This week they have proposed to me as a challenge, and also as a practice, that I write this post in Portuguese because with the time that I have been here I should know more Portuguese than I know and that is what I will do this week, after a short introduction.
During my On-arrival training it was a common theme among all the volunteers who were not being able to learn as much Portuguese as they wanted due to the covid rules and it is that I think that the expectations about how we are learning Portuguese the volunteers should change and not compare ourselves with previous volunteers. During my first week I was recommended not to maintain contact with strangers because due to the covid it was not safe, I think my longest conversation with a local person is when at the supermarket I tell the cashier whether or not I want “um saco”, when we are with the people of Rato they speak in English as a courtesy towards us, which I appreciate because if not, I would not understand anything.
Finally, my only means of learning Portuguese were the Portuguese lessons, but now due to the lockdown I have also lost them so now, I only have to write this post in Portuguese to be able to practice and I have decided that I am going to tell you what a normal day is like during the lockdown (I apologize if I make a mistake, I’m learning).
Eu Levanto-me e tomo o pequeno almoço, geralmente cereais com leite, às 10 tenho uma reunião com os membros do Rato onde dizemos o que vamos fazer nesse dia.
Depois da reunião eu trabalho até almoço e preparo minha comida. A tarde eu trabalho até as 5 e depende do dia eu vou comprar, limpo a casa ou leio no meu quarto até a jantar, eu janto e depois vejo um filme no computador até a hora de dormir.
