now that the university is over and i hop intermitently between several places, without a regular routine, time has gained a strange anti-dimension. march was a non-existent month, i had trouble remembering the days of the week, what month it was even.
but with shanghai’s deadline on sight already, things seem to be fitting into place and more, i start paying more attention to things i know i probably won’t see in a while…
… lisboa, the light reflected on the buildings and on the imense water of the tejo river. lisboa makes the usual things sound special, the bica (coffee) and the pastel de belém (little custard cream tarts) with cinnamon…
… ermesinde, where i gathered a few friends for a sort of farewell dinner on the usual café, whose “francesinhas” (this dish i won’t even try to translate) i will surely miss. not as much as i will miss the smiles of the people around that table.
… celorico de basto, what we call “our village“, the place where most of my family lives. spring is in full swing now, trees and fields have a bright green shade, there are birds singing, the church bell rings.
… and braga, in my own house. the grass, the people on the streets, the flavours and scents on the cafés we’ve been to a thousand times before.
it’s hard to wrap up memories, but everything is more real and vivid on the eve of leaving. having been away of portugal for a while in the past, i realise how ridiculous it can be to say bye-bye, specially on this “online” era. life goes on, we soon forget the tears in the airport, months pass by and before we know it, we’re back to hug everybody, only to feel the eagerness to leave again, a week after that. it’s a cycle, hardwired to our “explorer minds” and difficult to explain.
my grandma says i’ve lost the “fear”, and now, nothing will hold me. i feel she’s right.
