You know you're in Aveiro, Portugal when...

1.) SILENCE IS FORBIDDEN! It's noisy everywhere on campus (see pic); the computer labs, the library, the cafes, and even the bathroom stalls. Forget concentrating on campus because silence is forbidden! You will be thrown in the canal if you dare "shhhhhhhh" anybody (which I've never done yet...but I've seen the victimization of another poor soul). The Portuguese culture is social and that means wherever you go...there will the melody of the Portuguese language. They aren't loud talkers, but they are talkers.

2.) I AM NOW A SMOKER! Every good viben, tea-sippin', melody-mixin' cafe has ash-trays on the tables. You know what that means...smoking is the cornerstone to the Portuguese culture. If you are a non-smoker, let it go...you are now a second-hand smoker. Smoking is allowed everywhere you want to be.

3.) BACALHAU is on every menu in town! Bacalhau is the traditional fish dish of Portugal and the funny side of this story is that they don't even catch it here in Portugal. The fishermen go all the way up to Norway to catch fresh cod just so they can bring it home and dry it with salt and the sun.

4.) WHAT'S THAT FUNK SMELL? This leads me to the smelly supermercado (grocery store). These scary looking dried fish are sold in the supermercado, unpackaged, uncovered, just raw with the funky smell permeating your nostril membranes as you walk through the beautiful pastry section. I kinda like the funk!

5.) BIDET! Almost every bathroom (or casa de banho) has a bidet. A bidet is a smaller toilet with a spray nozzle that people would sit on and clean there private parts with. No one uses it now (or at least I hope they don't), so I've decided to wash my face in it. It's the perfect size!

6.) DIRTY LAUNDRY! You know it is Friday on campus when all the students have rollers (luggage) that they roll to and from class, the library, the cafes. At first, I thought I was missing out on some fabulous weekend getaway, but to find out their luggage is filled with dirty laundry, as they spend their weekends at home with their families. That is also why Aveiro becomes a ghost town on the weekends. That is also why you want to avoid the train on Friday afternoon/evening and Sunday evening. That is also why you see students carrying dishes of food wrapped and sealed with a kiss from their mom on Sunday evenings. I love this place!

7.) NO CENTRAL HEATING! Sure, Portugal is surrounded by beautiful beaches and ocean, however it only sits on the 37 to 41 latitude lines north of the equator which means it is similar weather to New York (40N), and Washington DC (38N) in the winter. Luckily, it is close to sea-level, so it rarely freezes or snows. BUT...it is cold, especially inside the houses, as most houses don't have central heating. Therefore, space heaters ROCK!! They not only warm you up but they dry your clothes too.

8.) NO MONEY! No worries! If you forgot your wallet...more than likely the shop-keeper will say, "Amanha" (meaning tomorrow.) And the incredible part of this situation is that the shop-keeper will send you home with your goods, even though you haven't paid. I was running errands on the FREE bikes you can rent for the day and I only had a few euro notes in my pocket. When I got there I went on a little shopping spree and spent more than what I had in my pocket. Uh-oh. I tried to explain in broken Portuguese, that I was sorry and I would come back tomorrow to pick up the tea but she insisted I take the bag and pay later. Incredible! The same thing happened at the copy center, when I forgot my wallet. I wanted to make it up to the nice guy so I came back with the money and a big Belgium chocolate bar, I think the copy guy likes me now. Have I told you that I love this country?!

9.) DON'T BE IN A RUSH WHEN YOU GO TO THE SUPERMERCADO! The Portuguese believe that life should be relaxing and not rushed, especially when standing in line at the supermercado. Be prepared to spend at least 5 minutes in line at the Supermercado. There is always a line and no one gets upset. In fact, I think the Portuguese like the line...it's a time to relax and reflect on the day.

Sushi in Portugal!

