Well, week one is done, officially in one hour and three minutes! Tomorrow starts week two. At 8 a.m. ...... this might be a little shorter than intended because my bedtime is approaching quicker than I anticipated!
First an update on my boss, Peter:
I have still to meet Peter. He has been home, recovering from a three hour surgery that reattached his retina to his eye. He has to constantly be lying down to keep his eye at a 90 degree angle in order to properly drain the eye at all time. I have overhead bits and pieces about it being covered and what not, and since he is still recovering, it is unknown whether or not he will maintain vision in his eye. Even though the prospect of losing vision in only one eye doesn't sound detrimental, Peter both of Peter's eyes are very unhealthy so it is very likely he will become blind in the future. It is all very unknown, as it is caused solely by genetics. It came out of the blue and who know what will happen next. So please keep Peter and his wife, Nina (who is tired of nursing an impatient patient ;)), in your prayers every day. I cannot imagine facing this circumstance.
Now for something more cheery :) This first week has been FABULOUS! After the jet lag wore off, I began working last Saturday. I worked 5 days (each shift I work is 8 hours long) and had two days off. In my first days of working at ADC, I have learned how to make reservations, send confirmation emails, edit hotel records, how to check in guests upon arrival, how to make mojitos, sangria, hot chocolate, espressos, cappuccinos, and carry 80 pound luggage up the stairs since the elevator is broken (there are men working on it now, but apparently it's been broken for like a year and nobody believes that it is going to be fixed for while). I've probably learned some other random things too, but nothing really stands out. There are just so many little, intricate details of the hotel. Like where they keep the water kettles and specifically how to take reservations and what not. It's a lot to take in, but it's so incredible at the same time!
The American and Canadian guests love me. I'm probably the first North American accent they've heard in days so they are just drawn to me? I don't know. But the moment I start speaking to them, they look at me and usually ask something along the lines of, "what are you doing here working??" And when I explain the whole internship, they oooooh and ahhhh. I think I might have to figure out a way to shorten the story because I am already getting sick of telling it. Haha.
I had the past two days off, which was super nice! I got to do some exploring and go to the nearest grocery store for some food (I have some pictures that I will tack on to the end of this!!). The weather has been pretty rainy and cold by the time I go home around 10:00 p.m. so I am very ready for summer to officially begin in Portugal. I am, and will always be, a true Florida girl. This whole wearing socks to bed thing is just not great. Haha
Thank you to everyone from home who is keeping in touch with me through iMessage, Face Time, and Facebook. I am the ultimate homebody and being in communication with people from back home makes me less homesicky lol. Big shout out to Gabe here--you just rock. Thanks for being so intentional with your time to catch up with me whenever possible! And shout out to Sebastian for patiently waiting while we chat. Haha! Miss you guys!!
And since I obviously have captured your attention with my AH-mazing blogpost (yeah, whatever.. lol) pray for Kendal. She had her tonsils taken out last Monday and is MISERABLE. So go give my seester a hug and some Jell-O and make fun of her cute swollen self since I can't.
Thanks for reading this and supporting me in this lovely adventure. Here's to tomorrow and all that is to come! Good night all :)
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| This is a view from outside the city walls looking in |
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| They have fancy yogurt here in Portugal.. |
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| This pizza was the most delicious pizza I have ever eaten. And it was cold. SO GOOD. |
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| AHH this so far is my favorite place in the city. This view. I mean, COME ON. |
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| This is the garden I was standing in while admiring the above view |
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| Pretty garden again |
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| This Roman ruin is about a one minute walk from my front door! |
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| The churches are breathtaking!! |
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| Graffiti on the church. I don't know its significance (if there even is any) but it made me smile. |
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| Streets here are very different.. |
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| There are kitties everywhere and I kinda wanna pet them. Sometimes. |
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| Everyone has balconies and I love how pretty they are!! |
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| This shot was taken from Giraldo Square, the main square in the city, which is about a minute from my house as well. I posted this on my Instagram account. Feel free to follow me (lexalexislex) and keep up with the hashtag #lexinportugal to see all my posted photos :) |
