11.29.2005

you know you're portuguese when...

...I'm sure everyone has received this in the inbox. Today, for kicks, I thought I'd put the list on my blog, only because it makes me laugh:

Your mother or grandmother has Maria in her name.

You have a rooster napkin holder.

Your father or grandfather is called Manuel, José, Antonio, or João

You have crocheted doilies on your kitchen counters, dining room, living room, bedroom--on all your tables.

You decorate your walls with plates.

Your house is a mini church with just as may statues of saints and Jesus as your church itself.

You're 25 and still living with your parents. (Extra points if you're married and living with your spouse in your parents house)

You warn other drivers of police on the highway by flashing your lights, even though one of the drivers might have just robbed a bank.

You baptize your child and send him to catechism even though you might never go to church except for weddings and funerals.

You think all university graduates should be called "Doutor" and like to be called so if you are one of the chosen few who have managed to finish college.

You park on the sidewalk when necessary, even asking the person standing there to please move away.

You have a mobile phone and spend a small fortune on it, but think twice about going to the dentist.

You have a mother or grandmother who wears black.

You spend your holidays in Spain instead of in Portugal because it is cheaper.

If you are a woman, you have been to see a "curandeiro" (healer) or have had your fortune told.

You insist you wouldn't be caught dead buying Spanish olive oil even though most of the olive oil consumed in Portugal comes from Spain.

You laugh at jokes about the Alentejanos but get angry to know that the same jokes are told in Brazil about the Portuguese.

You think that you can catch a cold with a draft or by sitting in the spring sun. Cold drinks are also thought to bring on the dreadful "gripe". And don't let anyone have a shower after eating as something terrible could happen to them.

You get a letter from your doctor saying you can't work because of an "unspecified, ongoing medical condition" and then go on a two-week holiday.

Your child's teacher misses two weeks (because of a letter from his or her doctor) and you don't complain because you also will use the same doctor when you have to miss two weeks from your work.

If you are from Porto you don't like people from Lisbon and call them Moors. The reverse is also true but they don't call you a nice word like "Moor".

You think Brazilians speak incorrect Portuguese and will not read a book written in Brazilian Portuguese.

The last major military victory you can remember your country having was the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385.

You say that the Portuguese, unlike the Spanish, are good at learning foreign languages.

Your parents own like 9 houses in Portugal but complain about the lack of money in the States. (or Canada!)

Going to Portugal involves buying gifts for all 500 members of your family.

You go crazy for the World Cup.

You refer to Portugal as "O Continente"

You've walked in "as paradas" longer than you can remember.

You have grape vines in your backyard.

You earned over $10,000 for your first communion.

To hell with the Turkey and Roast Beef! X-mas dinner was bacalhau au braz, baby!

A barbeque does not consist of burgers on the grill... Hello! Can you say sardinhas?

You've had your license for a month, but your $20,000 car has been "hooked up" for a year. I'm talking rims, tints, a system...

A wooden spoon equals discipline, or if you ever had to duck so you wouldn't get hit with flying shoes.

Your parents anticipate that you'll marry your first long-term boyfriend/girlfriend.

When you hear the word "Sagres" you think Beer, not historical marine school.

Nothing beats a buttered papo-seco.

Your 15 year old brother is allowed to have two girls sleep over, but your 19 year old sister can't go out past 7pm.

You think that 2am is too early to go to bed and that 11am is to early to get out of bed.

Your grandmother tells you look sick because you are too thin.

Your parents make you eat 3 servings of dinner at each sitting otherwise they think you don't like the cooking.

nov 29: the news

Here are some of today's headlines:

* Car making in Portugal: GERMANY: VW Portugal plant may make niche cars
* Abel Xavier is in trouble: Xavier appeals against 18-month ban
* Sharing the tourists: Mozambique, Portugal sign tourism deal
* The poor woman can't even sweep in peace: Portuguese woman is attacked with hurley (I didn't know what a hurley was, but now I do)
* Do all we can: Portuguese Speaking Community On HIV/AIDS Fight Plan
* Portuguese food in Vancouver: Portuguese, if you please
* History ruined: Earthquake Damaged Portuguese Fortress

where can speak portuguese in the usa?

