Just got back from a fantastic weekend with some of the greatest human beings I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, it's been a pretty intense couple of weeks here. I seem to be in a constant state of motion these days with all of my travel. Such an exciting adventure this experience continues to be, the people you meet the things you find yourself doing and then in fact imagine yourself doing afterwards. I've been working really hard lately on just living in the moment, trying to exist for one day at a time instead of always a week or months in advance, I think I'm actually getting better at it last night; as I found myself trying to explain this concept to a friend who is about to leave france and is worried about everything that is going to happen and can't seem to get satisfied with the fact that they're about to embark on their own adventure. Not that I can't relate to that at all, it's just I find the best way to keep my sanity these days (especially as the end of the semester rapidly approaches and I find myself constantly in a state of panic because I think I've forgotten to do yet another thing).

I spent a lot of time this weekend laughing my ass off, which really was wonderful, as laughter really is the best medicine. I've come to the conclusion that it really does take a certain kind of person to get motivated enough to throw themselves into this mess head first and I happened to find some really good friends along the way who share that same kind of energy. My green tortoise adventure (the bus trip Graham and I took across the country two summers ago) landed me with the happy opportunity to meet and stay in touch with some very fantastic friends and this weekend 12 of the original gang made it over to cheery England to have a lovely relaxing weekend filled with laughter and waaaay too much beer. I always find myself intimidated by a new public transport system in a new city, and somehow still seem to feel a bit inadequate even though I speak English, my English seems kind of like a less classy version of British English. Something perhaps linguists get the best laugh out of is the intercultural differences and language barriers...I found more than my share of them this weekend within my fellow English speaking group of friends. It was so cool to be hanging out with people that I only knew for such a brief period of time in my life, but somehow still seem to know me better than some people that have been around for ages. Maybe it has something to do with the fact of sharing a small bus space together that eliminates all forms of "politesse" as the French call it, because even with people that to some may seems strangers I was able to let myself go and just have a great time.

The end of the weekend was met with tears by all as it's always so difficult to take yourself away from a family atmosphere that was so easily created and only shared by a few special people. 2 americans, 1 belgian, 1 irish lasse, and lots of british friends all crammed into cars and teeny tiny apartments and trekked all over the great United Kingdom just for the sake of smiles and creating new memories. I am still shocked at how easily I am attached not only to those people but the wonderful ones I have had the chance of meeting over here in europe as well. I can't believe how much I find myself changed after just a few short months, but this is definitely an experience I wouldn't change for anything in the world. It feels like I've almost found my place, like where I've been desperately searching for during these last few years. THere's something so special about realizing that you are in fact living the dream; and I can't believe the sadness that overwhelms me when I realize that we're already halfway through November and I find myself realizing that not soon, but eventually someday I'll have to say goodbye. Life is at the moment shall we say, very real, but I am really finding it the best place to be. Unguarded, daunted and exhilarated by everything that I am being offered and the new opportunities I am forging for myself. I've never felt so self sufficient before, and it's strange to start measuring my worth by who I can create out of myself instead of how much I can or can't do. This probably all sounds pretty fruity, but it's like even across all the cultural gaps and barriers no matter who I meet in this walk, we can all at some level manage to speak the same language. (How poetic:) If there's anything that I've learned so far it's that you really should invest in everyone and everything you come across, instead of always being focused on what is coming next. I've had the best experiences and moments of my life so far once I've finally figured that out. I wish there was some way to articulate everything that I'm feeling right now, because be it happiness or sadness, it just feels so damn good to be alive with all that (good or bad) thriving and pulsating through me.

So if you're reading this, thanks for sticking with me this far, and thanks for being a part of my life and enriching it in all the ways that you do. Right now I'm just going to sit right here and be, because god damn it feels good.

I miss you, I love you,

Sarah

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Go Team Porto!

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God, even where to start about this weekend, I don't think I can even remember half of it, and I don't think I've ever laughed so hard or had so much fun in my entire life. So all of the lecturers, plus one German lectrice and Jamie's Boyfriend David decided that since we had the whole week off, well let's look for flights, where can we fly direct from Tours, Porto...anyone been to Porto, anyone speak a word of Portuguese, no ok good, let's go to the home of Port wine and get Crazy for halloween...and did we. We are possibly the biggest bunch of misfits everywhere we go, but usually a bit less conspicuous in France since we all speak French, Portuguese, nothing like French at all, sounds a bit like spanish but with a Russian accent, so aside from all of our fine capabilities to point and grunt, we spent most of the weekend muttering words in Spanish with a Russian accent, which got us more dirty looks than anything. Two americans, one canadian, one frenchie, two scotts, one irish lovie and our token german all headed off last Friday to the land of no one knows where anything is or how to speak the language. We arrived with directions from the airport courtesy of Jamie (who arrived a day earlier and had already discovered the difficulties of the Portuguese language as he had to resort to sparkling hand gestures to order a water with carbonation the night previous). Jamie had arranged for an apartment for 6 for three evenings in Porto (which was great since we were 8)...we were all a bit worried that it was really an apartment for four being marketed as for six, but were happily surprised to find a lovely spacious apartment, just big enough to squeeze 8 (lots of snuggling this weekend), fabulous views of the ocean and a bus stop conveniently located right out our front door. Friday evening we all headed out onto the town for a proper dinner and sight seeing around the city center (complete with the fanciest mcdonald's I have ever seen...which also is akwardly adorned with giant statues of eagles and entitled IMPERIAL mcdonalds, more giving it the feel of a mcdonalds of the third reich era...)

