Podcasting since 2004; Conversations, conflicts, adventures and monologues from around the world.
I’m tending to some family business and quality time in Portugal.? Ill be right back with a fun podcast featuring my good friend Pauline who came to Amsterdam last week.? Sit tight til then; it’s a good time to catch up with my recent posts.. people always tell me they can’t keep up… now is a good time to do so.
When I started living in Amsterdam, I always felt an affinity for the Portuguese-Jewish synagogue. Reading those Portuguese names on the walls and reading the story of the Portuguese-JEws who settled and prospered in the city, I wondered if many many generations ago, perhaps my family was of this group, only they converted to Catholicism. Regardless if it happened or not, my sense of history gives me the romantic feeling that I am, at least now, connected to those Portuguese, doing similar to what they did, (for different reasons of course) hundreds of years later. Here in Bangkok, as the boat cruised down the Chao Praya river, a river that snakes in so many directions with its creamy green water, a friend points out a church on the horizon. Lit up by bright lights against the night sky, a Thai friend rushes towards me “Mark, my father says that is a Portuguese church… Santa Cruz.. from a long time ago when Bangkok has Portuguese community and Portuguese are given titles by King.” I look accross the water and I see the wooden church and the tall steeple. A little piece of Portugal way out here. It was back in 1511, when the Portuguese became the first Europeans to land in this region. They were met with mixed reactions throughout southeast Asia, and somehow were able to get on the king’s good side. It may have been their usefulness as trade partners, eventually becoming an important source for weapons and ammunition. I like to think it was good manners and mutual respect that made the relationship possible. (wishful thinking) From there, some missionaries were given permission by the Royal court to build their convent and live in this little corner of Bangkok. This would eventually become the only structure that survived over time, a souvenir from the days when Portugal was an important partner of Thailand. Amazing? No… not amazing. A reminder in fact, that everything is connected, and while the reasons may be difference, 500 years later, Portuguese still come to Bangkok and they’re still given a very kind welcome by the Thai people.
The 25 of April is a very special day. As per tradition, here’s a video blog entry paying tribute to 25 de Abril in Portugal.
Part of coming to Portugal and visiting my grandparents means taking them to a supermarket. With my help they can pick up all the supplies they need to last them a month or more, that way they don’t have to ask help from friends or neighbors.
Living in a tiny town in what I like to call the middle of nowhere, we tend to go to the nearby bigger town to frequent their supermarkets. In the last decade the amount of supermarkets has mushroomed from 1 to as many as 4 or 5.
As I push the cart down the aisles, and my grandparents struggle to take a good look at the type of meats behind the meat counter, I take a few minutes to watch the people behind the counter.
Sharpening his blade, I watch a gentleman who must be in his late 60’s, joking with one of the other employees behind the meat counter. His white coat full of blood stains, I noticed the ease and skill with which he does his work. It became clear that this man had been a butcher for most of his adult life. Yet the supermarket has only been there for 6 or 7 years, so where was he a butcher before?
My mind continued to wander, 7 years ago… hell.. 14 years ago.. he was probably a butcher in a local butcher shop, now long since closed down. As I glanced at the back of the store, I watched the fish lady tending to customers ordering fish. Here again was someone who knew her job well, and before the days of the supermarket, had surely done her job in a local fish market, many of which have been scaled down or simply closed.
Both the fish lady and the meat man seemed to be doing ok on the job, here at the big supermarket. I could speculate that their wage is probably pretty small and the amount of rules and regulations they’re subject to, would have to be greater. But the question that kept coming back to be is this: Are they better off? Are we better off as a community and a society, with this brave new world where our local shops and specialties are replaced. From the wages to the working conditions to the human connection of feeling like your job is valued and valuing your work, is this new way sustainable?
As we collected our things and made our way out of the shop, I took one more look at the butcher. He was explaining to a younger kid how to properly chop some kind of meat. I wondered about what his job used to be like… the changes he’s seen.. the life he leads.
Over the summer I recorded podcasts documenting my parents’ lives in Portugal. In this podcast I sit with my mother here in Amsterdam and she explains what it was like moving from Portugal to Newark, New Jersey in the 70’s.
What I enjoy most about recording this series of podcasts about my family is that not only do people seem to enjoy hearing these stories, it is also great for my family as alot of these stories we haven’t told in a long time and I continue to learn details that I did not previously know.
I have experienced few more beautiful things than the simple act of sitting next to my mom and cousin as they go through black and white photos from their past in Portugal. Hilarious stories, sad stories, political stories, mysterious stories; I try to make mental notes and the occasional audio-visual recording of each one.
Recording or no recording, being in the room while these two reminisce… that’s what I’ve been enjoying most recently.