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The Old And The Beautiful Portuguese
Teenagers and young citizens in their early 20s in Rome and Lisbon do NOT reinforce the popular belief that Europe's youth are given to drugs and carnal excesses.
Youth On Their Toes The Generation Next of Europe is passing through a difficult phase. The quality of education has not kept pace with the rest of the world. Ordinary folk find computer education too expensive to pursue. The charm of traditional disciplines like medicine and engineering is on the wane. Rising unemployment, coupled with the New Generation's penchant to be on its own, has brought about a sudden love for English. Everyone wants to be fluent in English. Everyone wants to teach English. Regular jobs are not preferred. Instead, youth pursue multiple freelance careers. "It's difficult being like this. But I've learnt to manage my finances well. I spend more when I earn more. I spend less when I earn less. If you are well-connected, rainy days are few and far between," said 26-year-old German woman Francisca, our interpreter-cum-guide in Rome. She and youth of her ilk -- Daniella, Manuel, Francisco, Marta Gomes, Jose Periera -- gravitate towards big cities from interior Europe. For instance, Rouska Shevensky, 21, belongs to Bulgaria but works as an interpreter-cum-guide in Lisbon, Portugal. They stay single, and visit their families once or twice a year. Francisca's jobs vary from working as a journalist for several German and south American publications to stints as interpreter-cum-guide at embassies and consulates, private tutor, researcher. Nancy Meiman works as manager-cum-producer-cum-journalist for Sky News in Rome. She does research on commissioned assignments for several publications and television channels, acts as an interpreter and guide, and does sundry other jobs. Interpreting is by far the most-pursued 'career' -- it opens gates to a perennial stream of visitors so work is never in short supply, launches them into an orbit of influential people, offers good money and scope for meeting new people almost every day, and generally keeps the spirits high. Manuel, all of 19 and chubby-cheeked, is a remarkable man, very clear in his head about what he is going to do with his life. "Earn money. More money. That's what I'm going to do," he said. A college-going student, he works as a part-time guide, like his childhood friend Francisco. Every few months, Manuel travels to other European countries. "This time, I will travel to south Portugal along with my girlfriend. I hope to have a great time. To do all that, I need money. That's why I do lots of these jobs," he says. Marta Gomes, in her early twenties, said young people work 12 to 15 hours a day to make more money. "Sunrise is generally at six and sundown at 9.30 pm or 10 pm. It's a help."
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Lisbon is a delightful mix of the old, the young
and the very young. Senior citizens seem so full
of peace and contentment that they contrast with
mental images of their Indian counterparts. One
could find the old and ageing Portuguese
citizens, men dressed in trousers and bright
T-shirts and women in long colourful gowns, in
leisurely conversations on sidewalks, bus-stops,
cafes, bakeries. The youth are generally
peace-loving, friendly and well-behaved.
Teenaged boys and girls in love (?) move about in
almost measured strides; there is no display of
unreasonable passion, only sights of entwined
hands and palms in a clasp. In the five days one
spent in Rome and Lisbon, only one teenaged
couple was found kissing on the streets. The
favourite meeting spots are pubs and city squares
that abound. The sartorial standards are simple,
classy and typically western -- no sign of haute
couture here. The school-going tykes look healthy
and adorable, and are definitely a happy lot --
sights of weeping, crying kids refusing to go to
school are rare. That's maybe because schools are
closing down for the summer vacation.