"Fado is a poem that can be heard and seen"

O Fado - Jose Malhoa, 1910

Lisbon's National Museum of Art is the most boring museum I've ever been to. I left after twenty minutes because I had seen it all - except for the FOUR AND A HALF HOUR MOVIE feature on the Holocaust. Skipped that and headed to the Fado Museum, which was lovely, and where the above art is featured. Listened to mournful song-poems for an hour in the listening room. Wandered around the Fado area a few nights ago, stopped outside of Fado restaurants and listened to the singers through the doors. The word "fado" comes from the Latin word for "fate." These are songs filled with longing, resignation and melancholy. Beautiful.

(Carolina says I must become familiar with Ana Moura - the fado singer Prince loves.)

Then went walking around again and saw the classy neighborhood, Chaido. This is City Hall:

And the other - what a beautiful ceiling...




















By total coincidence, I found myself back at the Time Out plaza and was very happy about that. This is what I didn't have for lunch, but wish I had. The pork looked so tender:

And this is what I did have: shrimp Portuguese style, sauteed in butter, garlic and lemon. Phenomenal.

I am now writing from "Bellevue." Carolina and her IPAV "team" (Anna - from Porto, Portugal and Milton - from Angola now Portugal) picked me up at my beloved airbnb location and brought me to the conference center for a "sound check." Good idea, because the videos I made of the students needed very much sound checking. I really like these people - and I got to see three of the student videos that will be shown tomorrow. Very moving. They tell their stories in their own voices and find images from Google to enhance the story. Milton - one of the leader/partners - joined a gang when his family arrived from Angola. He got into a ton of trouble with them, but in the end he was the only one arrested and imprisoned - for five years. He has now been out for two years and wants to help others like him who are "vulnerable" immigrants through IPAV. I love it that they use that word to describe their program participants. Anyway, we all believe that storytelling will eventually bring about world peace.

Interesting side note: I was told I would have a translator and kept picturing saying a few sentences, pausing for translation, then moving on during my presentation. Stop and start, really slow. Well, no. The Portuguese have this figured out. The person who needs the translation wears headphones and a woman who stands in the back "sound room" translates ("she is professional" Carolina tells me). Therefore, I just talk and don't need to pause. Nice, huh?

One more side note: Write to Right is the only storytelling program presenting tomorrow that features writing.

After the sound check they brought me here to Bellevue. If I had flown in and only stayed at this hotel, I would hate Lisbon: a bunch of high-rise hotels in the business center; I walked for half an hour and found one empty Indian restaurant, five stuffy hotel restaurants and one hopping hamburger spot. Guess what I ate for dinner. I could have taken the Metro back to the heart, but I'm too tired and waited too long to eat. Had I known, I would have stayed in my airbnb and paid for it myself. But what do you do? I am just grateful for four blissful days in beautiful, old Lisbon.