From Montana to Portugal

In this epsiode I read an essay out loud about a trip to Prague. It's part one of two. You can find the whole essay at: https://janelleholden.substack.com. To apply for a creative writing residency with me in Prague, click here: https://janelleholden.substack.com/survey/6509536 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to another episode of From Montana to Portugal. I’m your host Janelle Holden. I write a Substack newsletter called From Montana to Portugal and occasionally I invite people onto this podcast to explore topics of travel, culture, immigration, and international living. Today my guest is another Substack writer and author LaDonna Witmer. I deeply appreciate her work and love her care with words.LaDonna left the United States in the middle of the pandemic and emigrated to Portugal with her family (husband, kid, dog, parrot). In previous lives in Chicago and San Francisco, LaDonna was a newspaper journalist, advertising copywriter, brand voice expert, editorial director, public speaker, and poetry slammer. After relocating to the Portuguese countryside south of Lisbon, LaDonna creates words for other people as a freelance writer and editor and writes her own words in personal essays and poetry that occasionally get published in journals and magazines. She also writes regularly at The Long Scrawl on Substack. LaDonna has written one full-length memoir that is currently being shopped around to publishers and is knee-deep in work on a second memoir about her upbringing in a fundamentalist religious community in rural Illinois.You can subscribe to LaDonna’s Substack here: For more interviews, essays, and paid perks from Janelle, sign up below (you’ve got free and paid options - we love both over here - be generous). :) From Montana to Portugal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work of an independent writer, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Rolando Andrade is a 50-year-old Portuguese clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and sports psychology specialist. Over a 25-year career, he has dedicated himself to clinical practice, teaching, and scientific outreach, contributing to several book chapters on health literacy and sports psychology. In the field of sports psychology, he has worked with elite athletes — including European, World, and Olympic champions — helping them navigate the mental challenges of high performance.But beyond the science, Rolando is also a writer — of fiction, poetry, and raw, unfiltered reflections on life’s harsher realities. His poetic voice once featured in an anthology, and he believes poetry is a way to bring visibility to what often remains hidden. As he writes in his poem “The Invisible Thread”:“When I write, my wish is to find the invisible thread that unites all people... a word of comfort, the beating of hearts in harmony, or something divine that unites us all.”Multifaceted and deeply sensitive, Rolando listens closely to the stories of others, walks to reconnect with the world, photographs what moves him, and believes that creativity may be the touch of magic that could one day save humanity.In this interview with the author of the popular Substack, Outside of the Therapy Room, Janelle and Rolando discuss questions of mental toughness, resilience, writing, meaning, and how to approach life when it gets difficult. You can find Rolando’s writing at: https://rolandoandrade.substack.com. And Janelle’s writing at: https://janelleholden.substack.com. From Montana to Portugal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

In this late-summer reflection from Lisbon, I talk about pirate flutes, metro grime, coffee walks, friendship, sunburns (both literal and emotional), and the strange magic of August.A friend from New York joins me, and together we navigate cultural quirks, quiet pleasures, and conversations about travel, vulnerability, and what actually makes us happy.This episode is about finding brightness in borrowed light, switching from gratitude lists to “happiness items,” and remembering that sometimes, the best thing you can do is lie on your back in the sand and just be.For more, go to https://janelleholden.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I take you to the coast of Portugal—where a spontaneous swim, a lingering cough, a jazz band at midnight, and a soccer player from Tasmania all weave into an unexpected meditation on what it means to feel truly alive.I didn’t plan to jump into cold water that morning, and I certainly didn’t plan to rethink my relationship with planning itself—but that’s what unfolded. This is a story about unplanning, aliveness, and those surprising moments that catch you off guard and stay with you like salt on your skin.Whether you’re chasing goals, recovering from burnout, or just wondering what it might feel like to really live again—this one’s for you.P.S. The Tootsie Pop makes a cameo. You’ll see what I mean. To get more from me and subscribe go to: https://janelleholden.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

📝 Episode Description:What happens when two college roommates reunite in Portugal after thirty years of friendship? You get sangria under sombreros, dance floors on Pink Street, and a little wisdom wrapped in gin and nostalgia.In this episode, I take you through five unforgettable days with my friend Kristina — from the castles of Sintra to the karaoke bars of Albufeira — and reflect on friendship, memory, and the absurd beauty of showing up for each other across time and distance.This one’s for anyone who’s ever needed a lifeline, a laugh, or just a good margarita recipe (without Triple Sec).Mentioned in this episode:– Pena Palace and the mystery cafeteria– The stag at Pensão Amor– Graceland, The Cranberries, and why Zombie is stuck in our heads– What thirty years of friendship can teach you about life, laughter, and letting go💌 Enjoying the episode?Subscribe to my Substack for more essays, reflections, and occasional silliness from life abroad and within:👉 janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

