Gettingthingsstarted - Blog Posts

Welcome

Even though it’s still early days of my life in Portugal - here’s a ”quick” update about my first 9 days in Lisbon! Tons of things I’m still missing, practical things like having a local bank account or a phone number and obviously the city, the country within its culture and language haven’t still quite opened for me yet.

Back in Finland I did manage to squeeze the last 30 years of my life into two luggage (apart from a few bags of clothes and dvd’s and cd’s which my mom took in) and get rid of everything else that didn’t fit in. People wondering how do you do that, but it is literally like peeling an onion. Prioritizing. One layer at the time. And yes it can make you even cry – or at least sad. Not everything you want or even need does fit in. Farewells  were as expected but it was comforted by the thought in my head that leaving Finland felt still very natural and necessary thing to do. I was on the right track. 

(Not all in that pile ended up coming with me)

My first down side came along already back at home when I was trying to get a travel insurance (or any insurance) which no finnish insurance company will provide me cause I don’t have a permanent address there anymore and I’m moving permanently out of the country. So I went on as insuranceless and hoped that all my stuff, all 56 kg of it would arrive safely in Lisbon with me. Luckily no problems there. I’m covered in health issues by my employer but not sure if I can get some insurance for my stuff from a portuguese insurance companies. Still working on that one. 

In my new employer’s support package for foreign employees included a pick up from the airport which was super handy since I didn’t know where I was gonna live (the flat was also provided by Teleperformance). And the guy picking me up wasn’t part of any international human trafficking as mom was so afraid. Positive things, you know. No, he was very friendly and professional.

But to be honest - I was super relieved that the company I applied EXISTS and everything was what they said it would be. Because when you agree online to something - you never know. But everything went fine and I didn’t become one of those horror stories you hear out there. 

(My new home - My room, the two pics, the messy ones above in the left)

The neighborhood gave me first a chill and not in positive sense of the word. It didn’t exactly wow me even though I wasn’t expecting any Ritz – I do pay only a few hundreds of euros monthly. The flat was nice though. A lot of light. There are 3 other people, at the moment all girls (2 from Austria, 1 French). Not super close with them but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However they’re friendly and helpful. 

In a nutshell there are washing machines (dishes, laundry + tumble dryer), one broken coffee maker (working on that), freezer (ice cream), two bathrooms, no balcony. And basically I have the other bathroom for my use only – a bit confused about why that is but apparently it has something to do with the locations of the rooms I guess (not complaining). Down sides.. we could have more kitchen wear, I CANNOT ACCOMMODATE ANYONE and it could be tidier here... but oh well it’s a start. I can look for something else if I get super irritated. Oh and we have a cleaning lady coming in once a week but she doesn’t touch the rooms naturally. And yes still people can’t mind their own messes! Apart from once locking myself outside of the flat even with a key (don’t ask me) there haven’t been any difficulties.

(Not my photo - I live 10min to the left from this traffic circle) 

But the location is really good. I guess I live somewhat in the Areeiro neighborhood. Feels safe. Lots of people with children, old couples.. Not a party district clearly. 10min away from the metro, train stations. Bus stops, pharmacy, groceries are right in front of my house. In the next block there are cafes, gym, more grocery stores, banks, hotels, restaurants… Airport is super close also. Not prettiest neighborhood in the city but living here – it works!

About the work. Well haven’t started that one yet properly. I’m having four weeks of training with 4 other Finns. It’s been confusing, interesting, cool, difficult, horrifying, fun and the list goes on… Tons of things to learn! But overall so far so good! I do feel like I’m at the right place and this is what I wanna do!

The city itself! Haven’t had much chance to discover it yet. Just the weekends basically. And there are so much to see here! I wonder what kept me away before. The city doesn’t exactly have that one, clear, symbolic sight which the people recognize the destination for but to be honest Lisbon doesn’t need one cause the entire city with its warm atmosphere and relaxed spirit is a landmark itself. It does remind me of Rome (old), Barcelona (green areas, palm trees, mediterranean atmosphere) or Québec City (stairs, hills). This is a perfect city just to get lost. Narrow old streets with tons of colours and details. Hundreds of hills and stairs make sure that wondering around here will go for a work out. People are friendly. They might not always speak English but they understand it pretty well. Super handy when you don’t speak a word of Portuguese! But I have managed with the help of my knowledge in Spanish, French, Italian and English – which ever language you manage to find the word the other person understands. I have a feeling I’m gonna be here for a while. 

The weather hasn’t been that bad as I expected. And yes by bad I mean HOT. I’m afraid of melting, you see. There were some +30 degree days but the there’s always such a strong wind in Lisboa that makes it feel cooler and then when it’s actually +20 it has a tendency to feel actually cold. 

When moving abroad what helps and has helped me tremendously in the past is to have someone at the destination. In Spain I had my future room mate getting me started with things. In Montréal and here in Lisbon I had a friend (THANK YOU!!) – and they were huge help when you just don’t have a clue about anything and for a brief moment you can just trust someone else to take the lead or you’ll always have someone to turn to. 

In general during this week  there have been ups and downs. I have LOVED and then I have just HATED living in Lisbon and Portugal. Strong emotions indeed. And so damn small things but very every day like! If I’ve learnt anything at all during these 9 days is patience! Not the thing itself but basically just that you should have it. I clearly don’t. I knew this and I was reminded of it but still somehow I was surprised. 

Always prepare yourself to have time and effort to have a second or third round of doing things before successfully finishing them. Especially if they are official ones. Forget customer service. Forget doing things online. And like I said in the beginning I haven’t even got myself a phone number or bank account yet. But like they say, no country was made to feel foreigners comfortable. I have definitely been feeling uncomfortable. But so did I in Québec and Spain. This is all part of the fun, the things you’ll be laughing about in a year. In the end things have a way of working out. You’ll find your way. You’ll learn how things work. You’ll adapt. You’ll have a different attitude. And that’s what I’ll be doing.