Three Months In

Must Haves

This week marks our three-month anniversary in Portugal. Granted, with Covid restrictions, this has not been a normal three months. But we can offer insights into three things you absolutely, positively must bring with you if you come.

Patience

If you are a regular reader you probably are not surprised by my first “must-have” … patience. From the moment we stepped off the plane till nearly 4 hours later, when we finally walked through customs, we knew that patience was going to be required. Patience is required by bureaucratic processes that all seem to center around a piece of paper. It is not that the information is not keyed into and stored in a computer system, rather you must show them the physical document so they can copy it, and then key the data into a computer screen. For example, when we went to get a rechargeable railway pass we needed to actually present the official NIF paperwork…not just recite the number.

And this love of paper is not limited to governmental agencies. As we reviewed previously, the banks require forms to be signed and filed. And if three or four forms were required, you aren’t permitted to sign all of them at once. Instead, a halting, sequential process is required.

But paper and bureaucracy are not the only things that cause one to need patience. The other is basic human kindness. You see when you go to the bank, or stop by an agency to complete a seemingly small transaction, or ask someone for assistance in a store or cafe, the Portuguese people will talk with you. They will want to know where you are from, and how you are getting along? It isn’t that superficial, seemingly obligatory statement “How are you?” … they actually will take the time to listen to your response. I recall when we were at the Cascais office where we needed to prove our residency … the woman assisting us had all the time in the world. We noticed another expat (I think she was British) behind us in line showing the body language of someone who wanted us to move along. We apologized to her for taking so much time. The Portuguese woman brushed our comment aside and continued to want to talk with us. While we all use the same clock to tell time … we use time very differently.

Warm Sweaters

While for nine months of the year the weather is excellent in all parts of the country, bring lots of layers. Portuguese homes are built to keep the heat out, not in. And while the temperatures are not below freezing in the winter, it does rain quite a bit. Certainly, Portuguese building practices have improved in recent years. However, most of the apartments and houses were built before those practices were adopted. And electricity costs are extremely high compared to the states. While the Portuguese may be willing to wear a winter coat inside their home in December and January, I don’t know many Americans who expect to do that.

Damp, high humidity and mold, is also a factor in many of these homes. While our D7 accommodations were squeaky clean when we arrived, over the weeks we found mold growing up the wall of our bedroom. We would wash it off each week. But by the time we left, in mid-February, there were streaks of mold across the ceiling as well. Some folks use de-humidifiers in their homes in the winter. Given the cost of electricity, you will also find that people use non-electric de-humidifier devices like these in their homes.

The bottom line, when selecting a place to live take the time to understand how the home is heated. And bring lots of warm sweaters! Expect to wear them indoors and don’t be surprised if you have a blanket over your lap as well.

Be Willing to Be Uncomfortable

I wrote before about an open, curious mind … but being open to being uncomfortable is a step beyond this I think. We all get into a routine. We find comfort in knowing how things work and what to expect. Moving to a new country, especially without fluency in the language, changes all of that. There are times it is going to be uncomfortable!

You might wait a few days to complete a task because you aren’t quite sure and don’t want to make a mistake. But is making a mistake that bad? Denise made an appointment for a parking pass when she wanted to apply for the MobiCascais app. Oops! She was given directions that led her to the correct office a few days later.

You may not be able to read the menu and end up ordering something you weren’t expecting. You might like it. Or you might order take-out like we did last Sunday, and when you go to pick it up you are surprised it is 60Euros, but quickly realize it is because it is enough to feed a family of four. So yes, we had leftovers!

And yes, we continue to need the courage to try to speak Portuguese. Our realtor’s English is not perfect…but it is better than our Portuguese. We were told our housekeeper only spoke Portuguese … nope, again her English is better than our Portuguese. I found a language partner via a Facebook group. He is a young, Brazilian man living in Porto that wants to improve his English. Again, his English is far better than my Portuguese. It is easy to slip into the comfort of letting him practice for the entire hour. And, we live in a city where the vast majority of people speak English … it is easy to rely on “Bom dia. Fala inglês?” (Good morning. Do you speak English?) It is just so much more comfortable.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be comfortable. It is a universal desire. I often thought over the past three months, had we stayed in California until after Covid I would have been playing golf in California, been warm, housing values continued to increase, and I’d be vaccinated by now. It would have been so much more comfortable. But then I think … had we waited, would I have found another excuse not to leave. I mean Biden was elected … the country has a chance of getting better, right?

Without Denise, there is a very good chance I would have.