Expat Life in Portugal, Portugal, Travel

20 Things I learned in 2020

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A Year in the Algarve

  1. Roundabouts have Rules — who knew? You have to put a turn signal on when you’re exiting…no one taught me that in driver’s ed. stateside
  2. Obrigada is not a type of fish. And if you’re a boy, you should say Obrigad-O.
  3. Double Rainbows DO exist. And for that matter, so do WHITE rainbows.
  4. Fire can “jump” many kilometers at once — it’s actually called “spotting” and anyone who knows the Algarve understands that summer winds are up to 60km/h so fires travel like rockets. It’s scary.
  5. Outdoor furniture weighing less than 30 kilos will flip over, blow off your terrace, or end up at the bottom of your garden at some point. It’s just a question of when.
  6. There are more beaches than people in the Algarve. OK, not really. But it seems like it.
  7. Stargazing is a lot more fun when the air quality is pure. I’ve never seen brighter stars than in the Algarve.
  8. Eating food that arrives at your table within 20km of travel is INCREDIBLE. You can taste the difference.
  9. Spear fishing is a great survival skill.
  10. Guinea pigs whistle when they like you.
  11. Bank Mortgages are impossible to get on illegal structures. Don’t even try. Get a good lawyer to check any potential property you want to purchase first — especially if you’re paying cash (think resale).
  12. Agriculture is an important school subject.
  13. Wine doesn’t have to be red or white. It can be green too!
  14. High heels and cobblestones are not a match made in heaven.
  15. Six year olds cannot actually learn anything on Zoom.
  16. It may not be the best idea to move countries right before a global pandemic hits.
  17. There’s nothing online that could even come close to a live in-the-flesh performance. Sorry. It’s reality.
  18. Learning how to drive a manual car before you move to Portugal is a great idea.
  19. In a global pandemic, the Algarve might just be the safest place on the planet.
  20. Positivity can be practiced. Just like yoga or pilates. Seriously. If you tend to see the glass half empty, try a Gratitude Journal. It saved my life in just five minutes/day.

*If you feel like writing your own ’20 things I learned in 2020′ –I’d love to read yours too! Please post in the comments 🙂

14 thoughts on “20 Things I learned in 2020”

  1. We moved from the States to Porto in September 2019, and to Lagos just a few weeks ago. We haven’t had time to work up to 20 things, but the most important thing we’ve learned is how to let go. We moved from a 2,100 square foot four-bedroom house and brought four big and two small suitcases, plus two very overloaded backpacks–that’s it. We did leave some important family heirlooms in storage for when we return, but paring down really taught us how to let go of stuff, of the “need” for things, and the things that are really important. That’s something we will take with us no matter where we go.

  6. So true! I had containers arrive after we left and I had done without any of it for so long that by the time it got here I felt like burning the whole pile. We need to little at the end of the day.

  7. I just LOVED THAT! So well expressed! You should start a blog🙏🏻
    There is nothing quite so life changing as the gratitude attitude habit…..you are very wise!
    And nothing so freeing as letting go of things that no longer serve you! Especially when they can bless other lives!

    Ted laughs at me because I have a have a habit of saying “Well, it could certainly be worse!” Sometimes I have to really get creative to come up with something😜

    I would read and feel I had been improved by reading anything you ever write!❤️

  9. I enjoyed reading this very much and can also agree with it.
    The comment from Meredith about not needing all these material things is so true, especially here, the nature is all the treasures we need!

  11. Hey there. I discovered your blog by way of Google even as looking for a similar matter, your web site came up. It looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then. Morna Delmore Pauwles

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