The unidentifiable beauty of integration.
“What is expected of me as an immigrant? I would like to know”. A simple question asked to a Portuguese acquaintance that I occasionally meet on sunny day’s at the terrace of a cafe, just down the old bridge in Tomar. Normally the discussion, while waiting for holiday visitors to return from the Friday market, goes between our mutual interest in history and the National differences in thinking and acting between the people of our home countries. We both consider ourselves an exception to the rule when it comes to the current views on Europe by our countrymen. We both seem to have the same views on a lot of political questions, hoping against all odds that voters in the world will be as sane as the Canadians were a few months ago. We both think with much more nuance about the German First Minister than we did a few years ago, yes, we agree on a lot of things. It only happens a few times a year and these conversations are always a joy, although after a few beers it could be a bit difficu...