Calling all Portuguese-Canadians! (part deux) Posted by Gabriel on 7:25 pm

Are you Portuguese-Canadian? Do you like soccer/football (and ice hockey)? If so here’s another chance for you to help out an academic research project!

As you have probably seen below, João Sardinha is a very busy guy. Not only is he a Senior Researcher at the Centro de Estudos das Migrações e das Relações Interculturais – CEMRI, he is also the “Canadian Country Specialist” of the DIASBOLA project. The principle focus of this project is “reporting on football and migration in a Portuguese context.” You can check out the site for yourself at http://www.diasbola.com/

You are probably asking yourself, “That's all well and good, but what can I do to help?” Well, João has created a questionnaire for the project that aims to compare Portuguese soccer (football) and ice hockey and the impact of the two sports on Portuguese and Portuguese-Canadians in Canada.

The questionnaire only takes 10 to 20 minutes to fill out, and you actually end up learning a bit about yourself in the process. You can also get your family members to fill out the questionnaire, if it is applicable to them.

So if you do want to help and are willing to spare a few minutes of your time for an academic cause, send João an email at jmssardinha@gmail.com indicating which language you’d prefer for the questionnaire, and he’ll get in touch with you.

Thanks again!

Last day to hand in your tax statements! Posted by Gabriel on 1:15 pm

If you are living and working in Portugal, today (18/04/2010) is the last day to declare income tax on earnings from pensions or wages from dependant labour. You can do so online at http://www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/ You do need the password sent by Portuguese Revenue in order to log in.

Conversely, if your earnings come from other sources (for example, you are classified as an independent worker, meaning you receive your earnings by way of the infamous “recibos verdes”, or are declaring capital gains, property earnings, etc.), you have until the 28th of May to declare your income tax via the internet.

One word of warning though, if you do not hand in your tax files on time, you may be obliged to pay a fine that can go from €100.00 to €2,500.00. And that’s not all, be extra careful while filling out the forms, because mistakes or omissions can also cost you fines from €25.00 to €15,000.00. Ouch.

Playoff fever is in the air… Posted by Gabriel on 12:37 am

I am sure you all know that the Stanley Cup playoffs are now underway, with three Canadian teams in the running! (and not the most important one.. poor Leafs… *sniff*)

If you are planning to watch the games in Portugal, your choices are quite limited. Unfortunately, I personally do not know of any Canadian sports bars in Portugal, or any bar that shows hockey and has buffalo wings for that matter.

Only a mirage in Portugal

Therefore, you have to rely on cable TV, ESPN América in particular (a few games are shown on Sporttv3).

Regrettably, due to the difference in time zones, if you want to watch the games you are going to have to face the fact that you are going to be very sleepy at work. The earliest game starts at 11:00PM, and the latest starts at 3:00AM. Ouch.

You can check out the latest news at the following sites:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/

http://www.nhl.com/

And don’t forget to check out Coach’s Corner!

Força Canucks/Habs/Sens*!
*and Leafs..well, for next year, which incidentally is going to be our year.

Calling all Portuguese-Canadians! (in Portugal) Posted by Gabriel on 10:44 pm

Second-generation Portuguese-Canadian Return Project

Last week I received an email from João Sardinha, Senior Researcher in the “Centro de Estudos das Migrações e das Relações Interculturais – CEMRI”, of the Universidade Aberta here in Lisbon, stating he wished to interview me, concerning having returned to my ancestral home land (Portugal) from Canada, for his study project.

We scheduled an interview for today, which we finished about two hours ago. I tried to answer all his questions to the best of my ability, and afterwards we talked about our experiences here in Portugal.

However, João is still looking for more individuals for his study. 

So if you are:

1. Portuguese-Canadian
2. currently living in Portugal
3. willing to share your return to Portugal story, as well as sharing some opinions about your life here and your life back in Canada
4. willing to help in the advancement of human kind
5. and more importantly, willing to help a fellow Portuguese-Canadian

Then send João an email at jmssardinha@gmail.com to arrange an interview. He will send you a question guide in advance, so you can prepare for the interview (don’t worry though; the interview is very stress-free and informal).

Aside from being a Senior Researcher in the CEMRI, João is also Portuguese-Canadian (from Prince George, BC) and a really nice guy to boot, so don’t hesitate to contact him, for the good of science!

