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.