S. goes to see the Sporting football game.

coming a bit delayed, but here is the story of me going to see the Sporting football match this monday @ the green stadium in Lisboa. yes, yes, its Football, and yes, i am surprised myself, as all in all football is far away from my sports of interest and i tend to think that the one and half hours could be spent way much more useful, watching the ice hockey for example.

however miracles happen or more like unexpected happenings, and that`s what really happened this monday. By morning this monday i could not imagine finding myself in fan zone of the Sporting match among couple of hundreds of the crazy team fans and actually watching the match. Thanks to the recently made friends, the big fans of the green team aka Sporting, i ended up at the game.

I was told, Portuguese policemen are handsome.

Volta a Portugal, here it is.

Sunday at some time i had this spontaneous idea, to go for the coffee at Lisboa. one, two and i was on the way from Sintra to Lisboa. Big was my surprise when reaching the city center, i found that some of the streets are closed for the cars. However there were no signs of what was happening. After a walk, a coffee and enyoing the sun, the empty streets got crowded by the bikers passing by, as it turned out to be the part of Volta a Portugal happening this last weekend in very city center of Lisboa.

What about police you may ask? well, this all started the first time when we went out this last friday, as somehow the topic of the handsome policemen appeared and the point of that Portuguese policemen are handsome than any other European country have them started. If thinking back in times, then till sunday i had not really and encounter or did not pay any attention, whatsoever, as policemen in latvia...well, ok that`s another topic, sure not for now and sure some of them are handsome too, however not the most of them...

the best Pasteis de Nata @Belem and that`s not it

@Belem, S. having sardinhas.

its time to sneak back in this last saturday and to see the small happenings, as i`d like to keep notes, afterall  it is fun returning months after and see the nice memories noted and not slipping my mind and left in past. other than i hope its also small inspirations for you or at least making some fun times reading.

after the friday night out at Lisboa (the part i don`t remember the name. names just don`t stick at my head) with my colleagues and friends of theirs, as noted here earlier then saturday afternoon i was running late for the meeting with one of the old friends of mine. As it turns out that we not only met for the first time in other side of Europe aka Greece, but we have been living abroad for the same couple of countries, and we even managed to share our ways in life of Barcelona times, and afterall i am here now at her home country. Small world it is, once again approved.

Taguspark Adventure

@Taguspark, the big science center,
where dolphins hang in trees

before its fallen out of my head and left behind, i wanted to share the nice adventure i got myself into yesterday as i think it has to be noted after-all.

couple a weeks ago just short after getting to move to Lisboa, and discovering the amount of free time, i had the thought of maybe finding some new free time hobby to do or small part time kind of job, as being in EVS there is no legal option of being employed even if its part time or anyhow... so yeah, it all came to that one of the days browsing the expat site, there was the add of looking for different native language speakers to translate from english to their language just pieces of short text for the online game. As with short search i found no latvian translations for the site, i decided to give a try and offer my skills and knowledge. E-mail sent...couple of days passed...no reply...couple of more days passed...i already left this behind and it was forgotten.

However with the other culture and with the august vacation times, like two weeks or so passed and my mailbox received an e-mail of stating that they would like to offer me translation/community manager internship within their company, i should just send the CV and then they will see of the interview time.

27 things for 27 days.

Thank you for the lovely present, now its up on my wall

Seems that I don`t know how to not be busy with things and doing something. And whenever I come to the empty time situations i get myself out of usual good mood.  Since before coming to Portugal the first month were supposedly to be more get to know the new life and less actions, and the first week went good for me, all in all when everything`s new for you, its exciting. then when you discover that the new gets old and then the spare time appears...it takes some time to figure out how to spend it so i am happy after all.

And as first set but then changed, pfff and the end of august plans just disappeared i have the empty spot to fill in...so here may be useful the 27 things for 27 days that i got before arrival here... Have to admit, that some of them ill already tried and it was amazing...pastels de Nata could be part of my every morning habits unless they would not be so unhealty after all, however superdelicious. Seen couple of beaches, still looking for my the perfect one. Oh what else, i tried to give a try to listen Fado, but seems that it may not be my thing...will check back with this, to be sure i like it or not. Other than everything, friends, do you have something else to add in this list on what to see in spare time?

Atē amanhā,
S.

Beach, sun & trying to catch the Cascais Festival.

@Somewhere walking by the coast from Cascais

when having time for yourself, it just passes...pfff...and its gone. So that what happen during the weekend while aside sleeping there happen sleeping in beach, sightseeing, coffeeing... as saturday after waking up with the "lovely" mosquito bite next to my eye and managing to look more or less as i usually use to look, i found myself not staying home and going to take a rest in beach. As maybe the murphy was there on saturday, then at first the weather seemed not that encouraging to even think of beach, however i decided to give a try, so i found myself on going to nearest spot aka Sintra beach and if first thinking of Praia Grande i ended up at Praia das Marcas (sorry for not using the superb signs for the c and a letters, just don`t have them on my latvian keyboard). And if maybe not with a good start of day, all in all the beach time turned to be just perfect, as the sun was there, great waves were there and i got my spot at beach just before it got really crowdy. So catching up with summer and tan went very well. oh, right thanks to my current work in Dinamo, i also had "the best" read - getting to understand and know of European Court of Human Rights, which after all was a nice piece to get to know. But thats enough of the saturday...as during the weekend there was also a sunday, the first day of week for portuguse, still holiday.

