Just an Introduction

Welcome, @chod.lang! I must say, I’m quite ashamed for never having been to the Azores, knowing how beautiful the islands are. I definitely need to visit.

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Apologies for reviving this post, but it made sense to keep introductions in one place :sunglasses:.

So I’m part of a huge Portuguese family that are primarily based in South Africa, with very few still living in Portugal/Madeira. Sad thing is…so few of my family here in SA still speak Portuguese. My siblings and I were raised to speak English.

Being a newish father of 2, I’ve decided that my kids will grow up learning English and Portuguese. I must admit that whilst I am a person who loves to learn, the problem with learning a language in my case is the lack of its use in my circles.

But it’s still early days and thanks to this website as well as other tools like Memrise, I see light at the end of the tunnel.

Tchau tchau :wave:

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No problem, @john.jardin, you did right. It’s interesting that you’re challenging yourself to learn the language to be able to also teach it to your wife and kids. I think it’ll be great for your kids to connect to their family heritage :slight_smile:

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I have lived in this lovely country for three years now and it is an immense relief to me to realise that other Portuguese students are having the same learning issues that I do, mainly understanding the spoken word. I think it is giving me a little more confidence to push myself to engage in conversation. I have one on one lessons once a week, mostly to get to grips with the grammar etc., as well as checking sites on line (this is the best) and two weeks ago joined a conversational class. Everybody seems more advanced than me but I am determined to persevere. I really want to get to grips with this language and be able to converse with my neighbours.

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Thanks for the long intro, as a 71 year old rookie student of the Portuguese language, we share other interests. My wife is planning to retire within the next couple of years, and in our search revealed that Tavira was a place of interest for us. I have initiated an apartment search in that part of the country. We also have begun studies in preparation for our first trip in March.

Part of our plan is to meet others (expats and regular citizens) to network with. Would you be interested? Please advise. Thanks!

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Welcome, @allent2000 :slight_smile: I don’t know if there are any active forum members in Tavira or nearby, but I have no doubt that you’ll find people to connect with once you’re here in Portugal. I expect many (but not all) of them to be expats - there is a large expat community in Tavira, mostly British, I think.

On another note, here’s a topic about retiring in Portugal, which you might like to read: Retirement and The Elderly in Portugal

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Hi @allent2000,

Tavira is such a picturesque town. When I was there in June there was a gorgeous apartment for rent in a newly-refurbished building overlooking the river and the Ponte Romana. One can only dream… Lol :grin:

Good luck with your property search!

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Yes it is still lovely Jeremy but becoming a bit touristy.
I would choose Olhao in which to live. It’s a proper working city, not pretty in parts but I just feel so at home there!

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We also loved Olhão when we stayed there for 3 weeks a few years ago. It’s really Portuguese where the people live. You’ll love it!

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Hi all! I am new to the forum and PP learning studio, and have been loving everyone’s insightful comments here so far. The forum is incredibly helpful and interesting! My husband’s family is Portuguese, he and his brother were the first to be born in the US after most of them left Portugal in the 70s. We visited together for the first time in 2017 and are going back for the 4th time this April, and we are so excited to try out the direct TAP flight from California!

I started learning Portuguese about 2 years ago after our first visit, but was mainly using Duolingo and listening to the PP podcast. I was using it on mute so I could use the pronunciations I’ve heard in my husband’s family to practice, but it finally got to a point where I just needed that extra pronunciation help to keep advancing. I asked for a subscription as a gift from family for the holidays and have been so happy with the lessons and exercises. We would really love to spend a lot or most of our time in Portugal in the future…now we just need to manifest our destiny! :sweat_smile:

This community makes everything feel much different than a detached app, like we really are all learning together. I love it!

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Thanks for mentioning Expresso. I visited Portugal from Dec 26 - Jan 12, 2020. I picked up an issue of Expresso to bring home to the US. I was wondering if it was a major newspaper or not. It is very interesting to help me learn Portuguese while also becoming aware of current events via expresso.pt
I am 67 and just started learning Portuguese last year. I do have thoughts of spending longer periods of time there or even a slight possibly moving there. I am going back to Portugal in early May, assuming the virus threat does not prevent my travel. I was previously thinking of Peru or Spain if I decided to become an expat and my Spanish is good enough for that and I have visited both of those countries several times each. Now I am more attracted to Portugal.

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Hi, @bacole2! :slightly_smiling_face: As far as I know, Expresso is a major newspaper. Each day, I look through that and Sapo (https://www.sapo.pt/#utm_source=bsu&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=bsu.)
These two have helped me a great deal in my study of Portuguese and in learning about the country and its culture. Glad to hear you are also a fan of Portugal! Good luck!