🎧 Voiceover Available!Want to hear this story the way it was meant to be told—complete with naughty boys, lizard pork, and my Montana accent? Hit play and let me take you on a culinary ride from Lisbon to Missoula, with detours through tomato rice and Rocky Mountain delicacies. It’s worth a listen. I promise you’ll laugh. But don’t miss out on the visuals either. You can find them at: janelleholden.substack.com. From Montana to Portugal is written by Janelle Holden, a journalist, memoirist, and author from Montana working on at least 3 projects at once. Paid subscribers get special perks and eternal gratitude. Thank you so much. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

What do you do when the power goes out across Europe… and you’ve just booked a beauty treatment in a basement mall clinic? In this episode, I tell the true (and truly absurd) story of getting Botox in the dark — and why sometimes, it’s the blackout that brings the real light. Subscribe for more stories and more knowledge on how to move to Portugal and start your own adventures: https://janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Title: How Not to Buy a Car in Europe (Unless You're Me)Episode Note:In this voiceover mini, I take you behind the scenes of one of my more absurd European adventures: flying to Germany in February to buy a car I couldn’t drive… and nearly importing it to Portugal. Hear what really happened at das Autohus, why Belgians looked at me like I’d lost my mind, and what I actually ended up driving. Spoiler: it's not a BMW, but it is a story worth the ride. Click here to get in on the adventure: https://open.substack.com/pub/janelleholden/p/youve-got-a-fast-car?r=i6klf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Dear Reader, So, how’s your summer going?Has it been hot?It’s … not … that hot … here. Well, not hot like it was in Montana in July.By July in Montana, I was doing my religious summer routine.Wake up. Close the windows. Close the blinds. Keep the house cool.After struggling to keep two thoughts together in the afternoon, I’d sit on our shaded patio and wait for the temperature to drop so that I could go back inside and open up all the windows, turn the fans on and think about frozen margaritas and Montana windchill in February. Then, repeat. Here, on the Silver Coast of Portugal, I think I’ve only mumbled something like, “It’s pretty humid today, isn’t it?” It helps that we’re near the ocean.We get a cool breeze coming in from the Atlantic almost every day. The mornings start cool and overcast, and the afternoons are sunny and sometimes windy. So far our highs have gotten into the mid-70s, and lows in the 60s (Fahrenheit of course). I went to Lisbon to shop on Thursday (gasp!) with a new friend, and I would say it was “sticky” in the dressing rooms and I gulped water, but I wasn’t miserably hot. People with experience here tell me that it’s an unusually cold summer. I don’t know, but it’s very temperate and I feel like I’ve slid from January into July with mild surprise, the way you might feel when the bathwater reaches the point where it’s too cool to stay in it. But, there are other things to talk about besides the weather. My days here are sometimes surreal. On Friday morning there was a fine mist of rain in the air. I got on my bike and dropped down to sea level to go to Obidos. Took the paved road down to the lagoon path. A blue heron flew over my head to the ocean. A snake whistled past on the trail. Flamingos stretched their necks to groom their feathers in the blue water. Two men walking with sticks across their shoulders balanced 4 giant jugs of water each as they made their way to the lagoon to fish. Fishing boats sat still in the water, anchored to find their next catch. My bike flew out to the highway to get to the back side of the Obidos Castle, which loomed large over valleys of pear and apple orchards.The castle was festooned in purple tapestries to celebrate the Medieval Festival that started there this week. I wasn’t going there to festa (the Portuguese word for party), but to get my European Union health number at the social security office so that I can travel to other European countries with health coverage. Can you believe that sentence? I really can’t. It feels crazy to me to go to a government office inside a Medieval walled city let alone to have health coverage in Europe! I mean, what?!? How did I get here?Meanwhile, in Portuguese culture news, I took a taxi in Lisbon to get to the bus. Arriving with just one minute to spare before my bus took off the driver asked me if I knew the 3 Fs of Portugal. “What are they?” I asked, nervous about the time and scanning for my bus.