Originally Posted by Munsterfan

I love living here because, like liveaboard, I am accepted with kindness by most Portuguese people as someone who 'picked' their beautiful country out of ALL the countries on the planet, to live, to invest in & contribute my love-of- life, 'know-how', commerce, friendship and family. I (hope) my robust willingness to integrate into local society, learn the language, respect social mores and traditions is recognised. I really don't want to be instantly identified as an "expat" within a few years from now other then by my accent. I know this will take hard work (fun) and commitment (fun) on my part.
From experience living in other counties I'll always be a foreigner no matter how many years/ decades I live in that country. How can I be anything else? Not a bad thing just a fact.
But I'm such a simple girl that I'm thrilled to death every single time a checkout clerk or neighbour pause their work and (always with kindness versus irritation) correct my attempts to speak Portuguese. It gives me confidence to keep trying.
This is one of the reasons I love here.

Originally Posted by macliam

Hopefully, life in Portugal will never resemble the situation elsewhere. However, if we own property and live here, we should still be aware that we are 'guests' and, in general, have a standard of living far better than that of our hosts. So, we should ensure that we are not seen as a visible minority with an 'attitude of superiority' and no intention to integrate - it's in our own best interests.

As has been said, the Portuguese are an open and welcoming people - but they also have their own culture and history, and as 'guests' we should be aware of this otherwise we risk become a parasitic community who are not seen to contribute anything to society at large. We may be largely retired or self-financing, but this isn't just a holiday home regardless of the financial outlay - there are other 'costs' that must be paid.

Anyone can learn to speak a few words of Portuguese, anyone can be polite enough to greet their neighbours in their own language and anyone can try to absorb something of the local way of life into their own - be that food, music, literature or anything else. I think we all know many 'guests' who don't make the effort to do any of these things .... and worse, delight in pointing out the (negative) differences between things here and 'at home'. Unfortunately, such attitudes don't just impact them, but the community at large - meaning that the rest of us have to redouble our efforts.

I have the advantage of speaking enough Portuguese to converse with people, loving history (and if you have never visited the frontier country of the Alto Alentejo, plan it now!) and also enjoying the seafood, porco preto and great wines of this country. Long may it continue!

Originally Posted by liveaboard

Much is said about learning the language and absorbing the culture; that's good, but I rarely hear anyone mention benefits going the other way.
Having lived in countries where I'm not native for most of my life, I've realized that the wealth I can share is mostly my English. Some other ideas and bits of culture too of course.
It's difficult to know when to correct someone's English. I used to keep my mouth shut, afraid of offending people. But then a good Dutch friend of mine got really angry with me, because I'd never bothered to correct a language error of his. He was then humiliated in a business meeting.
Sharing knowledge, language, and culture goes both ways.

Originally Posted by Munsterfan

I really love Porco Preto. I never tasted it before I came to Portugal. It's delicious.

And after several years living on a farm in The Provence and brutally suffering through every shopping experience because (nearly) all the clerks were rude to me because my French was poor. Yes, I tried to use my little dictionary and was clearly trying to speak the language but to no avail. I remember it like a bad toothache.

Today, I was completely thrilled as I was shopping for a dinner party when not one but four different shop clerks in separate sections of JUMBO went out of their way to help me find things that I couldn't Google Translate on my phone...like cornstarch. Their genuine kindness made my day!

Originally Posted by macliam

Greetings from the Capital do Porco Alentejano! Don't beat yourself up for never having tried Porco Preto before, Munsterfan - I'm not sure it's well-known outside Iberia apart from as ham or chouriço. I didn't know a pig had feathers either (plumas) . Unfortunately as with tapas/petiscos, the Spanish dominate the market outside Portugal even though most "Jamon Iberico" would oink in Portuguese!
http://cms.cm-ourique.pt.vf-host.com...lentejanos.jpg
As for Javali, well it's horses for courses, I suppose (health watchers look away now!- and I speak as a consumer, not a cook....)
- Porco Preto is excellent because of the high and well-distributed fat content - it gives flavour and leaves the meat tender, particularly when grilled.
- Javali is wild, therefore far leaner. It has a strong flavour (being game) but normally seems to require slower cooking to break down the muscle.



Personally, I prefer the grill...... along with a good drop of "tintol"! Saúde

Originally Posted by Munsterfan

Correction I've eaten lots of Porco Preto since we arrived here in Portugal just not wild boar yet. In France other than a small gas hob. I had only two methods of cooking: the open corner counter-top fire pit (complete with hooks kinda up the chimney) in the kitchen and the very old stone BBQ/Fire pit outside... so ALL my food (meat) was cooked over olive and oak wood fires. Amazingly delicious. Will be cooking the same way here in Loule.

December/January is the butchering season so I'm in negotiations for a cut-up 'side-o-pork' to put in the freezer for the coming year, it's Porco Preto pig but am still looking for the best price per kilo.