A little bit of fun...

... with my first HDR photo:

I have to improve... I know...

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter IV)

"Muito obrigado", Rober:

This time all we get is a mess with verbs... Not much to transcribe here, just one curiosity:

• "pegar", which means hit in spanish is just a verb used in portuguese to refer to the action of holding hands together... This leads us to be able to say that you "hit" your girlfriend in the street without being punished for that! :D

It was really brief this time, wasn't it? ;)

See you!

Self-advertisement...

I spent some minutes at Fnac and... what do you do when you're at Fnac? You test Apple devices, of course:

iPad: Really smooth

iMac 27": Really huge

I told you... self-advertisement! :D  See you...

A deeper look into ESTG

More photos and videos. No text this time, I'm too tired...

IPL Campus 2

ESTG "D Building"

And this time you can see the classrooms from inside:

Btw, today was wednesday, so I went to learn some portuguese and, as promised, I bring this to you:

See you!

Hot news! I mean... really really hot!

Portugal's prime minister, José Sócrates, has resigned today (less than a couple of hours ago).

Pia do Urso

When I was coming back to Leiria, I saw a sign saying something about a sensorial park called "Pia do urso". I didn't know what a "urso" was, so I went there...



By the way, "urso" means bear... ;)  But no bears there, only one, which was made of fiberglass (and cows, donkeys, pigs, rabbits, hens... all off them made of fiberglass) :(

Fátima's sanctuary

It's so close to Leiria that even someone like me has to take a look for free... Now you can share the look I took:

Lost in Leiria

I spent yesterday afternoon walking around Leiria and I took some pictures. Here you are:

Happy man!

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away... I mean, yesterday was saturday...

I went to watch the Real Madrid - Atlético de Madrid. Well, I got late actually (Skype's fault!) and didn't see much of it, none of it to be accurate... But anyway, I don't mind soccer... kind of weird for a spanish guy, it seems... But it was the starting point for a night of "Licor café" and "Sagres minis". I met new people, including the other galician erasmus here in Leiria (and we are three!) and I had the opportunity to use my poooooooor spoken english (I need to improve it, it's a must).

I promised to share a picture here (also by Facebook, but I don't like Facebook privacy policies, you already know about that), so here it is:

Hey "happy man"!

The guy on the left hand side is Alphonse, from Belgium, who is studying something like Industrial Engineering. I call him "Happy man" because he's always smiling, no matter if it rains outside... I barely know him, but I'll do: He wants to improve his spanish, I want to improve my english... it seems we have a deal! :D

The one on the right hand side is Fernando, from Cantabria, maybe the best public relations partner you can find in Leiria. He knows everybody, everybody knows him. He was a good starting point when I arrived here and I appreciate it.

So... if yesterday was saturday, today is sunday... I hope it to be a real sun-day, because I'm going to take a deeper look at Leiria, take some photos and, well, you know, spend some time living the touristic side of Erasmus program...

See you! (with more pictures, for those of you who don't like to read too much)

Communications

It's something important when you're outside your country. You need to talk to your family (I'm actually calling my parents more frequently than when I was studying in Spain), you need to talk to your girlfriend (well, it's actually she who needs to talk to you to be sure about your penis being still under the pants...) No, seriously, I was kidding. You need to talk to her. It's a must if you want to keep the relation alive... And you need to talk with friends also... So I'm going to talk a little about how I solve the communications problem when you're outside.

If you need to talk to your family, who doesn't know about Internet, you need to make a traditional phone call to their landlines. I knew about that, so I took a look at some VoIP services. I found voipbuster.com and lots of similar sites, with almost same conditions. It seemed to be a good alternative, as I could also use their services with my Android powered cellphone by using Sipdroid (over WiFi or 3G). But it's not so free as they claim it to be, so, if I have to pay I prefer to use Skype: 5€ + VAT a month and you can call to spanish landlines using a proved service wich works really fine, I must say. There is a limit of 50 different dialing numbers a day and you can be talking for around 6 hours everyday (enough for your girlfriend? :D)

You can also use Skype between computers, at no cost and also including videoconference, so it was a way to centralize communications and avoid having to use a different system for each person you have to call. And Skype has its own Android version available too...