Today's theme, is Portuguese in the USA (only because Canadian information is so hard to find, but also because I am interested in knowing).

So, I'm trying to decide which state is best to visit, and I thought, one criteria I could use is, where is the largest population of Portuguese-speaking persons? (So as to avoid going to that state - you know how we talk!)

Top 10 States:

1. Massachusetts - 159,809
2. California - 78,403
3. New Jersey - 72,870
4. Florida - 55,014
5. New York - 41,378
6. Rhode Island - 37,437
7. Connecticut - 30,667
8. Texas - 9,716
9. Pennsylvania - 8,346

...believe it or not, there are 100 Portuguese speaking people in South Dakota.

(source)

I find this too interesting. In Canada, I know where the Portuguese are, and the highest population is in Ontario - more specifically, Toronto.

a portuguese entering the usa

Given that I have never entered the US, other than on a trip to Niagara Falls, I have always wondered what documentation is required to enter the country. As a Canadian citizen, all you need is a passport, and I found out that this is also the case for Portuguese citizens.

As of October 26, 2004, Portugal is on the list of the US Visa Waiver Program thus only requiring that its citizens have a machine readable passport in order to enter the US. A machine readable passport is identified as follows (source):

A machine readable passport can generally be identified by the presence of two typeface lines printed at the bottom of the photograph page that can be read by machine. If you are in any doubt please contact Trailfinders Visa & Passport service.

11.28.2005

contra informação

I have to admit it, I avoid watching most Portuguese shows (radio or TV), only because, in Canada, they're not that many and the quality is, well, not that great.

There is one show, that is created by mandala, that is part of rtp's lineup, that is hilarious. Sometimes, you have to know what's going on in Portugal to get it, but it's still hilarious, and award-winning as well.

The show is Contra Informação.

The good thing is, that you can watch it on the net. Click here to watch some new stuff. Older, classic stuff here.

The best part is that Wikipedia, my favorite site of the moment, has a list of memorable quotes - in Portuguese. Click here to view.

nov 28: the news

* The CIA issue continues: EU warning to members
* Preparing for a tsunami: Tsunami Warning System Planned for Mediterranean Region
* A lotta people travelled through Portugal, and now a new airport: Portugal's nine-month airport passenger traffic rises 3.4 pct to 18.3 mln
* Cement business in Portugal: Cemex to Unwind Spain, Portugal Deals with Lafarge

11.27.2005

nov 27: the news

Here are some news stories of note:

* Drugs, drugs, drugs: 7 tons of cocaine seized in Portugal
* Bring on the satellites: Portugal, ESA sign accord to install satellite monitoring station
* Nacional on top: Nacional edge Braga to go top in Portugal for first time
* A Portuguese challenging Einstein: Einstein's respectful heretic
* A sad story: Three brothers shot, one killed

soccer standings

Let's check out the latest soccer standing for the Portuguese league (club & points):

1. Nacional 27
2. Braga 26
3. FC Porto 24
4. Sporting CP
5. V.Setubal 23
6. SL Benfica 19
7. Boavista 19
8. P.Ferreira 17
9. Maritimo 15
10. Rio Ave 15
11. Académica 14
12. U. Leiria 12
13. Naval 11
14. Gil Vicente 11
15. Belenenses 11
16. E. Amadora 10
17. V.Guimarães 10
18. Penafiel 7

At this time, here are the results of the 11th "jornada":

Maritimo 1 1 Boavista
SL Benfica 0 0 Belenenses
Nacional 1 0 Braga
V.Setubal 1 0 Rio Ave
P.Ferreira 3 1 Naval
Académica 1 0 E. Amadora
Gil Vicente - - FC Porto
Sporting CP 2 0 V.Guimarães
U. Leiria 1 1 Penafiel

Do I care that much? Not really, but I thought it'd be a nice thing to post.