“Fátima. Football. Fado,” he said.Fátima, if you’re not familiar (and I wasn’t before I moved here), refers to the miracle of the Virgin Mary appearing to three young girls not far from where I live and sharing with them visions of the future while they guarded their sheep.When I visited Fátima, it was at the end of a long day of visiting monasteries and the idea of going into another church with a lot of steps (this was before I started getting fit) felt like too much, so we lit a candle in the barbecue of candles area and listened to some of the outside mass. I will go back. Football, if you’re not familiar, is soccer in the United States. “American football” is the NFL. Let’s just get that clear. Portugal nearly beat France in the European Cup this year to advance and we were all rooting for them, but it didn’t quite work out. Lots of Spain jerseys were seen on the streets here when they won.Fado, if you’re not familiar, is a type of sorrowful music with guitars and vocalists specific to Portugal that will make you cry if you know the words. You’ll find different types of Fado in every region here. I’ve only heard one performance so far, Coimbra Fado, and thoroughly enjoyed it. People cried in the row behind me.What else can I tell you about this week? Here are a few bullet points: * At Happy Hour, I met a man from Holland who spent all of Covid in his yacht with his girlfriend in French Polynesia. Didn’t we all? He told me that he is a traveler and we discussed the difference between traveling vs. tourism. More on that in a future essay.* The Obidos pool is absolutely gorgeous. Clean. Well-lit. Perfect temperature. Not overcrowded. I’m excited to start swimming on the masters swim team in September at the start of their next season. * I’m blonde. Seriously blonde. It was a bit shocking actually. I went to the salon in Caldas da Rainha and asked for highlights and three hours later ended up as blonde as Madonna on the Bedtime Stories album cover. I’m trying to adjust. It’s not easy. Good motivation to learn more Portuguese!That’s all for now.Love,JanelleP.S. As a perk for paid subscribers, I’m hosting a monthly Portuguese language class on Thursday at 12 p.m. Pacific/ 3 p.m. Eastern/ 8 p.m. Lisbon time via Zoom. Our tutor, Marta Cancela, lives in Lisbon and will be leading the class! We’ll be practicing scenarios and pronunciation. If you’d like to join us, click on the button below to upgrade for $5 and you’ll get all of the details. From Montana to Portugal: Journey with Us is a reader-supported publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Author’s Note (Listen to the Voiceover Above) ☝️This story is 100% true, and 87% funnier when listened to by the author (click play above). It’s about love, language barriers, and a Portuguese driver named Fabio who just might be the most unintentionally romantic man alive. Best enjoyed with an espresso and a soft 80s ballad playing in the background. ☝️Janelle Holden is a writer who lives in Portugal but hails from Montana. If you laughed during this and want to support more writing like hers, send her a coffee in Portugal by subscribing here: https://janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe.You can also get her essay on How to Be Naked in Germany in February, by going here: https://janelleholden.substack.com/p/naked-in-germany-in-february?r=i6klf This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Dear Listener, In this episode of the From Montana to Portugal Podcast I share highlights, tips, and hot takes after spending nearly 10 days being a tourist in central Portugal with my friend Maria who was visiting us from … where else but … Montana! We were so lucky to get to see her. I haven’t done a catch up podcast in a while, so you’ll also get the latest news on our residency and where things are at with us after we moved with our dog Loki to Portugal earlier this year. You can listen to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or right here on Substack. I’m now on Spotify as well! I leave you with a few more photos from beautiful Portugal. Hope you enjoy this one! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Janelle reads an essay about their trip to Braga for Doug's immigration appointment. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Janelle shares how she and Doug have been getting around Portugal, and what it's like to live without owning a car there. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I catch you up on how the last part of our move from Montana to Portugal happened. I crossed an ocean (twice), and once by ship with our dog Loki. Want to know more about the Queen Mary 2? This is a good episode to listen into about that. You can watch a YouTube video of the journey here: https://youtu.be/pXu-Ch9ynks?si=n59qyp5DVT9ZNuoY. You can also see a tour of our new home here: https://youtu.be/A3rbSmcNI1k?si=sX4DvmC7pIJ_Fn_p. You can support this podcast by becoming a paid subscriber (and get some great perks) by clicking here: https://janelleholden.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

