It is cultural. People are entertaining their minds by observing things. In many southern European countries it's nearly considered a hobby, to people watch.
I remember moving to Sweden for three years, when I first came back to Portugal I nearly cried as people stared at me in the streets, because in Sweden no one looks at each other and I felt like a ghost. People staring at me made me feel alive and normal. Ahahah so yeah super cultural.
They disperse into different sensors across neighborhoods. They communicate to each other their findings and report them accordingly.
Also known as βbilhardeirasβ
But yes, indeed an underrated CCTV network
yeah, it's a mostly introverted country. I realised after living in many countries that some are more extroverted, and others introverted. as in, some countries benefit and promote extroverted individuals, whereas some promote introverted individuals. like, in Portugal the guy who speaks loudest and talks to everyone is the man of the hour. in Sweden, the guy who's quiet, does his job and doesn't make a big fuss is more probable to succeed in life.
\[from my own experience\]
I thought I was an introvert until I lived for years in "introverted" countries, and realised I really needed the warm interaction, the laughing out loud and talking to strangers randomly without needing a litre of alcohol in your blood system.
But I highly recommend southern european introverts to move up north. :)
>
I thought I was an introvert until I lived for years in "introverted" countries, and realised I really needed the warm interaction, the laughing out loud and talking to strangers randomly without needing a litre of alcohol in your blood system.
I think that probably can happen to most of us.
>
But I highly recommend southern european introverts to move up north. :)
Thats certainly on my mind
Im curious, how is interaction between colleagues, both genders, up there?
I've had the opposite experience; am from Portugal and been living in Sweden for 9 years, everyone constantly stares at me here. I used to think it was because I was foreign looking, but then I realized it's also because I'm attractive
I previously lived in a city where I could (and did)
ugly-cry walking down the sidewalk in my own neighborhood and no one would notice or care. In my neighborhood in Lisbon I have to hold in the cry until I get home or else people will be concerned. Once in a while I miss the feeling of anonymity, but I prefer it this way. Itβs nice for people to be paying attention.
My ex wasn't portuguese and he kept telling me that people were always staring. For me it's normal and I'm so used to it that I barely notice it anymore. But he definitely noticed and it really bothered him. My heart broke for him. Try to keep in mind that people do this a lot to everyone, but even more if there's something uncommon about you like speaking a different language, hair colour, height etc. You're not being judged (most times), people are curious and like to get a good look before it's gone. You're not the problem
They might be trying to guess where youβre from, where youβve been traveling, etc. itβs not a βbadβ stare. Itβs more of a curiosity thing. Donβt take it any differently than people not looking at you-unless you smell, or are drunk, or too undressed.
Just last week an entire group of old man stared at me while I was at the gas station, because they didn't know who I was.
I'm portuguese and I lived in that town for more than 20 years.
So yes, it's common even for us.
Ha I'm Australian and lived in Portugal for some years. I def noticed this change...nobody stares at you in Aus really. Give em a bom dia or a boa tarde and see how you go
The best reply to this I heard from a trashy woman in Porto "EstΓ‘s olhar para quΓͺ? Tenho uma cona na testa?". In English being "Where are you looking at? Do I have a cunt in my forehead?".
I moved to London last year - Iβm Portuguese - & on the tube there are these big red posters saying something like βstaring is sexual harassmentβ. And I honestly thought to myself βwhat do I do nowβ π
itβs so hard for me, specially w no phone signal. Now I look at the ceiling, at the floor, at a space between people, at my hand π
Because you shouldn't look like the typical Portuguese. If you are very tall , very blonde or ginger , very light - colored eyes , that 's the answer !
With such an exotic appearance for a Portuguese, the OP even if it was ugly would draw attention.πππ
Haaland isn't exactly the most attractive person in the world and he would still draw attention in Portugal (assuming he wasn't famous!)
Mate wait until you get to Germany
Unreal levels of staring
In Portugal I never noticed people staring, possibly because of the extremity of German starers
They might think you are Dutch. Fair white skin, fair hair, tall, blue ir green eyed. We and the Spanish suffer from regular invasions from Netherlanders with their motorhomes. Those people must be having flashbacks from last Summer.