So, great, with Skype you should have almost everything covered! I'm still using Google Talk to keep me in touch with some friends, as not all of them use Skype (and it's fine, I do also prefer to use GTalk with Android, better than Skype for chatting)

But you also have to communicate with people in Portugal. So I bought an Optimus simcard and got my 3G conection at a fair price by choosing Optimus Livre (with a separate Internet offer). But if you don't need Internet on your phone (or if you don't mind to pay a little more to get a little less), you must know that the most popular alternative here is to use Vodafone Extravaganza (with no cost calls, no cost SMS... my erasmus mates seem to spend the whole day on phone :D)

And... well, that's all. I hope you find this interesting if you come to this blog looking for some info about communications in Portugal. Btw, prices are about the same than Spain, maybe a little bit cheaper... you can take a look by yourselves.

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter III)

"Muito obrigado", Rober:

Yes, yes, yes... you already know what comes after the video...

A brief lesson about adjectives:

• "exquisito" doesn't mean tasteful but rare, strange... (but you should write it as "esquisito", with 's', in portuguese...)
• "espantoso" doesn't mean terrible, but terrific...

Some kind of "false friends" in portuguese too, I suppose...

• "borracho" means drunk in galician, but handsome/pretty/beautiful in portuguese.
• "chulo" means handsome/pretty/beautiful in galician, but it only refers to that man behind every whore (a procurer, which would lead me to talk about the spanish term "procurador", but I will not) when you're speaking portuguese. 

Moreover, going on with this topic, a "puto", which is some kind of bad word in spanish, only means child in portuguese... And a "rapaza", a girl in galician, means whore/bitch in portuguese... So take care using that word and change your vocabulary to use "rapariga" instead... But also be careful when traveling to Brazil, where "rapariga" is the word used for whores... You must use "menina" or "garota" there... This seems some kind of words game from hell, doesn't it?

More, more, more...

• "embaraçada", which means embarrassed in portuguese, is pronounced like "embarazada", which means pregnant in spanish... You must use the word "grávida" to refer to pregnant women in Portugal.

All of this leads us to be able to say, in some situations, that a man is "embaraçado", something that would cause laugh if you say it after having crossed the borderline.

• "meiga" is a familiar word to galician people. It means witch in galician (a good witch, I must say, not a bad one, which would be called "bruxa"), but it's not a name but an adjective in portuguese, meaning warm, loving and affable...

Enough by now, don't you think so? More to come... there are at least seven videos like these three we've already reviewed...

See you!

IPL Campus 2 - Quick shot

This is it:

Main entrance (I like those shadows caused by sun over letters)

I'll be posting more photos and videos asap... but I'm still feeling a little bit uncomfortable taking photos like a tourist inside those buildings... hope you understand...

But there is something you need to see... It's about the famous "calçada portuguesa"... inside the buildings! Most exactly, inside the ESECS building (Escola Superior de Educação e Ciências Sociais), where I'll be going every wednesday in the evening to learn a little bit of portuguese and get my A2 degree (4ECTS worth)... But you'll have to wait until next wednesday, as I took no photos yet.

See you!

Beers, beers, beers...

I've to taste'em all!

You may know there are two main beer brands in Portugal: Super Bock and Sagres. And as I'm an Erasmus student... this is gonna be my mission: Taste as many as I can. And write about that, of course... :D

I wrote about the Super Bock Stout before, but I'd like to add some information now... As I'm not an expert, I'll just copy some information from Super Bock website:

In 2003, Super Bock Stout, the other side of Super Bock, was launched. Super Bock Stout is Super Bock's special black beer, produced from special malts (pale malt, caramel malt and chocolate malt), which give it a distinct flavour and aroma, and a long-lasting creamy head.

