“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”
– Henry David Thoreau
The woman frowns at me.
“Fotos?” she asks.
Her voice is clipped. I swallow, nod, and point at one of the labels on the table. “Sim.”
My voice wavers.
She sighs, turns away from me abruptly, grabs two labels from a display case and follows her husband to where he has just carried some fruit trees to my car.
“Desculpe.” I mumble, when she storms back in. Her irritation with me is tangible.
My excursion to the nursery turned into one of those interactions here in Portugal that left me confused and flabbergasted, highlighting cultural nuances that are clearly lost on me. In that moment I was made to feel like a difficult customer, yet all I wanted was to know exactly what I was buying. How would I otherwise be able to identify and know where to plant the 20 fruit trees resembling dry sticks, I just bought? As it was, I trusted her to sell me a variety of fruit trees, without being able to discuss with her the merits and characteristics of the varieties in stock. It also highlighted the fact that I need to prioritize my dedication in learning the language.
After fourteen months in Portugal my command of Portuguese is questionable at best. My attempts to memorize vocabulary, and get a grip on grammatical structures are erratic, so to expect great results is like asking the tooth fairy to gift me some money for a non-existing tooth. During my first year, I had to deal with an immense number of new things, both official processes and chores on the quinta that often left me, not just physically, but also emotionally exhausted. My tendency to live a reclusive life, the realities of the pandemic, and the fact that many foreigners live in the area, all limit the handful of interactions I have each month with those Portuguese who cannot speak English. Those who do speak English, even in a rural part of Portugal is quite astounding, and really a godsend when having to deal with official processes and shopping that demand very specific products. Grappling with the basics is just the start of a complicated process that I know will take years to master. It isn’t the first foreign language I’m trying to learn, and having lived in various countries including Germany, Taiwan, Korea, and the UAE for periods longer than six months at various stages of my life, I also understand my own priorities and coping strategies. Unlike what my family like to believe, learning a new language is not easy for me. And to get a really good grasp of a language I know that I need to completely immerse myself in it.
Growing up in a rural part of South Africa where only Afrikaans was spoken, long before the exposure the Internet now brings to English, it was only when I went to university that I was forced to move past the basic grasp of school English and watching TV programmes like Fame, or the A Team. I remember how I had to look up what felt like endless amounts of words, as most of our textbooks were in English, despite the fact that my lectures and exams were conducted in Afrikaans. I still remember my elocution teacher, Mrs Ranger, fondly. Her job was to ensure that the majority of Afrikaans speaking drama students shed their horrible Afrikaans accents, and pronounced words properly. We moved, jumped, and acted out silly nursery rhymes, poems, and tongue twisters in our quest for an hour every week, and slowly I gained confidence to try and speak English whenever a situation dictated the need for it, without succumbing to embarrassed stutters.
I still make glaring grammatical mistakes, but English is now the language I use when I think, write, and converse in most of the time. As a result, the beautiful Afrikaans I once spoke has become diluted, as I only ever speak to my family in Afrikaans. I know that I will never lose my mother tongue, no matter how little I use it, but I’ve exchanged my ability to express myself properly from the language I first used to make sense of the world, to the one that is universally used for conducting business or communicating across cultures and language barriers.
But as I’m settling into my new life, adjusting to its demands and rhythms, I think I now have the emotional space to dedicate more time to my language pursuits. Apart from the online forum I’m subscribed to, I have also joined one of the government supported language classes that are held locally when enough people show an interest. I noticed a call to sign up for it on a local Facebook forum mid-September, and after I completed the forms and e-mailed them, together with the receipt of my residence visa application, I received an acknowledgement and the following instruction: “Wait for our CALL IN THE POST MAIL BOX.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, at what I’ve come to term ‘the Portuguese’s strange love for snail mail’. Perhaps the strangest example of this is when one signs up for access to one’s tax portal. After registering online, a message tells one that the password to access the account will be sent to your address. Yes, via snail mail. But I digress, and can write a whole post just on the refusal of certain entities of accepting a post box as an address, or the inability to make use of any delivery service if one lives on a quinta, or worse – the nightmare that ensues when one orders or receives any packages from outside the European Union.