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Hey guys and gals,

I am a European Tour Leader from Australia living in Portugal for the past year but have been overseas comi g up to 10 years as I have an Irish passport, confusing huh?!

I have been learning ever since I met my girlfriend 18 months ago, who is a native Portuguese, mainly on duo lingo until my gf was getting so sick of my bad pronounciation she found this site and I must say it is awesome.

Since we are on lockdown with the coronavirus I have been doing 4hrs a day on here punching through the modules from the start and working on my pronounciation which has improved dramatically and learning the real rules about the grammar.

I would be very happy to chat online with anyone who is interested as it is now not the best time to meet up anymore hahaha.

Anyway that is me, looking forward to being in touch and hope you are all learning well.

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Hi Everyone, I am Cheryl and from British Columbia in Canada. I was planning a trip to Portugal in May 2020 but…this wee pandemic has modified my plans.
I am enjoying learning Portugese and very happy to have found Practice Portugese to help me. I WILL visit Portugal when everything settles down and am excited to be able to converse with people when I get there. Happy learning everyone

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Bom dia, @Cheryl :slightly_smiling_face: Todos nós devemos manter nossos sonhos e esperanças vivos! Os tempos difíceis vão passar. Tu já esteves em Portugal no passado? Existem portugueses na Colúmbia Britânica, onde tu moras? O que tu gostas na cultura portuguesa que a atrai? Apenas curioso … Muito obrigado!

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Olà everybody. I am Patrick and I am returning to this excellent site after a short sabbatical when I took (another) Spanish course - I can’t learn both Spanish and Portuguese at the same time!!

I am a retired Engineer and Lecturer in Engineering and I love learning languages. During this lockdown I am hoping to improve my Portuguese and to chat in English and Portuguese with others who love Portugal.

Vivo em Inglaterra onde aprendi português num curso local para 2 anos. A minha mulher ainda trabalha e, de vez em cuando, visito o Porto só para divertir-me e para aprender português.

Prefiro o norte de Portugal onde as pessoas não falam inglês e tenho uma oportunidade de falar português. Quando falo inglês no estrangeiro não me sento de férias :).

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Hi Patrick. I tried to do some Spanish for a while but I found that I was constantly confusing the two languages. So I gave up and on my rare trips to Spain I concentrate on annoying the locals by speaking Portuguese. Seriously though having Portuguese does help a lot if one just wants the occasional word!

Como você, eu gosto do norte, mas também no Algarve, a dez quilômetros da costa, muitas pessoas não falam inglês…e faz mais sol!
Eu amo portugal Eu já sinto falta.

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Hi mac. Obrigado pelo ‘tip’ sobre o Algarve.

Sim, saber a lingua portugesa é util em Espanha. A profesora da nosso curso espanhol era de Galicia e disse que a lingua galega é semelhante ao português. Por exemplo, dizem ‘parabens’ e não ‘felicitaciones’.

A primera vez que eu foi a Portugal eu falei aos portugueses em espanhol - eles responderam em português e eu não entendi nada. Agora falo em português - eles respondem em português e aínda entendo nada :grinning:. Still, it will come with practice

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Hi David, thank you. I am new so unfortunately still need to answer in English. I am sure there are Portuguese communities within BC. I have always admired European culture: the focus on family, the foods and drink, the pace of life and the fact that European countries are “old” in comparison to Canada. I always feel like I am home when I am in Europe. It has always been a dream of mine to one day call Europe home. Maybe Portugal will be my new home some day.

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Bom dia, @Cheryl!

Tu podes continuar a responder em inglês!
Acho que a maioria dos membros do fórum respondem só em inglês.

[You can continue to respond in English. I think a majority of members on the Forum post only in English.]

As vezes, quando me sinto corajoso, como agora, eu tento postar em português. @Joseph é sempre muito gentil em corrigir erros.

[Sometimes, when I feel courageous, as now, I try to post in Portuguese. @Joseph is always very kind in correcting errors! :slight_smile:

Aqui está um artigo de Wikipedia sobre os números de os portugueses no Canadá. É possível que um dos seus vizinhos sejam português! Os portugueses de fato conquistaram o mundo! :slight_smile:

[Here is an article from Wikipedia about the numbers of Portuguese in Canada. It’s possible that one of your neighbors is Portuguese! The Portuguese have, indeed, conquered the world!]

Portuguese Canadians (Portuguese: luso-canadianos ) are Canadian citizens of full or partial Portuguese heritage or people who migrated from Portugal and reside in Canada. According to the 2011 Census, there were 429,850 Canadians who claimed full or partial Portuguese ancestry, an increase compared to 410,850 in 2006 (1.3% of the nation’s total population). Most Portuguese Canadians live in Ontario - 282,865 (69%), followed by Quebec 57,445 (14%) and British Columbia 34,660 (8%).[3]

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