Latvia & Serbia = Portugal

Can you solve the equation? Seems a bit silly, isn`t it? Well, actually everything is simple as it is.

As you already know then since couple of weeks I work for Dinamo, and yes, its right, I am not the only one here. Here are two of us doing their EVS projects - me from Latvia and Olja from Serbia, so that sums up for our new adventures in Portugal. So you got the answer, not that difficult after all.

Dinamo - an ice hockey team for Latvians, a youth NGO in Portugal.

So far i`ve mentioned previously that the reason on my current location is the challenge i accepted, joining the EVS program and becoming part of European voluntary work service. As all projects has place or at least host, then as well this is not much of difference. So basically there is always an sending organization and most importantly the hosting one, that gives your daily chores and works and becomes your new home for your period of stay...

So this all ends up for me as working in the local NGO named Dimano, that is aimed to work for and with youngsters to improve their life and their opportunities in the local Sintra region of Portugal.

Portuguse national holiday & public strikes - my new adventures.

Found today on the way to Bairro Alto

Since ever of my Spanish life experience of "random" holidays appearing, here i mean the ones that I did not know before due to the new culture and no previous information....anyhow,  i hope you got the point...so yes, these random appearing holidays is a great stuff, and not knowing everything sometimes turns out to be an amazing surprise and new adventures, like it happen with me today.

So as I got to know yesterday, then today`s the national holiday of Portugal, where they celebrate a religious day for one of the Goddesses. A great chance for me to take the middle of the week day to do some fun stuff. That what I thought yesterday...

Oh well, things changed on the morning when the portuguse language class was cancelled due to fact that my evs/flatmate Olja got stuck in Lisboa, as went there yesterday and no trains coming to Sintra this morning...yes, as i found out today, then workers got on strike due to changes of law that terminates they payouts of overwork hours, If hearing of the changes, then who likes to work extra and not get paid double but just quarter of it, i wouldn`t...anyhow, the strike took all day long and no trains there...

My plan of maybe going to beach, maybe to Lisboa instead or maybe finally checking out some fun things in IKEA puffed out just like that...that what i first thought.

So what to do within the National holiday and with no transportation to move around from Sintra side? I made the pre-research of any option to get myself to Lisboa with busses instead of trains, but the current public transport weirdness did not allow me to find any decent way for it, as they like to have each of the city parishes their own bus services and no place to check or plan the complete trip, neither even google could do anything of this...

out of my comfort zones, welcome portuguese reality.

Sabado a casa de Juventude

It`s been more than a week for me already in Portugal, since the first days i`ve been somehow dropped out of my comfort and comfort zones and even though i am already experienced with life abroad or fresh starts in completely new locations, i have to admit that this time its harder than i was imagining, as the third time in new place abroad should be the easiest, however it turns out that its not at all. 

If previously i was making my decisions, and choosing what and where i want, then this time its different. Yes, i choose myself the country, and yes I was happy to be inbetween Sintra and Lisboa, however as previously never been in Lisboa nor the current place I live in, I did not though on how different of the things i am used it will be...as fun outcome of this last weekend spent with old and new friends in Almada, then came to conclusion that in a way I live in the small Africa actually, although its still Portugal and more over its still Europe, however this particular region on where i am living is something completely other than you imagine when thinking of Portugal, as mostly citizens here are afro-americans and as told then around 15 nationalities gathers here.

stand out of the crowd.

the far away, that`s the Sintra castle view of my balcony.

 if you ever traveled around Baltic countries, then you may know of how white and blonde and blue eyes many people are. its all nature and its all there, we Nordics are so used to it then nobody really pays any attention. When the Afro-Americans shows up around Baltic, its not that rare anymore, however comparing  of the total amount seen its still kind of different, therefore you can see not only little children pointing but also other to talk or pay more attention than usually...however with nowadays life and the tremendous migration and international environment it all should be with much less attentions...

and coming from Baltic and living in south it all works opposite way, as it turns out that the blue/green eyes and the blonde hair (even if you in your country are not really a blonde, just lightener hair than brown) are not common after all and like we used to stare for the different ones, so now i am catching all attentions, as not that many of blondes are living in the outskirts of Lisboa.

Good morning, afternoon and evening Portugal.

Greetings from Sintra region of Portugal, last week i packed my bag for the third time of my recent two years of life abroad and chose to move to another country, this time living near the ocean in the sunny cost of Portugal and as the tourist guides says, then the most romantic place of all Portugal the Sintra area.

Out of all my departures i think this been the most easiest one in a way of that I have finished the studies back in Riga, managed to perfectly measure the bag sizes without any scales and most of all, becoming a EVS volunteer in one of the European countries been my dream since many years... all dreams comes true one day and now it have happened with me, for the upcoming year I will be around the ocean cost of Europe, working within the local organization here and the same time enjoying and trying to understand their way of lifestyles.

I have to admit, coming from Baltics it made me think of going to south means much less of the warm clothes to pack, however it turns out that not only the ocean is super cold - like the usual baltic sea - but also the nights gets quite chilly, and most of everything if talking about the weather is the super strong wind, that i really dislike as no hairstyles are possible to make. As well the new time zone -2 hours from the Latvian time recently have made me couple of headaches, made me miss some skype meetings and also i`ve been always too late to call home. Well, by a time i hope to get used for all these small thingies.

How my working as an European Volunteer experience develops, you are welcome to follow me and see the upcoming posts as i`ve decided to pimp up my blog and return for the daily entries.

All the best for you,

S.