Rejuvenated

I can't write much - the battery on my laptop is almost gone and Diogo and Cecile have been VERY patient with me while I catch up on emails and *very pressing* facebook requests - but I wanted to check in and let you know that I am SO. SO. GOOD.

Portugal is amazing. It's beautiful here. We can see the ocean from our balcony, and it's a 30 min walk to the water. Diogo is an incredible host, and his parents are some of the sweetest people I've ever met, and are very patient with me despite my inability to speak Portuguese. There has been so much sleep, and so much sun, and so much good food and cheap beer and relaxation, and I can feel the grime and stress of London falling away like so many layers of old tired skin. I've gotten some colour from the afternoons spent on the beach. I see myself in mirrors or in shop windows and I look so relaxed, so happy. Such a far cry from the pale, peaked and drawn visage I used to encounter in the windows on Kensington High Street on my lunch break.

Yes, this past week has been so kind to me. I'm so glad I came out earlier than I originally planned. I'm so glad to have this time to rediscover my own rhythm and to investigate a new place. This is a *much needed* gift.

Over the course of the next two days, we'll be joined by Martha and Aram (Cecile is already here), and we'll start work on Monday. Such adventures yet to come.

I am so glad to be here.