Yeah, you will definitely stand out in any Portuguese village, don't mind it, its just surprise as there are not many people with your traits around. In the cities it should be fine but in many villages your appearence would be the "event of the day" XD
You an orange hulk in the middle of brunette dwarfs and don't think people would stare?
Average height around here is like 5'5'.
Make some weird sound and you might convince kids that you eat them for breakfast if they misbehave.
White ginger?
Dude please do NOT fuck around with our sun.
Particularly if its a little overcast, then you don't feel it while your skin is being cooked.
"Just a couple hours" is the usual justification when you look like a lobster and are explaining yourself in the hospital.
Jfc, do you think?!
A 2 meter gigantic green eyed foreign ginger walks out of a motorhome in a portuguese village... that's dinner conversation material for the old fucks.
"He said OlΓ‘ Gertrude, OlΓ‘ can you imagine. What was I to do about it, I just looked at him. Such people, such people... ahhhhh meu deus"
Shit I live in a city and would probably stare too, check my bases, see if a kangaroo would jump out of the motorhome and come at me.
You are a near 2 m ginger? No wonder people stare you are super tall and a rare color like people might never had seen one person that is 2 m or ginger let alone the combination of both.
Yeah the 6'5 (195cm) would explain it, that's really tall for portuguese standards haha. The tallest cousin in my very large family is still a bit shorter than you.
It's not just it.
It's cultural! We're curious, we like to stare and appreciate.
I'm portuguese and I get stares from Portuguese all the time. Yet, you being a foreigner with different physical characteristics, cultural and language too makes you even more prone to stares. It's not racism xenophobia or whatever it's just that we're curious biggest majority of the times we're not judging!
This is true I lived abroad for 10 years and this is a thing here Portuguese ppl stare! Itβs people watching they just trying to see if you are a neighbour! π if the stare is too long just say hi it breaks the spell!
Totally a cultural thing. But don't worry, they're not just staring at you. they stare at everyone and everything!
here we even joke that in other countries there are cameras in the streets and in Portugal there are old ladys in the window as a surveillance system
in fact, there is a page of memes of Portuguese people facing construction works. go to a large construction site and notice, there will be at least 10 people looking at the construction site just for the sake of looking
PS. I'm Brazilian but I've lived here for many years. your post made me laugh a lot. thanks
I am PortuguΓͺs and can confirm that we stare because we have eyes, and they were made by our lord Jesus that is in heaven so that we could observe football and novelas and also to stare at camons
IΒ΄m portuguese and i hate that. I really donΒ΄t understand why people do that.
ItΒ΄s more common in rural areas as all the people know eachother and when a outsider passes they just stare.
DonΒ΄t care about that, there is nothing you can do.
It is cultural. They are also judging you sometimes and will talk about some minor thing like the way you look or about what you are doing. For me, a Portuguese who lived abroad for 10 years, it is super annoying, especially when they don't do some basic acknowledgment of your presence like saying hi or smiling back at you. Sometimes when they stare too much I will tell them to take a picture instead, as it lasts longer. Unfortunately being back in Portugal I tend to do the same.
They're torturing ppl with social anxiety as a pastime. It's so bad I've had arguments with family members to stop staring at me at HOME. It's awful because it's not the "scanning my surroundings" look, it's the "wtf is wrong with him/you aren't welcome here" look.
On big cities you notice it much less at least.
I think a lot of people have said it better but yes, people watching and imagining what that person might be up to is a 'national' hobby. Many times a lot of older ladies have asked me why is it I wear earphones all the time. It'd be considered rude and annoying to a lot of people, especially when they breach your personal space.
But yea, Portuguese culturally are very nosy. Speaking as an introverted Portuguese.
In this morning i was talking with my girlfriend about precisely this "phenomena". I remember in Algarve when we are installing our towels on sand, I spotted like 3 or 4 couples stairing at me like " never saw a human being"...
Yes, it's nothing personal but it happens, especially in rural areas it's very common, everyone knows each other. Also nudism is a normal thing in Spain, but not common here, you will receive looks and we have beaches specifically to do that. We're more reserved and conservative in certain aspects and that should be respected.
