The flight to Portugal is not something I remember very well... I do remember a lady traveling next to us and laughing with our silly tricks. I was always holding my porcelain doll very carefully so it wouldn't break. Eurico, my brother... I really don't recall at all, but of course he was there. And Yolanda, my youngest sister was always doing funny faces to the lady that was laughing of her. Mum was very quite but always calling our attention when she had to.
Finally the plain was going to land! I remember I was so exited with the noise of the tires reaching the land... I loved it and just wanted to do it again! I also don't remember leaving the plain... The only thing across my memory is suddenly having loads of people around me... I don't know where they came from but they were all there to receive us and take us to our new home at Portugal. They were holding, hugging and kissing us... I know my dads parents were there, one of his sisters... But I don't know who else came to fetch us. But I do recall a lot of confusion and adults around us. We got all into a van and from that trip (about 40 minutes) I remember crossing over a red bridge and loving it. That was so different from what we have seen at South Africa. Everything was so different from our country. But I loved the red bridge (known as Ponte 25 de Abril that joins Lisbon to Almada, witch are divided by the Tejo river). I loved that view too!
And after all that travelling time we finally arrived at my grandparents house... Very different from South Africa too. To be honest, I know I should be grateful for having a place to stay when we arrived at Portugal, but everything was so scary there... It's a quarter that's named "Quinta Fonte da Prata" at Moita, Barreiro and it's mostly composed with very old and symmetrical buildings. They were all very squares and it was a quite poor place. My brother, sister and I were not use to that lifestyle. We were accustomed to a house with a garden for ourself and not a building with small rooms and kitchen. But we were small kids so we kind of went through it easily.
When we went inside the home, they gave us our Christmas presents, because we arrived there January, day 3 (1993). So they bought us Christmas presents and kept them for when we arrived. Of course I don't remember any present but I remember being encircled of toys. We were 3 kids unwrapping so you can imagine. Another thing that I recall is the image of my blond cousin Joana coming out of the room with a very sleepy and upset face. "What's all this noise?! I'm trying to sleep" she was saying!
My mum called me into my grandmothers bedroom and she was there with my aunt Nani and a baby girl. It was Victoria, my youngest cousin that was only one month (Joana's sister).
My aunt Paquita, who lived there with my grandparents, said she was going to sleep on the couch so like that mum and us could stay at her bedroom.
I don't remember much from those days. I really don't remember at all living through all that adaptation and knowing all those knew people. To be honest, I don't even remember living there at my grandparents home.
My dad arrived at March, 2 months after us. But I also don't remember the day he arrived. I remember walking around the quarter with mum while she was looking for a new home for us.
She found the place there where we were going to live. It was so old that it even rained inside of the dinning room during winter.
Then everything was starting to fall into place slowly... Mum was looking for a job. She wanted to be a dog groomer. I think it was not very normal at Portugal by that time, but she had the course because she did it at South Africa. So she was decided to give it a shot! But I think the family didn't agree with her... They told her it wasn't a proper business to have at Portugal because people don't waste money to bath their dog or cat. But still, she didn't give up! She looked for a place to rent and she found a garage. It wasn't the best place, but it was the only thing she could afford. It was a garage that she rent and my dad was going to adept it for her work. He was going to put a tub for the baths and electricity for the grooming machine.
Dad was a mechanic but he knew that was not enough to earn money and restart a life in a new country with 3 children. But he always loved working on construction and he knew a lot about it, so he decided to work on that.
I was six and my brother was seven years old, so we had to go to school just after we arrived. At Portugal, school starts at September and you have the first season until December. Then we have Christmas holidays. After that, school starts the second season at the begging of January. So my brother and I, despite the fact we couldn't speak Portuguese correctly, we lost the first season of school, because we only arrived Portugal at January. My brother had done the first year of school at South Africa but he had to repeat the first year at Portugal, because of the different cultures and language.
From school, I remember walking there the first day with mum and my aunt. They took us there and introduced us to the teachers and to the school. It was a very small and old school. It had nothing to do with the South African schools that were all new and full of fun entertainment things for kids.
I remember the teacher asking me if I knew the "A E I O U" and I said "no". But I don't remember much more from that year of school.
My brothers and I use to play at the building garden during the afternoon after school. And my grandfather was always home. The image I have of him is in the kitchen with his apron, cooking all the time! Every afternoon he use to gave us a "Bollycao" (a type of bread with melted chocolate inside). I loved those moments, because we were not allowed to have sweets at home. Mum and that couldn't afford sweets those days.
And that's how were our first months in Portugal. A new school, a new language, new family and friend to know and a totally different lifestyle, witch includes places and food. Everything different, but easy going to deal with for a small kid that doesn't really understand the meaning of things.
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