John and I recently went on a work trip/vacation. One of our friends here, Abby, works in the Public Affairs section of the Embassy. Recently they received a request from a school located up in a mountain town in the north of Portugal. Two young girls, sisters, recently moved there after being raised in the US. (Their mother is originally from this town, called Seia.) Apparently, the girls were having a bit of trouble adjusting to living in a brand new country. So the school asked the Embassy if they'd be willing to do a presentation about the US and cultural diversity. Abby and John were both available to go, and of course I went along seeing as it was work combined with a vacation! We ended up having a fabulous trip... 
The hotel we stayed at was wonderful. We had no idea what to expect, but it was just the cutest, most unique place, located in an even tinier village above the tiny mountain town we were traveling to. We arrived at sunset, and had to take a few pics of our room, which included a walk-in closet and bathtub with jets. We were booked in the "apartment", and Abby had her own room but we shared a living room and kitchen. 
The next day John and Abby did two presentations. The morning one was for a group ranging from 8-11 years old, and the afternoon session was for eighth-graders. The older group really blew us away at how good their English was and how much they knew about the US. It was a really satisfying experience. And even though I didn't present, at the very end John introduced me as his wife to the eighth-graders, and they all oohed and ahhed and whistled. Then they started chanting 'Kiss, kiss!" in Portuguese! They wouldn't stop until we finally gave each other a brief peck. It was hilarious, and that never would have happened in the US!
The teachers took all three of us out to lunch in between the presentations, which was very nice. It was great to interact with Portuguese people outside of Lisbon. It was especially nice for me, because I don't have a ton of interaction besides my day-to-day activities around where we live. And I love getting to talk to children; it was always fun when we got the chance to do so in Indonesia.
There was more "work" to do in another town, but we got to spend most of Saturday relaxing. Actually, I'll have to do another post regarding that. Here are a few more pictures of the boutique hotel:
The hotel we stayed at was wonderful. We had no idea what to expect, but it was just the cutest, most unique place, located in an even tinier village above the tiny mountain town we were traveling to. We arrived at sunset, and had to take a few pics of our room, which included a walk-in closet and bathtub with jets. We were booked in the "apartment", and Abby had her own room but we shared a living room and kitchen. The next day John and Abby did two presentations. The morning one was for a group ranging from 8-11 years old, and the afternoon session was for eighth-graders. The older group really blew us away at how good their English was and how much they knew about the US. It was a really satisfying experience. And even though I didn't present, at the very end John introduced me as his wife to the eighth-graders, and they all oohed and ahhed and whistled. Then they started chanting 'Kiss, kiss!" in Portuguese! They wouldn't stop until we finally gave each other a brief peck. It was hilarious, and that never would have happened in the US!
The teachers took all three of us out to lunch in between the presentations, which was very nice. It was great to interact with Portuguese people outside of Lisbon. It was especially nice for me, because I don't have a ton of interaction besides my day-to-day activities around where we live. And I love getting to talk to children; it was always fun when we got the chance to do so in Indonesia.
There was more "work" to do in another town, but we got to spend most of Saturday relaxing. Actually, I'll have to do another post regarding that. Here are a few more pictures of the boutique hotel:
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