New Grandmother....

Last Thursday I moved from PBI in Tojal to an apartment with a grandmother in Vialonga. She is an 87 year old great-grandmother and her grandson with his two daughters live in an apartment on the second floor. This apartment building is basically perfect! I have a coffee shop right outside the entrance to the complex where I go every morning and get tosta mista and galao escuro, which is a panini style ham and cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee with milk. I am also now in walking distance to the Fairbanks house and the Chaveiro house so I no longer have to ride the bus everyday! Basically, our houses are laid out like this....there are three little hills and a deep ravine between each hill and we each live at the top of the hills. I am the first hill and then the Chaveiros and lastly the Fairbanks. Dan Chaveiro is Dalia Fairbanks' brother and he is married to Rebecca and they have a daughter and a baby boy on the way. When I am working with the youth in Vialonga and Povoa, I am working with the Chaveiros.

Also near my new home is a gypsy market. They sell everything at this gypsy market and it is all "the real thing"! They gypsies set up their market in this big empty parking lot every saturday and they have everything from underwear to gucci purses. Shopping here is very overwhelming though because if you look to long at something or touch something then they try and get you to buy it by yelling at you. There are also the gypsies that just yell at everyone passing by "1 euro!" or there was even a guy who was yelling, "I am sleeping with the boss' wife! Because I am the boss!" When you walk out of this market there is another indoor market but this one is produce, bread, and fresh fish. This market is way better because you don't have people yelling at you about who they are sleeping with or how much products are. Also, in Portuguese fashion, there is a cafe attached with this indoor market. I think there are more cafes in the small village of Vialonga then there are in Portland!

well that is all I have for this post....

Peace out!