Follow the jump links to learn more about Portugal
Lifestyle and Family Living
Teen Life
Dress and Appearance
Diet and Meals
Educational System
Geography and Climate
Population
Language
Government
Religion
Spending Money
Safety and Support
Fun Facts Lifestyle and Family Living
The Portuguese are open, friendly and hospitable to people of other nations. Because people and relationships are more important than time, punctuality is not always stressed. This is changing, however, particularly in urban areas.
Portugal is a liberal society, and contrary to popular belief, families are not very religious, though some go to church on Sunday. On weekends, a lot of time is spent with relatives.
Physical contact is a common sign of affection between members of a family and between close friends. Many people greet each other by kissing both cheeks, from left to right (though there are exceptions; for instance, teachers are not greeted this way).
Families are very close. It is important to spend time with the family watching TV or talking about daily events. Families are also very strict when it comes to family schedules: in some families, meals are always taken together.
In the typical Portuguese family, the wife usually supervises the children and manages the household while the husband is involved with work outside the home. It is becoming more common that both parents work outside the home, and everybody shares the housework; still, wives still have a more active role in managing the household.
Families are protective of their children, particularly girls. For example, teenage boys have more liberal curfews than their sisters do. Teenagers are expected to ask permission to go out and to organize their activities.
You need to carefully explain your plans and ask for your host parents’ approval rather than make your plans without their consent. It is also very common that adult children of the family still live in their parents’ house and still receive a lot of attention.
Although Portugal is a more conservative country, the number of one parent families has been increasing. You may be placed in a two parent or one parent family, a family with children or one without. You may be placed with families anywhere in Portugal, in urban or rural areas, in the mainland or islands. It is not common to be placed in the south coast of Portugal (Algarve).
Portuguese host families, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to students in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.Teen Life
Because few schools offer extracurricular activities, students organize their own activities after school. Your host family can also help you inquire about local community organizations. Getting involved as a volunteer in one of these groups is a great way to make new friends, meet people and learn more about your community.
On weekends, Portuguese teens like to get together with friends in each others’ homes, the town square, a local café or at the movies. Many families enjoy doing things together on weekends.
During the year, Portugal enjoys numerous celebrations, fairs, religious pilgrimages and festivals. The year starts with New Year’s parties, followed by Carnival, Easter, summer musical festivals and Christmas. Each region, even the smallest village, keeps particular traditions alive through colorful decorations, food and drinks, dances and songs, year-round.Dress and Appearance
In general, it is best to bring casual clothes such as jeans, T-shirts, slacks and skirts.
Students are encouraged to bring one or two nice outfits for special occasions (dress shirts and ties for boys, dresses for girls).
Because most Portuguese homes are not centrally heated, you should bring sweaters and socks and a warm coat for the winter months. Please keep in mind that Portugal is not just sunny throughout the year. You should be ready to face a rainy, windy and cold winter. So don’t forget warm clothes and winter boots!
Portuguese teenage girls use make-up sometimes, especially when going out for parties. But jewelry should be worn with caution, especially in urban areas.Diet and Meals
The Portuguese are proud of their food. They appreciate eating and drinking well. Almost all parties include a meal, especially family gatherings.
Breakfast, served early in the morning before going to school, consists usually of bread or toast with butter, cheese, ham, or jam, milk, coffee or chocolate.
Lunch, served around noon, is usually a hot meal that includes soup, main dish and fruit or dessert.
Dinner is a hot meal again and is served around 8 p.m.
Staple foods in the Portuguese diet include fish, chicken, vegetables and fruits. Pork, goat, partridge, quail and rabbit are typical meats in Portugal.
Famous specialties are sardinhas assadas (charcoal-grilled sardines), pastéis de bacalhau (cod fishcakes) and caldo verde (a soup of cabbage and potatoes). Codfish is prepared in many ways, and it is usually offered to AFS students as the most typical Portuguese dish.
The family customarily eats together; it is considered inappropriate for individuals to request special foods, to prepare separate food for themselves or to raid the refrigerator.
Sweets are very popular, and wine is often consumed with meals. Since red meat and fish are a part of the everyday diet, vegetarianism is extremely rare, making vegetarians difficult to place.Educational System
School is probably the best place to meet people and make friends during your stay in Portugal. AFS students are placed in public high schools with classmates their age.
Based on your interests and academic achievements back home, you will be placed on one of the following subject tracks: sciences & technologies, social-economic sciences, social and human sciences, languages & literature and visual arts. General subjects such as Portuguese, French, English, Philosophy, Physical Education and Computers may be compulsory.
AFS Portugal will help you obtain textbooks and cover transportation and lunch at school expenses if needed. As an AFS student we will request that you take a minimum of 5 subjects.
Teachers in Portugal lecture more often than they pose questions and answers.