Super Bock Stout differs from the other black beers on the market because it is richer in extract, more full-bodied and with a more complex (almost fruity), not-so-roasted taste and aroma.

The care taken and the type of ingredients used in the production of Super Bock Stout result in a balance between sweet and bitter, giving it its unique taste - an Authentic Taste. For these reasons, Super Bock Stout is much more than a black beer - it is the other side of Super Bock.

Really cool bottle, it's sweating...

I've also tasted one of the three kind of Super Bock Abadia beer... This is what they say about it:

Super Bock Abadia is characterized by a rich aroma, stronger and embodied, fruited and alive, with a smooth and comforting taste and the most intense colour due to the use of special varieties of Malte

The creative concept of Super Bock Abadia’s packaging takes us to an ancestral environment, keeping the identity of the lettering – in red – over the rosette of Leça do Balio’ Monastery, now with a stylised, simplified, more modern and dynamic image.

The one I drank was the Abadia Gold, as you can see below. I still have to taste the normal one and the Abadia Rubi...

Bad photo taken with phone...

And this is its... let's say "technical sheet":

Name: Super Bock Abadia Gold.
Launched: March 2008.
Market: Beers/Gourmet Beers.
Birth-place: Leça do Balio, Portugal.
Other information: A special beer, fruited and dry, goes perfectly with the soft flavors of fish and shellfish. Surprisingly light and not bitter. Golden and exuberant,  it’s a dry beer, with 6.8 alcoholic percentage. Balanced and light.
Target: For those who like beer.

And last, but not least, something I've also talked about: The standard Sagres beer in "mini" bottles. I'm not gonna talk a lot about this one... I've just found a video and it seems you'll enjoy it more than any description I could make by using words... ;)

See you guys!

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter II)

"Muito obrigado" again, Rober:

What I've learned this time:

• "Carpeta" sounds similar to "carpete", which doesn't mean folder, but carpet... A folder is a "pasta", which means paste/pulp in galician...
• "Prenda" is not any kind of clothes... but it can be, as it means "gift" in portuguese. The word used to refer to gifts in spanish is "regalo", but it means relief in portuguese...

Any trouble so far? Ok, let's keep learning...

• You can also use "oferta" to say gift in portuguese (well, not exactly gift, but any kind of free stuff...), which is shocking for spanish people, as "oferta" means "sales offer" in spanish...
• "The 'coche' and 'carro' problematic": Easy this time... "Carro" means car in portuguese. "Coche" means carriage (typically horse-drawn...). Ok, now flip it over: "Coche" means car in spanish... "Carro" means carriage... Got it? :D
• One funny misunderstanding in this video: "Pila" is the word we use to refer to small batteries, like those inside the remote control of your TVs... But it means "penis" (in a coloquial way, I must say...) in portuguese. You must use "pilha" to refer to batteries...
• Another funny misunderstanding: "Caixón", the galician word for referring to "drawer" is similar to "caixão" when pronouncing... but wait! "caixão" means coffin in portuguese... take care when using that word or you'll seem to be a psycho killer...

Are you having fun with Coco?

More to come... see you!

My trip (Part II) - Highways to hell

Maybe some of you already know about this... I didn't, until I was told by my girlfriend: There are 3 highways in Portugal (there will be many more in the near future) which used to be free, but not anymore. I'm talking about SCUTs ("Sem Custo para o UTente/UTilizador")

These used to be paid by the government, based on an approach to the real number of cars using them. But you know about crisis, don't you? Who pays now? We do.

But this is not that easy, of course... You can't pay when you arrive to a traditional toll. There are a sort of cameras with recognition systems over the highway instead. So you need some kind of electronic device which is not so easy to get.

After thinking deeply about this trouble, I tried to get the "Via Verde" device, as it'll assure that I could travel all over the country using any kind of highway, both SCUTs and traditional ones. This seemed to be a good alternative because it'd solve the issue with SCUTs and it'd also make my trips cheaper when using the other highways.

