Last days in Portugal

Last days in Chaves
June 19, 2009

My six weeks in Portugal are rapidly coming to an end (Duarte and the kids have another week). I have three more days in Chaves and then 3 days in Porto. As always, the last days are the best days as I’m back to fully appreciating all that I can only enjoy in this wonderful country.

We spent 2 or 3 weeks of our time here in crisis. I won’t go into detail as I think it would be impossible for anyone to understand these crisises unless you yourself took 6 weeks to live in a different culture, speaking a different language and living with your spouse’s family. You would have to deprive yourself of your friends, and of your work and sort-of of your identity. You would have to leave everything familiar for 6 weeks and speak with only your spouse the entire time. There are other factors as well – like the lack of structure in our lives, no discipline for our kids while they are with their grandparents and certainly more. Our separate crisises were quite complex and truly more than either of us yet understands. I’m not sure how we will accommodate such a trip next year. I hope that the good times are more memorable than the challenging times so that we do choose to return to Portugal for this duration again in the future. I’m not so sure.

And so I am careful to record the more special times.

• Jenna is beginning to speak Portuguese.
• The kids adore their grandparents and greet them daily with hugs and kisses.
• Watching Marcos and Filinto interact. It is really special.
• Duarte and I together enjoyed amazing mountain biking through some of the most beautiful places in the world.
• Pushing our selves in two mountain bike races and finishing really well.
• Exploring new places… Madeira, Picos de Europa and of course all of the places we found when we were lost on our mountain bikes.
• Pushing our selves physically.
• Jenna learned to ride her bike without training wheels. (Stopping is still an issue)
• We lived in a place frozen in time. We could be living in 1900 or 2009.
• We ate great food – every meal, every day. We drank great wine as well.
• Lounging in the pool on a hot day. Ooh, I love that.
• Espressos after lunch.
• Full days of bright sunshine.
• “Finos” (cold beer) on the hottest days.
• Time to talk and time to play with our kids.
• Time spent with a loving family.
• A great day in Ourense, Spain at the hot springs spa.
• Really helpful customer service when shopping.
• The earthy smells of the “terra”
• Our view of a small pasture, a mountainside village and beautiful sunsets out of our new window.
• Learning more Portuguese and attempting to speak more often.
• Listening to the church bells ring in Sao Lourenco.
• Sitting in open cafes.
• The kids ate over 100 ice creams in open cafes while they were here.
• Shopping with Jenna. It is truly a unique experience.
• Eating dinner on the patio at Quinta da Mata.
• Watching Marcos put the sheep away at night.
• Living more simply.
• Sunsets over Chaves.

I am grateful for all that I’m able to experience and enjoy while I am in Portugal. It is conflicting to even have a moment of unrest or uncertainty with so many beautiful things offered to my family and I. And yet, I do experience these feelings. I marvel at the man I married wondering how he has integrated himself so fluently into the American culture. In the end our struggles are part of the fabric of our dual nationality family. Our life here and in the United States is a complex tapestry that is outwardly beautiful but intricate and complex in its making. And thus another pattern is formed.