Olá amigos! Have I got a story for you!

But, first, a little preface. Some of you may be familiar with my blog segment, “The Lisbon Files.” If you are not, it’s a series of interviews I do with everyday people here on the streets of Lisbon. I ask questions about life in Portugal, the Covid-19 pandemic, politics and a lot of fun stuff!  It’s been a blast meeting new people from all around Europe and really interesting hearing their answers and opinions. If you haven’t checked it out, here’s the link to THE LISBON FILES!

So, on to the story.

Sunshine showered the city on Good Friday, as I walked through the Praça do Comércio, (Commerce Square), taking in my daily dose of vitamin D! As always, I was keeping an eye out for interesting looking people that might be fun to interview. There were very few people out and about, so finding anyone seemed unlikely. I continued with my walk, unaware of the ironic twist of fate that awaited me in my next couple of steps! 

And just like that, in a blink of an eye, the tables were turned! I was blindsided by a beautiful young lady who stopped me in the middle of the square and asked ME if I could be interviewed!! (WHAAAT?!!!) She introduced herself as RTP1 TV news reporter, Silvana Cunha. I told her a little about The Lisbon Files and that the square was so empty on Good Friday that I had given up on finding someone to interview. We both laughed after she told me she was dispatched to interview folks around the city of Lisbon, but there just weren’t many people around to interview! She was tasked to get people’s feelings on it being the second year in a row Lisbon was in lockdown over Easter and how it was affecting their everyday life.  As you can see in the video below, she spoke with local Portuguese folks, merchants, and a tourist… ME!  She assumed I was a tourist sightseeing around the square! I explained that I’ve been a resident for 5 months, now!

It was an awesome experience! We spent several minutes talking in front of the camera and I think she must of asked me around a dozen questions. I was on cloud nine after it was over! She told me that she “might” use me and I would have to watch the 8PM RTP1 News that evening to find out. After she said that, and we parted, it hit me that she must have interviewed over a dozen people and my chances of making the final cut might not be too good. 

Well, when 8PM rolled around, I turned the TV to the RTP1 News and guess what?!!! She did end up using me! I made the cut! It was only one of the answers I gave that ended up in the report, but I made it! It was from the very 1st question! (Kind of makes me feel like, with the rest of the questions, she was probably just making time with me! Wink, wink!)

Thanks, to my friend, Andrew, who provided me with the high quality video below, and to my new friend, Nelli, for providing the translation. Nelli and her husband Victor operate the restaurant/AirBnB that I stayed at in Nazaré, (watch for the story next week)! I hope you enjoy my interview below, just half as much as I enjoyed doing it!!  Ciao Ciao!!