Back to Lisbon

After our adventure in the Alentejo Sebi and I were taken back Lisbon to continue seemlessly on to our next great activity. We went back to lisbon with sebi´s whole family packed into their small suv. Like I said ealier it was a short drive, atleast on west coast united states scale, and we all enjoyed ourselves. We entered lisbon on the east side passing across one of the longest bridges in europe. The bridge put us right in the neighborhood where we wanted to be. At a stop light sebi and I hopped out of the packed car and were off. Our plan was this: Head to the world famous Lisbon Oceanario (big aquarium full of animals from the oceans of the world), lunch, explore, then, last but not least, the main attraction of the whole weekend, the OASIS Concert!!!
We passed through a big fancy mall on our way to the oceanario and, popping out on the other side, found ourselves in the heart of the modern district of lisbon. This area is one of my favorites in lisbon, it is just chock full of modern art, fountains, architecture and it´s situated right on the banks of the Tejo river. This area has a history too, it was once the sketchy part of lisbon, crime ridden, dirty and generally a dump. It was a big plot of land right on the river characterized by old rundown factories, loading/unloading docks, oil refineries and the such. As the industrial sector of lisbon expaned north, this area was left as waste and soon became a scene much like the book I read last year in english, Cannery Row. Well, in 1998 Portugal hosted the Fair of Nations called, EXPO ´98, the portuguese government at the time bought this sorry plot of land and resolved to spice it up. They poured a ton of money in to making the place a cultural center full of modern art and architecture, of course other nations that were to have `booths´ at the expo, like the united states, wanted to help and make the place a success so they too dumped a bunch of money into the area´s restoration. Well, the result was more than a success and it is now dubed one of the best places in Lisbon to visit, hang out, tour etc.
Sebi and I headed past the Pavilhão Atlantico through the Park of Nations under the cable cars to the Oceanario, we entered and took a blitz tour running around like crazed kindergartners. We saw everything from penguins to tropical fish, to some giant deep sea monsters and the most fragile looking dragon fish. It was all really cool but by the end we were both really hungry. We passed through some more cool areas and parks on our way back to the mall to get a bite to eat. There was this one park with tons of exhibits that had to do with water, a big artificial waterfall and a japanese sort of bamboo water garden. Another park was characterized by the ground, all covered in grass, shaped into big un-moving waves. You could run up and down the backs of this waves, about my waist hight 1m or so, and jump and slide down them. It was really fun running, sliding on the grass, and jumping off the waves of grass. It was a trip. In the mall we made a quick stop at a burger king where I got a delicous triple whopper. We decided we should go eat our meal as we waited in line to get in to the concert so we took it to go and hurried over to the Pavilhão where the concert was to be held. Well, we got to the main entrance only to find the place completely deserted except for a couple policemen. We got right up to the gates and were stopped by the cops to do a routine check. I started to eat my burger before we left the mall so I was about 3/4´s done with my beast of a sandwich when we got to the checkpoint. Sebi went through one side of