Fresh

I am in Portugal. I am happy. I'm a bit lonely. Those two can go together--though many will tell you a different story.

I do not have internet access for another week—only briefly and dearly. I’ve been taking long walks on my new beach, swimming in my first ever swimming pool, and trying to get a tan.

I have two swallows outside my kitchen window that I have named Katie and Hubble (a la Barbara and Robert in "The Way We Were")–they are expecting two babies any day now. In fact, I think thy might have hatched last night—as I saw Hubble with a cigar in his mouth—or a worm—hard to tell. I’m glad I live in a country where it is illegal to destroy a swallow’s nest.

I went to a small restaurant right on the beach yesterday for some grilled fish and clams. It was the best fish I have ever tasted. The clams were dug that morning on the very beach I sat on. There were divers, children, swimmers, women in all forms of dress and non-dressed, and a comfortableness with being in a bathing suit no matter what your stomach looked like that I relished.

The beaches are soft and breezy with perfectly white sand and stray dogs that follow me when I walk. I’ve named my three regulars after actors who have played James Bond. Thus, Sean, Roger, and Daniel Craig have barked at the clams and played in the water with me. I’ve walked along that beach and, as cliché as it sounds, I’ve thought a lot about my love life—or rather—the possibilities of my love life in this new country. Good things are afoot.

I’ve learned the Portuguese words for sun, flipflops, beach, clams, fish, yes, no, thank you, and gratitude. I’m hoping to learn a lot more.