After years of resisting the tricks of retail establishments to lure us into buying their merchandise; after months of shedding 99% of our possessions; after weeks of living with our landlady’s household goods, we have begun to enthusiastically acquire new stuff. The initial flurry of purchases has been joyful, frenetic, and exciting. We’ve refurnished our living room, added some art, and filled in a few necessary items. In a single night, we assembled eight pieces of Ikea furniture with a feeling of satisfaction. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing with colors and textures, and unleashing my creative spirit as we establish our new home.
In just 18 days in our new apartment, I think we’ve acquired all we need to maintain a pleasant and comfortable life. Perhaps a bit more than our basic needs. With the exception of a pair of drapes, a couple of mixing bowls, and a few lamps, I think we’re done. I really hope we’re done. I’ve been reminded in these past days about the allure of accumulating stuff, and frankly, it scares me. Tim and I have both felt so wonderfully unencumbered by the psychic weight of stuff in recent years that we don’t ever want to be trapped in the grip of materialism again. Wish us luck!
This week brought another kind of bounty to my life. I had a face-to-face visit with a friend from home. Wendy was in Lisbon for a couple of days prior to embarking on a cruise, so Tim and I took the train up to spend time with her. Tim returned to Setubal in the afternoon, but I stayed overnight to extend my time with Wendy. What a great boon it was to see a dear friend sitting right across the table! Phone calls and video chats are a lifeline, but there’s something extra special about being with a favorite person again after a long separation. It makes me look more eagerly toward our visit to the US in the fall. The best news for me now is that our new Ohio friends, Sandy and Jerry, will be in town next week for a couple of days, bringing some hometown vibe with them. Can’t wait!
We also made the acquaintance of an old friend this week. “How does one become acquainted with an old friend?” you might reasonably ask. We finally got to meet the owner of the apartment where we’d stayed our first four months here. Melodie returned from her annual six-month stay in Guinea Bissau and got in touch with us almost immediately. We’d only “met” through texts and a couple of phone calls, but our rapport was instantaneous, even through those somewhat impersonal channels. We all recognized we’d found kindred spirits before we ever laid eyes on each other. How nice we can nurture this new friendship in closer proximity now. Melodie is a French citizen who grew up in Guinea and has lived in Portugal for several years. What a fascinating history, and what great stories and perspective she brings to a dinner conversation!
With a place of our own and a growing circle of local friends, we are really putting down roots in our adopted country. But video chats with family and visits from US friends remind us that our original roots are still strong, too.