A different kind of migration studies.

Update: Not MIA Posted by Gabriel on 10:40 pm

My apologies everyone, but I have recently started a new job and have moved to the capital! They say that change is always good.

As you might expect, things have been a bit hectic lately, but as soon as I settle down a bit I will try to add more information and try to organize an event occasionally.

If you have any news you want me to add, send me an email!

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics start this Friday! Posted by Gabriel on 1:08 pm

As any good Canuck knows, the Winter Olympics are the important Olympics, and as such, want to see Canada rake in the medals, especially with the home advantage.

Now, if you are living in Portugal, the Winter Olympics rarely make the news, seeing as how winter sports are practically impossible here due to the good weather, and because Portugal has only one athlete in the Winter Olympics (Danny Silva, the only amateur athlete at the Games... that's determination!).

What is the best way to follow the Olympics in Portugal, if you don't have cable TV, you may ask?

Going to a pub is not an option, since with the time difference, they would be closed, and with the little interest in the winter games, they would probably have it on VH1 or SportTv.

Well, the internet of course!

The Official 2010 Vancouver Olympics website has a listing of on-line coverage. Very, very handy.

I recommend checking out the official website, you can follow Olympic news on Twitter, become a Facebook fan, see the schedules, etc.

The Opening Ceremony is set to start at 2:00AM on the 13th of February here in Portugal (6:00PM on the 12th in Vancouver), don't miss it!

Portugal is safe again! ETA base uncovered. Posted by Gabriel on 12:15 pm

The ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, or Basque Homeland and Freedom) logistics base in Óbidos, Portugal has been neutralized, according to the general director of the Portuguese Republican National Guard.

The base was uncovered this Friday, after the buildings  landlord alerted the police that the tenants were leaving without paying the rent.

Portuguese Police discovered close to 1500 kilograms of explosives in the Casal da Avela headquarters. Destruction of those explosives is currently underway.

However, maps discovered at the site show the existence of other bases throughout Portugal.

In the Diário Digital On-line, 08-02-2010

Portuguese airports failing to comply with international laws Posted by Gabriel on 2:24 pm

Despite being activated more than three years ago, a set of international certification laws that were implemented in May 2007 and affect all aerodromes and airports are still not being carried out to the full in Portugal, even by large airports such as Lisbon, Faro and Oporto, media reports claimed this week.

In theory the non-compliance with these certification laws should in fact legally imply the closure of the airports.

For example, properly certified airport manuals are needed in all seven national airports run by ANA – Airports of Portugal, which include Lisbon, Faro, Oporto and Ponta Delgada (Azores).

These manuals comprise health and safety laws drawn up for each specific airport and must be stamped by the National Institute for Civil Aviation (INAC).

ANA spokesperson Rui Oliveira confirmed that the airports had had the manuals drawn up and that these had been sent off to INAC “some time ago” for approval, but had not yet been sent back.

Portuguese newspaper O Público reported that ANA’s manuals were in fact sent off three years ago and were still awaiting validation.

Because of this, the Democratic Syndicate for Airport and Aviation Workers (Sindav) sent a letter to the Ministry for Public Works highlighting “series doubts” regarding the proper certification of 40 supposedly approved aerodromes on a list published by INAC.

At the time it was implemented aerodromes and heliports were given two years to adjust their standards to the newly-introduced laws.

The law states that failure to do so will mean all air-related infrastructures will have to reapply for licenses to operate.

However, eight months after that deadline (May 2009) no re-applications have been submitted.

Smaller airports argue lack of financial resources to purchase additional equipment such as permanent ambulances and insurances that are compulsory under the new law.

In The Portugal News Online, Edition: 1047, 06/02/2010

Minho Region Posted by Gabriel on 8:14 pm

Just got back from the north recently (visited Braga and Terras de Bouro), and took some pictures. However they don’t do the place justice, since it is very beautiful. These were taking in a village close to Terras de Bouro. I'm planning on visiting Braga again soon to get some pictures of the city.

  

 

Very worth visiting, for the great visages, very rich food (going to have to talk about this later, the food is excellent) and (relatively) friendly people.

If you have a chance, take a hike through one of Portugal’s largest, and most beautiful, natural parks, the «Penedo-Gerês».

