I returned from Portugal a few days ago, my first visit to the country during the month of August. I had heard many times of the great heat and discomfort during the late summer, reinforcing the long tradition of the Portuguese of all stations and locations to head "south", signifying a long holiday at the beach, typically the expansive and lovely Algarve region. I was very curious to see if the economic crisis had an impact on the widespread European tradition of this 4-6 week holiday.
But there were "cracks" in the tradition of long summer holiday, with enough signs of change in Portugal. A significant number of storekeepers, restaurants and ordinary Portuguese reported that holidays were shortened to no more than 2 weeks, and some reported its cancellation entirely. The economy was cited as the reason for this change, and as we know the behaviors and habits of the Portuguese can change very slowly, there is clear evidence of some changes in attitudes. Besides shorter holidays, the word "promoções" (promotions), has entered the Portuguese merchant vocubulary, something that is generally very new and interesting to the Portuguese and international consumer alike. Large banners of 50% to 70% off were quite prominent, and during my first visits to Portugal years ago the locals told me that there was really no sense among shoppers and storekeepers of such a thing as sales and discounts. The "price was the price" and the seller was in charge. There are clear signs that this is changing, and changing fast.
Two Directors of the Friends of Portugal just returned from a quick trip to Normandy France, at the lovely town of Franceville-Mereville, just north of the famed 'Pegasus Bridge' where the British invasion forces of the Allied Forces commenced the D Day Invasion of June 6, 1944. Located there is the retreat center and ministry of the Jacques Lefevre Institute, led by Stephen Darling who has lived in France for 20 years. At right is Stephen and Otto Ekk of Portugal at the well preserved German gun battery and museum at Mereville. 
In addition to good conversations of strategies, approaches, opportunities and challenges in Europe, Otto and I also had several meals and extended conversations with the French. At the Institute were many visitors from many parts of the world, including a wonderful Coptic Christian family originally from Egypt; several leaders from a large church in Paris heavily involved in Christian movements in the Muslim world; South Africans, Vietnamese, and native Parisians. Otto and I are non-French speakers, and this made it difficult at times, but common interests and faith brought us together to learn from one another about France and Portugal and emerging developments.
These times built upon recent times with other Portuguese friends, including the Pratas family who serve and work in Mozambique through sports. Pictured at right is the extended Pratas family in a recent visit in Lisbon with us shortly before their return to Mozambique. In addition to Jorge and Alice and their charming daugthers, and their parents in the photo at right, are Joe and Paula Arrias, another Friends of Portugal Director. (FYI Jorge Pratas and Paula Arrais are brother and sister.) It was good to hear of the work in Africa and how Friends of Portugal can be involved.
These times and many more conversations while on this trip lead up to a major planning meeting for the Friends of Portugal leadership team on Monday August 27, to be held in Loures, Portugal. Pictured at left are some of the leaders in a preliminary meeting held recently, to prepare for the entire leadership meeting for both North American and Portuguese leaders. Upon the conclusion of this meeting, we will present to our stakeholders, friends, donors and supporters the strategic priorities of Friends of Portugal for the next 18-24 months, including some exciting projects, proposals and initiatives. We ask for your continued prayers and encouragement for Friends of Portugal.
But here in Frielas, just a few miles off of the highway, next to the small church sat an archeological dig that from all appearances had long ago stopped work, sat the ruins of a Roman villa, five to ten feet underground, surrounded by a small fence. We stood in the gathering darkness and looked down at the work of men and women from 2,000 years ago, the marble columns, the mosaic floors, the rooms and antechambers where people gathered, ate, lived, fought, loved and died contemporaneously with the time of Jesus. It was mysterious and magical and something so unlike my own life in California that few words could really explain how I felt at that moment.There was but a small sign in English and Portuguese providing some information of what lay at our feet. (Photo credit to Paulo Juntas)
I want to share with you some personal reflections on the Friends of Portugal events held in Fresno and San Diego. From the enthusiasm that I saw at these two events, I believe that Friends of Portugal will have a positive impact in the lives of people living in Portugal. The initial take for me was that of much gratitude to all the people that showed up, and beyond that, all the encouragement I left with from each event. 
José’s wife Paula had acquired a good variety of handcraft items that were for sale. Through the various contacts we have made, we have also become better acquainted with Elizabeth Anjos from the Porto region, a gifted artisan of jewelry inspired and handcrafted from Portuguese tiles. Authentic pottery and linens also were available in the artisan / handcraft area. Even some traditional “vinho verde” was to be had during the festivities, along with finger foods and drinks were available at both events. Our hope was to have people sample Portuguese goods and items, and see the uniqueness and high quality of these items. The lack of exports of Portuguese products is a major barrier to economic recovery, and we wanted to have our guests get some sense for what is available in Portugal.
The San Diego event was held a week later on June 8th in the traditional Portuguese neighborhood of Point Loma. What a beautiful and historic setting, only a few miles from the famed Point that celebrates one of Portugal’s great discoverer João Cabrilho (Juan Cabrillo to North Americans) for his prowess of having sailed around the Southern tip of South America and being the first European to chart and record the coast of California! (The picture is of José Arrais Velez and Randy Ataide at the Cabrilo Monument in Point Loma.) Again, at this event the enthusiasm overwhelmed those of us that work directly in Portugal. 
