I found an apartment! Fully furnished (the photos include the owner's personal stuff which will be removed before I move in and I need to get rid of those red plastic dining room chairs), great area, and only a 10 minute walk from ICS.

I'm excited to finally settle in, though that won't happen until February 1. Until then, I'm comfortable at the Hotel Lutecia where my balcony provides a nice view and a place to enjoy a glass of wine as I watch the sunset. (It also has great wifi which is my main form of communication right now.) I need to get a cell phone, but a local address helps :-)

Otherwise, I have attended a doctoral defense and found it so much more formal than the defense I survived. The committee members wear their doctoral robes and it is the committee, not the student, that are center stage (literally)--the student sits at a desk in front of the stage (think congressional hearing). The audience is silent and never asked to participate other than to leave when the candidate leaves for the "deliberation". 

My Portuguese is improving every day -- as is my confidence. Still trying to get used to the slight contradiction that Portuguese people seem to be very reserved yet they also don't seem to have any concept of personal space. I'm also still trying to figure out when I kiss on both cheeks and when I just shake hands. To be on the safe side,  I go in for the handshake and see if they come in for the kiss. I think I'm getting the distinction, hand shake for formal business/academic interactions. When a friend is introducing me to another friend, definitely double kiss. The difficulty comes in the work place where I need an organizational chart that delineates hand shake people/kiss people. 

Ah, yes, and January is sales month in Portugal -- and I've got a lot of time on my hands. God help me! 

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