interesting stuff...

observations over the last couple of weeks...

i) flies (yes, houseflies...) are in abundance in portugal... think for that matter, the whole of europe... but nevertheless, they seem harmless cos no one will even bat an eyelid when if one of the flies landed on their food... (oh, slippers make good swappers... =) killed a pair of them just earlier; wonder if anyone of the pair was the one that has been bothering me in my sleep for the last 2 nights??)

see attached for a systematic diagram... (pardon the awful drawing...)



ii) young people love "making out" in their cars... trust me, i am not kidding at all.... judging from what i usually see in cars parked along the road during the weekends.... and yesterday, i saw this young punk sitting in the back of his parked car, grinning cheekily... explore your imagination....think dirty... and you understand what i am trying to say... and that's not the first time i saw something similar... =)

iii) parties are part of the culture in portugal... parties are like so common, maybe its due to the approaching Xmas and halloween... and when there are parties, there will be #^%^*&* punks who would get seriously drunk and start smashing their beer bottles against the walls and creating such a din... and i live near a restaurant... imagine how many a times when i was awoken by those #$%^&&*^ punks... but well, i was young too, and i know how alcohol dulls one's brain and make them do silly things...

iv) greetings in portugal are preceded by kisses on both cheeks.... even though you have absolutely no idea who that person is... well... it was nice being kissed by a young 15-year-old gal yesterday =P


and to sum up my experience of my first month in portugal...

i) it's a wonderful experience living alone in a foreign country... and this experience is made even better when you have a wonderful landlord (leandro)... and living together with a mature 30-plus years old is certainly different from, for example, living with a 20-plus person... to further explain this...

if i were to live with sebestian in germany (a friend i got to know in germany last year), the likelihood of finding me in a "drinking hole" is way way higher... but here in portugal, i am more inclined to have some conversations in the evenings with leandro at home... well, this is a way to broaden my thinking too... =)

ii) things are totally different from singapore... you have to be adaptable and try to understand the mentality of people of whichever countries that you are in, and with that, you will be able to cope better... well, i'm still learning about the culture here, but i guess 6 months (at least that's the case in the event that i move over to germany to continue my 2nd semester) will be enough for me to understand portugese people better...