Viseu
My Internship in Portugal
The Red Pen
2Culture
Red Pen
Here in Portugal writing in red is very rude! You should always write in a different color! Weird but true.
Music
It doesn’t matter where you go, be it a bar, our dormitory, a party or a club, you hear the same song’s over and over again and everybody absolutely loves it. But I’m really tired of the lack of variety in music and according to the Spanish Erasmus students that are here for a whole year it has been like this since September 2009.
Internet Cafe
In contrary to Belgium, not everybody has Internet at home so all bars have free Internet and you constantly see students in bars with their laptops working for school.
Telenovelas
Telenovelas are very popular in Portugal, you can watch them at any time, even at night and on different channels. Lots of them are Brazilian.
To my surprise I very often see couples coming to a bar just watch television. Every bar or restaurant has at least 2 televisions sets. (more…)
Revolução dos Cravos
0Culture
25 de Abril
The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução dos Cravos), also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (Processo Revolucionário Em Curso, or On-Going Revolutionary Process), characterized by social turmoil and power disputes between left- and right-wing political forces.
Food
Nêspera
Nêspera
Today for the first time in my life I ate Nêspera (Loquat) and it was very good!
Each fruit contains five ovules, of which one to five mature into large brown seeds. The skin can be peeled off manually if the fruit is ripe.
Japan is a leading producer of loquats (January to June), followed by China (March to July). They are also grown in the Mediterranean region: Portugal in this case.
Choco
Choco
Cuttlefish are caught for food in the Mediterranean, East Asia and the English Channel. Although squid is more popular as a restaurant dish all over the world, in East Asia dried, shredded cuttlefish is a popular snack food.
Cuttlefish is especially popular in Italy but Spanish cuisine also uses cuttlefish and squid ink for the marine flavor and smoothness it provides.
In Portugal, it is the regional dish of Setúbal where it is served as deep-fried strips or in a variant of feijoada, with red kidney beans. But here in Viseu you can also eat it for only €6!
Traje Académico
0Culture
Traje Académico
In most Portuguese universities and higher education institutions, usage of academic dress for undergraduates, or “traje académico” is still widespread and has even gained popularity in recent decades.
The traje is composed of black trousers (or skirt, for female students), white shirt, black tie, a black overcoat, known as batina (in the case of male students, the classical traje also includes a black vest) and a black robe.
Some Portuguese higher education institutions have their typical academic outfit which differs greatly from that born in the ancient University of Coimbra. Usage is generally restricted to the first weeks of the semester, during the introductory and reception activities which make part of the Praxe tradition.
In some older institutions, where traditions are better implemented, one can see students trajados during the entire year, though. This is the case in Viseu, you constantly see students wearing it, especialy during the “semana académica”.
Semana Académica
As of today the “semana académica” starts in Viseu, it will be the most decadent week of the year with parties every day in different locations in the city. (more…)
The Mask
0Culture
Apparently politicians appear in masks when speaking about sensitive subjects in debates on the television. This is freaky!
Saudade
Saudade is a Portuguese word for a feeling of nostalgic longing for something or someone that one was fond of and which is lost. It often carries a fatalist tone and a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might really never return.
Every Portuguese person will tell you that this word is unique to the Portuguese language and that it cannot be translated but I doubt this because I have found multiple translations in a lot of languages.
Lisbon
Last Sunday we planned on going to Sintra but we cancelled this idea because it was quite a travel from where we were so we walked around in Lisbon again and ate fish again.
Hostel
During the evening we had a lot of interesting conversations in the hostel and I let different people try some Belgian chocolate (everybody was surprised that it tastes so good). (more…)
Black & White
3Hostel
We just arrived in “Black & White“, our new youth hostel in Lisboa! It’s only €15 per night and it’s in the heart of Lisbon! Internet is free and there are 2 computers available! This post will be updated tonight!
It’s a really funky hostel with mostly international people and to my surprise there are 5 Belgians staying here! There is a shared kitchen with a possibility to cook and there is a small super market very nearby.
update: There are Americans, Germans, Canadians and Italians staying in this hostel.
Apparently people eat bears in Canada!
Food
For the first time I tried fresh sardines and it was very good! Except for those pigs ears I am very happy about Portuguese food so far. (assuming that these sardines are typical Portuguese) (more…)