My husband and I will be visiting Portugal for the first time in Feb/Mar 2022. We will be based in Lagos for four weeks and Andalucia for two 2 weeks.
Having booked a VRBO without first checking the availability of flights in and out of Faro, I’ve determined that the best route from Chicago will be via Lisbon, followed by either train or bus to Lagos. Neither option seems to offer a route without transfers and even getting from the airport in Lisbon to the train or bus will require a bus or taxi. (Did I mention I will be traveling solo for this leg of the journey?)
I have watched Rui and Joel’s video documentary of their hike along the coast north of the Algarve (fun!) and knowing that even a native can mess up (sorry, Rui) to the point of having to walk an unexpected 4 hours kinda scares the sh** out of me. And they weren’t encumbered by wheeled luggage + carry-ons.
Also, I’m going to need to use the ladies’ room (“water closet,” is it?) at some point…
So, yeah! I’m gonna need to learn a little Portuguese. (Also to order wine and some of the enticing Portuguese dishes I’ve encountered in my online research.)
Olá, @rgmichelson, bem-vinda I hope your trip goes well and with as few hiccups as possible! If it helps, the Lisbon airport has its own subway station, so you can use it to get to the train/bus to Lagos. The bus would actually be direct - check Rede Expressos, for example (departures from Lisboa - Sete Rios, which corresponds to the Jardim Zoológico subway station).
Olá todas e todos! Estou uma nova aluna aqui. Eu aprendo Português por que eu moro em Portugal e quero falar com a gente em Português (não em Inglês!).
Prazer em conhencer todos vocês.
Olá. Na verdade, tinha estudado Português na Universidade no Vietname (meu país) por cerca de 4 anos mas ainda não tinha qualquer emoção especial para essa língua até quando vim ao Porto em 2019. Opah, tudo já mudou desde o primeiro dia da chegada. Começei a ser uma amante de Portugal em geral e do Porto em particular, cada dia tento estudar e praticar a fim de falar e entender como uma nativa em língua. E a final, terminei a estar apaixonada por um garoto lá e que nós decidimos a voltar a Portugal para viver no próximo ano.
I do love languages and thought Portuguese would be my fifth language.
In October, 2021 I moved to Portugal and this is my main motivation to learn Portuguese now.
Hi everybody, I think I can describe myself as language and book lover.
So, how did my passion for Portuguese start?
I had spent some days in Porto in November this year and fell in love with the city and the seaside.
As I prepared myself for the trip I had been listening to Antonio Zambujo for weeks, trying to understand the lyrics. But this was way too hard for a beginner like me! I was frustrated… I thought I would lever learn this difficult language…
But then I got inspired a friend of mine who lives in the Porto area. She is american, speaks Portuguese and writes historical fiction (in English). Her book was also published by a Portuguese publisher, in Portuguese. If you are interested: The book title is Praça do Rossio Nr 59, by Jeannine Johnson Maia. The author has written a second novel about Porto and I would like to read it in Portuguese as soon as it is published and translated. We are exchanging messages in Portuguese which helps me to practice what I have learnt so far.
When I came back from Porto, I searched for help and found PP. This was the best thing that could happen to me. I am learning nearly every day on my mobile phone or on the Ipad.
Now, I already understand better the lyrics in Antonio Zambujos songs.
I also subscribed to a local Newspaper in Portuguese. And also, since there is a big Portuguese community living in Luxembourg, there are plenty of opportunities to hear and speak the language.
As a treat, I am currently watching « Gloria », a Portuguese show on Netflix about the Salazar years. I watch it in Portuguese and try to understand what’s going on with the help of the subtitles, and when it is too hard (mostly all the time), I stop and do the 10 seconds replay. I also write down typical phrases, especially when it comes to the tenses and the formal « you » which is really challenging to learn!
(BTW, I noticed that the father, a high level civil servant, is very formal with his own son: « olhe, tenha cuidade » He never says « tu ». I found this very interesting.)
I hope that my method of total immersion will help me to learn faster. At least it is fun!
With best wishes for everybody, Feliz Ano Novo from Luxembourg! Olga
Feliz Ano Novo, @Olga! You seem very committed to learning the language, that’s great. And you’re right about the father (and mother) in Gloria - up to this day, it is common for high-class families to address each other more formally
Hi Joseph, thanks for your comment. Very interesting, indeed. I wonder at what age parents start to be formal with their children. It is difficult for me to imagine…
Olá de Lisboa. Meu nome é Roxana. Mudei-me para Portugal e quero aprender português o mais rápido possível. Estou gostando de praticar português e também irei para uma sala de aula regular para fortalecer minhas habilidades no idioma.
Hi! My boyfriend is Portuguese and some of his family members know Dutch (my native language), but most of them live in Portugal and so it’s more difficult to communicate. That’s why I’m working hard to talk to them since they will be a big part of my life.
My wife and I are looking to immigrate in a few years to Portugal after I retire. We’ve always wanted to spend the next chapter of our lives living abroad, and Portugal looks like a wonderful country to set down roots in. It’s important to us to embrace the culture of our future home and the best way to start is by learning the language. I’ve been studying (estudar) the A1 section on this site and am very impressed with the lessons so far. Practice Portugese is a wonderful resource to help us transition into our new life.
I hope your trip goes well and with as few hiccups as possible! If it helps, the Lisbon airport has its own subway station, so you can use it to get to the train/bus to Lagos. The bus would actually be direct - check 