the gate as I went through the other. My cop didn´t do much checking on me, he said, hey, where are your drugs, I said I already took them and that it was too late, he laughed and let me pass. Sebi´s cop was a little more thurough in his task and while sebi was being checked the guard who checked me started up some small talk. He said my burger looked good and I said it was, and that my secret was that the burger was my drug, we laughed and I continued devouring my beefy delight, dripping all kinds of ketchup and meat sauce. It was quite comical really, finally sebi passed and when I started talking with sebi the cop realized that we werent portuguese and asked me where I was from, I said the states and we started talking about that, I told him all about how me and sebi were exchange students and that sebi was from argentina and he seemed pretty interested. So the good vibe was set for the concert.
We got in to find the colossal pavilhão almost empty except for a mas of tightly packed people close to the stage. I went to the bathroom as Sebi went to buy a t-shirt and c.d. promotion combo. When we were both set we went to conquer some spots. We were still a little early and as we waited the main floor slowly filled up behind us. Soon the lights went out and the opening band came up on stage. They rocked for a little while but where really nothing memorable. Free peace they were called. As they left the crowd gave a big surge and sebi and I took our chance to get a little closer. Our move paid off and we found ourselves about 20 or some odd feet away from the stage. The curtain started to rise and everyone settled down, big screens lit up and the concert was on. The rest is history. We saw everything you would expect at a concert of this size, fights, beer, etc. About 30,000+ people in total. Oasis rocked out and put on a memorable performance, of course Wonderwall and all the old hits were the highlights and as the lights came on everyone was left with a sort of dazed look as is all too common after big shows. We joined in the shuffle to exit the building and as chance would have it, shuffled into one of our AFS volunteers who had been at the show aswell. We chated about everything as we shuffled to the exit, eventually parting ways for good. Feeling another shot of hunger, sebi and I made our way back to the mall, this time to mcdonalds where we met another crew of people we knew. We all ate and conversed about the spectacle we had all just seen and then headed as a group down towards the metro. We road the metro together aswell, saying goodbye to one or two of our groups members at each stop. Sebi and I were going the farthest and eventually found ourselves alone and tired ready to go to sleep. Another train ride and a little bit of walking and our wish was granted.
After a couple way to short hours of sleep I was awaken by my alarm clock. It was time to say goodbye to Lisbon. Sebi woke up with my and insisted on accompanying me to the bus station. We met a taxi close to sebi´s house and set off to the station. We made it in perfect timing and I got on my bus, said a deep farewell to sebi and was off. I slept a little on the bus ride home, but no matter how hard I tried, rest didn´t come easily. I got off the bus in Viseu and headed home for a quick shower and then straight to class, afterall it was monday and due to the AFS code had to make it to the majority of my classes that day. It would have been unexceptably rude to have fallen asleep in any of my classes but I think the teachers would have understood, so I didn´t do much and felt an odd sensation as an end to my fantastic weekend.

