Portugal is cold. Many people, back in Minnesota seem to have the idea in their heads that if you can handle Minnesota cold, then you can handle any cold. This is not the truth. Ocean cold is worse. It's humid today, and about 10ºC. And my house has no central heating system. My bed has several comforters on it. I'm slowly getting used to the cold, along with a host of other things.

School is not incredibly difficult, but there are challenges. Filosophy is probably my hardest class. If I took it in the US, it would probably be hard to wrap my head around the subject matter, but the language barrier makes for quite a bit of confusion.

The portuguese language, while very beautiful when spoken is much harder than any of the other languages I've tried to learn. (Spanish and French) The European portuguese grammar and pronunciation is challenging for an American to articulate. Despite this, I feel that I am learning at a decently fast rate. I find myself becoming mentally immersed in the verbal music being created around me. It's becoming easier to think in Portuguese. While people have told me this several times in the past, I'm only now understanding the significance: that one has to think like the natives to learn a language. I'm trying to get myself in the portuguese mindset.

The country itself is beautiful, especially this time of year: autumn is in full swing, and when it's not raining, Aveiro is spectacular. The leaves on the trees are becoming incendiary, and the city park is becoming more and more romantic.