This place, that place and the other

When I introduce myself to others these days, I always say, ‘I’m American and Portuguese, and I’ve lived in Europe for the last 20 years – that’s all of my adult life’. Generally, this confuses people enough to get a conversation going, accomplishing my objective.

In the summer of 2002, I took a 24-hour bus journey from my then home in Belgium to Portugal. The bus was filled with Portuguese emigr…