Dear Katrine,

how have you been? Has he arrived to Portugal? Did you manage to talk to him since?

I hope your visit home was a good one and that you managed to refresh a little.

Dear Katrine,

I am glad you had a good time on your holidays, going out and socializing a lot. It seems you’re not so anxious about him at the moment?

Sorry to hear about the wave of quitting at your work place. Is that usual for the summer season that a lot of old employees quit, because they don’t want to work during the summer?

What happened to the previous guy – was there an incident and that’s why he quit so dramatically?

Dear Katrine,

I haven’t been anxious because he wasn’t posting any stories about going out but yesterday he did. He was drinking with a woman and the caption was in his own language so I dont understand and that has made me really anxious.

Maybe you can use the translate function? It doesn’t have to mean anything – she could be even his boss in Portugal?

We are gonna talk tomorrow if I can get my whatsApp working again.

I hope you can finally talk to him and see how things stand, and if you can visit him in Portugal etc.

He and her have been getting drunk at work, and making out at work in front of guests. He got mad and quit and then she quit because he quit leaving her with her parents to pay her rent. Apparently It was a bit dramatic.

Wow, that’s unprofessional behavior! And then he got mad for being warned about it, right? Well, I am not sorry about him… I didn’t quite understand why she quit though – not out of solidarity, but because of finances?

People even cried at work on Sunday because there’s too much work and not enough staff and the new manager wont do anything about It because saving money makes him look good.

Oh I am sorry about that, Katrine. I know how much you liked working at the cafe, and you’re now in charge of it, right? But if there is not enough stuff and you start feeling burnout, perhaps you too should consider looking for something else. Have you thought about that?

Dear Katrine,

Very unproffesional. They were told more than once. He can’t deal with critisisme and acts out in anger but he has another job.

Well, it’s one more proof of his character. I am glad that you’re not pining for him any more and that this episode of your life is over.

Yes,it was bad also people are on holiday on top of all the people quiting. I have to keep an eye on my health as you say, but for me it’s been very quiet lately.

Oh good then. If you don’t need to work overtime, that’s cool!

Yeah I hope so. He send me a massage but didn’t go through. Hopefully it will work tomorrow so I can find out.

Yes, I hope so too!

Dear Katrine,

Yes, me too. But at least I learned a lot from it.

Yes, definitely!

I hope you won’t be under too much stress at work in the coming period, and that they will employ new people after all.

Let me know if you have news from your guy…

Dear Katrine,

I hope your foot pain gets better… how difficult is it to treat heel spur? I hope you can have it sorted out before the busier season begins.

It seems he is super busy all the time, maybe because he is accepting too many tasks and can’t say no? Anyway, I am looking forward to hearing more…

Dear Katrine,

glad that exercise and rest helps in reducing pain. Wish you to recover fully!

I am glad you had a nice, long talk and that he is still interested in you. But it’s not really a good situation that he cannot get 2 days off till September (and he is not sure about that either). It seems this company is overworking him, because they hire too few people for a large job. I don’t know what his duties are as property manager, but the fact that he has no time off during the season, and very little time off even after the peak season is over, is worrying.

He doesn’t have any stabiity like he needs,

I can imagine it’s hard for him. I guess he is afraid to ask for better conditions, since he as a foreigner is in a vulnerable position, and they are probably taking advantage of that.

You said earlier that this is his dream job, but I guess it’s not so much any more, if he has to work non stop without any rest. What’s his opinion on this entire situation and how they’re treating him?

I am sorry about his father. Didn’t he already have surgery? Or now he needs another one?

Dear Katrine,

I’ll ask him if he’s thought about finding another full time job with more stability. Because this isn’t good for him.

Yeah, talk to him, because his dream job may be “dream” only in theory, but in practice, it’s anything but. It reminds me a bit of his job as chef at the hostel – you said he liked being a chef very much, but in practice, he had to work 72 hours per week under a bully boss. It wasn’t viable, even if it was something that in theory he enjoys.

Also, perhaps sticking to Portugal doesn’t need to be a must, since he only has one distant relative there. Although, admittedly, the language knowledge is his advantage, so it might be a smart decision to explore some other options in Portugal.

It’s really unfortunate that his father will still need surgery, and he won’t be able to be there. I understand his frustration. But I hope his mother and other close family members will be there to help in his father’s recovery.

He seems very caring and wants to support his family. Is that one of the reasons why he moved to Europe – so he can better help his family financially? But you say he doesn’t want to settle there. Do you think it’s because of you, or he came to Europe with the intention to stay?