Season of Change

As many of you know, I have moved to Portugal.
Through the magic of the internet and international phone service, I am able to continue to meet with clients! This will not change, but since Portugal is 5-8 hours ahead of the US, depending on your location, appointments are now offered only in the mornings. I appreciate all of you who have accommodated this change.

I am loving my life here in Portugal and was surprised to learn that the flamingoes live here year round. They love the salt flats, which are shallow pools that fill with sea water. During the day, the water from these pools evaporates leaving salt behind for the local communities to harvest. I visited many salt flats where I heard of people spotting flocks of over 100 flamingoes, with no luck. After many attempts, I finally found them for the first time! After that, they seemed to be hanging around most of the salt flats I visited. They are beautiful birds, even if they are a little prehistoric looking!

The pace in Portugal is so much slower. Whether spending a few hours chatting with a friend at an outdoor café or waiting patiently for a train that is running a little late; there is never any feeling of being rushed to free up the table nor any anxiety among the train passengers regarding the delay. I have spoken to many other expats and visitors and they all agree that this eases stress that we are not even aware of.

It is freeing not to need a car here. The farmer’s market offers locally grown fruits and vegetables and the fisherfolk sell their catch from that morning! (Whatever is not sold at the market goes to the local restaurants!) All of this amazing food is only a 10 minute walk away! Plus, the train that takes me to Portuguese class or to volunteer at the organic farm or the botanical garden, is only a 10 minute walk in the other direction!

The botanical garden that I volunteer at focuses on permaculture with fruit trees while the other farm I volunteer at is certified organic. I am continually reminded of the similarities people and pets have with plants! Foundation is critical when healing yourself or your pet. For plants, this foundation starts in the soil. For people and pets, the foundation that we work to strengthen is the gut. When that foundation is weak, no amount of fertilizer, supplements, water or food will create optimal health and resilience. With a strong foundation, fewer inputs are needed to maintain health. This is similar to the holistic framework that I use for pets. This ideology is now helping me as I learn to grow plants in my own patio garden. (Did you know that aphids can find plants on a 4^th floor patio??)

Of course, not everything is so easygoing here. I underestimated how difficult Portuguese is to learn! Every noun has a gender which affects the articles and adjectives that describe it. (Remember those things from grammar class!! ) And there are verb tenses that don’t exist in English. My Portuguese teacher says you have to learn to think like a Portuguese person to really understand how to use them properly. And we won’t even talk about the 6 different ways to translate the word “for”!!

Needless to say, it will be a few years before I feel confident and fluent in this language. But what a place to learn!