lisbon school visit

A while ago I went on a school trip to lisbon as part of a research deal for a book we are reading called OS MAIAS. OS MAIAS is a very famous portuguese romance written in the 19th century by EÇA DE QUEIROS.

I got up really early, got ready and headed to the school. I met up with a freind of mine on the way and we made it to the school to catch the bus and meet up with our class before 8. We waited a little while as about half of the 11th graders from our school boarded the busses. We left and I sat next to my friend Miguel. The bus ride was long, about 4 hours, and we took one 20 min. break. The portuguese teens are a rowdy bunch, the bus ride consisted of photos, making signs for truckers and everyone getting annoyed and fighting in the aisle. We got to lisbon later in the afternoon and went to go eat lunch in that nice new district where the concert was. We ate lunch in the mall and walked a little bit afterwards. Then we got back in the bus and headed towards downtown lisbon. We all got off the bus in the middle of the old district to start our walking tour. The tour was about two hours and we saw the outsides of a lot of buildings. That was it. At the end of the tour we got a little free time to enjoy the new downtown of lisbon and then get back on the bus for four more hours. That wasn´t that fun. The kids didn´t really calm down at all so no one really got any rest. We got home at about ten and I walked home with some friends. I went to bed right afterwards.

Sunny times = Happy times

I know that I start so many posts with the by now familiar phrase ``This last weekend was great´´ but there is really no other way to go about it. I started playing pick up games of american football with some freinds from the other highschool here in Viseu. Every friday we meet up in an abandoned parking lot in the outskirts of the town to play. The scene is somthing like one would expect to find in the days of Sandlot. (great movie) There is a supermarket, a stretch of big road, a big field and us; running, grabbing, catching, laughing, all those great things that come with friends and a ball. We use the lines of the parking lot as yard markers and set up TD zones with our backpacks and bicycles. We get a diverse mixture of kids at our games, girls, boys, rugby stars and math wizes. Now, football is not the easiest of sports to master and therefore I do a lot of explaining and sometimes things meltdown into utter havok, but we have our fun just the same. After this fridays game I went to a jazz concert at the Teatro Viriato. It was an interesting show to say the least. The band was made up of a bassist, pianist, and drummer. They played the craziest experimental jazz I have ever heard in time signatures that I thought impossible to exist and ended every song in perfect harmony and coordination. It was something to experience. They are called Mikado Lab. I think they have myspace and I´m sure are worth a quick google search or other internet magic to hear their unique sound. After the show I went out with some friends. The next day Luis and I went to visit Luis´ parents in Sever do Vouga. The drive to my grandparents house is about 1 hour from viseu, most of it (45min.) spent on a big fast highway with the rest passing by going on small loopy roads in the mountains overlooking river valleys and the likes. Very pretty. We arrived just in time for lunch. Ah, before lunch Luis and I also took a little tour of some industrial area in between Viseu and Sever Do Vouga to see the plant of one of the biggest green energy producers in the world. This company, Martifel, makes everything from windmills to generate electricity, solar panels, to sports stadiums. It was cool just seeing the outside of the process to create one of these monolithic metalic structures. Well, After lunch Luis and I got back in the car to go on another tour, this time it was of the picturesque sorrounding mountains and river valleys. We looped high up to the tops of peaks over looking the river far, far below, and then back down through villages and past farms to the bottom of this river basin to dip our hands in the cool water. We also went to this really cool waterfall that seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Such beautiful country! And so much history too, I think 4 generations of Luis´ family have lived there and still many people from his family still do. We met up with Luis´ dad and went back to the house for a snack. Then we headed to some property that belongs to the family. The property is really cool, its big too, stretching all the way from one roadway about halfway up a mountain until the valley floor where it meets the river. We decided to take a hike and explore the area down until the river. There is an old house on the property and I was told that it was a great place to hold some parties with friends and to bring some people out there to camp. We walked down through the property passing all kinds of cool things, swings hanging off big trees over steep inclines, hammocks, orange trees where you could simply grab an orange of the limb and eat it all juicy and perfect. I was also told that this property was home to many wild boars, although I didn´t see any, there tracks through the mud were plentiful. We heard the rushing of the water long before we saw the river, I started mentally drooling over some imaginary kayaking and started wondering if there were some good rapids on this section of river, maybe even a playwave. We passed a small waterfall and followed it´s flow down to meet the river. As soon as the water popped into sight from behind the dense brush and big trees I saw it, a perfect play wave staring me in the face. I nearly yelled, ``Luis! DO YOU SEE THAT!´´ I said, ``A wave, just perfect for me to go kayaking on!´´ Luis had already seen the video I have here of me playing around on a playwave on the Upper Klamath river so he knew what I was talking about and agreed that it would be good. I sat there for probably ten minutes just looking at the perfection of this wave, long-ish glassy face capped with a nice white boiling top perfect for keeping the boat from washing downriver, and if this were the case, a big long pool afterwards with perfect eddy access and a sandy beach on the side for relaxing, some rocks for sitting, filming, jumpin and everything, just perfect. We walked up river a little more to another spot where the river formed a confluence and the water gained speed and presented another rapid. I would say iniccially class two, maybe three, but I dunno, looked like fun! After our hike, many oranges and some small yard type work we headed back to the house for snack time and then we left.
After arriving back in Viseu I re-dressed and set out for a birthday party in the big mall we have here. I met up with some freinds and we ate dinner, watched a soccer match and saw a film. Sunday was a work day for me as I had to turn in a bunch of drawings for the Design final. We also went out to Vila Nova for lunch and I spent my time drawing out there in the rustic old office of the farm house. Very nice. All in all a goooood weekend. And don´t worry my dear blog reader, I have sooo much more to write about. Much, Much more to come, I garuntee it.

Continuation.

