Follow Portugal Immigration to experience life in Portugal: Every region in China has its own "eight oddities," but have friends who have immigrated to Portugal discovered any strange things about the country? Upon first arriving in Portugal, I also encountered many things that left me "astonished." Today, I have summarized these into the "Eight Oddities of Portugal" for your amusement.
The Eight Oddities of Portugal
Houses lean to the east and west, curtains hang outside the window
Sunbathe hard at the beach, happy and carefree without a penny
Lettuce heads rival cabbage, desserts are loved by everyone
Bread as a dish is not strange, lizards are also served for sale
Houses lean to the east and west:
This statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but to be honest, the architectural style of houses in Portugal is indeed quite peculiar. Perhaps due to the mountainous terrain, houses here are often built along the slopes, undulating and continuous. Therefore, walking through the streets and alleys of Portugal, you will often encounter many houses where the base of the wall is either buried in the ground or bent and deformed. A rather interesting experience was when I entered a row house, and the first floor on one side was actually the sixth floor on the other—because one part of the row house was at the foot of the mountain and the other was on the hillside.
Curtains hang outside the window:
The word "curtain" can be translated from Chinese into Portuguese as three different words: estor, cortina, and cortinado. Among them, estor refers to the external shutters that hang outside the window, quite similar to the metal roll-up doors of small shops in China (in some regions, any curtain with light-blocking properties, regardless of where it is hung, is called an estor). Perhaps because Portugal has long daylight hours and intense sunlight in the summer, ordinary cloth curtains can no longer stop the scorching sun from entering the room. In such a situation, the estor has successfully saved the Portuguese people who wake up late, sparing them the tragedy of being "sun-baked" awake in the morning.
Sunbathe hard at the beach:
The ocean is the second home of the Portuguese. In the eyes of many, if you don't go to the beach to sunbathe in the summer, it doesn't count as rest or a vacation. What's more interesting is that not only do they want to sunbathe, but they also strive to get a tan—the darker, the better! Because the darker you are, the longer your vacation was, and the more money and leisure time you have compared to others. Once the holiday is over, comparing who is darker says it all. What a subtle way to show off wealth!
In the summer, Portuguese beaches are hot enough to roast a person, yet they remain packed with people.
Happy and carefree without a penny:
Optimism seems to be a national character ingrained in the bones of the Portuguese. You might notice that the wrinkles on the faces of elderly Portuguese people seem more numerous than those of people in other countries—because they love to smile more.
Lettuce heads rival cabbage:
Since I am not a science major, I have no way to explain to everyone why the lettuce in Portugal grows so large. In fact, besides lettuce, I feel that other vegetables and fruits in Portugal are generally larger in size. I still remember the first time I visited a Portuguese supermarket, I saw chili peppers as big as two fists and Chinese cabbage half an arm long; I was completely stunned. Could it be that not only do human races lead to height differences, but vegetable varieties also lead to size differences?
Desserts are loved by everyone:
You can feel the Portuguese love for desserts if you visit any Pastelaria or café. The fragrant and delicious Portuguese egg tart is world-renowned, and there are nearly twenty flavors of rice pudding (arroz doce); even different regions of Portugal have their own unique specialty desserts. Here, I would like to recommend a very romantic and delicious little dessert—Bem-Casados. This exquisite and sweet treat appears at almost every wedding of young Portuguese couples. It is just like the "Four Happiness Meatballs" that must be present at a Chinese wedding banquet; both are symbols of a happy and fulfilling marriage.
Bread as a dish is not strange:
When I first came to Portugal, I was a bit surprised that the Portuguese could turn bread, a staple food, into a dish. However, after considering the feat of people from Shanxi who can make over eight hundred dishes with flour, this becomes somewhat understandable. Believe it or not, if you accept this premise, some Portuguese dishes are quite flavorful. The famous dish from the Alentejo region, Açorda à alentejana, is a prime example. To put it bluntly, this dish is just bread soaked in water with olive oil, but when the plain water is replaced with bacalhau broth and topped with a poached egg, the taste is quite delicious.
Lizards are also served for sale:
This... to be honest, I felt like vomiting the first time I heard a Portuguese classmate mention this dish... Lizard as a dish! Later, I found out that this lizard is the giant lizard from Brazil or the large lizards farmed here in Portugal, not the small geckos that crawl on the road. A more typical lizard dish would be "Lagarto ao molho de cerveja preta" (Lizard in black beer sauce), which originated in Brazil. I tried it once at the urging of a classmate... It tasted like beef; if you didn't know it was lizard, it would be acceptable.