39 nationalities that make up the multicultural universe of INESC Porto
Seven foreign collaborators tell us what it's like to live in Portugal
72 collaborators from 39 different countries give INESC TEC its multicultural spirit. From the UK to Croatia, the US to Brazil and even Bangladesh to Malaysia, INESC Porto has close to 600 collaborators and representatives from every continent.
With various different cultures and origins, how have these collaborators adapted to life in Portugal? What are the main differences between Portugal and their home countries? The BIP team has asked some of our foreign collaborators at the Associate Laboratory INESC TEC (coordinated by INESC Porto). Here are their replies.
Qi Luo, China
Q. What are the main differences between Portugal and your home country?
A. Actually, there are big differences between Portugal and China such as in the culture, the political system, the ethics and so one. Beside these, one of the things that impressed me most is the attitude. Here in Portugal, people put quality of life and family in first place while in China, people usually regard work as the most important thing and forget to enjoy their lives. Another interesting thing is that in Portugal, dinner time is far too late compared to China. In China, dinner time is normally around 7 or 8pm but here in Portugal, at least from my experience; dinner can start at 10 or even 11pm until the middle night.
Q. Was it hard to adapt to our language and culture?
A. The Portuguese language is really difficult to learn as Portuguese and Chinese are from completely language “systems”. As far as I know, most students from China have the same problem with the language. However, the language problem does not stop me from understanding the Portuguese culture, which is very interesting to me and easy for me to adapt to. Portuguese people are always friendly. Several colleagues invited me to spend Christmas with their families, to experience the real Portuguese life.
Q. What are your favourite things about Portugal?
A. I guess this is a very difficult question for me as there are many things that I like in Portugal. Firstly, I like to travel around Portugal and different cities there is always a surprise for you. Secondly, I think the food in Portugal is some of the best in Europe and some of it is even similar to Chinese food. Of course, in Portugal, one thing you have to talk about is the wine: very good quality and very affordable.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. Normally, I go out with friends (e.g. to parties) in the free time. On the weekend, sometimes I visit nearby cities to know more about the country. For me, I think there are a lot of new things worth exploring in Portugal.
Saravanan Kandasamy, Malaysia
Q. What are the main differences between Portugal and your home country?
A. Other than the language and culture,
a) Weather (Four seasons here, whereas it’s always summer in my country)
b) Food, for example rice is 'acompanhamento' whereas meat is the main dish, in my country meat is the 'acompanhamento' while rice is the main dish)
When I go to a shop I ask for a coffee (café), I get an expresso here, whereas when I go to a restaurant ask for a coffee (café) in my country, I get a “galão”.
Q. Was it hard to adapt to our language and culture?
A. Not really. Malaca, a Kingdom in Malaysia, was a colonised by the Portuguese (1511–1641) for 130 years. Though it is still early stages for my Portuguese, more than 1000 Portuguese words had been infused into the Malay language. Words like Gereja (Igreja -Church), Jendela (Janela-Window), Kemeja (Camisa-Shirt), Garfu (Garfo-Fork), and Mentega (Manteiga- Butter) are very much familiar to me. Furthermore, the extra kindness of Portuguese people here makes us (my wife and daughter included) feel very homely, learning local culture and festivities.
Q. What are your favourite things about Portugal?
A. Its people, there are very polite, and friendly, of course other than Francesinha, and FC Porto
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. You are kidding right? I am a full-time student!
Kristen Schell, U.S.A.
Q. What are the main differences between Portugal and your home country?
A. The Portuguese culture on a whole is not so different from the microcosm of the United States where I grew up. One of the main differences, however, would be the tendency for children to move away from their families after they graduate college. If you grew up in a small city like I did, job offers in bigger cities are often better than the ones in your hometown. As a result, many young people live far from their families when they are first starting out.
Q. Was it hard to adapt to our language and culture?
A. I think the two hardest things about moving to Portugal were finding housing and learning the language. Before I moved, I looked for language instruction specifically in continental Portuguese, but nothing was available in my area. So, I started using online resources to learn Brazilian Portuguese, figuring that was better than nothing. When I arrived here, the differences in speech were immediately apparent, to say the least! I am still learning Portuguese and understanding speech is also still the hardest part for me, but someday I hope to be fluent.
Q. What are your favourite things about Portugal?
A. My favourite things about Portugal are the people, the food, the wine and the landscapes. Especially here in northern Portugal, the views of both the hills and the ocean are some of the prettiest I've ever seen.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. When time permits, I really love travelling, seeing new landscapes and exploring different cultures. I also enjoy being outdoors, whether being at the beach or hiking in the countryside.
Jean SumaIli, Democratic Republic of Congo
Q. What are the main differences between Portugal and your home country?
A. The main difference between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo is the infrastructure. DRC is a developing country and so it is still working in order to improve its infrastructure for increasing the life style
Q. Was it hard to adapt to our language and culture?
A. It was not so hard to adapt to the Portuguese language and culture because I have already been in touch with Latin languages. The official language in Congo is French and I have spent the last 10 years in Italy before moving to Portugal. The most difficult part was the listening part. The Portuguese usually speak very fast. The pronunciation is too “closed” and not very “clear” for my hearing.
Q. What are your favourite things about Portugal?
A. In my opinion, the most interesting thing is the people, with their characteristic warmness. Portugal has successfully integrated people from different origins and with different habits in a diversified territory in terms of weather and climatic conditions.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. It is very fun to go to the market on Saturday morning and listen to the sellers.
Marcos Domingues, Brazil
Q. What are the main differences between Portugal and your home country?
A. There are many differences. Here, I can list the two main differences: the food and the weather.
Q. Was it hard to adapt to our language and culture?
A. No. It was not. I am Brazilian, so adaptation regarding language and culture was quite simple.
Q. What are your favourite things about Portugal?
A. Food. In particular cod. The way Portuguese people prepare this fish is wonderful.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I travel a lot in Portugal and also abroad to other European countries.
Mohammad Abdellatif, Egypt
Q. What are the main differences between Portugal and your home country?
A. Well, the life style in general is better, the healthcare system in particular. Also the interest in research is much more than in Egypt. On the other hand, I don’t like that the shops close at 8pm...they stay open much longer in Egypt.
Q. Was it hard to adapt to our language and culture?
A. I have been taking a Portuguese course over the past year and it has helped me adapt to both the language and the culture quite well.
Q. What are your favourite things about Portugal?
A. I like the weather especially in Porto.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I go out with friends, play football, swimming and other similar activities.
Lucian Ciobanu, Romania
Q. What are the main differences between Portugal and your home country?
A. In my view there are no significant differences between the two countries. I think each one has a combination of small differences that makes it unique.
Q. Was it hard to adapt to our language and culture?
A. No, on the contrary, I think in many aspects both the language and culture are quite similar. When I came to Portugal it took a short time to assimilate them.
Q. What are your favourite things about Portugal?
A. The food, the wines, the ocean, the many tourist attractions.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I like to travel, to go on long walks along the ocean or in the mountains.
