A YEAR EXPERIENCING LIFE IN PORTUGAL
Feeling At Home in Braga, Portugal
In search of my next home in Portugal
Peace Returns to Braga…Along with a Little PTSD
With Braga’s Festival of São João officially over, I was looking forward to some relief from the incessant drumlines, annoying festival jingles, and loud concerts. All the chaos had almost cut in half the average amount of sleep I got each night according to my Fitbit. Every morning the device had delivered my latest sleep deprivation stats and I had come dangerously close to stomping it into pieces many times.
Finally, it was time to start dismantling the stages built for the event. As I passed one that had been built to host concerts conveniently across the street from my apartment, I noticed some construction workers standing idle. I resisted the urge to yell for them to get back to work.
While the streets were free of jingles and drumlines, sometimes I still thought I heard them which always brought on a wave of sleep-deprived flashbacks. However, as the days passed and the peace held, I relaxed into the easy rhythm that is life in Braga.
