Comments on: Do You Speak English? – Pissing off To Portugal #1

By: Vicky

Vicky — Thu, 31 May 2007 00:28:22 +0000

There will so many internet cafe’s in Portugal that will be open 24 hour. You will definately be able to blog.

As for plane travel, in Japan now you can’t take any liquids in hand luggage, except small bottles of shampoo/body wash in a clear zip lock bag. But you can take as much as you like in your checked bag. Be careful with food, my friend got tracked down in an Taiwanese airport for trying to import an orange. Those sniffer dogs are well trained!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Wed, 30 May 2007 08:30:55 +0000

You’ll have an ace time I am sure. Lisbon is pretty central for tourists so I am sure they won’t mind if you screw up some pronounciation here and there. I know from living in Spain a few years back that local people really do appreciate it when you at least try to speak their language as it shows you’re not one of the group who insist that everyone should speak *their* language and all the rest should go to hell.
I think the water is ok to drink over there but the bottled water is so cheap and available it’s almost as easy as just turning on the tap and always a safe bet if you’re a little unsure about the local water.

Now just get yourself over there and yourself a fun time. There are lots of local lagers to test out which should always add to the fun

By: Sonja

Sonja — Wed, 30 May 2007 03:58:56 +0000

If you are really worried about what you can take on the plane, perhaps the website for the airport or airline you are using will have some in-depth guidelines. These things change so often it is difficult to go by word-of-mouth. I hope you have a great trip!!!

By: Paulo Martins

Paulo Martins — Tue, 29 May 2007 23:05:29 +0000

Some words that might be helpful here in Portugal:

English – Portuguese

Thank You – Obrigado
Good Morning – Bom dia
Good Afternoon – Boa tarde
Good Night – Boa Noite
Hello – OlÃ¡
How are you? – Como estÃ¡?
Help me, Save-me – Ajude-me
Fire – Fogo
Police – PolÃcia
Don’t Kill me, please – NÃ£o me mate, por favor
Kidnapped – Raptado
Burglar – LadrÃ£o
Busted – Preso
Raped – Violado
I’m hungry – Tenho fome
Give-me food – DÃªem-me comida

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:32:13 +0000

Rule no. 1 with being abroad: the point is the key. Go to a store with pre-made sandwiches; even if theyre behind the counter just point and nod/dont nod and they get the gist pretty rapidly. The classic one finger up to the one finger pointing at the beer tap also works a treat. Its the noisy bar trick over here, without the noise. They dont presume you want a half, thank fuck. We’ll be fine

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:43:58 +0000

erm i used my dashboard translator to get this one for you. “meu nome Ã© rhys. que eu gosto do sexo” which means “my name is rhys. i like sex.”… you’re welcome.

Does a guest blogger have to pretend to be you? that sounds tricky

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:31:14 +0000

p.s. If portugese is like Spanish?!?! I just assumed it was-could be very wrong.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:29:02 +0000

Even if everyone does speak English, I think people appreciate it if you try to speak a bit of the language, even if you get it wrong. Us Brits are pretty good at just expecting eveyone to speak English. As mentioned in an earlier post, ‘dos cervezas por favor’ is a good one to remember.

By: Celeste

Celeste — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:45:07 +0000

The care is bordering obsession though! ;o)

By: Sibz

Sibz — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:26:43 +0000

Well I’ve always had aerosols in my suitcase, its just that you’re not allowed them in your hand luggage as I suppose you could ignite them. The air pressure does change a little, but not hugely (the pressure outside the plane does, but they keep the inside fairly constant to stop all those pesky organs you’ve got in your torso from exploding out). Basically, as long as you use common sense (no drugs/bombs) things in your suitcase (which goes in the hold) can have anything in it. Hand luggage is much strickter and has been changing lots recently with all the terror threats, but over easter you could take a bag (like a rucksac) that has normal stuff like a jumper, magazines, pens etc that you might want on a flight. The one unusual thing which may now have been relaxed was that you can’t take a drink (even a bottle of water) through the check in (the place where only people with tickets can go), but then if you bought water or whatever from a shop after then you could take it on the flight. Oh, and you’ll be asked if you packed your own bag or if anyone else could have put something in it without you realising. If your mum or whoever helped, don’t tell them, just say you did it – save the hassle