Got on the bus. The bus ride was fine down to lisbon. It´s about a four hour haul, no stops through the heart of portugal. It is a trip I have done a fair share of times but one that I never get tired of. Being on that bus, alone, accompanied only by my Ipod on my way to another great adventure just evokes some kind of feeling in me. A feeling of satisfacton, comfort and freedom. Sounds tacky but doing that on my own makes me feel free, out in the world, going to rondezvous with my friends in a big city. I settle in, listening to the music that fits the mood which seems to change almost as rapidly as the scenery outside the bus window. We go from mountains to plains, over rivers and past lakes until finally the industrial city scape of lisbon breaks over the horizon, rising up, growing ever bigger and more fascinating as our bus nears the metropolis. Of course we get stuck in some minor traffic. After many minutes of anxious ``Are we there yet?´´s the bus pulls a hard right and heads down a beaver slide into the busy bus-port. The scene is that from a star wars film, space ships buzzing around like bees docking and un-docking, loading and unloading of cargo and different species from far off worlds. I climb off the bus in a slight daze, awakening from the calmness that was my ipod and bus seat, and see sebi waiting for me with his cell phone at his ear making some last minute arrangements for the night ahead of us. He says something into the phone and quickly hangs up. With a broad smile on his face and his arms spread even wider he charges. I duck into a football tacklers position and take him around the middle. After that little scene in the crowded bus station, we exchange some quick words of hello, how´s it going and then sebi brings it to my attention that the bus arrived twenty minutes behind schedule and that we needed to put on the afterburners to get everything ready for tonight. After that is was a mad dash. We raced out of the station to the nearest metro, hastily bought tickets and boarded nipping our tails in the closing door. This was our real first chance to have a conversation. We embraced once more and then broke out in laughter, this is it, we are doing it, living the life! We hopped stops, tranfering trains, surfacing to catch the famous lisbon electricals, and finally jumping off at a breakneck pace and sprinting the last 100 yards to sebis front door. Only sebis maid and little brother were home when we arrived. We said quick formal hellos and then went to prepare in sebis room. Sebi insisted that I use his bed so i set my bag down, pulled out some fresh clothes, threw them on, and we were off once more. We left the house and stopped at a nearby bank to take out some money, went back to sebi´s house to drop off his credit card (dangerous to carry it around) and went back to the train station. we got our tickets and arrived on the platform in the nick of time to catch the train. We took the train into the heart of the lisbon night life scene passing pulse-pounding clubs that could be heard inside the train on our way by. Lines of people stood outside in the warm, clear night air waiting to get in some of these clubs. The mood was set. We passed under the big famous bridge in lisbon just before our stop. We got off, standing out a little as we both looked utterly exhausted and hungry as we had just ran this crazy marathon of transport, and were easily spotted by our group of friends that we were planning on meetimg. With shouts and yells of welcome ringing throughout my ears, and those of anyone else on the platform, I was grabbed and hugged by all my exchange student buddies. I was really happy to see them all. We waited around for some more straggling friends and, when the whole gang was assembled, we set of to find our restaraunt. The place was a little farther off than anyone had expected and after a long walk we were all very excited to see the big bright orange, that was the sign and name of the place, shining out in the dark street. We entered and were greeted by warm smiles and bright orange walls. We were seated and given a sheet of paper and a pen. Now, how this place works is really cool, it is basically just designed for teens. They have about 4 basic dishes, you tally how many of each dish you want and thats that. The main draw of this place is the drinks. You pay a small fee, get a basic meal, and all the free drinks you can handle. Soon the restaruant was packed, each long table packed with roudy teenagers. The drinks come before anything else and before you know it everyone is laughing and having a good time, tottally oblivious to the fact that the meal hasn´t even started. Sooner or later the waitress comes bearing our ready-made plates and we laugh and eat some more. After many pictures, spills and stories told, we feel it´s time to let the night lead on. A night to remember. It came to a nice end with me and sebi making our way home to rest and prepare for the day to come.

