The Economy, aka The Crisis

I keep hearing people use the term “The Crisis”, referring to the poor global economic situation over the past couple of years. And not just in regards to Portugal, which seems to struggling (though it’s hard to say that isn’t a long-standing problem stemming from the ‘Manyana’ sense of urgency prolific in the hot climate Latin cultures). It seems Europe was hit rather hard. Yet there is still rampant success – some people are either born survivors, or have turned adversity into advantage: there are a lot of new, nice cars on the streets, including Porsches, BMWs, Volvos, and even a Lamborghini! God help the suspension of these low-slung sports cars on the rutted, bumpy, and cobblestones streets though.

I’ve heard stories of people in certain working-man industries not getting paid for a year. How is that possible? Another guy fled from Portugal to Morocco for work, which is hardly boom-time. Yet when I visited a mall in Lisbon, I was truly impressive. It rivalled anything the States for architecture, cleanliness and consumerism content. So who can say?

What does seem evident is that things have changed. The Algarve used to be THE tourist destination for the simple English looking for a cheap escape to somewhere serene and sunny. Well it’s over-discovered now and glutted with condominium highrises and all the amenities the tourist dollar can afford: an artificial economy.

Yet the worker’s wages are terrible. When I met Vincent working at a beach bar, he said he was being offered 30 euro a day for ~7 hours work. Which was better than his kitchen staff counterparts, who worked longer for less. He made the point that they couldn’t afford one meal at the same place they work for a day’s wages.

In Alvor, I hear the same from visiting locals like me: apparently 200/wk for 6 full long days is GOOD. Another girl agreed, saying she was only making 90/wk! So I flagged the idea of finding a second job after the first day with my first student when I made 70 euros for 2 hours of teaching. I won’t come anywhere to breaking even on this trip, but it is one hell of a learning experience.