Alison was born in Manchester, in the north of England, in the 1950s. There she completed her primary education and then afterwards moved to Oxford to go to secondary school.
She has travelled a lot to countries such as Germany (where she had a special bicycle – her black witch), Spain, India and Canada. The countries in which she has spent most time and worked are those where she has had the most significant experiences.
One experience that she shared with us took place in Algeria in North Africa. At this time she lived and worked there as an English teacher to men and teenage boys, at the centre of a chemical petrol business. In the classes she could wear her own clothes, but was obliged to cover her whole body. Only her hands and face could be seen, so short dresses and low necklines were out of the question. Outside of class she was not allowed to have any kind of contact with her students and could certainly not speak with them.
It is important to note that she was 27 when in Algeria and at the time quite a rebel and a feminist too. She had fought in England for what she believed were the rights of women. In some ways it was amazing to experience such a foreign culture, but it was also hard to integrate in a country so different to England. I can imagine how difficult it must have been to experience such a distinct way of life and accept it as ‘normal’. In fact, having to do so provided her with invaluable knowledge and preparation for the rest of her life, in particular the importance of being tolerant and open to multiple perspectives in various situations. She learnt that to achieve such openness it is necessary to have contact with the different ways of thinking and behaviour found abroad. Her experience in Algeria unquestionably contributed significantly to who she is now. It was an extreme challenge coming to deal with the women’s role in Algerian society, at times testing her patience to the limits, yet she was able to gain a great deal from this challenge.
From the linguistic perspective, while in Algeria she tried to learn Arabic and realised that speaking Arabic was necessary for certain activities, such as shopping. However she was also able to communicate to some extent in French.
Now she has been here in Portugal for almost eight years. She identifies with Portuguese culture, although still feels like a foreigner. Through the process of travelling she has never changed her cultural identity, but has rather gained new elements to construct this identity. She always keeps questioning her own identity and her notion of what is right or wrong. For her, things are not simply black or white. They might be yellow or pink: something quite different to what she expected. This is the attitude she tries to take when faced with things she does not like or agree with in Portuguese culture. One example that she gave us was the inactivity of the Portuguese people compared to the English. Sometimes our inactivity, our lack of urgency makes her angry and frustrated. Nevertheless, I think she feels obliged to accept the cultural differences within the Portuguese way of life. At the same time that it repels her, it also attracts her. Due to her cultural origins she is unable to escape from the urge to rush all the time and never waste time, to do everything the day before it needs to be done. Yet if she did not like our way of life she would not be living now in the peace of Alentejo. In my opinion, she needs both cultures to achieve a balance.
She has travelled a lot to countries such as Germany (where she had a special bicycle – her black witch), Spain, India and Canada. The countries in which she has spent most time and worked are those where she has had the most significant experiences.
One experience that she shared with us took place in Algeria in North Africa. At this time she lived and worked there as an English teacher to men and teenage boys, at the centre of a chemical petrol business. In the classes she could wear her own clothes, but was obliged to cover her whole body. Only her hands and face could be seen, so short dresses and low necklines were out of the question. Outside of class she was not allowed to have any kind of contact with her students and could certainly not speak with them.
It is important to note that she was 27 when in Algeria and at the time quite a rebel and a feminist too. She had fought in England for what she believed were the rights of women. In some ways it was amazing to experience such a foreign culture, but it was also hard to integrate in a country so different to England. I can imagine how difficult it must have been to experience such a distinct way of life and accept it as ‘normal’. In fact, having to do so provided her with invaluable knowledge and preparation for the rest of her life, in particular the importance of being tolerant and open to multiple perspectives in various situations. She learnt that to achieve such openness it is necessary to have contact with the different ways of thinking and behaviour found abroad. Her experience in Algeria unquestionably contributed significantly to who she is now. It was an extreme challenge coming to deal with the women’s role in Algerian society, at times testing her patience to the limits, yet she was able to gain a great deal from this challenge.
From the linguistic perspective, while in Algeria she tried to learn Arabic and realised that speaking Arabic was necessary for certain activities, such as shopping. However she was also able to communicate to some extent in French.
Now she has been here in Portugal for almost eight years. She identifies with Portuguese culture, although still feels like a foreigner. Through the process of travelling she has never changed her cultural identity, but has rather gained new elements to construct this identity. She always keeps questioning her own identity and her notion of what is right or wrong. For her, things are not simply black or white. They might be yellow or pink: something quite different to what she expected. This is the attitude she tries to take when faced with things she does not like or agree with in Portuguese culture. One example that she gave us was the inactivity of the Portuguese people compared to the English. Sometimes our inactivity, our lack of urgency makes her angry and frustrated. Nevertheless, I think she feels obliged to accept the cultural differences within the Portuguese way of life. At the same time that it repels her, it also attracts her. Due to her cultural origins she is unable to escape from the urge to rush all the time and never waste time, to do everything the day before it needs to be done. Yet if she did not like our way of life she would not be living now in the peace of Alentejo. In my opinion, she needs both cultures to achieve a balance.
a very interesting biography
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