My Biggest Frustration Since Moving to Portugal

Next week, is NOT next week....

I recently lost my cellphone. Bummer… While it was an expensive mistake what made it worse is that I had a card holder attached to the back of my phone, which included my MultiBanco (ATM) card, health insurance card, and Portuguese Resident ID. I was relaying my trials and tribulations to a friend, Eric, when he said something very wise.

Na Próxima Semana

Eric looked at me with empathy in his eyes and said:

Next week doesn’t really mean next week…it just means, not this week. - Eric

If you have lived in Portugal for more than a month, you know this is true!

The first time we experienced this was when we were waiting for our first MultiBanco cards. Each week I called the bank and I was assured they would arrive next week…”na próxima semana”. I was told exactly the same thing for 6 consecutive weeks…46 days later the card arrived at the bank. Retrieving that card was the closest I have ever come to jogging.

This time I called the bank and was offered two options: expedited shipping €25 or regular shipping. When I learned the expedited shipping would arrive in 3-5 days and the regular in 5-7 days I choose the latter. In reality, it took 18 days. And when I called the bank after the first week, what was I told? “Na próxima semana.”

The gate.

The Gate

It turns out that Eric and his wife had just had a similar experience. Six months ago, they ordered a large metal gate for their house, located in a quaint Algarve village. The friendly owner of the metal shop measured the space, quoted a price, and required no deposit. After a good 3 months, Eric went to the metal shop to inquire about the gate's progress. He was then shown the gate, beautiful and completed, in the back of the shop. The shop owner told Eric they would deliver it next week.

 A few weeks passed, and with no word from the metal shop, Eric went to inquire again. The gate had moved about 5 feet closer to the center of the shop. “Na próxima semana.” This slow crawl toward the front of the shop continued for several weeks until one day Eric saw the gate loaded onto the truck,  Ahh….Progress! Eric and the owner even arranged a date for the next week for delivery. A few days later, without calling to say he was on the way, the gate was in fact delivered and installed. 

But the saga continued….The shop owner had agreed to dispose of the heaping rusty old gate when the new one was installed. Instead, the pile of scrap metal sat in the middle of the courtyard for two weeks. Finally, the flustered Eric enlisted the help of a friend with a truck, and they brought the pile of scrap to the metal shop. It was a Saturday morning. The shop was closed, and they began leaning the metal pieces against a nearby wall. Within a minute, four or five men appeared and words were exchanged, some in Portuguese; some in American Portuguese. A few minutes later the shop owner appeared. Why had Eric not waited? He was going to retrieve it next week.

In the words of Shakespeare, "tudo fica bem quando termina bem" (“all’s well that ends well”). The new gate is strong and very well built. I am very happy with the materials and workmanship, and, after so much time, I would even go so far as to say, "it was worth the wait". - Eric

The Biggest Adjustment

There are many adjustments when you move to a new country. In our case a new language, stores that close at lunchtime, 2.5-hour-long lunches, cobblestone sidewalks, men who feed (and even kiss) pigeons, etc, etc. But for us, the biggest adjustment has been this one¹. I have concluded that the Portuguese people are so nice that they do not want to disappoint you. So instead of saying, “I’m not sure” or ”it will take a month” they say “na próxima semana”. Which really means “not this week”.

By the way, the Resident ID card was the one I was most worried about after I canceled my lost MultiBanco card. I went and got a police report…a requirement for replacement. I have called the local (Tavira) SEF office to make an appointment…many times. No answer. I have emailed the local SEF office…many times. No response. I have attempted to schedule an appointment online… “No appointments available”. I suspect I need to drive over to Tavira but that will have to be na próxima semana.

Final Note: I want to thank Eric for providing the inspiration for this post and for helping me write his part of the story.

Really Até à próxima semana, tchau, tchau

Nanc

1. In case you are wondering…this frustration is not enough to make us want to return to the US. Not even close.