The Portugal Papers

Pieces of furniture we have in the flat: 1

Number of words I feel comfortable using in conversation: 4

Recent achievements: I ordered internet/mobile service, and it was installed. It’s $65 for 1gb internet and unlimited data/talk/text! We also ordered and had a dryer installed. We want to integrate into Portuguese culture, but we draw the line at hanging up wet clothes in a humid part of the country.

Things I’m looking forward to: We have a bed and dining room table on order that should arrive in a week.

Location of our shipping crates: Unknown, but we’ve heard from the shipping company, and it should arrive in Rotterdam soon (if it hasn’t already). No idea when it will arrive to us.

What we been up to: When is the last time you have stocked an unfurnished living space? We’ve been busy ordering all the things we need to live here. Amazon visits us every day (sometimes more than once) at this point.

What we’re thankful for: A local IKEA (paramount in the stocking of our flat); that technology allows for easy translation on computer/phone.

Challenges: So many emails/texts in Portuguese that we then have to translate to understand; figuring out how to use appliances.

Cat acclaimation: Fair. We used to live in a house, and now we live in a flat that has lots of new noises. The cats have been stressed with 5 new places in the last six weeks (hotels in the US and Portugal and two different Airbnbs in Bentonville, AR after we sold the house).