Porto

April 2, 2006

Wow…what a night sleep…Eight hours and all I wanted to do was lay in bed all day…. In Porto there are no English-speaking cable channels like there were in Lisbon. So up I go.

Went to the Cathedral for Mass…. what a treat…they had a full sung mass with choir and all. It was magnificent…great acoustics!

Following Mass, I went and congratulated the choir director and asked if they had a CD I could buy. They had a DVD and I bought it. He also invited me to lunch on Monday…I will keep you informed.

Went to Brago, which is about 35 miles away but on the train it took 55 minutes. Not much time there, but got a chance to visit…. church high on the hillsides. Again the people are most helpful. I do not know Portuguese so it can be difficult. Got home at about 10:30 p.m. and I am wiped out.

One the way down to Braga.. I could not keep my eyes open. I think it is a combination of exhaustion and relaxation. Anyway, that is why I am here…right?

I was thinking a lot today….Monday will mark the final thirty days of my sabbatical. It really flew.

According to the dictionary, “a sabbatical is a period of leave from work for research, study, or travel, often with pay and usually granted to college professors every seven years”. I cannot explain everything I have learned or experienced because it is not over yet.

But, one thing I do know is that my life is changed for ever. When I return to my office on May 8th, things are going to be different. My associate director will run the office operations and the programs. I plan to focus on the larger things…like making contacts and raising funds. But I plan to do other things as the President of the organization….well I said I was not going to get into any details.

For the past two months I have opened up a lot with you. I have shared many things that I ever thought of….I am never really careful about what you know about me. Many executive directors are very careful not to disclose too much information to the community. That is fine. It works for them, but not for me. I am what I am. The most important thing for me is to share as many experiences with you as possible. Who knows how long I will be around….I just want to share%