Hi Nancy, Another great post and don’t you love the way the body obsession doesn’t seem to exist here? I sure do! I was so self conscious getting in a swimsuit in the US because I assumed my body was not the right size. Here I see all shapes having a wonderful time and when there are butts and boobs no one pays the slightest attention. It is so refreshing to me. In a similar vein, I see women breastfeeding their babies all the time. Maybe in some more liberal parts of the US, women can do that freely, but in Texas, people will make all sorts of remarks about how disgusting it is. I never got that at all as I think it is a beautiful sign of a mother loving her child. But you know Americans…porn is great, but breastfeeding is ewww.
I have another one to add to your list. I have a 31 year old son who visited and told me he doesn’t like Portugal because they are “too slow.” When I asked him what he meant, he said they don’t bring the check for meals fãst enough. I laughed and told him that is because they think it is rude to throw the food down and immediately put the check down because you may want other food later and they are not concerned with how long you sit and enjoy yourself. He didn’t like it saying he prefers to eat and go. I told him it was good he lived in America!
So true. #3 is a lost-in-translation kind of joke. Setting the scene, in Portugal a prescription is called a receita medica, and a receipt is a recibo (and a recipe is a receita). So in a pharmacia being asked for a receita is being asked for the prescription, not the receipt. In bygone days, the recipe for the medicine. The amazing thing is that a piece of paper isn't important; all you need is the number in the app or on your phone, and the whole of it is available at any pharmacia in the country--no trying to decipher handwriting, no prescription pads, no confusion. And no wariness about whether it is the $3 generic, the $30 branded or the $300 compounded version, whether it is part of the formulary covered by insurance or not, in this drug store or that one.
Another piece of paper thing is the treatment letter. Never leave a medical interaction without a letter of treatment and further instructions; with it you can walk into any centro de saude and it magically opens a closed door.
In Madeira, they frequently DO need the receipt if there had been multiple refills in a single prescription. They manually mark out the 3 and write 2. The original scrip would not help with that.
Nancy's feed is often informative. You go a bit of extra distance to do research which is desperately absent on open chats.
I'm usually looking for the reasons or purposes or social history of Portuguese culture to understand why and how things are different here then ...wherever.
In a country with the population of Los Angeles county that is just organizing after 50 devastating years of oppression, a pandemic and the massive attempt to meet the needs of a first world country yet remain true to her humanitarian soul things don't happen like in America where oligarchs of tech have railroaded the public into being their servants.
Receipts Returns Boxes Guarantees RX:
You need your receipt because the entire country guarantees your purchase for years And they don't have the staffing or Besos' mega bucks.
Why shouldn't we need to show some proof of purchase? The returns are costly to the companies...🥹.
I get highly discounted meds from a fantastic policy whose limits are pressed. I organized my Scripts...with gratitude.
Conscious careful change takes time...without it harm follows.
Bodies:
Thankfully Europeans are not ashamed of their bodies.
Body shaming is a product of the corptocracy propaganda to profit from it. And to oppress women...🥹
Same for Big Pharma. I worked for 20 yrs with the biggest Pharma Corps in Advertising. I know their agenda. There is no concern for a patients welfare unless it interferes with profit.
In a more conscious capitalist culture those ads would be banned. And RX and health care would be nationalized and financed in part by Pharma.
Language: Aren't non speakers blessed with the acceptance and tolerance of the PT people that don't reject us.
It's the immigrants duty to keep learning and studying and conversing in the language of their HOST country.
Caution: If we don't learn from our hosts and understand their kindness is conditional we face the quickening of the rise of the right.
Chega..
If you are reading this you are not poor. You have a roof and heat. You don't compete with certain immigrants who will work for 3€ an hour ( there is no minimum wage here). PT native needs to compete with them for survival. For a roof and a bed and 🍳🍜🍲🧆🥘
When the center buckles fear takes hold and things change. Not for your better.
Chatting about thong bikinis 👙 is a privileged semi conscious pastime.
Oh, wow, you just helped me solve the mystery of why my wife could fill a duvet cover with receipts. “This receipt FNAC in 2008 will clearly be a soft friend.” What a fantastic happy read over café e bola de berlim. See, after 18 months my language skills are off the hook. Cheers from Porto!
