The Christmas Lights are Up

For some time now, it has been dark when we get out of class and make our way to the metro and the walk home. We are now taking class that goes from 2pm-6pm each day.  I can't say that our walk home is in the dark because in a city this size, there are street lights everywhere.  We can even take pictures and have them turn out.  But these days, it is even brighter as the Christmas lights are up. You can't tell from the picture but the doves wings move and the star twinkles. Still it just doesn't "feel" like Christmas has in the past. Maybe not having our Christmas decorations that were "supposed" to be in our crate and not having the Pennsylvania fall or the cold and snow has kept us from moving into the season. Maybe it's because this year just  it isn't the "same". Still, the fact remains that we have so much to celebrate regardless of how it "feels" and just knowing that Jesus is the true Light of the World gives us all the reason we need to CELEBRATE.  

This last picture shows you the bridge that is almost  to our apartment building on our walk home each evening. Don likes to walk on the bike path - he says it is easier on the feet than the cobblestone sidewalks.

It Doesn't Feel SO Strange Anymore

In the last week or two, we have become more comfortable with life here. It was such a gradual change that we have been surprised to realize that we are actually "comfortable" most of the time. Well, at least with almost everything but the driving... Even Don doesn't feel comfortable yet about that and we still don't know how or what streets to go on.

Even though we don't know the language we don't go places wondering how we are going to get what we need. We know that we can get by in a pinch and if we have to come back another time, so be it. We walk into our big grocery store, where very few of the workers can even speak a tiny amount of English, and we go about our business as if we were in Walmart back home. Sometimes some customer standing next to us can answer a question or two and we always have fun trying to talk to them.

I went into a small store to buy some white tea the other day and neither one of the ladies spoke any English. By hand signs, I just told them I was looking, and then I remembered that I could say, "I would like... tea white." It was a wonderful feeling to have the words come to me when I'd already given up!

Friday night we walked to a big mall near us and met with other friends on our team for one of the children's birthday parties. We had conversations in English, Pizza Hut pizza (actually tastes very close to the pizza in the States), and birthday cake that was made with American cake mix! We could have been in the States just going about a regular birthday but then when we left and went out to walk around the mall - this time I didn't notice the big differences. It just seemed like a mall to me with people in it. The language didn't seem so strange, and the signs did not make me wonder what they said (I recognize some words now and know that in time, I will get a lot more.)

Okay, speaking of language, now I need to go study those present tense verbs that we are going to be tested on next week...

Costa da Caparica

Costa da Caparica is one of the many beaches in the Lisbon area. On this afternoon, in early October, we were driving around with our friends and decided to make a detour to the beach just to look at the sea and walk around a little bit. Costa da Caparica is across the river from Lisbon and on the Atlantic coast. You can stand on the beach and look to your right and see where the river empties out into the sea.

It was our first time to see the ocean since we have come to Lisbon and it was a perfect day in the late afternoon, with the sun beginning to set, a pleasant breeze and not too many people. Just smelling the fresh sea breeze, feeling the warmth on our faces, and watching the sun set was a gift from God. Don even got a picture of a lone surfer walking across our view as the sun was disappearing out of sight.

Fairs and Feiras

We have county fairs in the States, usually held sometime during the summer, but here in Portugal they have their version (somewhat) of a county fair called a feira. Their feira's last longer and in the case of the one near our apartment, it lasted for all of September. We enjoyed walking down on several occasions to enjoy the activity that surrounds a feira. There were even a few rides for small children. We also got a few nice plants and a really good little pan at one of the booths.

They have a lot of the same things we do - "fair food" of grilled chicken, hamburgers, sausages, corn, potatoes, friend potatoes, and even cotton candy. They also have a version of fried dough but shaped in the form of long hollow tubes that can be filled with cream or fruit fillings or just left empty and then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. We chuckled a little about the name because it wouldn't go over so well in the States - to be eating "farturas".

The word "feira"also means market and in fact, the days of the week came from their "market" days. Monday is segunda-feira (2nd market), Tuesday is terça-feira (3rd market), quarta..., quinta..., sexta... Saturday and Sunday are Sabado and Domingo with no -feira after the word.

The gypsies sell a lot things at the feiras - name brands and immitations. If you need something, you will probably find it for a pretty good price at these kinds of annual feiras.

Football (American) in Portugal

There is football (futebol, or as we know it, soccer) and the much less known and/or liked futebol americano in Portugal. The futebol americano is a non-professional version, but still very competitive from what I hear. The team that Don helps with practices on a grassy area where the Vasco de Gama bridge starts on the Lisbon side of the river. It is about 15 or 20 minutes from our house and a little more when Don gets lost. There are so many streets, buildings, traffic, twists and turns, that even when you are somewhat familiar with an area it is still easy to lose your way.

The videos are from one of the first practice sessions.

This morning there is actually a scrimmage going on between two teams at a stadium. The game will serve two purposes - practice game for the teams, and learning and practice for the new referees. Don had to leave at 7am and I am waiting for him to come home and tell me how it went. I wonder how crazy it got.

Arraiolos

Arraiolos is a town that is know for it's hand made wool carpets. In fact the name of the town and the name of the carpets are the same. Wikipedia has this to say "Arraiolos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 683.0 km² and a total population of 7,389 inhabitants. The small town of Arraiolos has 3,351 inhabitants."

The municipality is located in the District of Évora.

Evora

Here is a link to information about Evora. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/portugal/evora

It really was a beautiful place and has the World Heritage status. Wikipedia says, "

A World Heritage Site is a place of either cultural or physical significance."