Sunday, September 17, 2023

About 8 days ago, the first leaves skittered down the street. You know that sound: it’s a playful, crackling sound with just a hint of menace. Last week the first perfectly gold leaves appeared on the sidewalk. Today is overcast, with off and on rain showers. The light breezes have escalated to an occasional soft, moaning wind. Fall is on its way.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been here over a year now. My August 4th anniversary flew by, dodging my best intentions to write my first-year blog. There are so many things to write about, I become overwhelmed. So, I’ll just tell you about a few things I’ve been up to this past week.

Walking. Discovering.

At least once a week I try to get in a good long 9-12 km walk. Yesterday my feet took me across the River Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia, past the estuary and protected nature reserve, to the Atlantic. Here there are beautiful beaches, but mostly gargantuan sculpted granite (what else!) boulders that provide stunning views westward toward distant New York (#Alma, #Ella, I waved at you!) and north towards the neighboring Foz and Matosinhos communities.

Returning after the 13 km stroll, I rewarded myself with a glass of port at the Bistro Bonjardim, where the waiter knows me and always overfills my glass with a rich Dow’s Old Tawney.

Observing a Master at Work

It’s about 10:00 in the evening. I walk alone down the dark, cobbled street lined with small restaurants, retail stores, and old buildings refusing to reveal the mysteries behind their doors. It’s quiet, and with the passing of August, the tourists are fewer and less frantic. There’s a glow from an open doorway. I know this doorway, and I’m glad to see the light, it means I will stand and spy from the darkness.

The artist works as if he were in an isolated warehouse, not a street-facing studio. 70’s folk/rock plays softly. When Leonard Cohen sings Suzanne, he closes his eyes, stands still as a statue.

^{And when He knew for certain
Only drowning men could see Him
He said, “All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them”
– Suzanne, Leonard Cohen}

The song ends. He opens his eyes. Stares. Steps forward and makes one seemingly small swipe with his palette knife. The scarf glows golden.

Eventually, he looks up, smiles at me. I smile back. I think he speaks English, but somehow it feels like I should only address him in Portuguese. So I use my DeepL app to tell him I have a fine arts background and I appreciate being able to observe him at work. He likes that. He has a kind smile. I want to get to know him, I suspect he has interesting stories to tell.

António Bessa is a renowned painter, Porto born and educated. His studio is just a few blocks from me, and I pass it often. It’s fascinating to see how he develops his paintings.

What I’m Doing These Days

Volunteering for Porto

I’ve been busy working with some other expat women from around the world on a fundraising project for the Associação Para Planeamento da Família, the Family Planning Association of Portugal. This pioneering organization was created in an era when most Portuguese women had very little access to any health care. Today, they provide education, professional training, and support in the areas of family planning, domestic violence, sexual identity discrimination and violence, human trafficking, and special projects supporting Roma (Gypsy) communities. Our group is organizing a silent auction to raise cash for a dryer to go with their new washing machine at one of their support locations. Here, victims have a safe retreat to shower, wash clothes, and get psychological and other support as needed.

So far, we’ve exceeded our goal for ticket sales to the event in late October, and hopes are high that we’ll reach our goal. My job is the production of all communications items – digital brochure, printed brochure, and various collateral items. #David Deasey, I miss you. 😉

Como se Diz em Português?
How Do You Say It in Portuguese?

I’m enjoying my Portuguese lessons with Liz at Talk the Streets. It’s good brain exercise. The challenge is that what goes into my brain does not come out of my mouth the way I think it does. My first recorded verbal review had lots of corrective yellow highlights and I suspect Liz and Eduardo had trouble keeping a straight face. But this morning I ordered my cappuccino and croissant from Fernando almost correctly. Baby steps. Or crawls.

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Para português nativo e especialistas, por favor, perdoe quaisquer imprecisões nestes blogs. Sou iniciante, otimista de que, à medida que aprendo, vou melhorar.