And those of you who follow politics or indeed just read a newspaper, will know that life isn´t rosy here in Portugal... and from the horses mouth, I can tell you it´s tough. People I know are having cuts made to their salaries, struggling to find a job, and if you don´t have a degree, well you might as well be homeless or live with your parents forever as you won´t find a job that pays enough. Tomás for example, is paid pretty much the minium wage here (just..), which unbelievably is MUCH lower than our minimum wage in the UK. And his job requires long, boring, tedious, hard working hours. :(
And you know, sometimes I sit here and think..what the hell am I doing?? We could be in England, and I could be earning over 24K a year because I´m a "graduate" and that´s my "given" right, having studied for over 5 years...but nope, I´m struggling in the most recession hit country in Europe...and why? Well... all I can say is I just love it here! The way of life..everything.. And at the moment, my life isn´t about money. It´s about experiences. I´m learning a new language for free basically through absorption, I live near the beach, I´m meeting new and interesting people everyday, I´m experiecning a new culture and appreciating life. It would be far too easy to move back to England...and of course I miss my family and friends, but at the moment, I made the decision to come here, so I´ve got to stick at it, through thick and thin-..because the heart wants what the heart wants right? Sometimes we can´t explain why we feel a certain way that we do..and for me...I really love living here..there´s just something about this place...even from the second I landed at the airport in April last year...I just knew...this place was wonderful and I wanted to live here. But of course, I´m not stupid...at some point, I will need to start thinking about a career and saving and make some hard decisions etc.. but until that time comes, I´m making the most of everyday :)
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