Welcome to SUSHI night at the the HEEM (the acronym of my master's program) flat...as it has been passed down from HEEM generation to HEEM generation. Martina from Serbia, was one of the HEEM students who lived here last year and when we moved in our dates overlapped with her moving out. And so, she treated us to a night of homemade sushi which, much to my delight, has become a regular, bona fide dinner in our flat. It's amazing how easy, fun & tasty sushi can be, and the best part is that you can get demiurgic with the ingredients. I would highly recommend that you add a special feature..."who can scream the loudest as the wasabi permeates their inner membranes contest." Fun times, I'm telling you! In addition to wasabi burning, our resident Brazilian, Ali, has now become a sushi lover (she has 10 seaweed packages that she is bringing home for the holidays...now if that isn't love, I'm not sure what is...)

To see the recipe, click here.

Beckoned Back to Oslo!

The last 4 weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster with 2 papers due (research methods & economics), and the weight of the thesis; everything from choosing a topic (I have now officially blown through 4 thesis proposals, enough proposals to make Elizabeth Taylor jealous) a 10 minute thesis presentation, a 10-page literature review & a final thesis proposal. In addition to these deadlines, I had 2 international visitors, and my plan to stay in Portugal for the remainder of the program withered away like yesterday's fresh flowers. Last night when I pressed the "SUBMIT" button to turn in my last paper, a warm sensation of peacefulness came over me.

AHHHHHHH! My month of stress is over. But, now that I reflect back on it, I have to ask myself...WHAT THE HELL? There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, when I was running around with my head cut off and completely enjoying it; meetings left and right, cell phone ringing like crazy, students waiting outside my door, budget and report deadlines, staff evaluations, the details of coordinating events, politics of working in university administration, and running to teach spinning classes and trying hard to carve out time to relax in yoga class and spend time with friends and family. That was my life and I learned to handle a busy life with grace; it is the American-way. Now that I have settled into a more relaxed European lifestyle, I have lost some of my skills and excitement for handling stress.

I think maybe the hardest news to swallow was that I was summons back to Oslo to write my thesis. Listen, I like Oslo, but I LOVE Portugal! It will be hard to leave, but it will always be a place I return to and have fond memories of... But every cloud has a silver lining; I have a thesis topic that I am in LOVE with (after 4 tries, I have finally found true LOVE!) That's it, now a week of NO classes...ah!

PHOTOS: Since this entry is all about STRESS, I chose some of the more serene photos of Costa Nova beach, which is about 15 minutes away from my front door.

The Dad & Daughter Sojourn

After some Port wine, we jumped in a rental car and headed into the countryside of Portugal. Ok, let me just begin by saying...Portugal is SO under-rated. This place is a gem yet to be discovered. The little towns in the countryside are quaint, old-fashioned and rich with history that sometimes dates as far back to the 11th century when the Moors & Christians fought for the frontier. Beautiful castles, monasteries, cathedrals, and fortresses sit peacefully on the rolling hills of Portugal. Sure, the scenery was great; we stopped in Nazaré where we found a screamin' 30 euro hotel room right next to the beach (low-season rocks!), a sunny afternoon accompanied us as we walked on the rock fortress that surrounds the quaintness of Óbidos, and we stopped for some beach time in Figuera da Foz, but the weather and company made it even better. Most of the trip was sunny with 70 degree days (very unusual for the typical November rainy season!)

Dad brought the sun...and good company. There is something so natural about traveling with my father. Perhaps it is the fact that I was raised by this man, and we fall into an organic flow that is silly at times, and heart to heart at other times, while other times I complain about his snoring and he complains that I have a camera stuck to my eyeball. We love the little things about traveling; trying to speak the language, connecting with the culture through people, food, and little experiences like the ad-hoc Portuguese language course where our waiter, who spoke no english, turned into our language professor at lunch in the old-quarter of Lisboa, Alfama. That story will continue to be told (and exaggerated upon) for many more years. It's the memories of travel that makes it one of my favorite hobbies. And, now my father and I have stories of Portugal to add to the list of Vietnam, Ireland, Italy, and Costa Rica. As I said goodbye today, my heart was heavy yet my soul revitalized.