So back to the language course that was supposed to start at the beginning of November. Posts started popping up on the Facebook group asking if anyone knew what was going on, as even after various people sent e-mails there was no response to clarify the original published starting date. And so, the starting date came and went, until someone posted about a month later that they received a letter in the mail (snail mail that is) informing them of a meeting in early December. This letter also clearly stated that one MUST bring the original letter to the meeting. I noted the time and date in my diary, and waited for my letter to arrive. As we have a post box in town, I am alerted to the arrival of any post via sms. Nothing. I decided to attend the meeting anyway. The venue was packed with prospective students. Some who decided to attend in the hope of still being able to register.
We were informed that they were still looking for a teacher, and that as so many of us have signed up, they will have to run two separate classes. To my joy my name was on the list, and to my relief we were given a form to complete indicating if we wanted to attend an online class or an in-person class. We were given the promise that the classes will start in January, and with that, the meeting was over.
I am tempted to say that of course I am still waiting to hear when my online class will start (like I am for my residence visa and papers for the conversion of the land from rustic to habitable), but by doing that I also expose myself to be accused of all sorts of unflattering things. So, I will just say that I don’t know when the classes will start, and that I am learning with each new encounter with official processes that uncertainty and confusion are to be expected as the norm, not the exception. It should be interesting to see if the date of the start of my online class will be communicated to me via e-mail or snail mail.
Although the most recent census shows that more deaths than births have been registered in Portugal, which means a drop in the population, the influx of foreigners has negated the deficit and in the end the statistics show a slight growth in population. Roughly ten percent of the population in my local municipal area is made up of foreigners these days. Many people are, like Michael and I, looking for a different way of life, and Central Portugal is still very affordable compared to the rest of Europe or a region like the Algarve in Portugal.
The government also runs a programme with a financial incentive to get its citizens to move to rural areas, and has amended its highly popular Golden Visa programme to move investments away from saturated areas like Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve to the rest of Portugal, where in so many places the aging population isn’t replaced, land is abandoned, and villages are falling into ruin.
Unlike most Portuguese who own land, but traditionally live in towns and villages, most foreigners live on the land they buy. In many ways, I guess, it makes us strange in the eyes of the locals, and I have been asked on more than one occasion if I am not scared living on the land on my own. Land, which I need to add, is far from being remote, and about 5 kilometres from my local town, which I can actually see from almost everywhere on the land. I love hearing and seeing my closest neighbour working on his land, but I am also glad he doesn’t permanently live there. It is the peace and quiet of not being constantly surrounded by others that I enjoy the most. Just because I am alone, doesn’t mean I am lonely – a concept I have been told recently (rightly or wrongly) that has no distinction in Portuguese. For the Portuguese being alone is to be lonely.
When a friend on Christmas Eve realised that I would be alone on Christmas day, I was quickly invited to Christmas lunch. She explained that her boyfriend’s mother always cooks enough food to feed an orphanage. Although I was very grateful for the invitation, I prefer a quiet day of solitude to a noisy celebration. Hence also my birthday ritual of going away on my own. I mostly have to force myself to socialise, and much prefer the company of just one or two people to that of a big gathering. Those who do not share my introverted and reclusive tendencies usually shudder in horror just thinking of being alone on a major holiday.
And Christmas in Portugal is a big deal. It is not just when families gather, but they also rejoice in the spirit of Christmas by turning streets and even whole villages into bright and creative tableaus. Cabeça, a tiny village on the southern slopes of the Serra de Estrela is known as Aldeia Natal, and is a wonderful example of not just the Christmas spirit, but of working together as a community.
During the week leading up to Christmas, rainy weather forced me to slow down and take stock of not just the past year, but also how I would like to spend my time in 2022. Apart from my commitment to make more of an effort to get a basic grasp of Portuguese, I also want to spend time teaching yoga again, and revisit old writing projects. The chores on the quinta will more or less stay the same, and now that I have discovered the joys of growing my own food, I definitely want to expand the vegetable garden to include a bigger variety of produce. This time, I’ve decided to put more effort into Michael’s advice of keeping a journal. Although I have some notes scribbled down from my first foray into vegetable gardening, I hope to be a bit more precise and systematic in my approach.
And as I have so many things I would like to focus on, I’ve decided to only write one blog post a month, chronicling life on the quinta, while creating a separate page for my forays into the landscape and culture of Portugal.
Michael just signed a new work contract, as we don’t have the financial security we need for retirement, and there is still expensive infrastructure we need to invest in here on the land. We are taking a long-term approach to our dream, and although I can’t currently leave the country, we also think that our “divide and conquer” approach is working well for us.