But I can't get one of these. I'm not portuguese, I don't pay taxes here so the "Via Verde" is not available to me. I have to apply for a prepaid device that is some sort of cheating, as you have to buy (they say you rent, but you pay almost the same as buying) the device and put some money into it... money that you'll never get back if you don't spend it.

Anyway, they also offer some other alternatives, like postpaid services (only available for portuguese people again, and also adding administrative fees), where you've got 5 days to pay after using the highways.

And finally, I hope this could be my alternative, you can buy the device and associate it to your credit card, so you pay a little bit more for the device, but you only pay what you spend on highways. But you don't get any discount when using traditional highways with this kind of device... :( Actually, you have to use the traditional tolls there, as this device doesn't work as a "Via Verde" compatible device.

Anyway, I tried to get one of these, but they are not used to foreigners here. They say you can get one of them at petrol stations or post offices, but when I went there and asked for them, they looked at me like saying: "What the hell are you talking about?"

So I'll have to wait until I can reach Tuy to solve this issue. Meanwhile, I'll have to pay the fucking 20€ of traditional highway fee and be careful when driving through Oporto, because any minor mistake can put your car under the cameras sight without any way out.

Update: More info...

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter I)

"Muito obrigado", Rober:

What I've learned from this video:

• "Jantar", which is pronounced like the galician word "xantar", doesn't mean lunch, but dinner.
• "Almoço", which is similar to the galician word "almorzo", means lunch, not breakfast.
• "Azeite" is used just for referring to olive oil. All the other kind of oil are called "óleos".
• "Salsa" means parsley, so if you want some sauce with your meal, then you must ask for "molho".
• "Xamón", the word we use to refer to ham, can be confused with hashish because of its pronunciation ("chamon" in portuguese). You should ask for "presunto" to avoid trouble with police...
• Following this kind of drug misunderstanding, you may ask for a "dose", but all you'll get will be a serving (maybe a serving of "xamón" :D)
• "Vaso" means vase, you know, to keep your flowers wet. If you ask for a "vaso" of water you'll get some laughs instead of "a glass of water".

I hope you enjoy learning portuguese with Coco me.

See you!

The ultimate "HowTo guide" for coffee in Portugal

So you guys wanna have some delicious coffee? Then you should come to Portugal!

Their secret must be the raw material they use, as they import it mostly from Brazil.

So you need to know how to ask for the kind of coffee you usually drink. Here you are some of the typical names:

If you want simply an expresso coffee you can ask for a "café". A great coffee with great fragrance. You must pay attention if you're at Lisboa, where this kind of coffee is known as "bica" among natives. So if you want to be part of them, you may ask for "uma bica, si faz favor". But if you are visiting Oporto, you should ask for a "cimbalino", keep that in mind. You'll get an intense coffee, but a bit small...

If you want a bigger one, with double quantity of water, you need to ask for an "abatanado" or maybe a "café cheio". If you ask for a "café curto" you'll get an even smaller but intenser expresso coffee.

And if you want some kind of american coffee, you know, those which are made by litres, you'll find it by using the word "carioca".

All of this gets worse when you want a coffee with some milk. You can ask for a "pingado" and receive an expresso coffee with a drop ("pinga") of milk. Or maybe you've asked for a "galão", in which case you'll receive just the opposite: A big glass of hot milk with a standard expresso coffee dropped into it.

Maybe the "galão" is too big for you... Maybe you want some more coffee into it... Then you should ask for "galão obscuro" if you want it darker or "meia de leite" if you want it darker and normal size.

And last, something we, Galician people, really love: "Café con cheirinho", a kind of coffee with marc liquour (they call it "bagazo")

Hope you've learned how to ask for your favorite coffee today... I did indeed.

See you!

You drive like a portuguese!

It's a myth. They don't drive so bad... Ok, they use their car flashers less than desirable and you always have to keep an eye on your rearview mirror, but they are also quite gentlemen, as they stop at every crosswalk and they barely use their car horns.

And more than this, when you come to a parking, you can see the usual signal for invalid (you know, that one with the wheelchair printed), but also two more:

Reserved for elders, pregnant women...

