Ola amigos,
I hope you are all in good health. We're both doing well and getting in lots of steps these days, thanks to some beautiful weather. Much of January was pretty wet but the past two weeks have brought some lovely sun and blue skies.
On January 9th, our two year visas expired, so we are currently unable to travel to any other countries until we can get them renewed. Thankfully, I can travel back to the U.S. in late May to attend my granddaughter's high school graduation on June 3rd; however, I have to fly directly from Porto to Newark, NJ, which is the only direct flight to the states from here. Believe it or not, this is not unusual right now. A few of Nick's classmates whose visas expired last August, finally were contacted by immigration and given appointments in January. As of now, no one is allowed to schedule renewal appointments, instead we have to wait until they notify us by email. We have a blanket extension from the government through the end of June. Fingers crossed that they get to us before then. In the meantime, Portugal is once again one of the most popular places for people from around the world who want to immigrate, so I'm hoping that they figure out how to streamline the bureaucracy to accommodate all the new folks wanting to make Portugal their home.
A big group of my classmates, along with some of their spouses, met for lunch on January 15th, which happened to coincide with Nick's 80th birthday. Though he didn't want to celebrate it, he reluctantly listened to the 14 of us sing happy birthday to him. No one could believe he's actually 80, given how good he looks.
The following evening we attended a "certificate" ceremony at the Inatel school. Nick received his A-2 certificate along with his classmates. Those of us who completed our A-1 course last year also received certificates, after which we enjoyed a buffet and some wine. That same day, two of my classmates from the intensive course we recently completed, were in Lisbon picking up our A-2 certificates.
After learning just how well our Portuguese neighbors kept an eye on Nick in December during my trip to the states, I wanted to have them over for dinner and prepare one of my favorite dishes, Pozole. This is a dish made with chunks of pork and hominy in a spicy broth. I brought a few cans of mild Hatch chiles back from the states and sourced canned hominy on Amazon Spain, because neither of these items are sold here. It was a fun evening, especially watching them discover hominy. Overall, I think everyone enjoyed the meal. Now Daniel wants me to make it with him, but with a Portuguese slant ... using canned garbanzos, which are commonly used in dishes here, in place of hominy. He's convinced we could sell it and make money! I'm really not looking to start a side business, but I'm glad he liked it. I also made a jalapeno and cream cheese dip that was a big hit. Now that group of neighbors wants to start a monthly dinner group, taking turns hosting. I'm part of two monthly lunch groups, one with my classmates and another one with Nick's classmates, and we have a monthly dinner group with the first two couples we made friends with here.
Next week I'm scheduled to have cataract surgery on my left eye. One week later I'm scheduled to have the right eye done. I'm very pleased with my opthamologist. Since I've worn monovision contacts for over 20 years (my right contact corrects for distance and my left contact corrects for reading) he's going to do the same with the surgery. He talked me through various options but he felt strongly that this would be the best option for me and would prevent me from ever having to wear reading glasses. Hopefully it all goes well.
You can stop here if you don't want to hear my take on politics over there. I will end by saying that I've had whiplash from reading headlines from the states. My head is spinning, and I am not alone. Even strangers bring it up when they find out we're from the U.S., and it's truly embarrassing. No one can believe the stupidity and crassness of the man. He's literally the laughstock of the world, even in Russia. I can't wait to see who is going to pick the crops, a job that pays very little and is typically done in the blazing sun. The world is watching as the U.S. swirls right down the toilet. I could write much more but I respect the fact that this is supposed to be about our life in Portugal.
Sending love, wishes for peace, and for harmony.
Adeus, abraços e beijos,
MaryLou