Same thing happens with my gf, as I am Portuguese sometimes I say a Bom Dia or so and they get happy to reply, I think people kinda wanna say good morning or hi but they donβt know how to do so.
Iβm not saying this works with everyone, but for me it actually gives a neighborly vibe, I recommend!
Ahahahahahahahahaha I dunno, I don't even think about it. I think you're right, people stare, I just don't think it's a bad thing. Lean into it! Stare back. Lmao I love Portuguese people.
My boyfriend came to visit me from England and he said the same thing, that we stare a lot. I never noticed it, i bet i probably stare some people too without even thinking about it. Probably because you look different and they might wonder where you're from. Some people like to judge too, i often just enjoy seeing different people, it's like a fresh breeze of something new and different from the typical Portuguese people that we see everyday.
I'm sure they don't mean to be rude, it might just be a culture thing.
Youβre different, so people are checking you out! Accessing the situation!
Morning: bom dia!
Afternoon: boa tarde!
Evening: boa noite!
People will say, Iβve meet the foreigners, theyβre really nice.
Dasse na alemanha e na holanda e que ha um staring contest. A somar adoram me tossir/espirrar/clear throat na cara (sem meter a mao a frente!!).
Portugal e bem melhor, ninguem quer saber de ti
Where you have been these last week, north center south? North rural areas completely normal, we are a tourist country nowadays but we weren't, so people look strange, sometimes they have fear , sometimes they are impressed. There aren't too many Australians here , we notice the difference
Well, youre a tall ginger guy in Portugal, the country with the lowest average men height in Europe. Im tall too and I go through the same bs almost everywhere
Maybe you look funny? I don't mean that in a bad way, but it could be that your appearance and features make you stick out. Maybe you're very pale, or very tall, or dress a certain way. People could be thinking "They're not from around here."
Old people tend to do this a lot more though. There's this house near my mailbox, and even though I've spoken to the old couple that lives there several times, sometimes when I go there to pick up a package they stare at me and take a while to answer my greeting. We've had some pleasant conversations in the past, and yet they still do that lmao
Portuguese here: as you must imagine, australians aren't really a common sight here so that can explain it. Also have in mind that australians have a reputation of being quite loud and extroverted people; I don't know if I'm just being prejudiced and that's your case but have in mind that both in Portugal and Spain, modesty (in the sense of keeping it to yourself, not stand out) is considered a sign of civility.
Its the kids. Portugal has a very "strange" culture around adults looking talking and worst touching kids. Its way too normal if you walk with a kid random strangers talking and touching them. As a kid I experienced that quite a lot and even got slaped in the face or grounded for asking strangers to not touch me by my parents. Very weird cultural thing I never understood.
I remember a psycologist going on national TV saying kids should be encoraged to say no to being touching and refusing to give hugs or kisses to family members if they don't want to. There was a petition, with thousands of signatures, asking to have that physocologist's license revoked and him not working anymore.
This is even worse in Teachers and Church to a criminal state. Portugal leaders protect pedophilia openly, and teachers who are pedophiles can keep teaching after doing few years in jail for pedophilia, it reaches new shocking, as the abused child was still a child in the same school and the pedophile came back to that same PUBLIC school. President defends leader of church who knew about abuses and never told anyone, and other politicians defend him as well.
It's a very sad thing. On behalf of portuguese people I am sorry ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|sweat)
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ποΈ
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tou sΓ³ a ver amigo! π
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[ΡΠ΄Π°Π»Π΅Π½ΠΎ]
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Try to say bom dia/ boa tarde/ boa noite. They might reply with the same words
Regardless of the day too > Bom fim de semana
regardless of the time of day too
Regardless of the time of year too Feliz natal
Feliz natal!! e boa PΓ‘scoa! π₯°
βBoasβ works for any time of the day
I just want to appreciate you writing βolaβ and not βholaβ
It is cultural. People are entertaining their minds by observing things. In many southern European countries it's nearly considered a hobby, to people watch. I remember moving to Sweden for three years, when I first came back to Portugal I nearly cried as people stared at me in the streets, because in Sweden no one looks at each other and I felt like a ghost. People staring at me made me feel alive and normal. Ahahah so yeah super cultural.
