Well, the lessons go on...
We found the largest mall in Europe. It is about 20 minutes from here however it took us nearly 2 hours and a number of alleys, false leads, deadends, asking for directions, etc. We all kept good humor and made in time to enjoy a meal at one of the 47 or so food court choices. Everyone, especially Kati is being very brave about trying things. She likes Sopa de Julianna which is kind of a carrot based (tomato soup consistency) stuff with some cabbage and other leaves floating around in it. Who would have guessed she would do this when Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, and, of course, MickyD's are all available. We made it home just fine.
Of course we were late for dinner because we got lost going to someone's (Jeff and Jenny Thomas plus 3 kids and one on the way) house. Got home fine. The GPS is invaluable for that so far.
Today we went to church (15 minutes) Kati rode with the Volkers so she was on time. We got very lost again and had to be rescued. We were within 3 minutes when we hollered for help. I really thought I could find it. From now on, I am humbly accepting offers to follow someone, GPS or not.
We did arrive in time for one song and the sermon. Followed a bit... a very little bit. Met one person I knew from 22 years ago. He was 11 and a friend of Mike, Jr. Really cool to see Bruno who has grown up in the Loures Church.
We went into my old neighborhood on the way home. It really has not changed much. Just gotten smaller like my elementary school did. Amazing!
Ate at the food court at a mall for lunch. We finally cooked a meal at home tonight... not bad.
Please pray for my Dad who is in the hospital with pneumonia.
If you would like to see some pictures email me at ncdmad@hotmail.com
thanks
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
catching up Day 6
Internet here has been very erratic and we have been sort of scheduled up. We have been having a meal a day with the Missionary and school people here. This has been fun and helpful to us as we are learning how to get around a bit. There have been many high lights and a few lows as well.
My lows:
1. Mopping the floor 3 times in one day. Once to get it clean(er), once when things dripped all over because the machine failed to spin, and once when the door opened and a couple of gallons oops, liters, of water ran out. Still haven't figured out the machine.
2. We have a demand hot water system fueled by propane tanks... The tank ran out when Nancy was in the shower. This was a low for her too apparently.
3. The GPS is great but it seems indiscriminate. Somethings are not really roads.
Highs
1. Nancy is my hero... found the Post Office, meds for Nina's allergy, so many other things.
2. Driving safely (and fast)
3. successfully lighting the gas stove (X2), changing the gas tank, cooking a meal.
love
Mike
Nancy begins:
Kati has discovered her favorite food so far is cabbage soup...who would have guessed!
So far my Portugese consists of "obrigada" thank you, "bon dia" good day, "saldo" sale. I tried finding the post office yesterday by saying "corrios" but I got such a confused look from the fellow I was asking that I resorted to pointing to a letter and saying "post office" with what I thought might be a Portugese sounding accent. He suddenly smiled and directed me to the post office. A trip to the "farmicia" brought about similar confusion as I tried to ask for allergy medicine for Nina whose allergies have kicked up. First the young lady directed me to a mask. I said no and acted out a sneeze. I guess all those games of gestures is paying off.
Two days ago one of the missionaries took us to the beach. Mike and Kati were the only ones who got in the cold water...they even used the boogie board. While I laid under an umbrella our friend, the girls and anothe young single teacher who is here short term like us climbed some steep cliffs at one end of the beach. Mike started the climb but returned to the shade under the guise of not wanting to leave me alone.
Nina has become our official GPS person. She has done a great job of directing Mike as he drives since all of his focus has to be on the twists and turns of the road...she is learning much about the metric system and even the shortened term for kilometers which is "clicks". One place we have been told about and looked for but have not yet located is the Chinese store...known in the US as the dollar store. We need a few small items for our home and think that would be a good place to buy them. Mike is amazing driving these roads...although I think that at times he is pretending to be a race car driver.
Yesterday Nina and I spent time getting my classroom ready. I went through all the materials to see what I have and don't have...she made numbers for my calendar time bulletin board and printed some other things for me. She is an amazing helper. I'm thinking maybe of letting her skip this year of school so I can keep her in my classroom as a helper...(just kidding).
We have two more meals scheduled with the missionaries and then we are on our own. They have been wonderful and seem like just warm, friendly people. We know our way to the grocery store now and Mike knows how to light the gas stove so at least we will be able to eat.
