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EUA: tanto estrago em tão pouco tempo

 As part of my effort to learn about Portugal, both the country and the language, I'm subscribing to the centrist newspaper, O Publico .  There are plenty of newspapers: conservative tabloids, and socialist and communist-sponsored daily papers; I find O Publico to be most sober, with consistently interesting columnists and opinion pieces, in addition to some local (Porto) news, with just enough sporting news to keep me chatting with the taxi driver.   Today's opinion piece sums up, I think, European pundits' view of the U.S. government.  As the title puts it: so much damage in so little time.  I shudder at the rank incompetence and corrupt behavior, demonstrating a cynical attitude toward public service, showing indeed that the cruelty is the point. What scandal, what damage will be the tipping point to collapse this government?   And what will it take to recover from the damage?  Who will be able to trust the US government again, ever?   Only ni...
Recent posts

Review of Above The Salt, by Katherine Vaz

  An epic historical novel that sweeps through 80 years, from Madeira and all around the United States.  The term “above the salt” refers to an old English tradition about the placement of the salt (cellar) on a large dining table – people seated closer to the host were “above the salt", socially-favored; by exclusion, those below the salt were on a lower social level.  This expression reflects the narrative only indirectly, in its theme of social distinctions that affect lives in tragic ways; and the author refers to salt often, in relation to tears and to the ocean.   I was drawn to the novel by its Portuguese connection, and I enjoyed the language and culture references; but the romantic love stories and the evocation of life in the late 1800s propelled the narrative.  Occasional poetic metaphorical passages evoked the emotional state of the characters, and often jarred the straight line of the narrative.  We follow the triumphs and travails of our ...

Fleeing Trump, Americans go to Portugal

  Fleeing Trump, Americans go into exile in Portugal. “I'm afraid to go back” Not only minorities feel threatened by the Trump administration. Three couples, a mother and an academic tell us why they chose to live in Portugal. Some say: the American dream is over.      The above is today's headline article in our favorite trusted newspaper in Portugal, O Publico .  It's a centrist newspaper, owned by a big supermarket corporation.  Let's combine this with the recent news that Portugal's Air Force is now shifting away from its planned purchase of F-35 jets.  Even though Trump has not even mentioned Portugal in his various diatribes against former allies, Portugal and the rest of Europe are reeling from the attacks.  We hope it has the ironic effect of freeing Europe from American dominance and improving the chances for centrist leadership (against Trump-like parties that have been gaining prominence).  The original text follows: Em fuga de Tru...

Yikes! Russian Chocolate!

 The other day we chanced upon a Slavic grocery store.  We went inside, marveled at all the products from various eastern european countries, from Czechia to Poland to Yugoslavia to Russia to Kazakhstan.  I grabbed a chocolate bar... and now I realize that it's Russian, imported via Germany.  The ingredients list is written in Russian, Kyrgyz, and Uzbek; and a separate ingredients sticker pasted over it in German.  No Portuguese or Spanish or English.  Hmm. How did it get here?  And what sort of sanctions are imposed on Russian confectioners? The chocolate itself is just okay, nothing special.

Reservoir of European Youth, Parliament

 A few days ago I walked to the nearby Pasteleira Park, planning to visit the city museum at the Reservoir.  Walking through the park I noticed a large group of young people gathered in a circle, engaged in team-building activities.   My days in education attuned me to the spectacle and piqued my interest, so I sat on a nearby bench and watched as a succession of enthusiastic students ran to the center and started an activity, which all the others joined enthusiastically.  What sort of group would this be?  A typical high school class would include a portion of disinterested teens, and others only half-heartedly participating.  This crowd was unanimous in their excitement.   I also noted that the leaders were speaking in English, though the breeze muffled the words.  I walked around, found a couple of older participants on the side, with official-looking lanyards, and asked:  this was an activity of European Youth Parliament , simil...

Visa Notification, and pleasant airline ticket story

March 25 late afternoon we both received an e-mail from the Portuguese consulate informing us that our visa application was approved and authorized.  Tomorrow morning I will take the train in to the city and hand-deliver our passports to the VFS office!  Typically it takes 4 working days to put the visa sticker in the passport.  We have learned to not count on the timing -- don't hold your breath.  After all, we applied for the visa last December 4th, and other later applicants already got their visas!  And I had purchased a cheaper round-trip ticket, expecting to return to Porto on the 24th of March.   When the visa notification still had not arrived by last Friday, I worried about changing the ticket: what date would I change it to?  We cannot be sure when the notification will arrive, and when we will get our passports back.  Fortunately, they can suspend the itinerary for successive five-day periods.  What a relief!  Now we truly wil...

Scouting Trip to Porto in October

Now starting our time in Porto for finding an apartment and signing a lease.  We have engaged RelocateToPortugal to help us.  We booked a flight from JFK so we could be in Porto from 23 October to 04 November (we need to be back in NY in time for Coleman & Joyce's run in the NY Marathon!). First we drove from Carol Stream on Friday afternoon, just after Barb's long-awaited dermatology appointment -- only a few skin things frozen off, no problem.  Overnight at Toledo, then back in Ossining by 7pm.  Oct23 we took a 6pm Brussels Airlines overnight flight, no problem, connecting to another flight to Porto that arrived Tuesday noon (local time -- jetlag was tough.  I slept 4 hours in the plane seat--Barb just occasionally dozed, little sleep).  Relatively easy, though 15-20 minute waits at passport control at Brussels (our entry to the Schengen area) then for our luggage (it all arrived fine!), then to buy a metro ticket to take us from the airport downtown!...