Weekend in Lisbon and Foz do Arelho

So, I have soo much to say, I hope I can do my weekend justice. Here it goes. Last wednesday my friend from argentina called me and asked me if I wanted to stay with him in lisbon for the weekend. We decided that it would be better if I skipped school friday and we would take an extra day to see the city. So thursday night I hopped on a bus in viseu and was off. I arrived in lisbon 4 hours later at 10 pm. Usually the trip isn´t that long but the bus stopped through coimbra and other places and I thought it was really cool to see them. I was greeted by sebi and his host mom at the bus station and after some sleepy hellos we headed to the house. Sebi´s house is located in one of the best neighborhoods in lisbon, the same one with all the embassies and old monuments. The first night we hung out and talked and after a quick bite to eat we went to bed. We woke up early the next morning to get a jump start on the city. We did the usual morning routine (shower, food) in record time and were out the door. The weather was perfect. It was the day after some rain but the sun was smiling down upon us. Windy but great. We walked a couple of blocks down to a train station were we bought tickets from a cool machine and waited for our train. A couple of trains passed before ours, but when it came we were ready and got on easily. We rode the train all the way into the city and then changed onto a metro. We got off the metro in downtown lisbon. It was really cool, the metros in lisbon are really clean and nice, with art all in the stations and the walls are white tiles with arching ceilings. When you exit the station in downtown lisbon you are greeted with views of the castle of saint jorge and the cathedral. Well, we headed through the shopping district, passed under a big famous arch/clock tower, saw the square of commerce and headed up through the narrow labyrinth of streets to the cathedral. The cathedral is really really cool and really really old. The coolest thing about it is that it was built over an old muslim center that was built over an ancient roman city. So you have three layers of history sorrounded by modern lisbon. SO COOL!!!!!!! after that we headed up to the castle that dominates lisbon with its ever vigilante, ancient eye. As we worked our way up the hill to where the castle is situated we passed another ancient roman site that was once a theater capable of holding over 4,000 spectators. This ruin was so cool as it was a giant chunk cut out of the lisbon hillside. We got up to the castle and realized we needed to buy tickets to get in. We waited in line talking in portugeuse and when we got up to the counter we showed our portuguese student cards and our lisbon metro tickets and got in for free! The castle was probably my favorite thing, it is just this amazingly beautiful old castle with cannons and everything overlooking the whole of lisbon with a view stretching out to the ocean. WAAAY COOL. After running around the castle for some time we rolled back on down to the city center where we climbed up this famous tower constructed by eifel or a student of his. We walked all the way up to the top, even though there were elavators (they cost 4 euros to use) and soaked in the amazing view from yet another amazing vantage point. This time we could see back to the castle from whence we came and could see our next destination: The ruins of (ah, can´t remember) some epic name that sounds like it belongs in the Lord of the rings. We went there and were so stoked to find that is was waay more than either of us expected to see. The ruin is of an old cathedral that was nearly completely destroyed in the earthquake/tsunami/fire lisbon experienced long ago. It is really cool because the ground is all grass now but the walls and the arches supporting the giant vaulted cieling are still there, but nothing else, it reminded me of the great hall in Hogwarts with a magic cieling. The walls are really cool too, especially on the outside with all the old architecture. In the back of the ruins is a small restored museum with relics from all over the world including mummies from peru and everything. After this we left to go have lunch and see the biggest christmas tree in all of europe. We walked up the avenue of liberty and caught the metro at the top. We took the metro back down to the city center where we met an electric, a kind of trolley famous in lisbon, that took us to Belem. Belem is one of the most beautiful city places I have ever encountered in my lifetime. Belem is the name of the area in lisbon where the ocean meets the river and the land is all low and green. There is a really famous pastry shop that we eventually went to, a giant monastary, the tower of belem which is a unesco world heritage site, the monument of discoveries (commemorating all of portugals history in navigation) and the cultural center of Belem which is a very pretty building that does everything from the fine arts to school trips. First we went to the monastary but were dissapointed to find it closed for the night. We meandered through the beautiful park until the Monument of discoveries. This monument is sooo cool, it is a giant white marble statue with carvings of all the great portuguese explorers. It is probably 5-6 stories high and has an elevator in the middle of it that allows you to go to the very top. We did this and when we got to the top were greeted by (according to yahoo.com) the biggest moon of the year. It was like that because that was the time when the moon was closest to the earth in it´s orbit. But yeah it was sensational. After that we tried to get into the tower of Belem but again were dissapointed to find that its doors were shut and it´s windows dark. By this time we were exhausted so we went to get something to eat in a nearby cafe. After a quick bite we walked back to sebi´s house, tired and happy. We rested for a good while and then decided to go get dinner with some of our other exchange friends from lisbon. Me and sebi hopped on a bus and we all met up in a big mall about 20 min. away from sebi´s house. We met up with two other guys and went to find some dinner. We stopped at a pizza place and