Todo Bem

Mmmmmmmmmm...... so it has been a minute since my last post, but it is due to the fact that I was in Lisbon all weekend... and it was...... AMAZING. Sheesh. 'Twas my first stop on fall break/ EuroTrip 08 an, boy, was it something. I do believe it is time for a recap.



After my incredibly(not) challenging Swedish exam Friday morning, Claire, Colin, and I scurried on over to T-Centralen to catch the Arlanda Express which was an experience in and of itself. Upon parting, Claire left me with a bon voyage gift for which I most definitely have to repay her (I hope you're reading this, Claire, 'cuz you better watch your back). Ha.



Anyway, the flight to Lisbon was pretty painless and I tried really hard to learn some Portuguese on the 3 and half hours over there. Apparently, I hadn't tried hard enough because I definitely could not remember any of it when I got off the plane. I was met at the airport by Sarah and I found it difficult to contain my excitement (or control the volume of my voice). She informed me that the Portuguese are particularly nocturnal, eating dinner around 9 or 10, going out to the clubs are 2 am, and returning around 6 am. I didn't believe her until I found myself eating dinner at 10:30, finishing at midnight, and returning from a night out around 5. Sheesh.



We had dinner in Baixa (or Chiado?), and after, meandered around that area, running into some of Sarah's friends along the way. We ended up in Bairro Alto where a lot of the clubs and bars are located, and, oh man, was it the most intense experience of my life. Imagine this: blocks upon blocks of narrow streets, packed from all sides with people. It was good that I had taken Sarah's advice not to bring a purse because it would have slowed me down and stressed me out. If you don't like crowds, do not go to Bairro Alto at night... ever. We did the club/bar thing and I sampled the local favorite, the Caparinha. Being the Americans we are, we turned a few bars into dance clubs, leaving a trail of mayhem and broken hearted (sketchy) men in our wake. Overall, it was a pretty spectacular night.



Saturday was a pretty lazy day as we recovered from the previous night. That evening we attended a footboll game and seriously, you have not lived until you experience footboll in Portugal. The game was played between two local teams: Benfica and Sporting, and took place in the Benfica stadium. Obviously, we were supporting Benfica (we had no desire to be killed). The stadium seated about 80,000 and packed to capacity for the most part. There were police in full riot gear everywhere but were particularly stationed around sections with Sporting fans. They also closed off areas where Sporting fans were entering to prevent them from running into too many Benfica fans. I think the Portuguese are onto something.... ha.

The game itself was utter insanity. The Swedes have nothing on the Portuguese.... and they were being pretty tame. Benfica's mascot is the eagle, and every game, an eagle circles the stadium and lands on a perch in the middle of the field. The crowd went berserk. Talk about sensory overload. Fireworks and smoke bombs were prevalent as were lewd gestures (and if I could understand them, I'm sure words as well), team cheers, stomping, scarf twirling, and THE WAVE. Let me just say, that that had to be the largest wave I have ever been a part of and it circled the stadium at least 4 times. Incredible? I think so.

We tried to follow the cheers as much as possible, twirled our scarves, and made friends with the Benfica fans seated near us. The roar of the crowd was awesome and the crowd participation was more than overwhelming. I'm pretty sure I made up all the words and I had no idea what I was saying (comparable to my cheering at Sverige games). It was a very good night.

(Oh, and Benfica won. 2-0. )

Sunday was spent taking in the beautiful weather and scenery. Sarah and I sat ocean side as much as possible, sauntering around area of Belem. Everything was absolutely gorgeous. We visited the Torre de Belem and Padrão dos Descobrimentos, which are both breathtaking displays of architectural and artistic creativity, and had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the ocean. It was wonderful to take in so much sun. Later, we trained on up to Oriente and did some shopping. We ended our adventure at a delicious Chinese restaurant with a second (our first had been at our first dinner together) liter of sangria. Only in Portugal.

I have been regretting my decision to leave Lisbon to come to London (my current location) as it is cloudy, rainy, and overall a real downer. If I wanted crappy weather, I could have gone back to Stockholm. Additionally, I have not been in a primarily English speaking country in ages and it is so strange. My Swedish professor was right when she said that we would retain more Swedish that we thought we would once we left Stockholm. I have had trouble stopping myself from speaking Swedish. Weird, no? I am also not a fan of understanding everything that everyone is saying all the time. What's the fun in that?

...anyhoot, this was a long one, and that 's because it started raining outside the internet cafe about an hour ago and I decided to sit her longer than previously planned. Don't have any plans here in London but to meet up with a few friends here and there. Other than that, I'm going to take it easy and relax a bit before I jet off to Amsterdam to reunite with the Swedish Program kids. It should be interesting.

Congratulations for reading this far. Whoever you are, I hope you are well. I probably miss you tons.

Besitos,
K