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Some residents stood out to Nea and me. I'd like for you to meet them. Of course, the communication with them was difficult because of the language barrier. We were lucky though, because some of them didn't mind the language barrier, and adapted. Some of them spoke English too. That was especially surprising. 

The first residents I'd like to mention are Paula and her mum Omelia who share a room at the institution. They've been there for three years already and chose Centro Social de São Lázaro because no one could take care of them back home. Paula is relatively young, she worked for the government before her accident - same as her mum. Now both receive pensions.

Paula is a very creative person, she loves handmade decorations! Her tattoos are a great conversation starter. Her most beautiful tattoo is the one of her dog on her forearm. The dog is unfortunately not with us anymore, but he will always be a part of her.

Both Paula and Omelia love dogs, so I showed them a photo of my dog, Rudy. I missed Rudy during those two weeks. Paula said he was incredibly cute, while Omelia wouldn't give me my phone back, and kept sending kisses at it for a few minutes. She loves kisses and physical touch most innocently. Paula spoke English perfectly and It was a pleasure talking to them.  

This sweet grandma supported us from day one. She said that I'm such a tall person, but that it's fine because she is too. People's hands tell stories. I might not know her story, but I do know that every time she waved at us (at least 15 times a day, literally every time she saw us) her hands looked so friendly. When she held our hands in hers we felt safe. It's weird but true. People's hands really can tell you a lot about a person in many ways. 

While still talking about hands, these are the hands of a woman who spent her whole life working as a nurse. I don't know much about her, apart from that every morning she has the same breakfast and a cup of coffee or cocoa. She was very quiet until during the last days she admitted to speaking English when Nea asked her if she needed help getting back in bed. Wisely remained silent. :) 

Some more residents stood out. Like the grandpa, whose room was full of framed portraits of him, that one lady who found an onion somewhere and decided to eat it like an apple. Some more residents spoke English but rarely did so. The youngest residents were 40 years old, they lived a normal life at the institution, despite their conditions. 

Our favorite was definitely this resident, who was always followed by Luvito, his dog. On the first day at Centro Social de São Lázaro, we had a very serious conversation with very serious people when I first saw Luvito. I am not myself when I see a dog. So even though maybe the moment wasn't right, I insisted on meeting Luvito. Luvito and his owner are very connected. The owner often talks to him and even reads him stories. Luvitos owner has a chronic wound that has to be dressed often. While the nurse dresses the wound, Luvito lies by the examination table. When the procedure is done, he has to check and approve it. When he does, he and his owner do their little dance. Luvito had to be approved by the Portuguese healthcare system to be able to stay at the institution. The owner wouldn't move there without him. The cook is the only one who doesn't like the fact he's there. I have to brag and mention that Luvito really seemed to like me!

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