Convention Opens

The Opening Plenary is always so exciting — the flags of Rotary are carried in — and when you realize that there are 225 countries and territories in Rotary, that makes for quite a display.  When you realize that’s more countries and territories than are in the UN, it makes for quite an emotion.  Last year South Sudan was introduced as a new Rotary country; this year it was Maldives.  Basically, Rotary is everywhere EXCEPT Cuba, North Korea, Burma, Vietnam and mainland China — except provisionally in the last two countries.  It turns out that when totalitarianism moves in, Rotary is booted out.  Totalitarian regimes don’t like business people sitting around over lunch looking for ways to improve the community.

President Sakuji spoke — after the longest standing O I think I’ve ever witnessed.  I’ve heard this talk before — and it bears repeating.  It’s how we was six years old when the war ended, and what he really remembers is the emotions of the adults when they heard the Emperor for the very first time speak on the radio and say that Japan had surrendered.  Knowledge of Hiroshima and Nagasaki came later.  So Tanaka-san grew up knowing what war can do for a country, and he learned as an adult what peace can do.  As he said, his grandparents would never believe that today in Japan everyone has health care, no child goes hungry, et cetera, and this is the result of peace, not war.

After the plenary Frank left to join the Rotary lawyers fellowship, then we turned away from the Convention Center and toward sightseeing.  However, nap time intervened, so we only had time to walk down to the waterfront prior to returning to the Convention Center for the Zone dinner.

My father sailed into Lisbon in (I think) 1959.  He was a Coast Guard officer involved in a cadet summer cruise.  I don’t know where they went other than Lisbon that trip — I will have to ask him.  I was five years old at the time, and I only know about Lisbon because he purchased a set of stainless steak knives, which have come down to me and which Frank and I use practically daily since our flatware doesn’t have serrated edges.   So that’s all the family lore on Lisbon.

Our hotel is in the Baixa district — presumably built over an old river valley — between the castle and the old convent.  The community was rebuilt after the 18th century earthquake that leveled the  city — there’s a huge square on the waterfront, which was once the market/commercial district and then the apartment district, and another almost-as-huge square fronting a national theatre.  The metro is new, and because it transects a city famous for its hills (and we’re talking steep!) some of the stations have really long/steep escalators to  egress on the left, for example, but only a short ride to the right.

The Convention Center is up in a new part of town.  It was built for an Expo in 1998, and my only complaint is that no one thought to put a metro stop there — the closest stop is 10 minutes away — sort of like the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.  Ah, well, we need the exercise, and at least it’s on the flat.

Lisbon

Our first day in Lisbon has been a success. We flew direct from Newark, which meant that we arrived at oh-dark-hundred in the morning, and couldn’t get into our hotel until closer ’til noon. So we left the luggage at the concierge and wandered off in search of a cappuccino.

I should add that one of my first impressions of Lisbon is one of poverty. It is true that Portugal currently has 30 % unemployment, and that the country is among the poorest in the EU, But still. That cappuccino was punctuated by a half-dozen beggars asking for money, all with physical impairments of one type or another. At least one of the beggars carried himself very much like a polio survivor– he held his ankle and that gave him enough support to hobble on two legs. The thing is, that means that if he had some surgery — or at minimum a prosthesis — he could probably walk standing tall. Later in the day, on the metro, we saw a man in need of an LN-4 prosthetic arm. My point is: This is western Europe! There’s just no excuse.

Our hotel is in the Baixa neighborhood, which seems to be the center of tourism in Lisbon, and certainly, every other tourist in Lisbon this week is a Rotarian. Small wonder, with 20,000 of us registered for the Convention.

Lisbon is a town that time forgot. It’s mostly baroque architecture, but after an earthquake leveled much of the city in the 18th century and its overseas provinces disappeared at about the same time, Portugal lost its splendor and never recaptured its financial resources. The result is a small town, really, built on multiple hills overlooking the Tagus River, The convention center is a metro ride (and a transfer) away, out near the airport, but only 40 minutes from our hotel.

We had cappuccino, we got into our room (more on the room later) we napped and we dressed and headed out to the Convention Center to check it out and to register. Then back to the hotel for another nap, and then dinner in a seafood restaurant.
That turned out to be quite a treat! Frank had oysters — he has made it his business to try oysters the world over, each time proving to his satisfaction once again that Damariscotta River oysters are the best. I had been told about ordering barnacles — they have another name but that is what they are — they come with a hammer or something to dig them out of the shell. I was curious, but not 75 euros per kilo curious, so I ordered cockles instead, and they came cooked in garlic and butter, but not live a live oh. That, plus some cheese and olives made a great supper.

Did I mention that Lisbon is built on hills? Serious hills. You know how in America there are lots of split-levels where in back the second floor is on ground level? Here, there are plenty of apartment buildings where in back the sixth floor is on ground level! So after dinner we went up the hill in a funicular railway, then came back down via an elevator that was built by a disciple of Eiffels. Really rather remarkable.

Along the way we checked out the program for the next few days and made plans accordingly, and everywhere we went we passed fellow Rotarians, obvious via their “End Polio Now” bags, their Rotary shirts and their beefy faces, and played “where are you from?” Now to bed, because tomorrow is another day!