I have to say it eases my mind to know that Joyce and Cal Volker live right next door to us. They are the ones who run the school. I asked Joyce yesterday what happens if one gets sick and she said, "You are a Christian, aren't you?" Meaning of course "pray". Then she said don't worry there are doctors here and of course we are right next door and you can call on us anytime day or night. But seriously please do pray for good health for all of us.
Today we are off to the Jumbo mall...the biggest one in Europe. Mike and I were taken there to do some banking and get time added to our cell phones but the girls haven't been there yet.
Tomorrow we have our first chance to go to church...it will be in Portugese...should be interesting.
Love to all.
N
PS Mike is still working on getting pictures onto our blog.
My lows:
1. Mopping the floor 3 times in one day. Once to get it clean(er), once when things dripped all over because the machine failed to spin, and once when the door opened and a couple of gallons oops, liters, of water ran out. Still haven't figured out the machine.
2. We have a demand hot water system fueled by propane tanks... The tank ran out when Nancy was in the shower. This was a low for her too apparently.
3. The GPS is great but it seems indiscriminate. Somethings are not really roads.
Highs
1. Nancy is my hero... found the Post Office, meds for Nina's allergy, so many other things.
2. Driving safely (and fast)
3. successfully lighting the gas stove (X2), changing the gas tank, cooking a meal.
love
Mike
Nancy begins:
Kati has discovered her favorite food so far is cabbage soup...who would have guessed!
So far my Portugese consists of "obrigada" thank you, "bon dia" good day, "saldo" sale. I tried finding the post office yesterday by saying "corrios" but I got such a confused look from the fellow I was asking that I resorted to pointing to a letter and saying "post office" with what I thought might be a Portugese sounding accent. He suddenly smiled and directed me to the post office. A trip to the "farmicia" brought about similar confusion as I tried to ask for allergy medicine for Nina whose allergies have kicked up. First the young lady directed me to a mask. I said no and acted out a sneeze. I guess all those games of gestures is paying off.
Two days ago one of the missionaries took us to the beach. Mike and Kati were the only ones who got in the cold water...they even used the boogie board. While I laid under an umbrella our friend, the girls and anothe young single teacher who is here short term like us climbed some steep cliffs at one end of the beach. Mike started the climb but returned to the shade under the guise of not wanting to leave me alone.
Nina has become our official GPS person. She has done a great job of directing Mike as he drives since all of his focus has to be on the twists and turns of the road...she is learning much about the metric system and even the shortened term for kilometers which is "clicks". One place we have been told about and looked for but have not yet located is the Chinese store...known in the US as the dollar store. We need a few small items for our home and think that would be a good place to buy them. Mike is amazing driving these roads...although I think that at times he is pretending to be a race car driver.
Yesterday Nina and I spent time getting my classroom ready. I went through all the materials to see what I have and don't have...she made numbers for my calendar time bulletin board and printed some other things for me. She is an amazing helper. I'm thinking maybe of letting her skip this year of school so I can keep her in my classroom as a helper...(just kidding).
We have two more meals scheduled with the missionaries and then we are on our own. They have been wonderful and seem like just warm, friendly people. We know our way to the grocery store now and Mike knows how to light the gas stove so at least we will be able to eat.
I have to say it eases my mind to know that Joyce and Cal Volker live right next door to us. They are the ones who run the school. I asked Joyce yesterday what happens if one gets sick and she said, "You are a Christian, aren't you?" Meaning of course "pray". Then she said don't worry there are doctors here and of course we are right next door and you can call on us anytime day or night. But seriously please do pray for good health for all of us.
Today we are off to the Jumbo mall...the biggest one in Europe. Mike and I were taken there to do some banking and get time added to our cell phones but the girls haven't been there yet.
Tomorrow we have our first chance to go to church...it will be in Portugese...should be interesting.
Love to all.
N
PS Mike is still working on getting pictures onto our blog.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Day 3
After virgorous urging from Alex we decided to give blogging a try...so here we are.
Although we live in a decidedly urban area we are awakened each morning at sun up by the crowing of many roosters. They continue their "music-making" at few minute intervals through-out the morning.
I am trying hard to get the family into a school routine and sleep schedule before school actually starts. This morning I dragged myself, and I mean that literally, out of bed at 8AM. Once I was up and had my coffee I was fine...but getting out of that bed took determination. I found I was enjoying the solitude of my morning so much that I didn't wake Mike and the girls for another hour.