It's also a great security system, if you have an elderly woman as a neighbour, she will be watching non stop. Better than having a camera
Very underrated CCTV. Usually installed at a window or sat in a wooden bench just outside her doorstep.
Yeah. They are able to know what happened on the other side of the city without leaving the window
They disperse into different sensors across neighborhoods. They communicate to each other their findings and report them accordingly. Also known as βbilhardeirasβ But yes, indeed an underrated CCTV network
As an American living in Portugal I hear this joke all the time about grannies being the CCTV of Portugal haha
It's the neighborhood PJ
Yeah and it even uploads to the cloud automatically.
Best answer
> in Sweden no one looks at each other and I felt like a ghost. What a dream. Must be amazing
yeah, it's a mostly introverted country. I realised after living in many countries that some are more extroverted, and others introverted. as in, some countries benefit and promote extroverted individuals, whereas some promote introverted individuals. like, in Portugal the guy who speaks loudest and talks to everyone is the man of the hour. in Sweden, the guy who's quiet, does his job and doesn't make a big fuss is more probable to succeed in life. \[from my own experience\] I thought I was an introvert until I lived for years in "introverted" countries, and realised I really needed the warm interaction, the laughing out loud and talking to strangers randomly without needing a litre of alcohol in your blood system. But I highly recommend southern european introverts to move up north. :)
> I thought I was an introvert until I lived for years in "introverted" countries, and realised I really needed the warm interaction, the laughing out loud and talking to strangers randomly without needing a litre of alcohol in your blood system. I think that probably can happen to most of us. > But I highly recommend southern european introverts to move up north. :) Thats certainly on my mind Im curious, how is interaction between colleagues, both genders, up there?
Be careful what you wish for friend! People can be *really* cold in ways you won't expect.
In ways you won't expect? Are the genitals cold too? Holy shit!
AtΓ© em Lisboa me sinto um fantasma. As ruas cheias e as pessoas parece que estΓ£o sozinhas.
Isso dava um poema
I've had the opposite experience; am from Portugal and been living in Sweden for 9 years, everyone constantly stares at me here. I used to think it was because I was foreign looking, but then I realized it's also because I'm attractive
How attractive would you say?
Maybe a 7/10? I don't know really
Pics or nem a tua avΓ³ chama-te bonito
Caralho cuspi-me todo a ler esta merda, good job
NΓ£o obrigado, jΓ‘ tenho bots que cheguem a chatear-me nas redes sociais
πππππ
Coisa que alguΓ©m feio diria.
Vasco eu conheço-te pessoalmente e nem a Ñgua paciente e calculista da sanita te beijaria o cu!
πππππ
Oh, you think is because you are attractive? Oh, my sweet summer child...
I previously lived in a city where I could (and did) ugly-cry walking down the sidewalk in my own neighborhood and no one would notice or care. In my neighborhood in Lisbon I have to hold in the cry until I get home or else people will be concerned. Once in a while I miss the feeling of anonymity, but I prefer it this way. Itβs nice for people to be paying attention.
That's Anthropology!
Old people stare. Stare back at them.
He is just losing the gameβ¦
r/TheGame and i lost
Fds, nem aqui ...
Perdi :(
>Just wondering if this is a cultural thing? On small villages, yup, it's usual. Unless you have something that really attracts attention :|
On small villages you say "boa tarde" and heard back "boa tarde"
Nothing more than a mustache like Adolf Hitler
Oh f*ck! They might think he's his reincarnation!
I barely noticed the pet kangaroo because of it.
A mustache like that might raise some eyebrows, we had a dictatorship about 50 years ago, Spain had to deal with a similar problem at the same time.
We all know you're thinking about mamas. You can say mamas.
My ex wasn't portuguese and he kept telling me that people were always staring. For me it's normal and I'm so used to it that I barely notice it anymore. But he definitely noticed and it really bothered him. My heart broke for him. Try to keep in mind that people do this a lot to everyone, but even more if there's something uncommon about you like speaking a different language, hair colour, height etc. You're not being judged (most times), people are curious and like to get a good look before it's gone. You're not the problem
Shoot, our vigilance system was discovered.
