O testemunho da Valentina No. 2 (Viver Telheiras)

During the month of February I kept a journal of everything I did. Consulting it before writing this second testimony, I realise I have been having a very active life here in Lisbon. It is very hard to believe that I'm getting close to the middle mark of my ESC journey. The beginning of this year has been, unsurprisingly, filled with yet more novelty and various challenges, and somewhere along the line I realised I feel at home here, in my not so new life. 

The environment and the issues I was facing made me develop new priorities about what's to come as well as new daily habits. I now cook in olive oil, willingly buy peanut butter and broccoli, have stopped enjoying abatanados (previously my regular coffee order in Romania) and have a delegated, favourite spot at the 
metro. 

 
I continue to enjoy my work, and the diverse situations I find myself part of. Some of the tasks I am in charge of include posting on our instagram accounts (I definitely recommend following @vivertelheiras & @festivaldetelheiras to keeping up with our latest activities and ideas), working with children in vegetable gardens, helping out during quiz nights at the community centre, doing administrative work, participating in multiple working groups and organising various events (including recently a week dedicated to women's role in society, with performances, film screenings and discussions, organised in collaboration with other NGOs). We've also built shelves for our upcoming neighbourhood resource sharing centre and sawn pillowcases for the children's reading group in the residents' association.

Outside of my work, I participated in debates, group talks, civic manifestations and meetings with other NGOs. I also joined a roller derby team (surprisingly, it is something I enjoy and can become good at), went on hikes, visited galleries and museums, and traveled alone and with friends. While I wasn't able to continue doing this during the isolation period, I have been exploring other resources in order to add depth to my Portuguese culture and language knowledge: I have been watching historical fiction series, listened to podcasts about social memory and politics, read books written by Portuguese, Angolan and Mozambican authors and watched the ongoing debates in the Brazilian and Portuguese legislative bodies. 

The quarantine period took some adjusting to and some days are still challenging; however, it also allowed for time to reflect about the fortunate position we're in to have economic, housing and employment safety, observe the situation unfold from a warm place, and think about what a desirable new normal could look like.