Hello from Lisbon!
I have been camping here since August sharpening my Portuguese skills. My arrival here was due towards end of June. However, my visa got delayed and I reached here a month later. I have already finished my beginner’s level Portuguese and currently finishing my intermediate level course (B1) before I return to Philadelphia for the last semester of my coursework in January 2024. Barring some specific cases of past continuous tense, I can effectively read and write in Portuguese now and the last essay I wrote was one and a half page worth rant on how social media platforms impact our self-esteem and identity
I also made a weeklong trip to Porto when Amu came visiting from India during a semester break. Porto is beautiful to say the least. It was also fun to revisit some places in Lisbon again with her. Ever since she has left, I have barely made a trip to the downtown, except to attend protest demonstrations. I have to make a trip to Coimbra too. Will save Braga, Evora for the subsequent visits where I will be more in control of my schedule.
I have also been making visits to various archives here in Lisbon, most regularly to the Biblioteca Nacional. I spent some time at Torre do Tombo too, which just next to the FLUL building where I show up daily for my Portuguese classes. I also mustered strength and made a trip to Arquivo Historico Ultramarino (AHU) and I need to write a separate post to address that trauma. However, I am pretty sure that I would have to return to that place and make more regular appearances there. Filhaal, I have gathered some basic material from BNP to think through some immediate research questions.
Not sure if people tried to visit this space but it was shut for almost entire year due to some technical issues which seem to have resolved now. I have updated the existing sections and will be adding few more, one page certainly for my plays (now that there are three of them out in the world). Like in all the updates of return, I hope to post here more regularly and some focused content on Goa, History, Historiography etc.
PS: Amu and I got engaged. Technically we got married too but more about that later.
