Living in a low COVID area

From 24 March to 17 August the government published daily COVID stats for each concelho (county). Prior to that the stats were for the country The concelho containing Caldas was doing relatively well with low numbers for deaths and cases. Yesterday the government announced a tightening of restrictions for some concelhos, presumably because they had the highest rates of transmission. Caldas isn’t on the list. That’s a relief. Those on the list are the orange areas on the map. Caldas is in the area with the green outline.

Portugal’s Plan to Reopen Starts in 3 Days

Yesterday the Prime Minister moved the country from a State of Emergency to a State of Calamity. I wonder what the State would be called if the Prime Minister’s name was Jane? 🙂

Here’s what we’re in for, as quoted from a Portugal news site –

Local businesses open their doors on May 4

In this first phase, it will be allowed the reopening of some stores that were forced to close with the state of emergency, decreed for the first time on March 19 by the President of Portugal.

– Small businesses, namely stores up to 200 square meters;
– Hairdressers and beauticians, as well as barbershops;
– Bookstores;
– Individual sporting activities are allowed, although without the use of changing rooms;
– Universities may return, but are not obliged. Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra can continue to have distance learning and resume only practical classes.

From May 18 to 31. Reopening restaurants and football is back

The government had already said that after taking the first steps in reopening the economy, it would monitor the effects on public health every 15 days. Thus, and if the contagions by Covid-19 do not register a significant leap, two weeks later, on May 18, we could see more businesses to open doors, including restaurants, as well as the return of classes for the older ones.

This is what can open in the second phase:

– Commercial spaces of up to 400 square metres, although municipal councils will have a special prerogative that will give them the power to allow stores with larger areas to open.
– Cafes, pastries and restaurants, but with conditions. The reopening of these establishments will take place with half the capacity, in order to ensure social distancing within the space, according to Radio Renascença.
– Some cultural spaces and museums.
– The classes are back for students of the 11th and 12th grades.
– Day care centers, although the government keeps the state aid for parents who stay at home with their children. This state aid will be in place until the end of May.
– Football will be able to return without spectators in the stadiums. The Liga Nos can resume games on the weekend of May 30 and 31.

Finally, as the pandemic develops in a controlled way, there will be the opening of more commercial spaces, namely the large stores, where many people gather.

Thus, in the third and final phase of this reopening on June 1:

– Commercial spaces of over 400 square meters, including shopping malls;
– After kindergartens, the preschool will also reopen.
– The polytechnic institutes may be left for the end and with restrictions.
– Football will be able to return without spectators in the stadiums.
– The start of the bathing season should bring limitations on access to beaches.

They want to live in Portugal, but don’t know what they don’t know

On forums and facebook groups, the ‘where is a good place to live?’ question is usually asked by those who’ve never been here. The jaw-dropping, but thankfully rare, version of the question adds two elements. They also ask for realtor recommendations for the places recommended. And they want to know how long does it take to buy a house because they’ll be here for only 2 weeks on their first trip to Portugal.

Most of their other questions could be answered by searching the same group where they are asking the question. Better yet, read the group for 30 min a day to both learn about living here and, more importantly, learn about things you’d never think of asking about.

I had no intention of writing about this until I heard a weird fact on a podcast where 4 funny Brits make make spontaneous comedy while discussing the weird facts they brought . That fact allowed me to illustrate the potential expats lack of awareness with an analogy from the US.

In 2003 Ottawa County, Michigan first produced a brochure, titled “If you are thinking about moving to the country.” They did it because newcomers complained to officials about routine farming activities. They complained about noise, dust, odors, spraying pesticides, spreading manure, transporting products, and driving slow machines on 2 lane roads. The brochure included a scratch and sniff preceded by “If of this odor you’re in doubt, scratch n’ sniff and you’ll find out.” The odor was cattle manure.

Read more at an alleged copy of an AP article or a site for daily farmers, or a news site from the Ottawa County seat.

 

 

 

 

 

Cable TV, Portugal Style

My apartment came with internet and cable (fiber optic?) TV. I’m bored enough now to write about it. All programming is English language from USA unless noted.

