It's Been a Year Already

We landed in Lisbon on December 20 of 2020. We had just completed about three months of planning, gathering documents, submitting visa applications, and preparing our house to rent. The few days before we left had been a whirlwind of final packing, making arrangements for our cars, renting a big ass Suburban to carry us up to Virginia and get ready to depart for a country we had never visited. After so much worrying about her, I think Chili did the best of the three of us with all of this.

So, now it has been a year. Every once in a while, it hits me that we live in Portugal and I just shake my head and ask myself if this is really true. Every day we are grateful for this experience. In this past year, we have logged several important milestones. We have:

• Bought a car in Portugal

• Sold two cars in the US

• Moved to a new apartment

• Furnished that new apartment

• Been vaccinated

• Gotten our temporary residency cards

• Gotten our national health numbers

• Traveled to several towns and cities in Portugal

• Traveled to France, Italy and Spain

• Welcomed our first guests

• Received our boosters

As I look back on 2021, I think about assimilation and consider the extent to which we have assimilated into the local culture here. While we still need to learn the language, beyond the most basic of basics, I think we have done pretty well. To me, assimilation means:

• Being able to do my online banking with my Portuguese bank without freaking out

• Fairly calmly and fairly confidently navigating the ubiquitous roundabouts on the roads

• Knowing which grocery stores are better for certain items

• Knowing where to find those items in the grocery store

• Taking the bus into town and back

• Being greeted by people we know on the bus or in a restaurant

• Knowing how to pump gas (Will only)

• Calculating conversions for temperatures and quantities, allowing me to make some only moderately mediocre Christmas cookies

• Confidently taking the train from Cascais to Lisbon

• Recognizing various landmarks and sections of Lisbon when in an Uber on my way to an appointment

• Happily sleeping in a bed with just a bottom sheet and duvet (no top sheet)

• Being able to stuff a king-size duvet into a duvet cover without actually ending up inside it

• Planning ahead to allow for laundry to be a two to three day process

• Learning which medications that are OTC in the US must have a prescription here

• Shopping for food more frequently, in smaller quantities, for fresher food

• Fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast

• Living contentedly in a much smaller space with much less storage

Without question, what we miss most about being in the U.S. are our friends. We don't miss the politics, the violence, the discord, tension, and polarization. Here are some things we do miss:

• Clothes dryer

• In sink food disposer

• Stove top stuffing (Will)

• Central heating (mainly) and AC (less so)

• Going out for a big breakfast like IHop or Virlie's Grill (Pittsboro NC)

• Being able to watch American sports in real time (although we have started to embrace watching games first thing in the morning)

• Prime rib with a big ol' baked potato

• Amazon Prime (free shipping)

This is our second January here in Cascais. Because of the location of our first apartment, we never realized how foggy it gets here by the water. Just for comparison, here is the view from our veranda yesterday morning and this afternoon.

We are optimistic about 2022 and hope that our friends will feel confident to travel and come for visits. Happy New Year. Feliz Ano Novo.