 

Here are some photos of that park from my infamous hike to Santiago de Compostela during the summer.

These are both of the artificial lake (damn reservoir).

A poor shot of the rivers that feed the lake, made up of natural waterfalls.

Considering studying in Portugal? Posted by Gabriel on 8:05 pm

Well, might as well be useful and tell you what you need to study in Portugal, in case you decide to move here from abroad. Of course the information I'm going to give applies to people moving from Canada before the Bologna reforms, since that is the only experience I have on the matter (and I moved here as a Portuguese national, so I didn’t have to face all the bureaucratic hassles).

Of course, before moving here you'd better think long and hard on what you objectives are, what you'd have to gain, and what you have to lose.

If you're planning on using the Portuguese experience as a stepping stone to the rest of Europe, or if you want to help take Portugal out from the economic crapper, and enjoy great food and weather while you’re at it, then go for it!

What you need:

• Official transcripts from your high school
• Official transcripts from your university or college.
• Course descriptions (if you plan on applying for course equivalences, so you don’t have to repeat them)
• A letter from the Ministry of Education of your province that declares that the college or university that you attended is official recognized by the government as authorized to grant academic degrees (in order to avoid people with mail-order degrees)
• Up-to-date vaccines
• A valid Canadian passport
• Residence study visa from the nearest Portuguese embassy or consulate 
• Knowledge of prerequisite courses, otherwise you may to take entrance exams
• A reasonably good understanding of the Portuguese language (real-world experience is the best teacher!)
• Money

And remember folks, in Portugal, the more official looking the document the better!

Here’s a link to get started.

And now for something completely different...



(the beaver made it)

First impressions Posted by Gabriel on 3:47 pm

I first arrived in Portugal in July 2003, and stayed with my aunt in the city of Braga. My first hours in Portugal were a foreshadowing of things to come and the reality of Portuguese society - my uncle picked me up at the airport with a friend of his, an off-duty, plain clothes police officer. Imagine my surprise that, whenever we approached a red light, the friend would say "Go ahead, I give you authorization to run the red light." And of course, he always did.

Braga is actually a very pleasant city, and I do recommend visiting it. It is one of the largest cities in Portugal, behind Lisbon and Oporto. The city centre is very medieval, while the rest is quite modern.

Since classes only started in October, I had a few months to burn.

My attempts at doing voluntary work at NGO’s during this time were met with frustration.  Some said that they would only accept me if I had a car. Others said that I could not do anything without proof of residence.

I had no Internet access in order to inform myself on the world (a strong blow, for someone completely used to having Internet access 24/7). I felt somewhat lost. Occasionally I went to Internet cafes to check my email, but it just is not the same.

My days consisted of waking up, taking a shower, having breakfast in my aunts’ restaurant, taking a walk to downtown Braga to read the newspaper, then return to the restaurant and eat, watch TV, and chat with the locals. It was very tedious.

Thankfully, admissions to law school were opened in August. I planned to apply to three universities, the Universidade do Minho, in Braga, Universidade de Porto (in Porto), and the Universidade de Coimbra (in, you guessed it, Coimbra), in that order.

It was at this time that Portuguese bureaucracy first reared its ugly head...

How it all started. Posted by Gabriel on 12:56 pm

Happy 2010!


Where was I? On yeah, in the year 2003 I decided to move to Portugal to study law.

My decision was not very well received by the members of my family (mainly my parents and aunts and uncles). They all told me that life in Portugal is very different from life in Canada. That if would be very difficult for me; not only because of the cultural differences but also because of the vast differences in infrastructures and development, and that I would eventually regret my decision. I did not help that my family members were all Portuguese immigrants, which left the country while it was still reeling from the effects of the April 25th revolution, at a time when the differences between the two countries were even greater.

Well, they were correct on everything, except the part about regretting my decision.

Of course financial reasons helped to motivate my decision, since studying law in Canada would have cost quite a bit (around 10,000 dollars), while in Portugal at the time the tuition was about 500 dollars. Housing and food costs were about equal. Nevertheless, the main attraction was the opportunity to experience a different culture...

By the way,
The judicial (and not only) holidays are officially over! However, by the slowness of the Portuguese legal system you would be pressed to tell the difference.