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Name: Onésimo Teotónio Almeida
E-mail: onesimo_almeida@brown.edu
Year of Birth: 1946
Place of birth: S. Miguel, Azores, Portugal
City of Residence: Providence, Rhode Island
Years in the US: 36
Undergraduate Degree: Philosophy, Catholic University, Lisbon
Postgraduate Degree: MA and PhD in Philosophy, Brown University
Current professional status: Professor, Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Brown University
Research interests: Portuguese Intellectual History, Philosophy of Social Sciences, Azorean Literary and Cultural History, Portuguese-American Literature and Culture; Clique aqui para saber mais
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What brought you to the USA?
My parents and almost all of my family were here (my paternal grandmother had been born in Providence in 1896). In 1970, 71 and 72 I came to visit them. Returning to Portugal would have made me eligible to go the African colonial wars. The third time I decided to stay and continue my studies here. Soon afterwards I got my first diploma in grad school – a marriage certificate to a non-Portuguese fellow student, and that settled the matter of where to live.
Name the three most valuable lessons you have learned in this country (at work or not).
1. Erudite knowledge can be found in encyclopaedias; real knowledge is something else.
2. US universities are a serious business. One does not sleep on the job. Universities are just about the best the US has to offer to the world.
3. Don’t be afraid to think by yourself or against the current
I could go on and on.
Are you planning to go back to Portugal? Why/why not?
No, I do go back often (6-7 times a year) and even so I feel that that is not enough. But all my family is here and I am fine where I am. I am comfortable moving around crossing the Atlantic River since I feel at home in both banks (a literal translation from Portuguese – margins – would be a better metaphor), as well as in the middle of the river (I mean the Azores). I try to spend a portion of my summers in Portugal, preferably in the islands.
What conditions (other than salary) do you have here that you do not have in Portugal?
Teaching at a great university with superb students and resources, being able to pretty much teach what I want, research what interests me, live with a most flexible schedule, surrounded by so much talent and with so much going on, besides being able to travel frequently, particularly to Portugal.
What do you think Portugal is still better at?
A great vacation place, a quaint place to live, a beautiful place to enjoy life when you can afford it. I have many friends scattered throughout the country. Travelling in Portugal to see the countryside and visit friends is a superb, never-tiring experience. Lately we hear that Portugal wants to be the California of Europe, combining climate, scenery with pioneering technology. So far, it looks more like Florida (a retirement paradise), though with much better climate and scenery.
What would you like to see changed in the Portuguese educational system?
What a question! How do you know I like to write fiction? Seriously, this is a short question too long an answer here. I teach often in Portugal and the stories are too numerous to tell.
The daily life in the US
| Favourite news from Portugal: |
Expresso, Publico, Diário de Notícias, you name it |
| Favourite website/blog: |
too long a list, but Da Literatura is an excellent source of cultural information from Portugal. |
| Ideal weekend program in your US city: |
Drive to one of the towns along Narragansett Bay (Bristol, Tiverton, Little Compton, Newport, Jamestown, East Greenwich, or Wickford) stroll along the shore, eat at a restaurant preferably on the water, and spend some time at a local public library reading or doing some work. |
| Portuguese neighbourhood: |
Across the river, in East Providence. Along Warren Ave or North Broadway, there are various restaurants as well as stores with Portuguese goods.
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