Things You Should Know About Portuguese People
When moving to a new country, especially on Erasmus, one of the first questions asked is about the people, in this case, the people of Portugal. What are Portuguese people like? What are the Portuguese known for? Are Portuguese people welcoming?
In this article, you'll find out some interesting facts about Portugal and also Portuguese people! Let’s find out...
Portuguese people are big defenders of their gastronomy
You can find a lot of different food from a lot of countries in Portugal, however, Portuguese people will always love Portuguese cuisine! In Portuguese families' kitchens, the traditional dish is codfish, ("bacalhau" in Portuguese), and it can be cooked in more than 10 ways!
Some more common products are cheese, meat products, and fresh fish. However, for example, the regions closer to the sea have a gastronomy more focused on seafood and fish as well. In contrast to the regions further north and inland, the traditional dishes are mainly meat and sausage-based.
Portuguese people don’t always arrive on time
While this is a generalization and there will be many extremely punctual Portuguese people, it's very normal for Portuguese people to arrive 10/15 minutes late for a coffee, for example. Along the same lines, a lack of punctuality is also can often also be observed in Portugal's public transport. So, if you're running 5 minutes late, don't worry, since the person you are meeting is probably even further behind.
The Portuguese pause for coffee
Nothing like a coffee break for the Portuguese. As well as food, coffee is also a very important part of life for the Portuguese, but not so much for the beverage itself, but rather for the time spent over a coffee catching up with friends and family. Sometimes when Portuguese people ask you"Let's have a coffee" it's literally saying "Let's hang out together and talk about life", you can drink another thing instead of coffee and it's totally ok!
Is English spoken in Portugal?
The answer is YES! Learning Portuguese is usually a great idea if you’re moving to Portugal. However, the Portuguese has a strong reputation for understanding various languages and always try their best to converse with visitors and English is one of them! You'll also find that some older people have a good level of French, while nowadays, it's compulsory to learn at least 2 languages at school in Portugal.
There are a lot of things to talk about on this topic... Do you want a second round?
See you soon!
Juliane (Ju) OLS Community Manager