"dental floss riding between her butt cheeks" made me roar with laughter - so true and not for me. I've gone quite happily on Europe beaches in the past with nought on top. Now I don't think I could afford the SPF50 to cover the expanse of bare skin but I'm also not keen on beach life now. I think my Portuguese is dismal and badly cobbled together but all congratulate me on my fluency (???????) - I guess restaurant and biker lingo is pretty simple. 😊
What a great post! I would add "if you don't want to spend your time avoiding overcrowded tourist spots.' It might be less so on the mainland, but, on a tiny island, adding 10s of thousands of new rental cars per year causes serious problems.
All true! I moved here a year and a half ago, and can attest to the veracity. I'd add that Portugal is the place for you if you also like: cabbage, seafood, cabbage, wine, cabbage, driving fast and cabbage.
And you forgot the number one reason for me as a US expat living in Portugal: I am not in extreme debt from medical expenses. If I were living in the US, just from a few minor health issues, and one hernia operation, I would be either in debt or would have exhausted most of my retirement savings.
Hi, this is great! My husband and I are Americans planning to move to Portugal. We have been there mutliple times, and are currently in the process of buying a home in the Algarve, albeit inland. We are not in a huge rush to move there but plan to eventually become permanent residents. We are becoming versed in all things visa. I also started taking Portuguese classes, and am really excited to get to speak more Portuguese. I was there this April and found that my conversational Portuguese was pretty good. I have a fairly good understanding of Portuguese, could navigate a bad cold and allergies at the pharmacy (yes, take a ticket!), and understand about 60% of what I hear. I have a friend in Lisbon with whom I speak weekly, and she has become quite a good friend, who gently corrects my Portuguese. I love the food, wine, country, culture, and most of all the people. I speak Spanish and a little French, so I am not afraid of learning a language, although Portuguese is by far the most difficult. That said, I am encouraged to read your Substack, as I have dipped my toe in the waters of blogging and Substack, but have needed time to allow our journey to develop a bit, as we are learning every day. Thank you for documenting your journey. I will keep reading!
Planning to be back in October, so I will definitely look you up! We do know a few people, but always looking to meet others! Both locals and expats! The property we are buying is in Alcarias Grandes, Azinhal, Castro Marim. About 25 minutes to VRSA/Monte Gordo.
Oh, how I needed the lighthearted banter in this one today! Absolutely nailed my experiences the three plus years I've lived in Portugal. On the same funny note, I kept every receipt the first two years in Portugal, thinking I had to utilize them to get a break on all of the tax I'd paid for food, household items, furniture, etc. NOT! As I live with AHD (Attention Hyperactivity Disorder), it was awful to look in the file cabinet and even see all of those neatly filed envelopes with the month and year lining the drawers. When the tax account wouldn't take them all, I was miffed!
The takeaway for me in both that and today's post was to chill, embrace the culture and enjoy the journey. You don't have to agree with it all, but you also don't have to judge, criticize or make everyone (including yourself) miserable with your disdain and opinions. If those things mentioned don't meet your approval, then either change your perspective or don't move to Portugal. 😂
Thank you so much for the funny, yet important reminder and perspective.
Point 5 is absolutely universal. I lived in France for two years and every American I ever heard say that the French were snotty, rude, or unfriendly, never once tried a single word of French and got annoyed or even Angry at the French that didn’t automatically speak English.
Hi. As a portuguese, i liked your post. Most of what you describes, is a sign that Portugal is a civilized country
agreed.
Hi Nancy, Another great post and don’t you love the way the body obsession doesn’t seem to exist here? I sure do! I was so self conscious getting in a swimsuit in the US because I assumed my body was not the right size. Here I see all shapes having a wonderful time and when there are butts and boobs no one pays the slightest attention. It is so refreshing to me. In a similar vein, I see women breastfeeding their babies all the time. Maybe in some more liberal parts of the US, women can do that freely, but in Texas, people will make all sorts of remarks about how disgusting it is. I never got that at all as I think it is a beautiful sign of a mother loving her child. But you know Americans…porn is great, but breastfeeding is ewww.
I have another one to add to your list. I have a 31 year old son who visited and told me he doesn’t like Portugal because they are “too slow.” When I asked him what he meant, he said they don’t bring the check for meals fãst enough. I laughed and told him that is because they think it is rude to throw the food down and immediately put the check down because you may want other food later and they are not concerned with how long you sit and enjoy yourself. He didn’t like it saying he prefers to eat and go. I told him it was good he lived in America!
You nailed it in this response! I see and love those same things here.
But you know Americans…porn is great, but breastfeeding is ewww. “
So true. #3 is a lost-in-translation kind of joke. Setting the scene, in Portugal a prescription is called a receita medica, and a receipt is a recibo (and a recipe is a receita). So in a pharmacia being asked for a receita is being asked for the prescription, not the receipt. In bygone days, the recipe for the medicine. The amazing thing is that a piece of paper isn't important; all you need is the number in the app or on your phone, and the whole of it is available at any pharmacia in the country--no trying to decipher handwriting, no prescription pads, no confusion. And no wariness about whether it is the $3 generic, the $30 branded or the $300 compounded version, whether it is part of the formulary covered by insurance or not, in this drug store or that one.
Another piece of paper thing is the treatment letter. Never leave a medical interaction without a letter of treatment and further instructions; with it you can walk into any centro de saude and it magically opens a closed door.
The app to download and have all your prescriptions at hand, which Ernie mentioned, is SNS 24
Bless the Portuguese
In Madeira, they frequently DO need the receipt if there had been multiple refills in a single prescription. They manually mark out the 3 and write 2. The original scrip would not help with that.
The status is in the system, but yes, if you don't bring the paper for them to mark, they will print it out and mark it as a reminder for you.
I'm fortunate, our pharmacy refills based upon the text or email on my phone.
Nancy's feed is often informative. You go a bit of extra distance to do research which is desperately absent on open chats.
I'm usually looking for the reasons or purposes or social history of Portuguese culture to understand why and how things are different here then ...wherever.
In a country with the population of Los Angeles county that is just organizing after 50 devastating years of oppression, a pandemic and the massive attempt to meet the needs of a first world country yet remain true to her humanitarian soul things don't happen like in America where oligarchs of tech have railroaded the public into being their servants.
Receipts Returns Boxes Guarantees RX:
You need your receipt because the entire country guarantees your purchase for years And they don't have the staffing or Besos' mega bucks.
Why shouldn't we need to show some proof of purchase? The returns are costly to the companies...🥹.
I get highly discounted meds from a fantastic policy whose limits are pressed. I organized my Scripts...with gratitude.
Conscious careful change takes time...without it harm follows.
Bodies:
Thankfully Europeans are not ashamed of their bodies.
Body shaming is a product of the corptocracy propaganda to profit from it. And to oppress women...🥹
Same for Big Pharma. I worked for 20 yrs with the biggest Pharma Corps in Advertising. I know their agenda. There is no concern for a patients welfare unless it interferes with profit.
In a more conscious capitalist culture those ads would be banned. And RX and health care would be nationalized and financed in part by Pharma.
Language: Aren't non speakers blessed with the acceptance and tolerance of the PT people that don't reject us.
It's the immigrants duty to keep learning and studying and conversing in the language of their HOST country.
Caution: If we don't learn from our hosts and understand their kindness is conditional we face the quickening of the rise of the right.
Chega..
If you are reading this you are not poor. You have a roof and heat. You don't compete with certain immigrants who will work for 3€ an hour ( there is no minimum wage here). PT native needs to compete with them for survival. For a roof and a bed and 🍳🍜🍲🧆🥘
When the center buckles fear takes hold and things change. Not for your better.
Chatting about thong bikinis 👙 is a privileged semi conscious pastime.
Also great content filler and time killer.
Thank you Rudi for helping change culture.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudi_
😔
Oh, wow, you just helped me solve the mystery of why my wife could fill a duvet cover with receipts. “This receipt FNAC in 2008 will clearly be a soft friend.” What a fantastic happy read over café e bola de berlim. See, after 18 months my language skills are off the hook. Cheers from Porto!
