Someone Portuguese When You Least Expect It.

There have been several times in my life when I really never expected to find someone that was from Portugal or who spoke Portuguese. I was surprised each time when I did. This evening we went to one of the kid's first Art show. Her class and other students from schools on the North Shore were exhibiting their art work at a local Art College studio. After looking at her fantastic CD cover art work, we decided to look at some of the other pieces of art the children made. One school made a totem pole and sure enough at the top of one of the totem pole was the Portuguese flag! This particular artwork was created by an elementary school in Peabody. My interpretation of the art was that their design should reflect the character of their community. Peabody has a small Portuguese American community. Like most of the Portuguese people out there, they are very proud of their heritage. So proud that the son or daughter of one of them decided to include the Portuguese flag on one of the heads of the Totem Pole.


For such a small country like Portugal, it is amazing to see how many Portuguese immigrants there are around the world. I remember being at my mother's house for Christmas Eve last year and having the RTP 1 the Satellite Portuguese Channel on TV. They were presenting peace and Christmas wishes from Portuguese immigrant families living throughout the world. It seemed like they had live video feeds from several different countries on each continent. Argentina, Norway, France, Germany, United States, Canada. What I found amazing was the common bond all these people had about who they are and where they came from. Their desire to achieve a better life through hard work and a love for their family and friends was obvious. My hope is that each visitor to the Blog adds themselves to the Frappr Ferreira map so that we can get a sense for where everyone is!

Professionally I thought I would never have to speak Portuguese for any job position I would ever have. The first job I had was when I was 13 or so working for $2 an hour as a deli clerk in a Portuguese American Butchery. I thought that it would be the first and only job that required I speak Portuguese. Oddly enough though, a recent job I had involved supporting a team in Brasil which required me to speak Portuguese. It was the oddest thing speaking Portuguese at work. It was actually useful in helping me improve my speaking skills since the only chance I get to speak Portuguese is when I am with the Family.

I have also had some experiences running into people who are Portuguese when I have been shopping where they were complaining about something in Portuguese thinking that no one nearby understood what they were saying. When I told them they should be more careful about what they say in Portuguese they were shocked. There is a lesson there and perhaps my mom should be the first to understand this lesson because she once made the same mistake when she was at a store trying to buy something. She started criticizing the store service in Portuguese and then the clerk responded in Portuguese.

So keep your eyes on the look out for someone Portuguese when you lease expect it. If you find them say hello and introduce yourself!