Once again, away from home for another major holiday. However, a couple from the show invited us over to their family´s home for Christmas Eve dinner. Hans and Kia. They do a unique rope/trapeze act. Hans speaks English pretty well and has helped us so much with anything that we need during our time here. It was really nice of them to invite us to the meal. They had been talking about the tradition and the foods they eat for weeks before and insisted that we join them. They would not take no for an answer, so there we were...
The Menu consists of Bacalhua (fish, and I promise some of them were still breathing), cooked cabbage (ask my family about that experience), potatoes, rolls and tea. The smell of the fish was almost too much, but I took it like a true champ. They divide the Bacalhua into two sections. One is the body of the fish. Still has it´s skin, still has it´s little fins. The second section is consider a delicacy. It consists of the heads and guts all mixed together. So, I took them up on the first section. It wasn´t too bad, just tasted like fish. The hardest part was probably getting the bones out of every bite before I ate it. And trying to look civilized while I was picking at every bite. I didn´t have any cabbage, but the potatoes were wonderful.
After dinner, we all sat and talked for a while. Then came dessert...
They brought out these little elephant ear looking things. And they tasted like elephants ears too. So, one for one. But then, the desserts started pouring out of the kitchen like the Peru flood of 1913. Look it up, it happened. They brought out a marshmallow cake, a cookie cake, two fruit cakes, little dough balls stuffed with apples, little dough balls stuffed with pumpkin, pineapples, and oranges. It was wonderful. Although I was full after my piece of cookie cake, I didn´t want to seem rude, so I just kept eating my share of the desserts. If only they could have brought out the desserts first, maybe I would have been too full to eat my Bacalhua.
It was a great experience to see how another culture celebrates the holidays. Like I said, Hans had been talking for weeks of how great the Bacalhua was, so it was pretty cool that we got to experience it first hand. It was really nice of them to let us be a part of their celebrations.
After we got back to the circus lot, the Pages and I opened our secret santa gifts. Then, I surprised them by playing Jingle Bells on my harmonica that I was secretly learning how to play down by the ocean everyday. They were quite impressed! Haha. And then...we had three shows on Christmas Day. EEEK...Merry Christmas!!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Portugal Schedule
An average day in Portugal:
Noon-3 pm: Wake up, lay in bed and eat dry cereal, watch DVDs of the Office
3 - 4 pm: Get ready for the show. This really only takes like 10 minutes. I have no idea where my time goes.
4 - 7 pm: Show time. Fly like delta.
7 - 9 pm: Go to the mall, check my email, eat supper...all at the mall.
9 - midnight: Show time. Fly like Tina Ross.
12:30 - 3 am: Lay in bed wondering why I cannot fall asleep, then realizing, ooooh right, I sleep in until at least noon everyday.
Yep, thats about what a typical two show day looks like here in Portugal. Of course, we haven`t had a show in the last three days, so I find other things to do. I usually hang out at the mall or go walking down by the ocean. And I find myself eating two meals on days off. If you know me, you know I am not much into eating unfamiliar things, so my usual meal is McDonalds, KFC, or Burger King. I am actually keeping track in my notebook of how many times I eat at each. I will share the results at the end of my stay, but FYI, McDonalds is in a commanding lead.
A couple things that are different on the restaurant scene in Portugal:
1. McDonalds has bendy straws.
2. Burger King has green tomatoes. Gross. Maybe that was just a bad batch yesterday.
3. Big Macs taste alot healthier here which isn`t really saying a lot.
4. All the fast food places offer beer as a drink option. Gross.
5. They have Kit Kat McFlurries. I have had at least one a day for the past week. Amazing.
Noon-3 pm: Wake up, lay in bed and eat dry cereal, watch DVDs of the Office
3 - 4 pm: Get ready for the show. This really only takes like 10 minutes. I have no idea where my time goes.
4 - 7 pm: Show time. Fly like delta.
7 - 9 pm: Go to the mall, check my email, eat supper...all at the mall.
9 - midnight: Show time. Fly like Tina Ross.
12:30 - 3 am: Lay in bed wondering why I cannot fall asleep, then realizing, ooooh right, I sleep in until at least noon everyday.
Yep, thats about what a typical two show day looks like here in Portugal. Of course, we haven`t had a show in the last three days, so I find other things to do. I usually hang out at the mall or go walking down by the ocean. And I find myself eating two meals on days off. If you know me, you know I am not much into eating unfamiliar things, so my usual meal is McDonalds, KFC, or Burger King. I am actually keeping track in my notebook of how many times I eat at each. I will share the results at the end of my stay, but FYI, McDonalds is in a commanding lead.
