Não faz mal means “no problem”, “no harm done”, “no big deal”, or “it’s ok” in Portuguese, depending on the context of how it is used. It is also almost a philosophy for staying calm. When there’s a mistake made, or a problem, many times não faz mal is employed to keep things calm. It’s one of the things we enjoy about being here: It is laid back, people are eager to help, pleasant when they do so, and most things are não faz mal - no big deal.
Except when they are driving. I’ve never seen such a dichotomy in cultural norms as here in Portugal between face-to-face personality and driver personality, but I digress.
When we traveled to Bali to visit family over the holidays, I can honestly say I’ve never had a more delay-prone flying trip. We had 6 flights, all of which were delayed by more than 30 minutes. Two times we boarded flights only to wait over 2 hours and eventually de-plane. One setback occurred in Singapore, involved over 5 hours of delay, a deplaning, and an eventual overnight stay in a hotel due to a sensor issue with the plane’s landing gear. Throughout it all, we just kept a não faz mal attitude. We never made a fuss, unlike many self-important passengers. We relaxed and rolled with the adventure as it played itself out. Not only did it make a bad situation easier, it reduced our stress and helped us get through it. Even in Bali, trapped in interminable traffic and heavy downpours, our não faz mal attitude helped us to relax and limit stress.
On a recent trip to Spain, we could pick out the Portuguese in the cafes and restaurants. They were the ones who lingered over coffee, chatting and relaxed, while everyone hurried around them. We felt an affinity, even though we aren’t yet fluent in Portuguese, and have been here less than a year.
Another phrase I love is que pena, which translates to “what a pity”. There are many stately old houses and buildings here falling into ruin. When you see them and recognize what they could and should be, you mutter “que pena”, and move on. There are arcane real estate rules here, and when a family member passes away and the property passes along to the next generation, they all must agree on the next steps of sale, renovation, etc. Many times, an agreement cannot be reached, so the building slowly falls into disrepair. Que pena. It can be used for anything that should be good, but is not.
The other phrase we enjoy is pode ser, literally “it can be”. Pode is pronounced like the pod for those new coffee machines. It’s not “maybe” - that’s talvez. It’s more along the lines of “that’s possible” or “it could be”. It is a phrase of hope and possibility. It can also be used to deflect and delay, much like “Inshallah” (God willing) in many Islamic countries, which sometimes means “It will happen if God wills it, but it’s unlikely.” I like it because of the way it can be used in debate; it is a way that people accept the argument another person is making. It shows a willingness to recognize their point of view, and acknowledge that the other person’s view is potentially valid.
We spent the first three weeks of January 2023 sick, trapped in our new-to-us apartment with a nasty virus we contracted while traveling home after the Bali trip. A shockingly low number of people were masked during our travels, perhaps only 3%-5%. In addition, many people, despite 3 years of a global pandemic, still do not know how to cover their mouths and noses when they sneeze and cough in public. It is extremely frustrating. We tested over and over and never got a positive COVID result, but pode ser it was a different variety that the test did not detect. Either way, this thing pretty well incapacitated us for a long stretch. We cuddled up in blankets and watched movies, unable to do much else. We even ran out of tissue, and had to make a quick store run for Kleenex.
We are fully fit now, but it feels like we lost the entire month of January. Que pena, but não faz mal - we’re better now, with no lingering after-effects, and that’s what counts.
I have heard it said that healthy people have many desires, but sick people only have one (to get better). So it is that we are thankful for our health, thankful for our community of friends and family, and thankful we have many desires and plans.
Not many pretty pictures or funny stories this month. It was a difficult month with the forced reclusiveness. We were so fuzzy-headed we couldn’t even read books. It didn’t help that the weather was especially wet and cold. The rainfall was needed, so we are not complaining. It’s finally starting to warm up: the last week has been in the 15-18 range, and the queen bumblebees are out, looking for nectar and nest-holes.
The last few days I’ve been able to tackle house projects again, and Efti has been able to get back to her baking and cooking. The curtains are up, I’ve managed to change out most of the outlets and switches without electrocuting myself, and Efti has been exchanging delicious baked goods with her friends. It is a tradition we call “Baking Bad”. We call it this because the tradition started up during COVID, when Efti and her friends would leave baked goods surreptitiously on each other’s doorsteps. Furtive knocks were made, and a hustled exit made before the door was opened. It always felt like we were dealing in illicit materials. Now it involves a chat and some coffee, but the name remains.
If you know how to wire up a three-switch circuit, want to sample some of Efti’s delicious baked goods, or just want to walk around in Coimbra with us and grab a coffee, you’re always welcome. Pode ser we’ll see you here soon!
We've also looked at Portugal when considering where we want to live, but the lure of family brought us back to Oregon. You're always welcome in McMinnville, although there are no cats. :) Be well my friend.
Efti and Rustam
It is wonderful to live by proxy such a dream retirement. Retirement is nice but not in Oregon when compared to your stories in Portugal.
So fun and enticing to read about your adventures. Envious to say the least.
Keep the stories coming and who knows, we may just pop in to say olá.
Oh and I can use tools!
But for now....fique bem (is that the right term?)
Mateo Nicholson :-)