Mirinda in Portugal

This week marks the start of a new phase in my life – an intentional counterpoint to our Scandinavian adventure. If you drop diagonally southwest from Stockholm across Europe as far as you can go you end up in Portugal. And so begins our Portuguese adventure.

I know almost nothing about Portugal. But I do not regard this as a disadvantage! Indeed, in meditation terms this means I approach it with the enviable “beginner’s mind”. And that is the whole point. An experience somewhere completely new, that contrasts vibrantly with Sweden. But also an in-depth experience where I will build a company, work with a university, launch a project on AI and the creative industries, and in time even learn the language. Or try to – I am told it is very difficult. But I am already up to A2 in Swedish, so I remain buoyant.

This week marked my very first visit to Portugal, with the main aim being to meet the university and some of the staff and sign the contract with them. This is a contract for how we will work together on a research project, led by me. The people (all men) were merry and intensely enthusiastic. I am told there will be a room in the labs, two masters students and a professor allocated to my project. It is part of the school of management and technology.

The contract itself was 33 pages long, three of us had to initial each page, and there were three copies. Yes, that is 99 signatures each. Yes, that is 297 signatures in total. Each contract even came in a special binder, and we took a photo of us all with the contracts afterwards.

During the 297 signatures, we chatted about Vikings – and I was told how the Portuguese themselves went North to Scandinavia and mixed with the people there. I pointed out that the President (of the university, not the country) had very blue Scandi eyes, so probably had Viking blood in him. This caused great mirth. They seemed delighted with the idea of having a Viking President and that he should wear a hat with horns. Some of this was in Portuguese, but I could translate from the hand gestures!

Afterwards, they gave me a tour of the town. Lots of picturesque colourful buildings, an equal number of shabby ones in desperate need of renovation, sunshine, cercis trees lining the streets just coming out in pink blossom (that’s the Judas tree – he is supposed to have hanged himself from one), ruined city walls, an aviary full of Australian budgies, and an enormous 3D wall sculpture of a hoopoe on the side of a random building. I thought the whole place was gorgeous. They dismissed it with a shrug, saying there’s many much prettier towns in Portugal.

We passed a group of military people at one stage with lots of red flowers. They were practising for liberty day. Paulo, one of the guys I will be working with and very into history – literally trying to visit every town and village in the country – explained that up until 1974 Portugal was a fascist state. Then the military overthrew the government and turned the country into a democracy. It is 50 years this April. And that revolution started in this very town. 

Other Paulo titbits: Portugal is the oldest country in the world in terms of consistent borders; the second oldest in the world in terms of population age; has not been in a war for hundreds of years; didn’t take part in WW2 directly but was friend to the allies – not Hitler, even though it was a fascist state – taking in many Jews and allowing the allies to have planes in Portugal.

He also said he used to be proud of Portugal’s old history and empire, but isn’t any more. Now that he understands it better. He accepts it. But no longer thinks of being proud of it.

And most importantly – the town itself is the hottest in Portugal in the summer! To be avoided