My Friends,
After some long days of document re-issuance and wound-licking, I am ready to set out again in search of adventures. I got a pssport and money, which are really the only things you need for adventure.. Will be spending one last night in Lisboa, which has been the equivalent of the city of Darwin on my trip to Australia; I ended up staying longer than i planned and the trip really jumped off when i left. Found a really nice and cheap hostel last night in spite of my plans to sleep in a building under construction (I promised I would sleep indoors, Anita lol) But the hostel was great and the price was right. Ill spend the night there and maybe takee a trip to the bookstore I was at lastnight and finish reading the graphic noveel I started.
Speaking of reading I started "Men Without Women" by Ernest Hemingway. I could not find a replacement copy of Don Quixote but its ok because I have wanted to read Hemingway since I heard him refeerred to as the Biggie Smalls of American Literature. As a bonus, most of the short stories in this book take place in European cities I will be visiting so that wwill help me contectualize.
What has made the last few days bearable for me is slowing ddowwn the pase of life. Without a schedule save for deadlines with the embassy I am moving on local time: I have learned to aappreciate my afternoon espresso and brandy and converssing with the locals. Through this interaction my Portuguese has improved, but itt is not yet high-tech enough to have arguments with the locals about futebol.
Another hard-earned lessson is not to pinch a penny so hard: while I am on a shoe-string budget I should heed the sage advice of the great traveller, Tanya Gouveia, who told me prior to my departure about not depriving myself for anything i want. Well she was right, and depriving myself of a bed for the sake of frugality and proof of ruggedness ended up being a costly prospect for both myself and my support base at home.
In regards to the help I received from home in my tume of need, I felt bad taking help: I had sincerely wanted to do this trip on my own. But this logic is self-defeating as I know that we are not alone in this world: It is a symbiotic place and to pretend otherwise is folly. Besides, I had no such qualms when Wilson, Victor, or Joana (locals I meet) helped me out. In fact, this whole trip with its hitchhiking and couchsurfing bent, is predicated on the notion that we all need help sometimes. I just hope that when my benefactors are in time of need, that they don not hesitate to come to me.
That is all I am going to say; spirits are high and I face the better part of the world both humbled and a little wiser. Are my troubles finished? I dont know. But I am not.
Stay Thirsty
-Andre Guantanamo
After some long days of document re-issuance and wound-licking, I am ready to set out again in search of adventures. I got a pssport and money, which are really the only things you need for adventure.. Will be spending one last night in Lisboa, which has been the equivalent of the city of Darwin on my trip to Australia; I ended up staying longer than i planned and the trip really jumped off when i left. Found a really nice and cheap hostel last night in spite of my plans to sleep in a building under construction (I promised I would sleep indoors, Anita lol) But the hostel was great and the price was right. Ill spend the night there and maybe takee a trip to the bookstore I was at lastnight and finish reading the graphic noveel I started.
Speaking of reading I started "Men Without Women" by Ernest Hemingway. I could not find a replacement copy of Don Quixote but its ok because I have wanted to read Hemingway since I heard him refeerred to as the Biggie Smalls of American Literature. As a bonus, most of the short stories in this book take place in European cities I will be visiting so that wwill help me contectualize.
What has made the last few days bearable for me is slowing ddowwn the pase of life. Without a schedule save for deadlines with the embassy I am moving on local time: I have learned to aappreciate my afternoon espresso and brandy and converssing with the locals. Through this interaction my Portuguese has improved, but itt is not yet high-tech enough to have arguments with the locals about futebol.
Another hard-earned lessson is not to pinch a penny so hard: while I am on a shoe-string budget I should heed the sage advice of the great traveller, Tanya Gouveia, who told me prior to my departure about not depriving myself for anything i want. Well she was right, and depriving myself of a bed for the sake of frugality and proof of ruggedness ended up being a costly prospect for both myself and my support base at home.
In regards to the help I received from home in my tume of need, I felt bad taking help: I had sincerely wanted to do this trip on my own. But this logic is self-defeating as I know that we are not alone in this world: It is a symbiotic place and to pretend otherwise is folly. Besides, I had no such qualms when Wilson, Victor, or Joana (locals I meet) helped me out. In fact, this whole trip with its hitchhiking and couchsurfing bent, is predicated on the notion that we all need help sometimes. I just hope that when my benefactors are in time of need, that they don not hesitate to come to me.
That is all I am going to say; spirits are high and I face the better part of the world both humbled and a little wiser. Are my troubles finished? I dont know. But I am not.
Stay Thirsty
-Andre Guantanamo
SHout out HWat what!
ReplyDelete