "people watching" during that time. Even thought I don't understand Portuguese you can still pick up a lot of things from people's body language and facial expressions. Once we were helped, it only took about 2 minutes to get the needed documents and be back on our way. It's funny how a change from the normal classroom environment can drain me more than a typical day at school.

The pieces seem to be falling into place. Wed. and Thurs. I have two more appointments to finish getting the missing pieces. I'm so thankful for the help from the school in getting me where I need to go and speaking for me at each of of these places. You can pray that all goes well and by Friday I'll have an extended tourist visa that will get me through to early next year. I've had to be patient the past few days and am sure I'll be tested some more. But in the midst of all this I know (and have already seen) that God is going to work this out. I'd appreciate your prayers though! That's all for now - I'll have an update in a few days...

Budapest Trip

The full time teachers at ICSC were able to go to a conference in Budapest, Hungary at the ASCI headquarters. We flew out of Lisbon very early Thursday morning. The school bus came to pick Gina and I up at 3:45am. We landed in Hungary early afternoon and headed to the ACSI house on the southeast edge of the city. The had prepared a Hungarian stew for lunch which was delicious. The ACSI house is in a beautiful neighborhood that reminded me a lot of home. The leaves were turning colors and it was fun to get a taste of fall - including the early morning frosts! :O) I went on some walks through the neighborhood and enjoyed the smell of fall. Here are some pictures of the neighborhood.

During our stay there we had about 8 different sessions. Some were whole group and for others we broke up into smaller groups based on our age levels or challenges in our classrooms. It was good to be reminded of some things and get some new ideas. One of my favorite things about the trip was getting to know my fellow teachers better. It was fun to be in a relaxed environment and get to know more about them. Saturday afternoon and evening was our time to go sightseeing. We got 2 taxis to take us into town and started out at a Hungarian market. Here's a picture of the outside and then one inside to show just how big it is. The first level had all kinds of food and the second level was mostly souvenirs.

From there my roommate Gina and I went with Robb and Anna to the Castle District. We navigated our way on the metro (which brought back memories of my trip with my sisters in 2006) and enjoyed walking down streets and seeing some of the history around us. My roommate Gina loves coffee and saw a sign in one of the shops for Bubble Tea - something she hadn't had for years. I took a picture of her jumping outside the shop. I knew we wouldn't be able to see much in the short amount of time but was thankful for what I did get to see. The sun goes down very early - about 4-4:30 so it was neat to see the city all lit up at night. Robb, Anna, Gina, and I crossed the Danube River walking across the Chain Bridge.We ended up at a small pizza place for dinner. Budapest is a beautiful city with many beautiful sights. It'd be fun to go back and visit again. Here are some pictures from the trip! I'll close with a video of a man playing in one of the open areas. I love coming across live musicians in Europe. Earlier in the night we heard a man playing violin too.

Friday Night Outing

On Friday I my roommate and I were offered free tickets to hear the Lisbon Orchestra play. One of the french horn players goes to the church and often will share extra tickets with friends. It was a cloudy, rainy day at the end of a long week so my roommate Gina decided not to go. I haven't learned how to navigate my way to Lisbon by train and bus yet, so I said I was interested but would need help getting there. Before the afternoon was over I had a ride arranged with a clarinet player who is connected with school/church and lives nearby. At 5:10 I was to meet Esther, my ride, outside the school on the main road. Esther pulled up right on time and took me into Lisbon. Ironically she has a sister who lives in Rochester, NY - in Greece! We enjoyed getting to know one another on the ride in. I was there about an hour before the concert began at 7pm and had a chance to wander around the gardens outside the building before the concert began. My seat was in the 3rd row on the right hand side.

The concert was GREAT! The program had a variety of music starting with an 18 year old guest soloist playing a Prokofiev Piano Concerto. Followed by that was a soprano soloist singing 6 different Strauss songs. After the intermission the orchestra performed Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky and Ravel. After the concert Esther had plans to go to a cafe with a friend for a quick dinner. I felt like I was intruding, but she assured me that I was welcome. Once we got there some other orchestra friends also joined us. I met 4 violin players and another clarinet player. They were all very friendly and welcoming. We shared many laughs over a delicious dinner - a baked fish and rice dish!

It was a late night - I didn't get back till 11:30 but was glad I took the opportunity to do something spontaneous. It was also fun to meet some new people. I'm still getting used to the Portuguese greeting and goodbye - a kiss on each cheek. I was "kissed" by 4 guys Friday night! I made the mistake of putting out my hand to say goodbye and was reminded with a smile that in Portugal it's not a handshake! More adventures to come. This Thursday the teachers leave for a conference in Budapest, Hungary. I'll be sure to post some pictures and news about our trip when I can.

Castle Tour!

On Saturday I had the chance to tour a castle in Tomar, Portugal with some new friends. I met some teachers from the ABWE school in Lisbon last weekend. Nick and his wife Krista invited me to join them and Meredith (another first year teacher) on the day trip.We started with lunch at a cafe. I had pork chops with Portuguese rice, salad, and fries. It was delicious and fun to experience European eating at an outdoor cafe. I think this was my first authentic Portuguese food since arriving. In the square we went in a church that is one of Portugal's oldest built in 1430. Different vendors had tables set up in the square selling different kinds of nuts.

Most of our time was spent walking through a castle from the 12th century! Templar knights helped the Portuguese fight the Moors. In return the king gave land to them where castles and churches were built. This particular castle and convent was built in 1162. In later years other additions were added. It was so neat to walk through the halls and rooms and imagine what history had taken place there. The views were picturesque and the weather was perfect for a jaunt through ancient history. The first picture is a look at the round Templar Church. The rest are various pictures from inside. The architecture was neat to see - very ornate and detailed in places. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit and look forward to my next sightseeing adventure....

10 Random Things - in no specific order!

Random things that catch me by surprise:

1. Cars park on the sidewalks all over the place
2. All the security - gates, fences, locks, security guards inside grocery stores and at entrances to other stores (Are they over cautious or is it needed? I've never felt unsafe)
3. Standard paper is A4 size - this doesn't work with American filling system - the papers are about 2 in longer and don't fit in the hanging file folders in my office! I'll have to come up with a new system. Papers aren't hole punched with 3 holes but 2 about 3 in. apart. 
4. Milk comes in cardboard boxes - unrefrigerated
5. This morning there was a lot of fog - it was like a cloud settled in Cascais for the morning. After church it had lifted and you could see the sky.
6. Normal dinner time is around 8-9pm
7. Still wearing sandals in October! Enjoying the sunshine and blue skies!
8. People you pass on the street don't smile or give any greetings.
9. Tiny, compact cars and some delivery trucks with 3 wheels that are super tiny and go putting along! Makes me wonder what it'd feel like to squish myself inside one.
10. Keys - I have a lot of different keys for school and the apartment. At school - the gate, main door, and my office. Apartment - main door, apt. door lock and dead bolt.Some keys are in the shape of a plus sign with teeth on all 4 sides. You have to get it in the lock just the right way for it to turn. I've learned by trial and error! :O)