One thing we have happily discovered about porto, aside from our fabby apartment and yummy food, is that everything is DIRT CHEAP, alcohol and food cost almost half the price that they do in France...amazing, my trip budget doubled in about 30 seconds! We arrived back to the apartment after a loooong night out on the town (sufficed to say there are fabulous pictures of the misfits doing any and everything in Porto...complete with me ordering a disney princess purse with plastic jewels and a child sized ice cream in it for dessert, that's right, it's on top of my desk right now, my first Porto memory...it is also commemorated in film as well..see the following slide show). The next day we awoke (well jess and I did) at a reasonable hour (as jess and I consider reasonable 8-9am, however when traveling with a large group it is best to set the time of departure about an hour earlier than when you actually want to leave) and headed up to the grocery store to scrounge for breakfast and dinner for the evening. Trying to grocery shop in a country where you don't speak the language, is no fun. It is best that when you travel to a foreign country you should at LEAST learn to say, hello, thank you, no thank you, how much, metro, bus stop and goodbye...it's rather rude not to. After we stocked up on goodies we headed back to the apt and jess and I decided we were going to head off on our own for the day to meander around while everyone else got ready. We ended up finding the giant 12th century gothic cathedral (which we were supposed to wait for everyone else to go in) so we went looking for food instead (which was no bueno since jess is a vegetarian). "Do you have anything with out meat?" "yes we have this fish sandwich." "no she's a vegetarian." "yes I know here try this it's tuna." Jess ate a lot of potato chips and french fries this weekend poor thing. Finally after everyone else plus Siohban's friend Chris (who came up from Lisbane...somewhere south? Suffice it to say he spoke Portuguese so we were all very happy, and also considered him our porto aficionado...even though he didn't live in Porto, he was at least better than Jamie muttering spanish words with funny accents). We did the cathedral and then crossed over the giant bridge down to the actual ports and set about my favorite activity of the day...tasting the port.

Now port, is, well I'm not really sure what it is, but it's good...it's also about 24% alcohol and only 2.50 euro a glass...this equals for a very fun night, very early on. We stopped at the first port shop we came to because it was completely decked out from head to toe in halloween garb (as this was halloween night) and we were off. Two and a half hours later we all took off in separate directions to head home, to the store....etc etc, everyone apparently with the same idea to pick up the most important thing for dinner on the way home...vino verde. Very soon after we all arrived back at the apartment somehow between the nine of is we had collectively come home with 10 bottles of wine and two six packs of beer....there after I struggled valiantly to make a concoction out of the dodgy bits we had collected at the super market earlier...I must say I managed fairly well. After a large consumption of drink and food we started to entertain ourselves for the evening (as one must not leave to club in Porto until at LEAST 11.30...or you're a looser, and the only ones there to boot...which we were even though we left late got lost, and had to take taxies because it was pouring down rain). We played lots of very creative games (thanks to Jamie), it was a bit like summer camp, accept grown up drunk summer camp....I was the tied champion of the cereal box game (where one must bend down and pick up the cereal box with your teeth, no hands, can't bend your knees and after every turn a bit more of the cardboard is ripped off to make the box shorter). Thank you figure skating for my semi-flexibility...I win.

Finally (as I said it takes time to haul 9 people around anywhere) we were off to the club, which club or where it was we didi not know, but at this point I was just following and hoping for a bathroom, which I found at a Portuguese club modeled after key west....complete with sharks, leis and blue drinks that cost 7 euro each and taste like suntan lotion smells...however do not be deceived, these are DANGEROUS, there, you have been warned. Blue drinks at sketchy portugal club with male bartenders with pierced belly buttons, line dances that everyone knows and dancing half naked girls on platforms....equals a lot of fun:) At 4.30 am we finally LEFT the club to cab it home and all sleep until 1pm the next day....oh halloween, you are one of my favorite holidays, especially anywhere in Europe with crazy europeans. Sunday was a really lazy day, and rainy day...from the house to the bus I was soaked in 1 minute flat and spent the next half hour under the hand dryers at the local mall (as there was nothing much else to do since everything everywhere in europe no matter what country is closed on a sunday). After a long day we headed back home to dinner and more fun camp games, assembled ourselves for dinner and bid farewell to fair porto, definitely the biggest surprise I've had since arriving. Heading for a nap now since it's about 2pm and I've had about 8 hours of sleep in the last 48.

I love you, I miss you,

Sarah

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