Tomorrow, once again, we will be playing to get a place in the EURO 2012 finals, and with what country would we have to again play? Our good old “enemy” for centuries (of course it doesn’t get actually to that level, and normally everytime we play it’s always very calm and respectful)---Spain. 
The other day I was out for a morning walk, and made my way past a beautiful golf course that held a small development of homes, most manicured and well tended. At the end of the block, I noticed one home that appeared empty, with a piece of white paper stuck on the front door. Curious, I made my way up the sidewalk to the door, and saw that the paper was a notice from a bank that the home had been foreclosed. From the inside, brown paper was taped over the windows, but I found one window where the paper had fallen to the floor. What I saw shocked me.
The global economic downturn continues to grind on, and there are actually signs that many countries and regions are beginning to fall back into recession after very tepid recoveries. We catch headlines of cryptic symbols and data points which economists, pundits and politicians fret over, but we are often unsure of what it all means. A colleague of mine has articulated the principle of “frugality fatigue” where large segments of populations simply shrug at continue thriftiness in the midst of no improvement of their economic situation, and begin to return to old habits of spending pre-recession. And while the economic challenges Americans face can be painful and even wrenching, in most instances they have not turned into tragedy. The same cannot be said of some other parts of the world.
In Greece, the focus of so much commentary and conversation of the past months, it has been lost on most of us that there is a higher cost for many Europeans. When Apostolos Polyzonis's bank refused to see him last September, the 55-year-old Greek businessman had just 10 euros ($13) in his pocket. Out of work and bankrupt, he thought all he could do with his remaining money was to buy a gas can. Desperate and angry, Polyzonis stood outside the bank in central Thessaloniki, in northern Greece, doused himself in fuel and surrendered to the flames. There are many reports of a rapid rise in suicide rates throughout all of Greece. For Spain, unemployment for those under 25 years of age has now climbed to approximately 50%, a stunning number by any possible measure. The same data point for Portugal, Italy and other countries, including those in the more prosperous northern European countries, is often beyond 30%, with a resultant rapid rise in civil unrest by these same young people.
There are certainly positive merits and attributes to the European experiment of the E.U. But in my view, the diminishment of the free market and the corresponding destruction of the entrepreneurial mindset in most of Europe (much of it through ‘top-down’ economic policies, banking restrictions, social norms and restrictions, with resultant emigrations to other countries), makes me hope that the response to the economic situation can soon begin to move past the failed policies of austerity. We need to encourage self-sufficiency, reasonable risk taking, and a freer marketplace for entrepreneurial ideas. And non-profits, ministries, NGO’s, many of them based in North American, will likely need to modify some of their policies, procedures, visions and goals as well to adjust to the needs of the people in the countries in which they serve.
Who was shocked? Me? Well, not really but many others have been. Leading European blogger Robin Wauters covers technology entrepreneurs and startups worldwide admits in a new blog post that he was ‘shocked’ by significant technology entrepreneurship going on in Portugal. (The link to the blog is posted at the bottom of this page.)Wauters was also shocked at the striking similarities between San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and Lisbon's 25 de Abril Bridge, pictured above, something that many visitors have shared with him.
Does this mean there is some great startup ecosystem alive and well in Portugal? Not hardly. But what blogger Robin Wauters says is that it doesn’t really matter…because “like in most countries and cities around the world, when you look for them you will always find people that just can’t resist the entrepreneurial bug inside them, that build companies even if the circumstances are far less than ideal.” This is indeed good news for Portugal. 
So stoked right now! That’s how I felt as I 
One of my favorite stories to tell people about how nice the Portuguese are is that of a little old lady, the sweetest thing I’d seen in a long time (wish I had taken a picture with her) – I just wanted to put her in my pocket and take her home with me. A couple of my colleagues and I were waiting for our ride to catch up with the rest of the crew outside Loures, and the lady just starts talking and joking with us like we were her long lost grandchildren, chuckling away. We couldn’t understand a single word she was saying (she didn’t seem to mind), picking up enough through gestures and facial expressions, but we connected and she brightened our day.
The FOP event I attended only increased my “stoked level” and excitement to be a part of the process. Witnessing the FOP leaders talk about FOP’s next steps in front of the little crowd in San Diego was inspiring and really got me fired up! Even more so, it gave me confidence in what they’re doing, the kind of feelings that make you say to yourself, “You know what? There’s something special going on here in Portugal!"
There is a widespread belief that the Eurozone crisis has little impact on those of us in North America. It is tempting from a non-European perspective to say that these issues don’t affect us, or that they really are none of our business. Let the Europeans deal with European problems as we have enough trouble of our own, we may say. (Sounds almost like a bible verse!) What possible impact can a collapse in the Spanish real estate market have on us? A devastating Italian earthquake? Greeks withdrawing hundreds of millions of Euros from their banks in a single day? These may be interesting pictures on the news, but not really anything that impacts the issues affecting us in San Diego, Vancouver, or Fresno.
