As someone who loves meeting people from other countries, learning foreign languages and experiencing other cultures, one of the things I’ve missed most during the Covid-19 pandemic is travelling. Like everyone I have been subject to local lockdowns and stay at home orders issued by the government. One of the tasks I set myself during this time (but admittedly, haven’t got as far as I’d have liked to) was to learn a new language. I chose Portuguese for several reasons, but mainly because I have a Portuguese friend and I want to be able to talk to her in her own language. After all, why should she always have to make the effort by speaking in her second language?
Since the UK started to reopen from its latest lockdown, I was excited to see a new Portuguese coffee shop open up not far from me; this weekend I finally ventured in. It was amazing; it made my heart sing! I had discovered a corner of Portugal in Lowestoft. It is a coffee shop run by an authentic Portuguese family, frequented by the Portuguese locals, serving real Portuguese cakes (including pasteis de nata, their famous custard tarts; not to be confused with the English custard tart). Best of all, much of the conversation in the café was in Portuguese; the atmosphere was friendly and vibrant. Not something easily found in this sleepy little town. For a moment in time, I was no longer in the UK in a world governed by vaccinations, PCR testing and certificates facilitating travel, but was transported thousands of miles away to the Iberian Peninsula. It was bliss! I have discovered the joy of coffee shop travelling. Needless to say, I’ve found my new favourite coffee shop and additional motivation to find time to learn the language.
So, I hear you say, what’s the point of today’s blog? To encourage you to also try coffee shop travelling, to experience the world, other cultures, other people and foreign food, simply by visiting a local café run by someone from a different country. It will be an amazing experience, you’ll be supporting a local business, and who knows, you may even make some new friends. I hear there’s a Bulgarian café in town I’ve overlooked, that’s next on my list of adventures.
Bom apetite!
This week I have mostly been translating: pharmacovigilance documents.