One channel occasionally runs Westerns, nothing but Westerns, for about a week. Some of them have been modified apparently to reduce the bandwidth needed. On medium shots where nothing much is happening except a character moving from one position to another, e.g., getting off a horse and walking onto a porch, it appears they eliminated every other frame of film before digitizing it. There’s a definite stutter to the movement.

Another channel seems to have all of Julianne Moore’s movies where she played a leading role and I’ve never heard of the movie. In some of them I don’t recognize the younger her at first. The channel plays these interspersed with other movies for about a week, then they disappear.

An Italian duo, stage-named Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, made about 20 films together, starting with spaghetti westerns. They were quite popular in Europe. They’re often on TV here. Too often. On occasion, I’ve watched a few scenes. I just don’t get it.

Films and TV shows have Portuguese subtitles. Listening to Spanish and reading Portuguese bends my brain. At times I will read the subtitles for English offerings because it helps learning the language. Besides English, programming includes French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and one set in South Africa was in Afrikaans and English.

Because there are commercials, sometimes I look up the US release title of the film and compare it to the literal translation of the Portuguese title. These ones amused me:

‘Bad Moms’ became ‘Mothers on the Loose’ (Mães à Solta)
‘Beverly Hills Cop’ became ‘The Police Hunt’ (A Caça Policias)
‘Red 2’ became ‘Red 2: Still Very Dangerous’ (Red 2: Ainda Mais Perigosos)
‘Into the Wild’ became ‘The Wild Side’ (O Lado Selvagem)
‘A Walk in the Woods’ became ‘This Way and There’ (Por Aqui e Por Ali)
‘Fool’s Gold’ became ‘The Stranded Treasure’ (O Tesouro Encalhado)
‘The Naked Spur’ became ‘Steel Spurs’ (Esporas de Aço)
‘Baby Boom’ became ‘Who Called the Stork’ (Quem Chamou a Cegonha)

Back in the US, Back in the US, Back in the US of A

(Everything but the text following each bullet point was written in Dec 2019. Finished it today. Yes, I’m a procrastinator)

Been away so long I hardly knew the place
Gee, it’s weird to be back home…

I left the US in Nov 2008. Been back once since then, staying with a friend in Atlanta for 4 weeks in Oct 2016. Now I’m half way through 8 weeks at my sister’s in the San Francisco East Bay. I didn’t see many things in Atlanta that struck me as unexpectedly different than 2008. Can’t say the same about the Bay Area. Read on for the ones I remember.

⦁ Cup holders on shopping carts

Upon reflection, they seemed essential. Given the number, and ever-changing nature of diets, cleanses, nutritional supplements, exotic new ingredients with claimed super health benefits, just plain staying hydrated, and fashion, companies benefit from catering to their customer’s need to carry water bottles.

⦁ Bar codes on supermarket produce

Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s because there are too many produce varieties for reliable identification on sight by their checkers.

⦁ More sightings of Teslas, electrics, and hybrids than anticipated.

WAY more. WAAAAY more.

⦁ Size and variety of selection for organic, vegan, non-GMO, green, local, free, lite, etc., etc. foods at supermarkets.

Toto and I agreed. We’re not in Kansas anymore.

⦁ ‘Yikes!’ sales tax rate.

10.25%. Does anyone who pays state income taxes believe that California is spending tax dollars wisely?

⦁ Prices of non-organic produce and bread

The only 2 organic products I purchased. Wouldn’t surprise me if their price relative to similar non-organic had little to do with the difference in cost to the farmer or baker.

⦁ Cost of restaurant and Chipotle meals

I got over this fast. It had been 15 years since I lived in California. Between inflation, rising taxes that can’t keep up with government spending, and a minimum wage based on the fantasy that Marx got anything right about economics, it made sense.

⦁ Tip request on debit card pay

Because, of course, being paid way over your market value isn’t enough.

⦁ Prevalence of REI-ish clothes

I fit right in, having learned long ago to buy cold weather clothes from companies that put fashion at the bottom or their list of design priorities. So what if people think, as one friend put it: “You look like you just came off a mountain.” The Recreational Equipment, Inc. Co-op (REI) has been my best source for warm, durable, value priced cold weather clothes since the ’70s.

⦁ Friends and sister want to leave California.

All 5 said they’d leave if it wasn’t for family ties (aging parents with health problems), or they need a 2-3 more years on the job to be fully vested in the pension.