portugal – Page 17 – Citizen Reporter

The Pumphouse

Greetings and good evening from Lisbon, Portugal. Capital of this funny little country my family hails from. People park on the sidewalk, dogs poop everywhere, random construction projects are everywhere; this is Lisbon as I know and love it. Cept that cars on the sidewalk, thats just annoying. Oh wait.. lots of things are charming to some while annoying to others, nevermind.

what I wanted to tell you on this my first of five days in Portugal is about my friend Elsa and the pub she works at – the pumphouse. Anyone who’s ever come to visit me in Lisbon has certainly been to the pumphouse. It is THE bar for me in Lisbon. It is where Mr. Anteater.org.uk and I used to play chess on our days away from teaching the good people English. And it is ALWAYS my first stop when I get into town, just like today – I go there directly from the airport.

But I never go at night. This because I don’t go to the pumphouse just cause I like their ice tea and Liverpool loving owner. Não. I go to see someone who is basically one of my oldest “family” members in this city. I’ve been coming here for years, since I was 17, each summer I’d stay right here in this apartment and take classes at university. And every single one of those summers you could find me, a few times per week, sitting in the pumphouse talking to Elsa. I always walk in and give her kisses and sit next to her and ask about her son, and then we talk about Amsterdam, and then she talks of travelling and projects that she hasn’t got off the ground yet. She’s a beautiful woman, so usually I fade into the background as the usual guys walk in and start talking up a storm with her. I give her kisses and head up here to my nest… thats the tradition.

I was thinking about how its been 4 years since I lived and worked right here. And then I started thinking its been double that long that I’ve known Elsa. On my way out of the pub this afternoon, as we said goodbye, I paused and said to her “it’s always good to see you, you’ll my family in this city, you know that?” Busy with costumers and probably more important things on her mind, she smiled and said “I know.”

Oh and I think I saw George H Bush today being led away from the presidential innaugeration by motorcade. You just can’t slow down those ex-presidents, they’re everywhere!

En Route to Portugal Again

Tick toc, tick toc, clocks are my enemy and in a matter of hours – poof, I’m off to Lisbon to see my people, my grandparents, my motherland. It’s always an exciting feeling to step out of that airport, as you stare out past the taxi stand, you can see down to the former site of Expo ’98, and more importantly – the great Tagus river. Oh the flashbacks to my old life in Lisbon are starting as always! Internet access will be inconsistant, but I know all the wi-fi nooks and tricks, so I will find you dear readers. And there will, of course be podcasting.

Before I get back to packing things I won’t use, I want to refer to some important things:

Steph in Sweden

the Dubai special.

take the Brownie NOLA saga

Unemployed, in Greenland

Is it our attention span? Is it the sheer magnitude of a problem that effects an entire planet regardless of who you are, where you live, or how much money you have? Is it that this dam LOST SEASON 1 box set is so dam addictive? Today I’ve been wondering and reading the results of the UK government study that says very clearly, unless something significant is done to cut greenhouse gases, the greenland ice sheet will melt, and the oceans will rise in a big way; some of your favorite cities, including my dear Amsterdam, will become the new Atlantis.

I’ve been wondering why so little is done. While some governments make a token commitment like the kyoto thing, some governments like the US, Australia, and their new buddies in the Canadian government, refuse to do a dam thing in the name of economic growth. Hope that economic growth makes some floating cities and one of those machines that lets you recycle urine into drinking water like in that crappy Costner film… cause that’s the future.

But it doesn’t feel like it.. does it? I mean, sure it feels like spring in New York City right now. And it snowed for the first time in who knows how long in much of Portugal yesterday. And study after study comes out. While information is supressed. All this, helping to make the FACT that global warming is an undeniable and severe threat to everyone on this planet… somehow not a priority in our minds and for our elected officials.

One day, when this civilization is but a memory, a more intellegent species will study humankind and be completely baffled at how we purposely persued our own extinction.

Saunas Might Liberate Us

My arms and legs are like dead weight, but I want to type out this story before anything else. The point is not only to share a story with you, but to put it into a larger social context in different cultures and perhaps generate some thoughts.

I have often heard about the sauna’s in different parts of Europe. Sweden, Hungary, and of course – here in the Netherlands; I had heard many first hand testimonies of the benefits and joy that come with sitting in a hot box sweating away the impurities and then plunging yourself in cold water. Naked of course. But thats a minor point… isn’t it?

