Ill start with my latest thoughts. Whilst having a shower i contemplated ideas about difference as suggested and my inicial reaction was a negative response, how we deal/ react/ accept or the exact opposite with difference. I considered racism a sheer hatred and intolerance for an ethnicity; just the other day i witnessed 'racism' a Czech boy openly said that he disliked Russians due to the historic events of when Russia took control of the Czech, i am not exactly clear of what happened historically but he added that if a Russian went into a pub in Czech then his father would not hesitate to leave. This example demonstrated to me how racism is not necessarily crystal clear. He did not show malace or use offensive language as you often associate with racism, it was more a nationally built in dislike for Russia. In comparison i thought about xenophobia, and where itself and racism cross, literally xenophobia is a fear of foreigners (different) but does it not connote the same thing? In the same way homophobia really translates as a dislike, even if in a more understated way. As the text strangers suggests there is always a fear of unknown entities, and it is easier to completely write them off as wrong then to tolerate them.

Thursday was a really fun day, went to uni for lessons which was ok but the evening was one of my favourite times, we had a massive dinner party. Me, Emily and Jo decided that we were going to make a Thai Green curry for dinner however we did not know that quite so many people were going to come, in the end there was nearly 20 heads to feed. I then remembered having a green tea cake once with a friend in London i wanted to try to make one for the party. We did the shopping earlier in this cheap Asian supermarket, (i think i may buy a lot of my food there in the future). I made the cake first to get it out of the way, i made it massive but then again it was for 20 people, i really enjoyed making it and was more excited about the cake than the curry. However making the curry ended up being really fun i made myself head chef, i am such a control freak in the kitchen but everyone was doing something. I really liked the pressure and had a right laugh whilst cooking. We made it a buffet like dinner, self service. Everyone seemed to like the curry but most people said they found it really spicy, i didnt find it too hot neither did the other English people so i guess it is another example of differences in nationality. The cake got the thumbs up, i really liked, not being arrogant, i thought it was delicious.

After enjoying the cake so much i decided i wanted to bake another there and then, i only had an hour before clas so i was manically making and then baking this cake, in the end i had to ask emily to take it out the oven when it was done. After class we returned home and hadd some, i made this one stronger which i think improved the taste. I really had the baking bug and so decided to make scones for dinner, i followed an online recipe but made just one big as there was no pastry cutter, shock and dismay. It was a success as i had no scales so just guessed amounts and the oven is gas so you cant chose the heat so much. Later on we headed towards Alfama to a bar/ restaurant called Chipitos which had the best view, the walk there was my favourite part i think, i felt so happy like i was on a holiday. At the bar we had a couple of beers and listened to some Fado, i actually really enjoyed it, it had such emotion, what i didnt like was that you had to be silent whilst they performed, they took it very seriously. It was only after the performance that a friend of mine told me that she heard that the singer was really famous Portuguese singer, its so surreal how fame can be constrained.

Today i went for quite a long walk, it was originally just to go grab a coffee but ended up walking around Lisbon. We took a trip to one of the many viewpoints of Lisbon which was very Panoramic, but the prices of drinks reflected the touristic nature of it 2 orange juices and a coffee for ten euros. The weather was beautiful and we walked alongside the Cais du Sodre following the railway and then to the bohemian view point that Emily loves, i did enjoy it there more this time maybe i felt less intemidated. For dinner tonight Eva and Jose made Ragu and Pasta, i dont know what makes it a Ragu technically but it was really tasty. It was a very sociable event everyone was chatting and eating and then we watched some dance program, like strictly come dancing Portuguese style which was fun as we were all criticising it and then i went to have my shower which is where i started.