We are incredibly grateful for the community we have gathered around us and online, and would not just like to thank all of you for your support, but also wish you a joyful and blessed 2022. May our documenting of our dream inspire you to work towards realising your own dreams, no matter how big or small they may be.
Written by: Jolandi
Portuguese Words:
Natal – Christmas
árvores frutiferas – fruit trees
língua – language
aldeia – village
Boas Festas – Happy Holidays
Oh my goodness… what a wonderful post! So much to take in… to visit your Quinta in Portugal vicariously through you… to share the introvert trait and fully understanding how you feel… and the one thing that TOTALLY cracked me up was you watching the A-Team to learn English! Ha ha ha… I actually met Mr. T one time at a comic book conference…
Watching the A-Team wasn’t so much to learn English, Tom – it was THE programme to watch at the time. 😂 Everyone did. TV came to South Africa decades after you guys had it, and I guess your compatriots sold us all the rejects. I can’t remember them all, but I do remember that I loved MacGyver. Mmmm, meeting Mr. T must have been an interesting experience . . . . – Jolandi
Happy 2022, Jolandi! I’m curious about your separate page. Will it be on here or on your other blog? I have yet to start reading your book on the UAE. I wish you much joy in your learning, living, writing, growing things and teaching yoga. Be well!
Thanks for all the lovely wishes, Manja. I hope you enjoy the book. Would love to know what you think when you’ve read it.
The seperate page will be on this website – I just have to figure it out still . . . 😆 – Jolandi
Happy new year to you and Michael, Jolandi. I hope your plans and wishes for the year will come true and your life at the quinta will continue to hold many positive and enriching moments for you.
Warmly,
Tanja
Thank you for the lovely wishes, Tanja. May this year be kind to you and bring many joyfull moments. – Jolandi
I feel just as you do, that spending a holiday alone is actually appealing, rather than having to drive out to someone else’s house and then force myself to socialize with strangers and deal with their noise and drama. Not everyone finds solitude and quiet sad. Some of us really do enjoy it, and relish those times when we are alone with our thoughts and our own activities. I did fly out to spend the holidays with my adult children, the first time in two years, and it was lovely: but I missed my cat and my books and my somewhat cluttered apartment. It would have been hard not to see my grandchildren in person—they’re growing up so quickly—but skipping the stressful flight and the crowded, noisy airports would have been fine with me!
I hope the New Year brings you peace and joy, Jolandi. It is hard to learn a new language, even harder to have to deal with the fine points of conversation with natives who likely think all foreigners are idiots. Take care and hello to Michael!
Thank you, Hangaku. I’m so glad that you managed some family time, despite the fact that you had to brave a whole lot of discomfort to be with them. I completely get it. – Jolandi
No doubt about it, being an expat, and doing what you’re doing, is TOUGH. I feel for you! There’s always going to be a new language/cultural hurtle that you can’t anticipate. Ugh, right? But it sounds like you’re doing alright, overall, and that you have a plan, which is the best you can do.
Love hearing these updates though, so no pressure to do more. I’m thinking of my own time online as well. Too much to do!
Happy New Year, Jolandi. xo
Thank you, Lani. You definitely understand these challenges. But like you say, I am mostly doing just fine. And actually loving it most of the time. Good luck with your own re-assessment of time spent online. May this year bring you joy. – Jolandi
I’ve been avoiding my own assessment of 2021 and my goals for 2022, so it’s always nice to read of others’ commitment to living a life of intention! I’m sorry in some ways to hear that Michael can’t join you full-time yet, but you do seem to be making that work, so good for you! As a fellow independent soul, I understand the need for (and “okay-ness”) of your strategy for now. Happy New Year!
Part of living our dream in a very intentional way is making sacrifices, Lex. Our current reality isn’t exactly what we pictured, but we are committed to make the best of what life throws at us, even though it means that we are living apart for now. Wishing you a beautiful and blessed 2022. – Jolandi
I pity the fool who has to learn English from Mr. T! Funny the timing of reading this, because I just finished completing an introduction assignment for my new Spanish class. I have studied Spanish before, and retained about eight words of it. Like you, I need to be immersed to really start learning and getting brave about a new language. I need to have no other choice and be forced to speak it. Then I need to stay immersed or I forget it all. Ah well. I wish us both progress and luck at language in 2022. I do hope you and Michael have a good year. Things seem so hopeful for you both, though you still have so many challenges. As much as your separation is hard, I am glad he has the option to renew his contract and keep earning money to pay for your paradise-in-the-making. Pedro and I live an hour apart, and see each other often, but not always. I still ask myself if I’m ready for full time, and I’m still happy I get a lot of alone time. It will be hard to live with a person. I could relate to everything you said about alone vs lonely.
