There is a different feeling now that we are residents. We feel more legitimate, like we're part of society. It makes us more eager to learn the language and integrate more. It makes us want to talk to people more.
We introduced ourselves to the shepherd who grazes his sheep on our lower property and the neighbor's. He has been doing some mysterious hoeing on the land nearby too. We understood from him that he is foraging for some kind of edible, and that he is originally Swiss. Didn't catch his name though. But it's a start! He is part of the neighborhood and we now have made his acquaintance (and know what the hoeing is all about).
On Saturday May 3 Gerrit had a coffee date with a friend from one of our expat groups, Christoph, at the local hangout Café Martins. They had a great time together, and Gerrit brought him up to the house afterwards to show him around. At the café Gerrit was joking and conversing a little with Manuela, the proprietress there. There was much bungled Portuguese from Gerrit, but they made a connection and had fun. Gerrit also learned that "Dona" is a term of respect only for old ladies. His greeting to "Dona Manuela" was met with disdain, as Manuela insisted on only "Manuela". "Menina Manuela", she joked, or "girl Manuela". Gerrit had a great time (and he has so much to learn).
On Tuesday May 6 our lift finally arrived for installation, and it's a beauty. We had a dentist appointment while the installers were at work, so as we left Gerrit said "Everything okay here? We go to dentist appointments. Do you need anything? We will return in one or one and a half hours." All in Portuguese, all from memory (but silently rehearsed beforehand). Woo hoo! He finds it rewarding when someone nods their head after he says something.
At the dentist we were told the doctor wasn't there today. Just the day before we had replied to a text from the office to confirm our appointments, but today there was no doctor. Sick? We don't know. So we headed back home and told the workers in Portuguese "No doctor! Sick today." to which one guy shook his head and replied "This is Portugal." Hah! We're rolling with it.
The installed lift looks and works great, and it will be very helpful getting heavy loads up and down the stairs. Pat and I joyrode on it for a while as the installers explained how it worked. We all joked around in a pidgin of Portuguese and English too. The wind doesn't exactly whistle through your hair on the trip; it takes about a minute to chug along from one end to the other. It's got a nice large platform for big loads (even wheelchairs), or a fold-down seat and safety belt for passengers.
We've noticed on many occasions now that the Portuguese tend to explain everything three or four times. We nod, give thumbs up, repeat it back, and say we understand, and then they explain it again. Maybe it's a cultural thing, they think we're just being polite, or maybe they worry that they're not getting through the language barrier. Their concern is very sweet, and by the time they're done we really really really understand.
The evening of Wednesday May 7 we went to our expat gathering at the lovely craft beer bar in downtown Ponte de Lima. The weather was pleasant and we all sat outside, having a great time. Suddenly a pigeon dive-bombed the back of our friend Maayan's head (we think it was trying to land there), and she cried out and swept it away. It fumbled down onto the table and took flight, directly toward Gerrit, crashing into his dark beer and dumping the whole glass in his lap! Clumsiest pigeon ever. Too bad everyone was too shocked to take a picture, it was quite a sight. Even after mopping up the mess with napkins, Gerrit had a cold and sticky, er, lap the rest of the evening.
Thursday May 8 was our 15th anniversary, so we went out for a nice lunch. We are adopting the southern European style of a substantial dinner-like lunch and a light dinner, which is suiting us well. We headed to a new restaurant for us, but couldn't find it even with the help of Waze and Google Maps. The closest we got seemed to require an approach by footpath, too, so we gave it up and returned to a local place which is about to become our favorite go-to. We had delicious horse mackerel and stewed goat (which may not sound appetizing, but it was wonderful) and a delightful conversation with the regular waitress Gabriela. She spoke excellent English, which made it easy on us. Here is a shot of our lunch. What, you're supposed to do that BEFORE you eat it? Oh, how embarrassing.
(As usual, you can click on any photo to enlarge it, scroll through them all, and click outside a photo when you're done. Also, you can click on the bold underlined phrases to play the audio.)
