A woman. A beer. A book.

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Abstract

k facing the city. There I could see the usual images; friends hanging out, couples holding hands. It was what you would expect to see.But suddenly I saw a young woman, sitting alone at a table, slowly drinking a beer and reading a book. And I thought it was the most amazing thing I had seen in a long time. Nobody was looking at her strangely. Nobody was heading to her table. She was just there calmly enjoying a beer and reading at a park at 11 pm at night.My first thought was that she must be the coolest, most comfortable with herself person in the world. By doing what she was doing she was giving a massive fuck you to conventions and to what other people think. She was quite simply doing what she felt like doing. Why deny yourself that? So drinking alone is seen as bad? She was saying the hell with that. Being alone in a park at night where everyone els

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e was hanging out with friends is weird? Yes, so what?, she seemed to be saying. The more I think about her, the more my admiration grows. I wish we could all be like her.But there is another thing playing here. The fact that no one was making a big deal out of it and were respecting her privacy. The whole situation showed a sophistication on the part of everyone at the park. How can I describe it? It was so, well, so European.I must admit I love how Latinos are so friendly and outgoing and try to get everyone to join the party. But there is also something nice about letting people have their privacy without judging. About letting someone just have their moment.— — — — — — — —One final note, she was reading a book. She was not looking at her phone. My God, could there be a cooler person in this world?</article></body>

A woman. A beer. A book.

Last month I visited Portugal and saw a wide variety of colors, architecture, people, all of it overwhelmingly special. I took photos of so much of that and I’m glad I did.

But there is one image that sticks out that doesn’t fit into any of the above mentioned categories. It was something that I looked at for 10 seconds but that I thought was fascinating.

I was in Lisbon with some friends having some after dinner drinks at an open air bar at a park facing the city. There I could see the usual images; friends hanging out, couples holding hands. It was what you would expect to see.

But suddenly I saw a young woman, sitting alone at a table, slowly drinking a beer and reading a book. And I thought it was the most amazing thing I had seen in a long time. Nobody was looking at her strangely. Nobody was heading to her table. She was just there calmly enjoying a beer and reading at a park at 11 pm at night.

My first thought was that she must be the coolest, most comfortable with herself person in the world. By doing what she was doing she was giving a massive fuck you to conventions and to what other people think. She was quite simply doing what she felt like doing. Why deny yourself that? So drinking alone is seen as bad? She was saying the hell with that. Being alone in a park at night where everyone else was hanging out with friends is weird? Yes, so what?, she seemed to be saying. The more I think about her, the more my admiration grows. I wish we could all be like her.

But there is another thing playing here. The fact that no one was making a big deal out of it and were respecting her privacy. The whole situation showed a sophistication on the part of everyone at the park. How can I describe it? It was so, well, so European.

I must admit I love how Latinos are so friendly and outgoing and try to get everyone to join the party. But there is also something nice about letting people have their privacy without judging. About letting someone just have their moment.

— — — — — — — —

One final note, she was reading a book. She was not looking at her phone. My God, could there be a cooler person in this world?