Good luck with your Spanish lessons, Crystal. I hope both of us can persevere and feel that we have improved by the end of the year. There are definitely moments when I miss Michael a lot, but we also both have the best of both worlds at the moment, with each one of us spending most of the day doing what we love. And this way, we make a whole lot more progress than if we were both living in the same place. Sounds like you and Pedro have the best of both worlds at the moment. Relationships are very personal, and no matter what they look like to others, all that matters is that they work for the people involved. Wishing both of you many blessings this year. – Jolandi
That is so kind of you, Jolandi. Blessings to you both as well. We will check in with each other at the end of 2022 and see how the new languages are settling with us. 🙂
It will be very interesting to see where our language skills are at the end of the year. Here is to fluency. Okay, well, maybe just the ability to understand what people are saying. 😁 – Jolandi
What a lovely long and newsy post, Jolandi! I completely understand the reason behind the change to a once-a-month update as I am sure there are not enough hours in the day for anything more. Today is the first time since before Christmas that I have checked my e-mails and spent any time on-line. I have been so busy!
I know from experience how awful it is trying to communicate detailed information to someone in a foreign language. The best language courses are the fully-immersive ones where you spend all day every day for about a week just speaking the language you wish to learn but these are not always practical when you have other jobs to do. I only began to speak German fluently when I got a job as a waitress in a hotel in Austria. I was so elated when I discovered I had begun to think in German and I didn’t need to first think what I wanted to say in English and then translate it. Sadly, I am no longer fluent through lack of usage. Languages are easier to learn when we are young as well. It is a little sad that you are not able to speak Afrikaans very often these days; does your family tell you you speak it with an accent? I have a Maltese aunt-by-marriage who has lived in England since she married my uncle in the early 1950’s and though she still speaks English with a strong accent her Maltese isn’t as good as it was either.
I am someone who loves being alone (but doesn’t often get the chance) and I only remember being lonely a couple of times in my life. I often speak with people who become so fearful and unhappy when they have to spend time alone; I feel so sorry for them.
Best wishes to you and Michael
Clare xoxo
I always marvel at how busy life can be, Clare. So much of life is filled with mundane chores one cannot even list, yet, days, weeks and months often seem to flit by in a swirl of busy-ness.
Thank you for sharing your story about learning German. I love how these conversations allow me to get to know you better. It is definitely true that the moment one stops to translate before speaking, but just think and speak a language that one starts to make real progress. When I lived in Germany as an au pair in my early 20s, my friends and I made a pact to just speak German to one another, which helped so much in learning to communicate properly. That was apart from the fact that the kids I cared for couldn’t speak English and really no one else around me, except for my German friend who lived next door. But like you, lack of usage, has basically erased that year in which I became fluent enough to read novels in German.
Interestingly I don’t speak Afrikaans with an accent, but it takes me a while when I visit my family in SA and only speak Afrikaans for a while to become comfortable in expressing myself in the language, and I have been told that they can hear after a while that I’ve found my Afrikaans voice again. I feel validated by the mention of your aunt who also lost her ability to speak Maltese as well as she did before moving to the UK. Language is definitely dependent on usage to retain it, and although I think we can never completely lose our mother tongue, it certainly weakens when not in use, unlike those of learned languages, which simply disappears.
Cheers to happy moments of solitude during 2022, Clare. May you find them no matter how many demands life make on you this year. – Jolandi
Happy New Year and here’s to many blessings in 2022.
I completely understand your wish to have quiet and solitude. I too love to have my own space and prefer to have quiet holiday celebrations with just my immediate family of 4. After my serious car accident and the long recovery, I spent a lot of time refocusing and realized life is too short to spend time with those that cause drama, negativity and give nothing back.
Your life on the quinta sounds idyllic, time away from Michael not so much, but you both have a dream and it is inspiring to see you living it and traveling the journey with you. In reflecting over 2021, I learned a lot about myself, have learned to appreciate situations I didn’t plan on in my life and treasure those I hold close.