sat and ate and laughed so hard for quite a while. After that one of our friends had to go home so we decided what to do next. We went to the movie theater in the mall to buy some popcorn (the sweet kind is really popular here) and ended up buying the biggest box we could. After that we adventured around the mall for a while with our popcorn until we just couldn´t take it anymore and when all the stores closed we left. We got home and I was able to meet the rest of sebi´s family, we relaxed for a while and, as the clock struck midnight, were suprised by sebi´s parents who came to give me a birthday present. I didn´t think that I had told them it was my birthday and I sure wasn´t expecting anything from them, but I was presented with a polo and a t-shirt from sebi´s host fathers winery/vineyard. I was very suprised and thankful. After that is was sleep. The next morning (my birthday) we woke up, showered and headed to catch our bus to the AFS lunch. We took a taxi to the big bus station and quickly found our bus and our seats. We still had pocorn left and some candy from the night before that we brought with us for the drive. Just before it was time to go, two last passengers got on the bus and started looking for seats. As they neared the back of the bus, where me and sebi were seated, we recognized them as fellow afsers and invited them to come sit with us. It was such a coincidence. It just happened to be the two students from greenland, one of which was mine and sebis room mate at the last orientation. During the ride we ate and laughed and slept until we arrived at our destination. When we got off the bus it was raining and cold. We still werent all the way to where we needed to be, so we hired a taxi and were on our way. Our final destination was Foz Do Arelho, a beach town famous for it´s beauty and restaurants. It reminded me a lot of the oregon coast with the dunes, the wind and the rain, and the city nestled in a cove sorrouned by cliffs. We were the first ones there and decided to take our time and go on a walk down on the beach. We explored all around the dunes and the rocks and sebi got hit by a wave. His pants were soaked and he ended up being wet, but not entirely misserable, for the rest of the day. I found some great rocks, only like the kind you find in oregon, and then we were met by some more students. The lunch was great; just a lot of friends laughing, telling stories and merry making. AFS payed for everything and even gave us all santa hats. I was sung happy birthday by everyone and just had a genuine time. Sebi and I hitched a ride back to lisbon with another family and, exhausted once again, were thankful to be home. We were greeted at the door by all of sebi´s family and more, that day there was a big soccer game on tv and a lot of people came over to watch, and I was grabbed and sung to once again. This time there was a cake and we all just had another great time. Sunday was great too. Sebi slept in a little longer while I made pancakes from scratch for everyone so say thank you. I was told they were the best pancakes that anyone of them had ever eaten! After a good breakfast went out to tour belem once more. First we went to the tower of Belem where we went all around the old fortress and admired it´s beauty. After that we got in to the monastary and saw the tomb of Vasco da gama. There is another world history museum there and we saw tons of stuff from all over the world, including more mummies and ancient roman artifacts like some of the first gold jewelry in the world. It was really cool. We made a stop at the famous Belem pastry house and bought some pastries for me to bring back to viseu. We were then picked up by sebi´s parents and brothers and treated to lunch. We went to the famous beach at Guincho where we ate at a well known seafood restaurant. I saw a plate there that cost over 140 euros, some sort of lobster I think. After a great meal we went to see the beach and the old fort, take pictures and be blasted by gale force winds. When we just couldn´t take it anymore we all took shelter in the car and went on a tour of the high-class beach towns. We saw the biggest casino in Europe and much more. We arrived back at the house at the perfect time, I packed and we headed out to the bus station. I took the pastries and was off. When I got home it was late and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I had a pretty much normal week, I recieved almost all of my grades from the first period and it´s looking like I´m going to do more than just pass! School ended for me yesterday and now I´m just looking forward to a great christmas break! More later, if I remember any details or anything.

Photos.

The walled city.



Here are some Photos of Salamanca, school and stuff.

This is a fat birds nest on a church.


This is downtown Viseu.

School.

So school has started and it´s going great. I can´t say I´m the best student I´ve ever been; in relationship to the states that is. I frequently don´t understand everything and find it hard to participate in portuguese. I still do my best and on occasion can formulate an answer and give my two cents. My success in school, however, lies not in tests and grades but in my relationship with my peers and the non-academic, yet equally as important, aspects and lessons I´m learning in school. This success is due greatly in part to all my peers in my term who have helped me and welcomed me as part of their class. But, there are two people who I feel have really been most selfless and generous in their support to me; and they are Dennis and Zita. These two have put up with many ´´Huh?´´s and ``What does that mean?´´s. They have worked tirelessly and been the most patient people with me in school thus far, and I would just like to publicly thank them for their efforts. Thanks, I really appreciate it. Anyways school is great, it is a place to be social and experience life in portugal. It occupies most of my time and really all my enegy is diverted towards school, but without it I fear I would find myself with little to do. Well thats all for now, I would really appreciate any questions or comments that you have or if you want or if you have the time!