So on this german weekend ski-extravaganza, we managed to pop into a sauna, my first sauna ever. I was looking forward to finally experiencing this phenomenon, not to mention get really clean after dragging myself face-first through the snow all day long. As we each paid our 10 or so euros, we were handed a bag with a terrycloth robe and two towels. I felt like I was joining a cult…. the cult of clean.

Skipping past all the boring details… there I am, along with one or two of my male travel companions, with a towel wrapped around my waste, having just done the intial rinse shower. We walk into the special sauna area, and one of the female travel companions greets us as we walk in, I hear her voice, but I’m distracted by the fact that naked women and men are walking past me and taking showers. I could almost feel her half laughing at me, as I looked over and noticed I was the only one with a towel still on. So I got with the program and got rid of the towel. Wanting not to seem like I didn’t know what to do, I asked where one should start while randomly putting myself under the VERY cold shower. She gestured towards the pine door, where others of my naked bretheren were ocassionally walking in and out. I followed their lead and found myself standing at the door facing all these other people in deep thought and sweat… perhaps inappropriately, I greeted the room with a “hello….. this is my first sauna.” The only laughter came from two friends who were already seated sweating it out. I took my place next to what I think may have been a beautiful and curvatious blonde; I don’t actually know if she was cause I didn’t have the nerve to look.

While sitting there.. dripping with sweat and wondering where I should rest my hands (folded? at my sides? on my head?) my mind started to wander. In the US people would freak at this concept. Not everyone.. but the conservative loud ones.. they’d put a stop to this at once. They would seperate men and women, and probably require bathingsuits. And what of my beloved Portugal? They would have a huge problem because men would harass the women like there was no tomorrow. Could southern Europe handle this type of place? My intial thought was — only in this part of the world. (though I know in either case there are saunas of some type)

But it’s really a wonderful achievement for a society. A true indicator of openness and understanding of ourselves, our bodies, our sexuality, and to a large extent, how its simply not a big deal when you put it in that context. That being said, how long will it take for the rest of the world to get to this point… and wouldn’t it be great if it did?

Update and Terrible News from Afghanistan

Brief update from yesterday; the Summit ended in a cloud of shame, disagreement, and protest. I give full credit to the people on the streets of Tunis, especially considering that could be kidnapped and beaten to death by local police.

And then there’s Afghanistan, where people keep dying amidst the typical chaos of post-western-invasion conditions. Earlier this week I noticed the German troop deaths. Tonight I read about the Portuguese deaths. Obviously I believe neither army should even BE THERE to begin with. The Portuguese and German governments should be held accountable as both countries are overwhelmingly against this farse of a war on terrorism, and yet they ignore the will of their citizens while stationing their young people in a war zone with no sign of resolution in sight.

Meh… its friday night and I wanted to write about non war related stuff. But with all the death and destruction orchestrated by national armies all over the world, there’s simply too much to talk about.

Oh and read me on Americunt today as well…

Spain Knows Justice

If I ever leave the Netherlands, especially considering how the country is gradually becoming a pretty intolerant place, I will very strongly consider Spain. Not because it’s nice and close to Portugal. Not because I care about sunny weather. But because increasingly, the country does things right:

Vote out a conservative government that tries to use the “war on terrorism” logic to get elected.

Pulled all troops out of Iraq

Recognized Gay Marriages

Issued a warrant for the arrest of Pinochet (5 years ago)

And yesterday they issued warrants for the American Soldiers who killed reporters at the Palestine Hotel!

With all the crimes and horrible things that have taken place during this invasion of Iraq, many have probably forgotten the very illegal and murderous operation carried out by a US tank division. Everyone… and I mean everyone.. has known for year and years, that the Palestine Hotel is where journalists from all over the world stay. They make no secret of it, and it had long been respected. But these killers, who claim to be following orders, deliberately targeted the hotel and killed a Spanish and Ukrainian journalist, as well as seriously injuring three reuters journalists.

So while it’s only a warrant, it is a hell of a statement. I also think their commanders should also be added to the most-wanted list. And finally, since we’re all European Union, wanted criminals in Spain are wanted criminals across the continent.