I sympathize with you and the language barrier, but admire your determination. You will master it just fine I have no doubt. Learning a new language seems to get harder the older we get. I look back and wish my German great grandmother would have spoken to us in German and shared her German heritage more than she did. She seemed to be embarrassed by her German heritage and wanted to be nothing more than American. You and Michael are truly an inspiration in following your dreams and doing what is hard to make them happen. Wishing you many blessings in the New Year, and look forward to sharing your journey and adventure along with your beautiful photos.
I love how these conversations allow me to learn more about you, Terri. I didn’t know you had a serious car accident. Like you say, it is when we are confronted with the realisation of how precious and short life is that we approach it from a vastly different perspective.
It is interesting that so often immigrants want to shed their culture to assimilate in a new one, instead of sharing or celebrating it. So much of where we live shape the kind of people we are or become. Sometimes we embrace our heritage and I guess, sometimes we want to escape it.
Thank you for your kind wishes and support. Michael and I appreciate it so much. Wishing you many joyous moments with your loved ones in 2022. – Jolandi
Ps. I finished Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl – what a joyous read. Thank you for recommending it. Her evocative descriptions of food will linger with me.
It’s all in how one looks at things: life is either an adventure or a series of unfortunate events, alone time is either a blissful solitude or a depressing loneliness. Happy to hear that you are seeing things in the light of embracing uncertainty and peace. It’ll be exciting to continue hearing about all the things you continue to learn in this new land about yourself and the environment around you.
Wishing you a joyous 2022 filled with the tenderness of nature, the warmth of friends, and the thrill of the journey ahead.
You put it so well, Atreyee. And yes, embracing peace and uncertainty is definitely a blessing on this journey. It is a good attitude for life in general I find, although I do fall into bouts of self-pity every once in a while. Luckily I can always find a way out. Life is such a cocktail of emotions, and I guess we know we are truly alive, when we experience all of them. Thank you for your lovely wishes. I trust that 2022 will bring you many joys and blessings too. – Jolandi
Hello Jolandi,
First and foremost, a very Happy New Year to you and Michael.
Despite the ongoing uncertainty worldwide, like you, we are counting our blessings for good health (including the health of our loved ones) and having our own home. Not surprisingly, “A Team” was popular in Japan back in the day, although in our case, it was dubbed in Japanese – Mr. T retains his unique attitude in my language too 🙂
Reading of your experiences learning other languages reminds me of the trauma I went through when learning English and having to speak it full time during my four years abroad. It really was quite the experience and I still have nightmares of those university days – even though almost 20 years have passed since then. I think we would be able to share many interesting stories 😉 That being said, as you have noted, full immersion does force one to take things head-on, and thanks to English I can now communicate with many lovely friends across countries and continents.
Coming from Japan, I am not surprised how many government agencies still prefer “snail mail” for official communications. It is the same here too, although government agencies are slowly, reluctantly making the switch to using the internet and web apps. Snail mail is still quite common here (especially among older residents) and we still have stationery stores selling a variety of letter writing paper and pens. Commemorative stamps are often sought after the the post office too.
But I apologize for the digression! I completely understand how blogging must decrease as you deal with life issues in real time, in the real world. As always, we support you and Michael and hope that your visa / residence procedures will be finalized this year and that 2022 will bring many wonderful moments for you, in your beautiful land. May you have continued health, happiness, and love – and may you also have more opportunities to relish “alone” time as well 🙂
All best,
Takami
Oh how I love it that the A-Team was part of your world in Japan too, Takami, even if it was dubbed into Japanese. It makes me giggle with joy. Something I find interesting here in Portugal, and which I think greatly helps with learning other languages, is that they do not dub any of the programmes shown on TV. I always wondered where you’ve learned to speak English so well. And now I realise that you’ve studied abroad. It makes me curious to know where. I can just imagine how difficult it must have been for you. Like you say, the stories we could share would be many as well as interesting.
I love hearing about the Japanese love of “snail mail”. That to me is even more astounding than the Portuguese love of it, because my idea of Japan is one of being on the cutting edge of technology. I can understand that older people would prefer it no matter where in the world they are, as it must be hugely challenging for them, but the fact that government entities cling to it, is what surprises me most. You know, we’ve gotten used to how efficient technology is being used in the UAE, so I guess as a country it is far ahead of many other countries in that respect. For instance, when renewing a residence visa in the UAE, it is only when one goes for one’s medical test, and then later to get the visa stuck into one’s passport that one physically has to go somewhere. Every other part of the process and documentation is done online.
