• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Portuguese Life: Part Two

Portuguese Life: Part Two

posted on May 11, 2013

 

In Part 1 of Portuguese Life, I spoke of a variety of differences between Brazilian and Continental Portuguese. Despite the fact that I’m about to reach the two-month mark, I still have yet to get accustomed to the accent here. While walking in a park yesterday I realized that one of the main difficulties is that in Europe one hears many languages spoken in the major cities, and Lisbon is no different. When I’m out and about and I hear other people speaking another language (other than English, which in itself is rare), it takes about 10 seconds or more for my ears to realize it’s actually Portuguese. In those initial 10 seconds, it might as well be anything from Russian to French.

Last week, I returned a book to a library and the guy behind the counter thought I wanted to check it out and so he scanned it and told me the due date.

 

Him: Treze de maio.
Me: Tá mas só tenho nota de cinco…
Him: (confused look) Treze de maio…
Me: (insisting on paying, thinking the book was overdue) Estou a devolver.
Him: Ah, ok. Pronto.

Because of his accent, I heard “três e meio” (3.50), but he was saying “treze de maio” (May 13th) which sounded very much like the amount 3.50. Once more, I’ll say that living here can be frustrating because, all of a sudden, just by changing countries I lose my fluency.  

As for the city itself, it took a while to start to like it. There were a few weeks of rain when I got here so it seemed like a rather depressing place. Lisbon is like one big neighborhood, all the houses look the same, and the residents are either elderly or university age. It was only when the sun came out for many consecutive days that I started to see the light, as it were.

There’s a certain charm to living in such an old, historic city. Just like its residents, the Portuguese capital seems stuck between the old and the new. On my way to any event that’s hip in LX (how the cool kids refer to the city) , I must first pass through a Lisboa full of antiquity and tradition. For lovers of fado music, like myself, you’ll surely like hearing fado on the streets at times and/or coming out of stores. I realize it’s most likely for the tourists’ sake (of which there are tons) but it adds to the charm, nonetheless.


(Quiosque de Refresco)

Some of my favorite, almost daily outings have been to the many nearby parques and praças that are well sprinkled throughout the city. Within any particular park or plaza there’s at least one or two kiosks serving coffee, pastries and sometimes shots of moscatel or ginjinha (a nice liqueurous wine and a cherry liqueur, respectively). One of the best parts is the price, though. Hanging out with friends under the sun and getting a shot or a coffee only costs between 60 centímos (cents/centavos) and 1.40 euro. (In fact, all my bills are low and on par with what I spent per month in Brazil, a little more than US$500/mo.)

If you're on the fence about visiting, and like me you are from the San Francisco Bay Area, I'd say you'll do just fine here. The bridge over the Tagus (river) was made by the same company that did the Golden Gate, the city has many hills and there's also a trolley system. Like San Francisco, the best time to come is the summertime, and it's just around the corner…

 

Related Articles

Portuguese Life – Differences Between Brazilian and Continental Portuguese

Pray for My Portuguese

Life in the Favela – Part 1

—————-

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Related Posts:

  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Street Smart Brazil is very convenient and the professors are incredibly professional. I enjoy the classes because of the convenience and flexibility in my busy work schedule. I have been a student al… Read more
Brian
Street Smart Brazil has exceeded my expectations. There is a genuine feeling that anyone can learn and improve in any language. The approach is patient, encouraging, and most of all, empowering.
Anuj
I really enjoy studying with Street Smart Brazil. I have learned a tremendous amount and always look forward to the class. In June I traveled to São Paulo, Brazil, to visit my girlfriend and meet her… Read more
Drue
Street Smart Brazil is in my opinion the very best site for Portuguese learners on the web. Their teachers and lessons are definitely five-star quality. They not only teach you the language, but in a… Read more
Jack

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • Family Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/xoNtWBolAzE

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved.