As has been the theme for the past few weeks the invitations and plans have been coming in at such a rate that there is simply not enough time in the day to do everything that S and I would like to, never mind the fact that we both have work (I have my fingers in a few pies actually) and study (we're both either doing or preparing Masters). This all leaves us not only with an almost permanent sense of exhaustion but also the feeling that we're not fully experiencing everything we could.
This weekend is both a perfect example of this sentiment and also how our varied tastes can leads to some interesting choices that we have to make. The choice we have to make this weekend is to attend the wedding of an old colleague of S or go to the annual festival organised by the Portuguese Communist Party, Festa do Avante!
S and I both have some knowledge of Portuguese weddings, in fact that's where we first met, and know how traditional they can be. my main objection is that I would have to wear a suit, something which I hate so much I can't put into words. We would have to put up with the families from both sides and the kisses from bristly grandmothers. I feel incredibly uncomfortable on these formal occasions and one of the things I'm most glad about is that they way we are planning our wedding is to avoid all the stuffy formality and just have a big party for our friends. There is still some debate as to whether we can totally ban the suit (I'm currently winning this argument and it has now reached a stage of shirt but no tie, with a possibility that I might be allowed to wear trainers) as I see the clothing as the complete antithesis of fun and 'letting your hair down'.
There's also the fact that weddings, being a family affair and the Portuguese family being what it is (based on a model between the mafia and a medieval feudal system), means that it is an opportunity for the family to show off (down to the little boys dressed like their fathers, something which makes every fiber of me shudder), and/or complain and generally make a fuss. Most of this I will happily miss but there is always an atmosphere at these kinds of events like a sense of obligation hangs over it. There are unwritten rules that I am not privy to, I'm commonly excused from them being a foreigner but it still leaves one a bit on edge.
The alternate choice would however mean coming into contact with lots of Communists, a group of people that I have little time or sympathy for. My own political persuasion is pretty far left, I think everyone was born equal and deserves the same opportunities but there's nothing I love more than baiting those so stuck to their own ideology that they effectively use it to remove the logic from their own argument.
S assures me that the festival is a lot of fun, she has been before and says you get a real sense of community spirit and everyone helps out and gets involved and that does sound like a real plus. You get the typical festival entertainment, music food, dancing and as much or as little propaganda as you can take. But I still can't get over the fact that Portugal has an active and popular Communist Party!!!
In the UK the far left is something of a joke. The UK Communist Party exists in little more than name and one of its many offshoots, the Socialist Worker Party is only really the province of students and guys with dogs on string trying to sell you their paper. Here there are signs everywhere (in fact I can see one from my office as I type) and they actually do well in certain working class and rural areas, they even have people elected to Parliament.
We will just have to see what happens at the weekend, nothing is decided yet but I'm sure whatever we do it will give me something to write for this blog.
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