Panama City, a view from the Panama Bay, October 2019

Life is a journey, a journey that is, sometimes, difficult to comprehend… Yes, I am having a 'blue' day, I am in a bad mood, after learning the outcomes of the elections in Poland. As the exit polls suggest, the power will remain with the party that is forming a present government… This makes me sad. It makes me sad, as even though, I appreciate some of the social projects that the present government has introduced in the country, I passionately disagree with the policies of our government on refugees, international aid, their take on gender equity, their take on the place of religion in the society, and definitely I will never be able to accept their take on promotion of 'traditional values' - which in my mind are discriminatory towards all sorts of minorities, starting with sexual minorities, through religious ones, and to some extent towards certain ethnic groups. I guess, what I am writing is that I feel uncomfortable to confront an idea that such a large group of Poles would subscribe to these ideas. And yes, even if, the left wing parties have scored unusually well this time around, it does not make me feel much better at all. I feel pessimistic about my own country, and I just need to work out how not to feel entirely overwhelmed by the state of affairs in the country, where I come from.

Here in Central America, we are recently very worried about the happenings in Ecuador. The country has been on fire for last days, and it appears that things may need to get worse, before they get better. The standoff between the president of the country, the trade unions and some of the ethnic groups continues to pose threat to safety of residents of Quito and beyond. While we hope that things will calm down, we are looking at the humanitarian situation of the people affected by the ongoing violence and the political chaos.

On a happier note, I am preparing for my November holiday. I am very excited to be planning my free days in Toronto, and then Lisbon as well as Obidos. I am really excited to be able to visit Tahir again, and check out on how his life is progressing in Canada. Then, very, very happy to be heading to my Portuguese home too!