Então vamos falar só português

(Or, what people say when they discover I speak the lingo)

The last few days have been pretty good! I've been trying to settle into things, find my way around, and get to know a few people. In general it has gone more or less to plan...

I spent most of Thursday and Friday in the office so tried to do some interesting things in the evenings. That included a quick walk through 'Vogue Fashion's Night Out Lisbon' which was entertaining. Coming home I may have accidentally rung the doorbell outside a downstairs neighbour's flat - it was identical to and adjacent to the light switch - but I definitely got away with it. I also made a trip to the nearby Parque Eduardo VII, which is great - you can look down past the statue of the Marquês de Pombal, to the river Tejo (Tagus), and to the hills on the other side. It's pretty impressive, as well as making a relaxing place to read after a day of looking at a computer screen.

As described above. Notice the Oxford-style (everywhere-style) tour bus

My hosts, Luísa and her daughter Elena, have really gone out of their way to make me feel welcome, including cooking for me, and explaining the finer points of Portuguese current affairs discussions that I attempted to watch with them on TV. Elena's introduced me to her friends too. Taking the attitude that it's always best to accept invitations, I spent Friday evening with a few of them at a horror film festival (called Motel X in case anyone is interested)... Horror isn't at the top of my list of hobbies, and I wasn't filled with a new passion for the genre. But it was fun to spend time with new people, and the fact that I didn't understand much of the conversation didn't matter too much.

While I'm on the subject of the language, I have noticed I understand more of what's being said around me even than a week ago. On the other hand, it's going to take a long time until I can cope with the more difficult sides of communication, like listening to two people talking at once (a common occurrence in the office). 

Here's a pretty garden I can walk through on the way to work if I slightly divert my route (gratuitous photo to break up the text...).

Fountain complete with "dragons's teeth" surrounding

Another thing I'm getting used to is the concept of a Portuguese work lunch. Every day we go to a small local restaurant (the same one) and have a massive meal, along with a glass of wine, and a bica - yes, I've been converted - for a grand total of about €5 each. One of the restaurant owners rounds down the bill if it doesn't split evenly - it says a lot about how good-natured people are here. 

At the weekend I carried on settling in. I made my way to a swimming pool (didn't get too lost), registered, and had a swim, and enjoyed an excellent lunch in my favourite Lisbon cafe afterwards. On Sunday I went to St George's, the English church - everyone was very welcoming and it made me feel quite at home, even though I spoke Portuguese with people afterwards (one of the many times people have said the title quotation to me!). In the afternoon I went to the Estufa Fria which I love, having visited it before on family holidays. Next time I'll take my camera and share the joy.

Meteorological update: The weather has been 'patchy', and it absolutely poured today. I'm not too amused by the forecast either, but at least it's still warm. I don't mind the rain as long as I don't get too cold!

Photographic evidence of cats and dogs from the office window

Rain, thunderstorm, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, sun!

Anyway, should probably stop there or I won't have any ideas for next time. Hope you enjoyed this! Do leave a comment if you have questions or... comments... :-)

Thank you to everyone for reading - last time and this time!