I don't know what this means...

Well, I must say although they have these special parking places, it seems they don't respect its meaning at all. I've seen young and single guys getting off their cars after having parked them at those kind of reserved places.

More to come... see you!

"Vai un frío de carallo..."

A couple of "carallos" here, a couple of "carallos" there... and some kind of typical erasmus night.

It's been a long time since I went to a pub, but old traditions never die. And with "minis" ("quintos" of beer, 0,20 litre) costing just half an euro... "mini" goes, "mini" comes (mini va, mini viene :D  "fromlosttotheriverismo")

Now, seriously, thank you guys for receiving me like that. It's been my pleasure. I hope we can repeat with some previous "licor café"... I'm afraid I'm gonna need to bring tons of it with me as soon as I come back to Galicia.

Now I'm going to sleep. It's been a hard day and I need to wake up early tomorrow... see you!

(I apologize for my poor english tonight. I have only one neuron working inside my brain right now. I don't know where the rest of them have gone.)

Erasmus Welcome Session

14:30 was the time. IPL central facilities was the place:

IPL central services

I had some trouble finding a place to park my car, so I arrived at the same time than IPL bus which transported students from Caldas da Rainha, where another campus is located.

So not much time to listen to people trying to find some spanish accent until we were driven to a building with some kind of auditorium inside. But there was a surprise waiting for us outside the building:

I was introduced to Gabriel (from Madrid), who also introduced me to Marta (basque, from Pamplona), both studying at Caldas da Rainha. The very first two of many spanish (and not spanish, of course) people to be introduced today. Then it would come Fernando (from Cantabria), Rosa (from Andorra), Álvaro, Ángel... and lots of other guys and girls whose names can't remember... It was a completely overdose of names and locations today, sorry...

So we got into the auditorium and saw some videos about the erasmus experience, looked trough the eyes of previous erasmus students. The spanish guys in the video seemed to have been scratching their belly the whole semester, I must say... They didn't help so much with their comments, but it was the funniest of all videos. 

And after that introduction, a nice time drinking some beer:

Some erasmus mates

More beer will come... tonight. I'm gonna know the famous Anubis, where all the erasmus students seem to enjoy here.

See you!

Banks & robbers

Some of you may have played "Midtown Madness" and still remember the multiplayer mode called that way. There were two teams, like cops vs robbers.

But there is no "vs" part inside what I have to say now. There is an "and": Banks & robbers. More specifically, a single bank, which is the one affecting me:

Expert robbers S.A.

We lend our money to them, they earn more money by lending our own money, they invest in properties, stocks and so on... and how do they appreciate? By charging an awesome 4% when you need to withdraw your OWN money when you are outside your country. I'm very upset, so upset that my poor english doesn't allow me to say everything I'd want... So...

"Me cago en todos los putos bancos, estafadores de los cojones! Si os dejo mi jodido dinero y sacáis una pasta gansa en bolsa, o con hipotecas o con lo que sea, no vengáis después a tocarme las narices cobrándome un maldito 4%! Os lo tendría que cobrar yo, no me jodas!
Me dais asco, aprovechándoos de los sueldos de currito y timando desde la legalidad. Controlando el devenir de la humanidad desde vuestras sedes intocables... Que si todo va bien, beneficios pa'la saca... Y si algo va mal, que pague el gobierno si no quiere que el tema afecte a sus ciudadanos... Asco, mucho asco. Si fuérais personas y os tuviera al lado os corría a collejas hasta que escupiéseis el hipotálamo."

I said.

Women on heels

Not too many... the reason?

Not suitable for heels

Every single step I take, every move I make, I'm walking on cobblestone sidewalks. It's tiring even if you are wearing flat shoes because these paving stones are uneven with each other and they aren't fixed at the same height... But it's great when it's raining! :D

I'm going to the Erasmus Welcome Session right now. I hope I can meet someone from Galicia in order to share travelling expenses some long weekends...

See you!