the hot goddess

Hello, October ~ Three Years in Portugal

This week marks year three of living in Portugal. When I stepped off the plane in Lisbon on October 1, 2022, I was nervous, excited, and alone. I had no idea what was to come.

Now, with the seemingly instant evaporation of time, I find myself in my third year here and immersed in continuous discovery. Discovery of myself. Discovery of friendship, partnership, and love. Discovery of freedom. Freedom from the stress of pretending, faking, masking, conforming, silencing. Freedom to show up just as I am, without apology or regret. Obrigada, Portugal.

Flashback to my first day in my new home.
I’ve found it easy to spread my wings here, in this little village known for dinosaur-bone discoveries.

Free to Be Me: Good and Bad

As an immigrant and expat in Portugal, I’ve written informational pieces on immigration, housing, language, healthcare, voting, and money in Midlife Expat Learning and other posts. Mostly, I’ve written about snippets of real life in Portugal as a solo, over-60, retired Black woman from the United States. Whether in prose, poetry, or photos, posts here on THG run the gamut from poignant to playful… and let’s not forget profane and prurient. Because I am free to be me, you never know what you’re going to get here. That can be good or bad, but I don’t care, thanks to the additional Portugal perk of rapid advancement in my NGAF level.

Which brings me to my latest good bad idea. After writing yet another post about penises and one about sassy Portuguese idioms, I decided this week to try creating a coloring book of more Portuguese idioms, as a learning tool. I also wanted to make a naughty coloring book of sexy slang words in Portuguese. Also a learning tool, but for a… um… niche audience.

I decided to enlist the help of ChatGPT, starting with the idioms coloring book. After tweaking my prompts, I was pleased with the look and layout of what AI created.

“To travel in the mayonnaise” means to daydream or get lost in one’s thoughts or imagination. I am a mayo traveler from way back, so I love this idiom.
“To be with (to have) the flea behind the ear” refers to having a sense of suspicion, uncertainty, or doubt about something or someone. For me, it calls to mind the voice in my head. The flea of negative self-chatter I’m still working on squashing.

After completing the idiom coloring book, I moved on to the naughty coloring book. But this time, Chat was not feeling my Portugal-enriched freedom to show up just as I am, without apology or regret. Nope. Not one little bit.

Chat said “Não” when I tried an image prompt for “Com tesão,” which is a Portuguese slang term for “horny.” Chat wanted nothing to do with that type of “frustration,” which I did find frustrating.
Literally “Kick the bucket,” this Portuguese phrase doesn’t refer to dying (as it’s used in the U.S.) but to giving up in frustration. Which is what I did yesterday with the AI-assisted naughty coloring book.

I will not chutar o balde on discovering new things, learning new skills, and having fun just being the me I finally love. Moving overseas to a foreign country alone, for three years and counting, grows a whole new level of confidence. That may be the most powerful discovery of all.

Obrigada, Portugal.

Thank you for reading ❤️. Wishing you a weekend of freedom, discovery, and fun, wherever you are, just how you are.

All images are my own.

The Hot Goddess

Instagram: retired_rewired_inspired

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34 comments

  2. I so LOVE this post! Today, October 4th, marks 4 years since I first landed here in Portugal. While on the plane, I heard a voice in my head that said, “Your life is about to change.” I thought, “Oh really?” And with curiosity and an open mind I stepped off of that plane and into, what would soon be, my new life. All the things you mention are so very true. And this coloring book! I need it!! ❤️ 😍 🙏

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    • Coralie, thank you so much! ❤️ Parabéns on your 4th anniversary here! Such a lovely life, right? I love your curiosity and open mind. Essential to a positive, enriching experience.
      When I’ve completed the coloring books, I will figure out how to do a link on THG for downloading PDFs. 🤓🤷🏾‍♀️🤞🏽

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  7. Wow, 3 years, already! Time does fly! I remember your early, apprehensive posts, and then seeing you find your wings. This journey has been so amazingly enriching and freeing for you! I love your creative outlet to try to create coloring pages.

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