Madame Butterfly
dated 2008-04-13 | posted in columns | topic Culture | permanent link
A Tale of Two Tickets
After 17 years of living in Portugal, I’m beginning to feel more at home here than I ever did in the USA. That’s why I reacted so strongly when our monthly book club conversation drifted from discussing Doris Lessing’s work to the Portuguese people. I felt my back tighten as one of the women, an ex-pat here of many years too, started in with the “ we” and “they” comments.
“ They never invite us over,” s ...
Life without the Internet
dated 2008-04-26 | posted in columns | topic Technology | permanent link
Life beyond the Internet
One week ago, our internet connection went down. It wasn’t the first time the small round light to the far right corner of our router went red, so Don and I figured the rain, heavy usage or some other temporary anomaly caused the problem.
“It will come back in a few hours,” Don, the eternal optimist said.
“Well, maybe we should call Jeroen anyway,” I countered, optimistic too but totally helpless when the ...