Strangers in a strange land #3
A collection of items too small for their own posts (38)
It’s been a quiet-ish week here thus far. Amy came down with a cold and has mostly been in bed. Scott and Josie have been out in the rain a few times. So, we’ve all been a bit under the weather - some literally, some figuratively 😆.
In two of our earliest posts, we talked briefly about things worth circling back to now that we’ve been here a little longer:
The hills
No, they’re not alive. They are steep, though. And, it turns out, we’re getting used to that. Our sense of what’s walkable keeps expanding. The first few weeks, it was a real chore to take Josie up the block towards the church on the corner. That was a Big Hill. Now, it’s a breezy mid-day stroll. And a trip to the Amoreiras shopping mall (1.2 km from our apartment, almost entirely uphill to get there) was brutal.
Last week, we finally were able to visit Alfama (a neighborhood we’ve been wanting to explore). We plugged the Castelo São Jorge (reasonably central landmark) into Google Maps and saw it was 2.4 km from our apartment. Since we wanted to spend time wandering the entire area, we figured we’d take the Metro a few stops, get out, walk around, and Metro home. The Metro station we wanted to use was closed, though (maybe because it was All Saints Day?), so we ended up walking the entire way, there and back. It was long for sure, but manageable.
Smoking
There’s definitely more of it out and about than back in the States. Not inside, but on the sidewalks and in doorways. We’re getting used to that, too. We’ve learned to gauge the wind (is it in our faces or at our backs?) and from there we follow Kenny Rogers’ excellent advice:
You got to know when to inhale, know when to exhale.
Know when to hold your breath, and know when to sigh.
You never breathe too deeply when you’re going ‘round a corner,
cause it’s really hard to be sure what you’re gonna find.
(Yes, this song has been on brain loop the last few days. You’re welcome! #sharetheworm)
And here are few other random bits that have popped up of late:
Peanut butter
So we’d read posts from American ex-pats who said they really miss peanut butter. It’s not just a Portugal thing, but it didn’t make sense at the time because surely people in Europe know how to grind peanuts into a spreadable mash, right?
It’s not that there isn’t peanut butter here, because there is. It tastes very different, though, and not necessarily in a good way. At least, however, it is mostly available only in small, relatively expensive quantities.
We can’t quite put our tongues on what’s different, but it definitely is. There’s more oil in the Calvé brand so an occasional stirring is required. And, there’s less no sugar in the mix here. Which, yeah, ok, is probably healthier for us, blah, blah, blah.
It’s less of an acquired taste than, say, Imo’s pizza (apologies to the non-St. Louisans who haven’t had that particular pleasure), but it does take some getting used to. For Scott, who made peanut butter a cornerstone of his St. Louis diet, it’s been a bit rough. He’s getting there, though.
The weather
We’d read about “the damp.” That time of year when the humidity and the cooler temperatures combine to create an ideal climate for mold. We’re in the beginning of that stretch now. After going for several months with hardly a drop of much-needed rain, we’ve seen showers for several days in a row. The temps have come down but only slightly overall. Still t-shirt and shorts weather for Scott during the day (Amy finds it chillier than that), but jeans are not out of place in the evenings.
Our apartment has climate control so we’re not worried about mold forming on the walls, but it does mean that one of Amy’s “line dry only” shirts is - on Thursday morning - still damp from the laundry done on Monday (it was left out in the rain Monday night - oops - and it’s just that humid inside). We’re considering the purchase of a dehumidifier since it’s not quite chilly enough to turn the heat on and it’s certainly not warm enough for A/C.
Random thing we’re not used to seeing outside our bedroom window
O Senhor dos Anéis: Os Anéis do Poder
Ads in the Metro stations are a quick and painless way to pick up some Portuguese while we’re waiting for a train.
Billboards for this show were plastered everywhere the first two weeks of September. They vanished just as suddenly as they appeared.
Did anyone else watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? We almost didn’t make it through past the first episode (not because it was in Portuguese - it wasn’t; it was just that bad). We’re (mostly) glad we did, though.
How about The Peripheral? We can’t get enough of that one! We’d love to hear your thoughts on either or both shows.
Anything else you’re watching these days? We may be the only people left on Earth who’ve never had Netflix (or at least haven’t borrowed someone else’s login). Is it still worth it? We keep hearing that they’re losing a bunch of content.
That’s all for now.
Love from Lisbon,
Scott & Amy
There's an American food store near El Corte Ingles, Loja Liberty, where you can get big jars of Jif or Skippy, either crunchy or smooth. It's definitely more expensive than in the US but works out to be cheaper than buying the small jars in normal supermarkets
I remember the peanut butter withdrawal during my study abroad in Spain. Eventually, in a novelty shop of sorts that had food from around the world, I found actual American peanut butter. My host mother did not understand my excitement, but it was such a relief. Good luck finding your ultimate solution! PB is too good to go without!