A Visitor from Across the Atlantic...

Atlantic Ocean, that is! Did you know that the U.S.A. is just a straight shot from where I live right now (see photo of the Atlantic)? As a matter of fact, it is a 3,602 mile swim from Aveiro to New York, New York. My dad didn't swim across the Atlantic but he did have to put on his leisurely retirement travelin' shoes for some Port wine, three days with the ladies of Rua Condessa Mumadona, a rainy day in Lisbon, a sunny walk around a fortress, and some amazing Portuguese typical meals. Here are a few photos from a day of touring the Port wine cellars.

My dad simply loves Port wine, so two days in Oporto proved to be the highlight of the trip for my father. We toured Taylor's, Calem, and spent an evening in an old tavern with a Porto wine expert, Felipe, who educated us on the history of Port wine, offered expertise on how to taste it, and even shared some vintage with us (on the house!) After all of these Port wine tastings I will soon be a Port wine expert, or simply a drunk.

Diwali Dinner with Mandela, Bush, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Superman and the Virgin Mary!

After a stressful 2 weeks filled with economic theory, paper deadlines, thesis proposals, thesis literature review, statistics, thesis presentations and discovering our fate for next semester, we needed to blow off some steam. So, we invited a few famous people for a Hindu Diwali celebration. The Indian-in-residence cooked up a delectable feast, in a sari none the less, and bestowed us with gifts and Diwali wishes. Diwali is a major festival of lights in India and quite a special holiday for my roommate, Balpreet, and it was a great pleasure to celebrate in true "HEEM" (that is the name of our program) style...

GAMES!!!

Everyone got a name of a famous person stuck to their head and had to figure out who they were by asking yes/no questions. Buddha and Superman had the hardest time coming to grip with their identity, while Gandhi and Jesus Christ were the first to be "enlightened". Michael Jackson kept thinking he/she was a famous star with the children, which we confirmed with a big laugh. Luckily, the Virgin Mary was in our presence to ensure that Mr. Jackson didn't get out of control. And the hard-to-swallow news of the evening, George W. Bush was cloned...there were two of them. Now that is a scary thought! The evening ended with a few rounds of SPOONS; which was when the American from Ohio showed his true colors as a CHEATER-HEAD!

Belgium Chocolate & Port Wine!

My dear friend and former roommate in Finland, Mary from Belgium, came to visit me in Portugal this week with a box of Belgium chocolate in hand and Leffe brew. We had a lovely 2 days in sunny Porto, the capital of Port wine. You would not believe the beautiful autumn weather we are experiencing here. Everyday is sunny and about 70 degrees. Unbelievable, really! So, we enjoyed the sunny weather by the Douro river and tasted some Port wine, the sweet Portuguese fortified wine. There are numerous Port wine cellars in Porto, we chose to visit the Sandeman Port cellar and by noon we had already enjoyed 2 sweet ports.

A few facts about Port wine:

1.) The European Union and Canada, only allows the product from Portugal to be named "PORT".

2.) Distilled spirits (such as brandy) is added to the grapes to increase the alcohol content (approximately 20%) and sweetness.

3.) In the U.S., the federal law mandates that the Portuguese product be named, "Porto" or "Vinho do Porto."

4.) Ports age 2 ways: in wooden barrels (see pic.) or in sealed tanks.

5.) There are many different types of Port depending on the aging process, and grapes ... tawny port, ruby port, garrafeira, white port, vintage port, reserve port, and crusted port.

6.) Port wine is named for the seaside port town of Porto, where the wine was produced and brought to market, via the Douro river, in the 17th century.

A Day in the Life of...Leasa!

So, this blog entry is a little different than all others. An idea ripped from Lynsee's blog (an American who is living in South Africa) which she ripped from the National Geographic photo series, "A Day in the Life of..."; I have taken a photo every hour, on the hour (and some in between), to give you an idea of a typical day in Aveiro. Here are the photos in a short movie format. Enjoy...