Monday, February 27, 2006
Cultural Experiences
This weekend was a very long one and a very tiring one. I played soccer with some Portuguese friends Friday night and became tired. Saturday morning, being my only good time to do homework came early. Saturday afternoon, I went to a birthday party for a Portuguese friend. At this party we had a local specialty called leitao (I cannot include accents here for some reason). Leitao is a young pig roasted in a similar way that large pigs are roasted. I brought some pictures, but my camera card is not working right now. Maybe I can post them tomorrow. I also was able to sample some local soups, one like grass chowder and the other liver and potatoes. They were not what I was accustomed to eating, but they were not bad. I also got to sample some local cheeses, sausages, and breads. It was great. It was also great to be surrounded by Portuguese speech, and understand most of it, except when we went to the coffee shop. On Sunday, I had church meetings followed by a group of the young people who went to a coffee shop to drink coffee and watch the big game of the week. This was interesting as well, although a bit challenging after a weekend of heavy immersion.
This week is the Festa do Carnival. In Portugal it is said to be quite different from that of Brazil. One of the main differences is that the festa really only lasts one day. The other is, thankfully, that with the much cooler weather and more conservative modesty the people are less offensive at this time of year. To explain the party, one teacher said today "Adeus carne," meaning "Goodbye flesh." That about hits it. The idea is that since consecration happens during the period of Lent, they have to get the sins out of their system by committing them. Why is it that, not just in Catholic but in all religions, days designed to celebrate the holy are preceded and superseded by days that celebrate the unholy?
Please pray for continued progress in the language. It is coming, but I always want to learn more.
Please pray for the church in Portugal. One percent are professing protestant, which includes a wide variety.
Please pray for the Mozambique team. They have full work schedules. Praise the Lord that the earthquake in Maputo was not as disastrous as it could have been (7.5, but not a lot of structural damage). And praise the Lord that it was no where near the team of missionaries who work in the north.
This week is the Festa do Carnival. In Portugal it is said to be quite different from that of Brazil. One of the main differences is that the festa really only lasts one day. The other is, thankfully, that with the much cooler weather and more conservative modesty the people are less offensive at this time of year. To explain the party, one teacher said today "Adeus carne," meaning "Goodbye flesh." That about hits it. The idea is that since consecration happens during the period of Lent, they have to get the sins out of their system by committing them. Why is it that, not just in Catholic but in all religions, days designed to celebrate the holy are preceded and superseded by days that celebrate the unholy?
Please pray for continued progress in the language. It is coming, but I always want to learn more.
Please pray for the church in Portugal. One percent are professing protestant, which includes a wide variety.
Please pray for the Mozambique team. They have full work schedules. Praise the Lord that the earthquake in Maputo was not as disastrous as it could have been (7.5, but not a lot of structural damage). And praise the Lord that it was no where near the team of missionaries who work in the north.
