Since I moved to Portugal just
over a year ago, countless Portuguese people have insisted to me that they are
not at all like the Spanish: neither in food, language, nor behavior. Is this
true? If so, what makes them distinctive? As I was to discover, quite a lot,
actually – even their animals have a different culture. Here’s a list of some
of the weird and wonderful peculiarities that I have discovered.
1. Portugal has the laziest
pigeons I have ever seen. I call them ‘rats of the ground;’ they cannot be
‘rats of the sky,’ because they are never in it. I am sure that the Portuguese
pigeons have their own ornithological culture.
2. Portuguese people mostly live
in small apartments, but own huge dogs. This contrasts with Australia where
small dogs have become very popular, even if people have spacious yards. Does
this mean that the Portuguese walk their dogs more? Quite possibly – they are
far less finicky about where dogs can be taken and are often seen in
restaurants or trains.
3. One must never, ever, enter
the supermarket through a check-out lane. In Australia, so long as you are not
getting in people’s way, nobody cares. Here, even if you are entering through
the far wider self-checkout aisles and there is nobody using them, a staff
member will chase you and try to make you exit the store and enter the proper
way.
4. Eating or drinking while
walking is uncivilized. You can buy a Coke from a vending machine and drink it
standing there, but once you are mobile, you must put it away. However, cafes
have adapted their service to suit this culture. When in a hurry, let the
person serving know that you would like to eat at the bar. They will know that
you are in a hurry and serve you your coffee and pastel de nata quickly
(Portuguese tart). Another time-saving device that appears in many middle class
homes is the Bimby. This machine is a marvel – simply throw in the ingredients,
press a button, and voilá! It makes your bacalhau com natas (stewed cod with
cream) for you.
Many Portuguese want to escape to another country, while everyone else
seems to want in!
5. The average Portuguese person
speaks far more English than they will let on. Don’t be surprised if, after
weeks of struggles to order your coffee, the vendor breaks into perfect
English, all the while apologising for not speaking your language. It appears
that, far from trying to be difficult, they are actually very modest and shy.
6. Portuguese is not Spanish. I
was constantly informed of this, despite the fact that when I first arrived, I
would have very successful conversations by speaking Spanish to people and
listening to their answer given in Portuguese. Apparently Spanish speakers from
Spain don’t have this ability – the Portuguese understand them, but they don’t
understand the Portuguese.
7. How you dress matters, and
dressing correctly doesn’t always mean dressing better. Displaying ostentation
tends not to be appreciated. When living in inner-city Lisbon, I found that
strangers were generally friendly to me, except on the odd occasion that I wore
business-like clothes (even though they are not expensive). But dressing down
is also a bad idea; it displays a lack of respect for social rules. As a
result, there is a very specific wardrobe among the Portuguese, with the men
mostly wearing trousers and collared shirts, while the women wear wedge heels,
skirts and casual-but-nice tops.
8. At the national level, the
Portuguese are amazingly consistent with their material culture. Just about
everywhere you go in the country, the footpaths will be cobbled with the same
white stones, which take a great deal of work and cost to lay. All streets seem
to be named with pretty tiled signs, and waterfront paths lined with more
modern grey pavers. Having spent time living in Australia, England, the USA,
the Dominican Republic and Haiti, to my eyes their efforts seem incredibly
dedicated.
9. The Portuguese tend to
underestimate their own country. They will tell you that it is always in
crisis, that it is badly managed, their bureaucracy is a nightmare, everything
is so expensive, and so on. But actually, despite the current crisis, it
compares very well to most other countries I’ve spent time in, so much so that
I’d quite happily see out the course of my
natural life here. You can buy fantastic bottles of wine for a few
euros, the transport system is well-designed and aesthetically pleasing, it is
constantly sunny over summer, and people are very polite and helpful. The
result of all this is that many Portuguese want to escape to another country,
while everyone else seems to want in!
10. Finally, inexplicably, the
Portuguese love Australia. In fact, it borders on a national obsession. It’s so
popular that bumper stickers on cars bear Australiana, and the local
telecommunications company, Optimus, names their internet plan ‘Kanguru’ after
our hopping, pouch-bearing, joey-carrying marsupial. Perhaps they love it
because it is so far away from Spain?
So, if you plan to visit
Portugal, practice your South American Spanish, bring kangaroos and a healthy
appetite for Portuguese tarts, and leave your ostentation and small dogs at
home. You will find yourself at home in no time.
- See more at:
http://popanth.com/article/ten-things-ive-learned-about-the-portuguese/#sthash.GLZXpJDJ.dpuf
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