T.C. Heydon's AFS Experience: Ambling Around

Another view of Viana do Castelo from my running route

Traditional Lisbon architecture

Since my last post, I have really experienced a lot. First of all, I am adapting well to my life in Portugal. School is getting better, I can understand the language pretty well now and I can communicate decently. I have been to a disco (it was a fun, but I had to leave at 2:30 a.m., pretty early by Portuguese standards), passed a few tests, joined a Running Club (and gotten a ton of free running gear from them), gotten used to taking the train, joined the school basketball team (that is really fun!), been to Lisbon and had another AFS orientation.

Well, in regards to running, I qualified to go to the National Portuguese Club Team cross country championships next weekend. They are in Algarve. My club team is great, it is nice to have company while training. The downside is, a lot of the team is hurt, so we are not going to Algarve to compete. I will play in a basketball game with my school instead.

I went on a trip to Lisbon this past week. It was a blast. It is quite a large city with a diverse population. Viana do Castelo and the surrounding areas (where I live) have much less diversity. I saw the aquarium, tried the famous Pastéis de Belém (and scalded my mouth), enjoyed some art, saw the Colombo shopping mall (again, the Portuguese really enjoy malls!) and then took a bus to another AFS orientation. It was great to be able to talk in english, hang out with Americans and just relax in a more natural environment for me. We discussed some very helpful topics such as how to learn the language better and adapt. The orientation was in a costal town (the town was rather empty, probably due to the fact it is still winter). Pictures will come later.

I have been making an effort to explore more in my free time and have discovered new pastries, cafés and sights as a result. At the moment my favorite pastries are the coffee eclairs, these wonderful chocolate filled croissant-type things, a coconut macaroon sort of confection and this cake that is like a roll of dough. I do not know the technical terms for most of them in english, or portuguese for that matter, but pointing to the "bolo" (pastry) I want seems to get the point across.

My subsistence

To conclude this post, I would like to encourage you guys to post comments with any questions you have. I have been growing accustomed to life here, and as a result neglect to mention things that you guys might find interesting or have questions about. Also, suggestions for photos would be good too!