Thank you for digressing and telling me about the stationery stores and commemorative stamps. It is exactly these exchanges that I love so much. Like mini-travel breaks and lessons in the realities of daily life in other cultures. Exactly why I love blogging so much. As always, Michael and I appreciate your kind words and encouragement so much. Thank you for being so kind and generous with your words and time. – Jolandi
“For the Portuguese being alone is to be lonely”, and this is something most Indonesians agree with. Not me though. Although I like being with other people from time to time, most of the time I prefer to be in a quiet place — alone or with a company of one or two other souls I care the most. I wish you a great time learning Portuguese! And by the end of 2022, you might surprise yourself with how far you’ve come. Happy New Year to you and Michael!
Thank you for your good wishes, Bama. I think you are right in that I might be surprised at where I am at a year from now. This morning I looked back at some journal entries from this time last year, and I must admit that my emotional state was a mess at the time. I felt lonely and was struggling to cope with my physical realities and challenges. Such a contrast to where I am today.
I find it very interesting that Indonesians have this trait in common with the Portuguese. It doesn’t surprise me that you prefer solitude and the company of just one or two people you connect deeply with. And once again I marvel at how it is possible through blogging to connect with so many lovely people from across the world I feel connected to. It is the sharing of these connections that I find nourishes my soul in exactly the same way as travel has always done. Thank you for sharing in our journey and allowing me to share in yours. It is an honour. – Jolandi
Most of what Clare said is what I was thinking as I read your post. During the four years I lived in England/continental Europe I discovered I had a bent for languages. Living in a small village in the former Yugoslavia where no English was spoken pushed my Serbo-Croat up to the level where I was thinking in the language. All the same, my grammar was such that I frequently spoke as if I were male
and my accent was not quite right. Most people thought I was Hungarian LOL. When I returned to England, I couldn’t speak English at all for the first week, and after that I was forever telling people that the English translation didn’t quite encompass what I was trying to convey. We didn’t have enough words for the right emotion. But that language, along with my tentative French, German, Greek, Spanish and Italian has all been lost in the relentless return to “Strine” (Australian).
Back here, my attempt to learn Japanese to assist in my workplace was abysmal. It was like being a baby and having to learn the word attached to each object. I came to deeply admire my Japanese colleagues who had a business enough grasp of the language.
And, much as it is fun to broaden one’s language horizons, it IS exhausting. At the end of each day in a foreign country I was washed out. And woe betide when an English speaking person came to visit. I could lose in a day all it had taken me to master in a week, and my accent would go from passable to atrocious.
One way to counteract it was not to let a shopkeeper serve me until I had mastered the word and pronunciation correctly. (Only good if there were no other customers in the store – or only others who wanted me to succeed). But in Yugoslavia it went against me. Bread was sold by weight, and the word for three-quarters was kind of similar to Italian. I would end up bringing my landlady her bread in two pieces, on a half-kilo, and the other a quarter. Ahh, the precious memories.
I love your story, and am suitably impressed, Gwen. Living in a place where no English is spoken definitely forces one to learn a language much faster, although that doesn’t make it any easier. I also love hearing that, although you discovered that you had a bent for languages, it also took you a while to transition between languages. I always marvel at those translators who translate during speeches.
I find it really fascinating how different languages use and express concepts and ideas, which is part of what makes learning a language challenging, as it is also about learning to express oneself differently and not just trying to translate what one is thinking.
You really capture the challenges of language learning so well. Like you say, it is exhausting!
One heartening thing I find is that most Portuguese are very patient when one tries to speak Portuguese, which is definitely helpful. – Jolandi
Hi Jolandi! I found this site through your other blog, when I was searching for information on julfar pottery, and spent a very happy weekend reading through all of your archives. You’re such a marvelous writer and truly are “living the dream” — even if it’s a bit soggy, delayed, and lost in translation at times.
Best wishes for 2022. I’m really looking forward to following along.
Hi Jay. Thank you for your kind words. I’m really glad you spent a happy weekend reading through the archives. I am quite curious why you were searching for information on Julfar pottery. Hope you found what you were looking for. Rural Portugal cannot be more different than life in the UAE. May 2022 be a good year for you. – Jolandi