How it all started or I really shouldn't eat so many sweets

So if it can be said to start anywhere it started with a dame..that dame may be my wife, as she prefers to be called, but a dame none the less.
So we get married and I follow her because she gets a job in a college town in Indiana and as I wasn't terribly excited to make military ammunition so it wasn't that hard to leave. Besides it gives me time to pursue an errant master's thesis.

So a new puppy, several week trips to my alma mater to edit the thing and I have a newly minted master's thesis and we are about a month pregnant. My wife has a job that will end right around the time that we are due and little old me is jobless and trying to reconcile the fact that that condition runs counter to ever moral fiber in my sensible Midwestern soul. Such a thing, pregnant and jobless was a state for 16 year-olds and pot heads so I head out and try to do the most sensible thing I can - find a job that pays as much money as possible. Which I do and accept the position despite finding the offices completely sterile and walking out from the interview with the boss thinking, "he is a jerk but I have worked with jerks before and I can lead up". The cost of this decision: about 7K per year.

That sounds like a lot - I wouldn't want to leave that money just lying around - but I ended up gaining about 20 pounds out of the deal which I have only just recently lost. I wouldn't have run screaming but I failed to get in touch with the employer I turned down which was a real mistake when on my second day the senior engineer in the department - 5 years experience on the job - and my trainer tells me that she may not be back as she was going to give her two week notice. I thought that responsible adults stuck with things like this; it didn't even occur to me that this particular plant hasn't found its footing yet and that such low morale is not something an engineer can fix - in this case it is a tone that starts at the top and hopefully the plant manager will figure it out.

To recap: took the worst fit job for me and then proceeded to have a son (kids are awesome) and do all the first time parent stuff (here is a tip: it is a lot like woodstock: I don't really remember it but I have pictures) when 2 years ago my wife came to me and said, "There is a job opportunity in Lisbon, Portugal, should I apply?" Having no idea what I was getting in to I said yes. 16 months ago we packed up an 18 month old child, a two year old dog, sold our cars and set about living out of a suitcase for a while. It ended up being six months as we had already made plans to say goodbye to dear friends and family around the US; to spend Christmas with my wife's family in the States; and our hilarious introduction to our first Portuguese neighbor - 'the dragon lady' - meant we started looking for our second place to stay within moments of locating the first. Did I mention that while there is a down economy in the US there is a really down economy here, that I had a stable if somewhat despotic job and that neither one of us spoke a lick of Portuguese? No? Well, it makes for interesting times.

Lisbon FAQ

How will you do without knowing the basics of Portuguese?
Well this is a small country and a large amount of the revenue comes in through tourists. Not speaking Portuguese is not much of a handicap as the reverse would be in the US. Most people under 40 and who have a decent education will be able to speak well. For example, my son is in preschool and he has an English lesson once a week. People are very willing to help here and charades can accomplish a lot. The basics are pretty easy. You can go online and search or purchase a book like Lonely Planet's Phrasebook (make sure it is European and not Brazilian). You can get very far with please, thank you, Do you speak English?, excuse me, I apologize, I don't speak Portuguese, 1-10, No, Go away, help, I am allergic to...., Does this dish contain...., Memorizing these phrases can be done on the plane. Another trick is to figure out your request and write it down. A little notebook and a pencil are a good thing.

I have heard of the skating rink so I did some research. It hasn't been cold enough for ice. In fact, the 'ice' is made of plastic, I think it is Teflon sheets that have been put down. The municipal office (the bureaucracy that runs the city) called it ice in a press release. It is open through the Jan 9th I think. There is also a French Carousel. I couldn't find a price for entry; it could be free. I might get to go down that way this week. I'll let you know if I find out anything.

Most museums are free on Sunday mornings (except for the Orient Museum which is free on Friday evenings) and closed on Mondays.

As far as the rainy season here it means highs in the 40's to the high 50'sF with lows in the 30's F The coldest it got last year was 33F and that made the news. Most places do not have heaters; so coffee and soup are awesome for that reason. It is also rainy. Today for instance it is high of 19C (66F) low of 14C (60F) and overcast. It will probably rain. That could mean a few hours of a light drizzle or 30 minutes of heavy pour or both.

Rain also means that the stone that makes up the walking areas here can be really slippery.

You can probably pick up a cheap umbrella here (chapeu de chuva) at a Chinese shop and if the wind plays havoc with it you are out a few euros.

As far as looking like a tourist I wouldn't worry too much about it; this isn't Paris, Milan, or London. There is not a great deal of fashionistas or at least I haven't run into them. Wearing presentable casual attire is fine. If anything I think Portuguese women tend to wear more form fitting clothes than their Midwestern US counterparts. Boots that go up to the top of the calf are pretty popular as well.

When we first arrived we were told; don't leave things unlocked or out. People will assume you don't want it and take - there is no shame in dumpster diving here. As far as muggings or being threatened that is very rare. Crime statistics put Lisbon ahead of most if not all major cities in the US. As long as you are aware of your surroundings you should be fine. If you feel unsafe you can go into a cafe and ask them to call you a taxi (Pode chamar-me um taxi, por favor?).

As far as getting harassed; I have been witness to one cellphone pilfering and have had a few friends loose pocket books, wallets, etc. The cellphone pilfering happened when two women who were probably Roma (It is an unfortunate stereotype here) came into the coffee shop where we were. They each had lottery tickets that they were offering. One came over, noticed the cellphone and started being louder. Her friend came over and offered us more tickets and the original woman slipped the cellphone into her pocket and left. It was 20 minutes before we noticed the cellphone was no longer on the table. The two women made something like 5-10 euros a piece. Another friend lost a camera. He was on the subway with all his bags and he had draped a camera over shoulder but not in a bag. When the subway doors were closing he felt a tug and he was on one side of the door and the dude with his camera was on the other.