11.26.2005

nov 26: the news

Here are some news stories of note:

* A hopeful story: Couple hopes surgery in Portugal will help paralyzed man walk again
* Scary news: CIA planes in Portugal
* Reason #345 to move to Portugal: Cheaper to buy a home in Portugal in 2006
* Another channel to watch: CRTC finally woke up and let us have RTPi
* Oh, how I pity thee: Cristiano Ronaldo é liberado de processo
* Portugal is not the only one having problems with Kyoto: Portugal não cumpre Protocolo de Quioto
* Choosing World Cup 2006 groups: Portugal provável no segundo pote para o sorteio

rio frio, arcos de valdevez


One of my favorite places in Portugal has a site! Check it out.

na boca do mundo: mtv europe awards 2005

Portugal, more specifically, Lisbon was host to the MTV Europe Awards earlier this month. I watched it, and enjoyed it. I liked that they tried to bring in some Portuguese flavour in it, like MTV normally does for every city they host in. My favorite presenters were Nuno Gomes and Luis Figo though. Check out the MTV Europe Awards site here. Check out the MTV Portugal site here.

My favorite performance was Coldplay. Somehow, they've managed that I like them once again. There was a moment there...and Nelly Furtado was there was well but not performing - just being her Portuguese self presenting an award.

Each country has its own award, and for Best Portuguese, the following were nominated:

Blasted Mechanism
Da Weasel
Boss AC
Humanos
The Gift

Upon reading that list, I would give the prize to Humanos, only because I heard their music when I was on vacation there earlier this year, and they've got an excellent CD. If you've heard Maria Albertina, then you know what I'm talking about. I like this page about them. This site has a great history behind Antonio Variações, who is the inspiration behind Humanos.

But, they didn't win, The Gift won. Check out their win here on their official site.

history of portuguese language

Did you know how the Portuguese language started?

Portuguese developed in the Western Iberian Peninsula from the spoken Latin language brought there by Roman soldiers and colonists starting in the 3rd century BC. The language began to differentiate itself from other Romance languages after the fall of the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasions in the 5th century. It started to be used in written documents around the 9th century, and by the 15th century it had become a mature language with a rich literature.


Read the rest of the article here.



The language now spoken in Portugal, and in various countries around the world has changed and evolved. I found this great site by the Camoes Institute that show the different way people speak Portuguese in Portugal.

Check it out here.

When writing Portuguese, I find it interesting that some people throughout the world write it differently then I do - here's a an example which I borrowed from Wikipedia:



The most interesting tidbid I found was that, as a lot of people know, saudade is not translated into English, but it actually is on a top 10 list of the hardest words to translate into the English language. The others are:

1. Ilunga
2. Shlimazl
3. Radiostukacz
4. Naa
5. Altahmam
6. Gezellig
7. Saudade
8. Selathirupavar
9. Pochemuchka
10. Klloshar

they're famous!

Here's a great list of famous Portuguese people from Answers.com! I don't think it's a very complete list, but it's a great list nonetheless.

google news portugal


The happiest thing I had happen this past week was discovering that Google now published its News division for Portugal. I was like a kid in a candy store. Reading all kinds of news articles about Portugal. I'm aware of various newspapers from Portugal, but have never found a good place that summarizes all that is out there. Google just did this for us.

Check it out.

my mission

I've always wanted to find a cool site by someone living in Canada talking about the things that make being Portuguese interesting because I think living outside of the home country makes us more passionate about the culture, the country and the people.

In a way, we've developed a whole new culture - the luso-canadian culture. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's not. Regardless, everyone is proud of our heritage and wants Portugal & the culture to succeed in every way.

My mission is to use this blog to celebrate this. Celebrate the popular, the unpopular, the interesting, the boring, the funny, the sad, the controversial, the uncontroversial and everything else that pops into my head when I'm feeling inspired.

Enjoy.