Schools do not offer sports and extracurricular activities, but after school there will be soccer clubs and other teams, theater groups, computer clubs, photography groups and other activities. Your host family, schoolmates and local AFS volunteers can all help you to find get involved.
All instruction, with the exception of foreign languages, is done in Portuguese. In the beginning, you may find it hard to follow, but as you learn more of the language, school will become less challenging, so be patient, work hard, and keep at it!
While it may be possible to obtain academic credit for the coursework you successfully complete abroad, AFS cannot guarantee this. Please discuss your plans with your school before you go abroad.
Geography and Climate
Portugal is located on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula of Europe and is about 91,985 Km2.
It is bordered on the north and east by Spain. Its western and southern flanks are washed by the cold Atlantic Ocean. Portugal is divided into two regions by the Tagus River, which flows into the Atlantic at Lisbon. The northern region is mountainous and has a temperate climate with long, cold winters especially in the northeastern section. South of the Tagus River the terrain is less rugged, characterized by gentle hills and valleys. The climate is warmer and milder.
The Portuguese Republic includes the mainland, the Azores and Madeira Islands in the Eastern Atlantic. Portugal has no extreme temperature differences. The average temperature in winter is 11ºC (52ºF). The average temperature in summer is 23ºC (74ºF).
Population
Portugal’s population numbers about 10 million. Lisbon, the capital city, has 564,000 inhabitants. Ethnic structure of the country: 99% Portuguese, 1% African. Portugal has one of the youngest populations of the European Union; around one-fourth of the population is younger than 15.
Language
The only official language spoken in Portugal is Portuguese. A single dialect, called Mirandês, is spoken in a small village in northern Portugal (Miranda do Douro), very near the Spanish border. This dialect is preserved as a regional cultural heritage.
Portuguese is spoken by 200 million people in eight countries spread across five continents.
AFS Portugal will provide you with a language handbook and asks all hosting schools to provide students with private or group classes of Portuguese for foreigners.
Government
Portugal is a republic. The president is elected for a term of five years. Members of the unicameral legislature, called the Assembly of the Republic, are elected for terms of four years.
Religion
Around 84% of the population is Roman Catholic.
Spending Money
The Euro is the official currency.
Your program and country information packet (provided in the months prior to your departure) will give you an idea of how much spending money is appropriate and whether you should arrive with any amount of the local currency in hand.
Host families pay only for ordinary family events in which you are expected to participate. When you do such things as shopping for yourself or going out with friends, the expenses are your responsibility. Depending on the cost of living in your host country, we recommend you budget about $100-$300 per month.
Remember: never travel with large amounts of cash. Instead, bring travelers checks or follow the advice in the country and program information packet. Another option for obtaining money while overseas is to use a debit card linked to a checking account back home (but try not to use a debit card for daily purchases since there are ATM and currency exchange fees). Or, you can transfer money using wiring services such as Western Union.
You and your parents should determine a budget and preferred money transfer plan before you depart so that you are not caught without spending money while abroad.
Be conscientious of your spending since conspicuous consumption may not be viewed favorably and spending more than your peers and family may create a distance between you and them.
Safety and Support
AFS has the utmost concern for the welfare, safety, and security of our participants. We’ve been exchanging participants throughout the world for 60 years—that’s six decades of history and experience in international education with an exemplary record of safety, security, and service.
AFS maintains a network of experienced staff and trained volunteers who provide support in each country. In the event of an emergency, 24-hour assistance is available to students, their parents, and the host families. Furthermore, your AFS tuition includes comprehensive medical insurance coverage to ensure that medical care is available to our participants anywhere in the world and at all times.
While we have the above support structures in place, we also encourage you to take responsibility for your own safety and we give you the guidance to do so. Many of the AFS orientation activities, both at home and abroad, are intended to give you the tools to stay safe. We also provide country-specific safety tips to each participant prior to departure.
Learn more about the >AFS safety and support network.
Fun Facts
- There are 37 cities bearing the name “Lisbon” in the United States. These cities are spread over 25 states.
- Danielle Steele, the best-selling romance novelist, is half-Portuguese, and Tom Hanks, the Oscar winning actor and producer, is of Azorean descent.
- The capital of Portugal was moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (which at the time was a colony of Portugal), from 1807 until 1821 while Portugal was fighting France in the Napoleonic Wars.
- The world’s earliest recorded balloon was a hot-air model invented by Father Bartolomeu de Gusmão (né Lourenço), which was flown indoors at the Casa da India, Terreiro do Paço (better known as Praça do Comércio) in Lisbon on August 8, 1709. He later fled to Spain for fear of being accused of performing black magic by the Inquisition.
- On the Island of Madeira, one can visit the house where Christopher Columbus lived.
- Subway stations in Lisbon are the most mentioned of the world for the artistic diversity of their architecture and decor as well as for the harmony between their architecture and art.