What happens when a Montana girl boards the Queen Mary 2 with her dog, heads into a North Atlantic storm, and ends up cleaning up a kennel kitchen at 5 a.m. in her long underwear? A tender, funny, and slightly chaotic tale of ocean crossings, canine companionship, and remembering where you come from.Subscribe for more at: https://janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Ever wonder what it would take to move your dog abroad with you? Listen in as I explain how we're getting Loki across the pond. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Dear Reader,There’s an old New England joke that Doug likes to tell me. It goes like this. From Montana to Portugal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.A tourist pulls up to a Maine gas station, looking for directions.An old, crusty Maine Down Easter (watch Bert and I to learn more) walks out of the building.The man approaches the tourist’s fancy car and asks, “Can I help you?” The tourist gestures to the map on his lap and asks, “Can you tell me how to get to Bangor from here?” The Mainer takes his time, lights his pipe, and then says … “You can’t get there from here.” Frustrated, the tourist looks at him in disbelief, gestures to the road in front of them, and says, “Well, can you tell me where this road goes?”The Mainer looks at him straight in the face and says with the perfect ironic accent, “Don’t go nowhere, stays right here.” I love that joke so much. Once, when we lived in Livingston, Montana, a confused tourist stopped us to ask for directions to Yellowstone National Park while we were walking on the 9th street island. The 9th street island is in the middle of the Yellowstone River.‘‘Can you tell me how to get to Yellowstone National Park from here?” she asked. We paused. I looked at Doug. He looked at me. We were both so tempted. So when I walked into the Maine tourism information center on Saturday, I was thinking about that joke, because I was about to ask for directions.The two tourism counselors working the desk looked up with excited faces. I was the only one in the building. Someone to talk to!“Can we help you?” the woman asked, wearing a gray fleece vest, and a warm smile.“Well,” I said, “A friend (that would be Amy, from Love from Portugal) told me that I should walk the Marginal Way at Ogunquit. I’m looking for directions on where to start the walk?” Oh boy, did that start a twenty-minute conversation! Out came the area fun map, a red Sharpie marker, a notepad, the computer, and an entirely new plan. “GPS will not take you the right way,” the tourism counselor instructed me as she drew red arrows on the map. “So don’t use it. You’ll need to follow this map.” She drew a path with a red sharpie on one side of the fun map to York, Maine, just south of Ogunquit, where she recommended we drive the seacoast north. That’s when the other tourism counselor whipped out a magazine with a photo of the Nubble Lighthouse.“You should stop here on your way,” he said, pointing down at the lighthouse. “Also, do you like something funny? You would really enjoy the piano bar in Ogunquit. Everyone sings along.” By the time I got back to the car, I had a restaurant with gluten-free selections picked out for dinner, entertainment ideas, and directions. Doug looked at me quizzically as I walked up, “That took a while. What happened?”“I have a new map,” I said, handing him the fun map and a series of unintelligible directions written with the red sharpie on a piece of a paper.“Guess what? You’re navigating!”By the time he had deciphered the word “building” that I wrote in poor cursive we were already to the next step, “turn left at the stop sign.”We followed Route 1 north until we reached York and turned onto the Shore Road, driving slowly to take in the historic houses, and get glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean. “Stop!” Doug said when he saw a beach coming up. “I want to get out.” I didn’t object (even though this technically wasn’t part of the plan - okay, my plan). I was thrilled to see the ocean again, and it wasn’t lost on me that we would be crossing this ocean soon to get to Portugal. So I pulled over to park at Long Sands Beach in York, and we hopped out. Not many people. The beauty of traveling off-season to a popular place is that even on a warmish day for November standards, even on a Saturday afternoon, you don’t have to worry about crowds.You just have to remember to take it all in. We walked the beach from end to end, about 2.5 miles in total, marveling at the waves, the dogs on the beach catching balls thrown high in the air by their owners, and the beauty of the sand. By the time we finished, I wasn’t sure we’d have time to walk the Marginal Way before the sunset (we didn’t), but I was determined to see the Nubble Light. “Just don’t ask me to climb to the top,” Doug said. “I don’t think I have it in me after that hike yesterday.” “I won’t,” I promised, but not really meaning the promise. Of course we were climbing out to the top!We drove out to the edge of the coast where the lighthouse was perched on a “nub” of land (hence the name), and walked from our car to the edge of the parking lot, where I thought there was going to be a walkway or something that would bring us to the lighthouse proper to explore. Nope. We stared in amusement at the small bit of ocean that separated us from the lighthouse, and took turns taking photographs.Finally, I turned to Doug and said, “Well, turns out you CAN’T get there from here!” Let’s hope we can get to Portugal from here. Love, JanelleP.S. Many thanks to Amy for recommending the Ogunquit Marginal Way. Even though we actually ran out of daylight, and went for lobster stew instead, it ended up being a marvelous day in Maine because she mentioned going there! Thank you Amy!P.P.S. If you want to hear some more classic New England jokes, listen to the audio recording of this article. You can listen to it right in the newsletter, or go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. Please do!From Montana to Portugal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Listen in as Janelle shares the latest news from their move to Portugal, from where they are now - in New Hampshire. To subscribe to Janelle's newsletter and support this podcast go to: https://janelleholden.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe

Listen in as Janelle shares more about what happened when she caught Covid on their travels, and reflects on what's ahead on their journey to Portugal. You can subscribe at: https://janelleholden.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit janelleholden.substack.com/subscribe