A couple things that are different on the restaurant scene in Portugal:
1. McDonalds has bendy straws.
2. Burger King has green tomatoes. Gross. Maybe that was just a bad batch yesterday.
3. Big Macs taste alot healthier here which isn`t really saying a lot.
4. All the fast food places offer beer as a drink option. Gross.
5. They have Kit Kat McFlurries. I have had at least one a day for the past week. Amazing.
Monday, December 1, 2008
One Week in Portugal...Five Things Learned
I have been here in Portugal for a total of one week now, and there are certain things that have stood out to me right away. It did not take me a whole week to notice these things, but every single day, they are confirmed.
1. Parking. You can park wherever you can find a space that your car will fit in. Many times on the sidewalks of the bus station. There are alot of compact cars, so they can fit almost everywhere. If there is a space in between two cars that is not quite big enough to parallel park in, do not worry. Just back into the space, ramping your rear tires up onto the sidewalk with your front tires remaining on the street. No problems.
2. Jason Bourne. I think at some point in every movie of the Bourne triology, he is running through a crowded bus/train station. That is totally legit. I walk through the bus/train station every day. There are people yelling in different languages. There are people running, in a hurry to make it to their train on time. There are suspicious looking security guards at every single corner. It is just like the movies.
3. Soccer. Nobody here cares about football. If I pass a TV, there is soccer on it. 24/7. I do not know how they can have that many soccer games. We did find a little coffee shop called Maxi Toast that will change the channel to the NASN (North American Sports Network) on Sundays, so we watch whatever football game they are showing. That is the only station. It covers NFL, NCAA, and NHL. Now that I am thinking about it, I guess we only have a couple stations that show soccer in the U.S. So, I guess that is fair.
4. Smoking. Everybody smokes. Backstage during our shows, before people go out to perform, they are smoking. Everyone at the coffee show smokes. Everyone does it. During the show, the workers will finish a cigarette and then light up the next one right away. It is crazy. Every pack of cigarettes here has SMOKING KILLS in big bold letters, and it is even written in their language. I do not get it.
5. Language Barrier. Everyone here speaks Portuguese, of course. But everyone in the circus can speak at least 4 different languages. So, everybody can communicate with everybody. Except little ole English speaking me. I cannot understand anyone or talk to anyone. It gets lonely sometimes. HA, it is getting better. Some of the Romanians speak a little English, and all of the cashiers where I eat speak enough English to take my order and my money. And all of the movies and music at the mall are in English. We went to see the new James Bond, English with Portuguese subtitles. How horrible is that if you speak Portuguese? The radio that plays where I use the internet always has American music. The first day when I heard Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays by Nsync I thought it was pretty cool. Now, I have heard it too many times to keep track of. So, they are adapting to me. Slowly, but they are.
1. Parking. You can park wherever you can find a space that your car will fit in. Many times on the sidewalks of the bus station. There are alot of compact cars, so they can fit almost everywhere. If there is a space in between two cars that is not quite big enough to parallel park in, do not worry. Just back into the space, ramping your rear tires up onto the sidewalk with your front tires remaining on the street. No problems.
2. Jason Bourne. I think at some point in every movie of the Bourne triology, he is running through a crowded bus/train station. That is totally legit. I walk through the bus/train station every day. There are people yelling in different languages. There are people running, in a hurry to make it to their train on time. There are suspicious looking security guards at every single corner. It is just like the movies.
3. Soccer. Nobody here cares about football. If I pass a TV, there is soccer on it. 24/7. I do not know how they can have that many soccer games. We did find a little coffee shop called Maxi Toast that will change the channel to the NASN (North American Sports Network) on Sundays, so we watch whatever football game they are showing. That is the only station. It covers NFL, NCAA, and NHL. Now that I am thinking about it, I guess we only have a couple stations that show soccer in the U.S. So, I guess that is fair.
4. Smoking. Everybody smokes. Backstage during our shows, before people go out to perform, they are smoking. Everyone at the coffee show smokes. Everyone does it. During the show, the workers will finish a cigarette and then light up the next one right away. It is crazy. Every pack of cigarettes here has SMOKING KILLS in big bold letters, and it is even written in their language. I do not get it.
5. Language Barrier. Everyone here speaks Portuguese, of course. But everyone in the circus can speak at least 4 different languages. So, everybody can communicate with everybody. Except little ole English speaking me. I cannot understand anyone or talk to anyone. It gets lonely sometimes. HA, it is getting better. Some of the Romanians speak a little English, and all of the cashiers where I eat speak enough English to take my order and my money. And all of the movies and music at the mall are in English. We went to see the new James Bond, English with Portuguese subtitles. How horrible is that if you speak Portuguese? The radio that plays where I use the internet always has American music. The first day when I heard Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays by Nsync I thought it was pretty cool. Now, I have heard it too many times to keep track of. So, they are adapting to me. Slowly, but they are.
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