as it turns out, i am still alive

i hope you had a chance to say goodbye to my couchsurf virginity because, ladies and gentlemen, it has left the building. i am still breathing, still eating and drinking. just been running around all day without access to my belongings (the beauty of couchsurfing!) so am catching up on all things life and internet right now. you will all get the juicy details you deserve soon enough but right now i am about to eat a meal of pork and stale bread soup (??? it actually smells really good) that sergio is cooking and then we are heading out on the town. people don't go out here until like 1 or 2, he says. crazy! and apparently john malkovich owns a club here which is kind of a big deal so, yeah, we may go.

so that's the skinny, though there will be more to come when i get a chance--pictures, stories, etc. but please consider that the time during which i was able to throw thorough travelogs with photographic evidence on the net may very well be behind me. the photos may have to come supplementally at another juncture. we'll see how the days progress. all in all, first 30 hours in lisbon are enough to win me over. i have a place in my heart for madrid, but nothing beats the coast; it's a welcome change to have a breeze. went to the beach today. THE BEACH. i am struggling to communicate in portuguese because, although in written form it seems similar to spanish, the pronunciation sounds almost russian to me. my ears/mouth/brain aren't really getting along too well. i am asked a question in the native tongue and i'm sure my face gives off the impression of my having been lobotomized because i just don't get it. i have a few more days to work on it before i'm catapulted into bar-theh-loh-na, where my spanish may not help me too much either. sending good love out to all you faithful readers. thank you for habitually consuming these sheez-its. soon enough, four out of five dentists will recommend them for cavity prevention and general well-being.

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