Portugal Update: 2 Months In!
By Myself Again!
TL;DR: Our boxes finally came! As did Shane and Laura. I hit the two month mark of living here and am settling into another month by myself. Shane had his cancer/kidney removal surgery last week and he’s recovering well, but we are still waiting on the pathology report to make sure it’s not more serious.
This week marks 2 months in Portugal! Some updates since I last wrote:
Shane came and left! He was here for 3 weeks, which was so nice. We got to spend Christmas together, and settle in and explore a bit. It was great! It was hard for him to leave, and hard for me to have him leave knowing he was going back to Chicago for surgery and a kinda TBD return date.
2. The boxes came! And it was nice to have Shane here to help unpack and dispose of everything. After all that customs only opened ONE BOX. ONE. BOX. In 6 weeks. UG! But it’s over and feeling more like home every day.
3. Still TBD on our AIMA appointment - our appointment to get our temporary visas turned into residency visas. A problem for another day!
4. My class schedule started! I’ve got some kinks to work out - laggy internet video driving me slowly insane! Lighting problems that I mostly fixed! But everyone has been so patient and understanding while I work through it!
5. Laura came and left! She was here for a week, and stayed for a few days after Shane left to make sure I was ok. It was so nice to have someone else here to see that all this is real! We had such a fun time exploring, even though I think Laura would say we climbed a few too many mountains! It was very nice to have our first guest!
Continuing from my newsletter? Start reading here!
It’s been one week since Laura left and I’ve been by myself again. I’m working a ton, with a full slate of classes, retreat prep, and continuing to just figure shit out here! So I really haven’t had any time to dwell on it. I’m feeling busy and happy, generally, with a few bouts of worrying about shit I can’t control, like Shane’s recovery and cancer diagnosis.
Our Christmas selfie! haha
Shane’s surgery went well! He was only in the hospital for one night and is now at our friend’s house continuing his recovery. He is very chopped up! But feeling better every day. We are just anxious to get the pathology results so we know that his cancer is the good kind you can chop out and get rid of, and not the metastasis kind. But we’ll deal with whatever comes!
Right now Shane has a ticket to come back to Portugal on February 13th, but that is hinging on the fact that his renewed passport AND old passport with his Portuguese visa gets back to him in time! But no use worrying about that now, either.
Can’t wait to have my drinking buddy back!
I’ve LOVED teaching again, despite the issues I’m having with my internet quality, and it’s hard to feel alone when I’m spending so much time with so many students! I just cannot reiterate enough how grateful I am to everyone hanging in there while I work through some issues. And just showing up and hanging out with me! I appreciate it so much.
And I’m trying to get back to sewing! I got a new sewing machine last month and have been DYING to dig into it! It’s sitting out taunting me while I have to work! I’ve been lying to myself about how much time I have to dig into my first project in Portugal - PJs! So far I’ve sewed 3 seams! I just want to practice with my new machine!!
I keep running into not being able to find anything, so yesterday during my sewing time I had to organize and label all of my supplies, which I did! A miracle! Hopefully that was my only remaining hurdle and the next time I’ve got a couple hours I can actually sew something together!
WHEW ok enough from me! Thanks for reading and, as ever, thank you for your kind words and well wishes! I appreciate it so much, and I know Shane does, too. I hope you’re all hanging in, too - news from the US is worse and worse, and more and more soul crushing, and I’m thinking about all of you coping with the rise of terror and fascism in your everyday lives. Remember to take care of yourselves!!