I did exactly like you're wife, though it drove me crazy to see them in my filing drawers!! 😁
"dental floss riding between her butt cheeks" made me roar with laughter - so true and not for me. I've gone quite happily on Europe beaches in the past with nought on top. Now I don't think I could afford the SPF50 to cover the expanse of bare skin but I'm also not keen on beach life now. I think my Portuguese is dismal and badly cobbled together but all congratulate me on my fluency (???????) - I guess restaurant and biker lingo is pretty simple. 😊
😂😂😂😂😂
More laughing from over here! It was a great, true and humorous post.
What a great post! I would add "if you don't want to spend your time avoiding overcrowded tourist spots.' It might be less so on the mainland, but, on a tiny island, adding 10s of thousands of new rental cars per year causes serious problems.
All true! I moved here a year and a half ago, and can attest to the veracity. I'd add that Portugal is the place for you if you also like: cabbage, seafood, cabbage, wine, cabbage, driving fast and cabbage.
I like the variety of cabbages found here!
me too - we grow 7 types!
And you forgot the number one reason for me as a US expat living in Portugal: I am not in extreme debt from medical expenses. If I were living in the US, just from a few minor health issues, and one hernia operation, I would be either in debt or would have exhausted most of my retirement savings.
Hi, this is great! My husband and I are Americans planning to move to Portugal. We have been there mutliple times, and are currently in the process of buying a home in the Algarve, albeit inland. We are not in a huge rush to move there but plan to eventually become permanent residents. We are becoming versed in all things visa. I also started taking Portuguese classes, and am really excited to get to speak more Portuguese. I was there this April and found that my conversational Portuguese was pretty good. I have a fairly good understanding of Portuguese, could navigate a bad cold and allergies at the pharmacy (yes, take a ticket!), and understand about 60% of what I hear. I have a friend in Lisbon with whom I speak weekly, and she has become quite a good friend, who gently corrects my Portuguese. I love the food, wine, country, culture, and most of all the people. I speak Spanish and a little French, so I am not afraid of learning a language, although Portuguese is by far the most difficult. That said, I am encouraged to read your Substack, as I have dipped my toe in the waters of blogging and Substack, but have needed time to allow our journey to develop a bit, as we are learning every day. Thank you for documenting your journey. I will keep reading!
My pleasure...if you find your way to the eastern Algarve please let us know. We love to meet readers for a coffee.
Planning to be back in October, so I will definitely look you up! We do know a few people, but always looking to meet others! Both locals and expats! The property we are buying is in Alcarias Grandes, Azinhal, Castro Marim. About 25 minutes to VRSA/Monte Gordo.
Oh, how I needed the lighthearted banter in this one today! Absolutely nailed my experiences the three plus years I've lived in Portugal. On the same funny note, I kept every receipt the first two years in Portugal, thinking I had to utilize them to get a break on all of the tax I'd paid for food, household items, furniture, etc. NOT! As I live with AHD (Attention Hyperactivity Disorder), it was awful to look in the file cabinet and even see all of those neatly filed envelopes with the month and year lining the drawers. When the tax account wouldn't take them all, I was miffed!
The takeaway for me in both that and today's post was to chill, embrace the culture and enjoy the journey. You don't have to agree with it all, but you also don't have to judge, criticize or make everyone (including yourself) miserable with your disdain and opinions. If those things mentioned don't meet your approval, then either change your perspective or don't move to Portugal. 😂
Thank you so much for the funny, yet important reminder and perspective.
Muito obrigada. 🙏
Love your list Nancy, especially number 1. I would add don’t move to Portugal if you want to pass on the right, or hang out in the left lane.
Yesss! Good one.
Yes, omg, the reams of receipts! 😆
Point 5 is absolutely universal. I lived in France for two years and every American I ever heard say that the French were snotty, rude, or unfriendly, never once tried a single word of French and got annoyed or even Angry at the French that didn’t automatically speak English.
Butt
How much Portugal late April. Lots of Europeans few Americans.