I love opening my back door and looking out over all the orange tiled roofs below. Every house has an orange tile roof. Just as every house has a gated yard and garden with stones, flowers and a bit of grass. Our landlord, Senor Martine is always out there puttering. Each morning I go through the house opening the windows (no screens) and curtains to let in the fresh air and sun light. By noon it is warm so we close them to keep the house cool. There is no rain at this time of year so things are dry...no humidity.
This morning we did our first load of laundry and hung it out on the line to dry. We have a washing machine but no dryer. I don't know how well this will work during the rainy season...we may look into getting a dryer before then.
This place is amazing and very different than any place I have been before. Mike has been pleasntly surprised that much of his Portugese is coming back. I on the other hand just smile a lot. I wanted to say good morning to Senor Martine this morning but couldn't remember how so I just hid so he wouldn't see me. I'm trying though, so I know I'll get better at it. N
Although we live in a decidedly urban area we are awakened each morning at sun up by the crowing of many roosters. They continue their "music-making" at few minute intervals through-out the morning.
I am trying hard to get the family into a school routine and sleep schedule before school actually starts. This morning I dragged myself, and I mean that literally, out of bed at 8AM. Once I was up and had my coffee I was fine...but getting out of that bed took determination. I found I was enjoying the solitude of my morning so much that I didn't wake Mike and the girls for another hour.
I love opening my back door and looking out over all the orange tiled roofs below. Every house has an orange tile roof. Just as every house has a gated yard and garden with stones, flowers and a bit of grass. Our landlord, Senor Martine is always out there puttering. Each morning I go through the house opening the windows (no screens) and curtains to let in the fresh air and sun light. By noon it is warm so we close them to keep the house cool. There is no rain at this time of year so things are dry...no humidity.
This morning we did our first load of laundry and hung it out on the line to dry. We have a washing machine but no dryer. I don't know how well this will work during the rainy season...we may look into getting a dryer before then.
This place is amazing and very different than any place I have been before. Mike has been pleasntly surprised that much of his Portugese is coming back. I on the other hand just smile a lot. I wanted to say good morning to Senor Martine this morning but couldn't remember how so I just hid so he wouldn't see me. I'm trying though, so I know I'll get better at it. N
Introduction
Hello from Ramada, Portugal. Our family journal is called "Life on the Slant" because we live on a steep hill and our house sits sideways at a right angle to the slope. We can see miles out the south side of the house across Lisboa (Lisbon), across the Teju River to mountains beyond. We can see 10 ft to the north to the side of the hill (mountain if you are in Illinois). East and west also afford great views that are especially attractive at night because of the city lights twinkling in the distance. Some one said today that everything in Portugal is uphill and it seems that way.
It also seems that the roads are very steep and have a distinct roller coaster feel to them as they also twist and turn. In some (many) places they are also too narrow for real cars to pass single file let alone for two way traffic. Buses and trucks are serious impositions on your road space especially head on. We are learning to get around a bit. GPS is helping a lot. Driving requires full attention most of the time as straight aways are few and far between and these little race cars buzz all around. (They seem to all be training for F-1 driving opportunities. Michelle would like this a lot.) This necessary focus on the road has slowed my opportunity to identify landmarks or even look at the GPS. I have had to go to audio with Nina or Kati reading the distances to the next turn. Nancy's job is to clutch the chicken bar and gasp frequently. She is also learning to make some new noises, maybe in Portuguese? She is really doing very well at all the challenges of setting up a home here. She also wants to write...
It also seems that the roads are very steep and have a distinct roller coaster feel to them as they also twist and turn. In some (many) places they are also too narrow for real cars to pass single file let alone for two way traffic. Buses and trucks are serious impositions on your road space especially head on. We are learning to get around a bit. GPS is helping a lot. Driving requires full attention most of the time as straight aways are few and far between and these little race cars buzz all around. (They seem to all be training for F-1 driving opportunities. Michelle would like this a lot.) This necessary focus on the road has slowed my opportunity to identify landmarks or even look at the GPS. I have had to go to audio with Nina or Kati reading the distances to the next turn. Nancy's job is to clutch the chicken bar and gasp frequently. She is also learning to make some new noises, maybe in Portuguese? She is really doing very well at all the challenges of setting up a home here. She also wants to write...
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