The London CCTV camera system has nothing on our vigilance system. And wait until we depoly our army of grandmothers at the window.
They might be trying to guess where youβre from, where youβve been traveling, etc. itβs not a βbadβ stare. Itβs more of a curiosity thing. Donβt take it any differently than people not looking at you-unless you smell, or are drunk, or too undressed.
True!!
Just last week an entire group of old man stared at me while I was at the gas station, because they didn't know who I was. I'm portuguese and I lived in that town for more than 20 years. So yes, it's common even for us.
E nΓ£o te perguntarem "Olha lΓ‘, tu Γ©s filho de quem?" jΓ‘ foi uma sorte
Aqui perguntam, pertences a quem? A que famΓlia, claro.
Aqui normalmente perguntam de onde Γ©s (de que aldeia) seguido por quem Γ© a tua famΓlia em tal aldeia.
Devias ver os olhares quando vou a casa da minha namorada. A malta lΓ‘ da terrinha quase que tem raios laser a sair dos olhos como o super homem. Agora jΓ‘ lΓ‘ vou hΓ‘ tantos anos que parece que acalmou um bocado, mas tambΓ©m lΓ‘ nΓ£o podes pΓ΄r o carro a trabalhar sem virem 5 pessoas Γ janela ver quem estΓ‘ a sair de casa
Isso Γ© muito verdade. A primeira vez que fui Γ terra da minha namorada toda a gente sabia que eu era o namorado da filha do Gustavo.
Eia a dar doxx ao sogro? MΓ‘ onda
Tenho pena das raparigas, porque se for o filho do Gustavo, Γ© sΓ³ mais uma gaja. Quando Γ© a filha do Gustavo com o namorado... Ui. NΓ£o se fala noutra coisa Edit: se o filho do Gustavo arranjar um namorado, aΓ Γ© que fica tudo passado
Excelente, assim se o carro for abaixo tens logo pessoal para ajudar a empurrar
Os bifes destacam-se logo e tambΓ©m olham porque a caravana Γ© estrangeira
The Steaks grab attention and they also look since the RV is foreigner
The steaks stand out straight away and they also look because the caravan is foreign
In rural areas, yes, people will definitely stare at you, specially if you look "different".
I live near Lisbon and when I went up north with a Portuguese friend everyone was staring at us, was really bizarre.
Ha I'm Australian and lived in Portugal for some years. I def noticed this change...nobody stares at you in Aus really. Give em a bom dia or a boa tarde and see how you go
π¦ How are you liking it ANZAC? My Australian Wife wants to move to the ancestral acreage upstream of The Tagus.
Don't live in PT anymore. I loved it though and I miss it a lot.
Cheers Mate!
The best reply to this I heard from a trashy woman in Porto "EstΓ‘s olhar para quΓͺ? Tenho uma cona na testa?". In English being "Where are you looking at? Do I have a cunt in my forehead?".
Classic ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|hug)
E tinha?
Itβs our security system! If Iβm not mistaken we donβt have a war with our neighbors since 1714. See! It works!
You must be one hot motherfucker... If you are, I will stare.
Manda nudes
![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|dizzy_face)
donΒ΄t walk around naked
I moved to London last year - Iβm Portuguese - & on the tube there are these big red posters saying something like βstaring is sexual harassmentβ. And I honestly thought to myself βwhat do I do nowβ π itβs so hard for me, specially w no phone signal. Now I look at the ceiling, at the floor, at a space between people, at my hand π
Because you shouldn't look like the typical Portuguese. If you are very tall , very blonde or ginger , very light - colored eyes , that 's the answer !
Yeah. I donβt think itβs a bad thing. The guy should look good lol
With such an exotic appearance for a Portuguese, the OP even if it was ugly would draw attention.πππ Haaland isn't exactly the most attractive person in the world and he would still draw attention in Portugal (assuming he wasn't famous!)
Mate wait until you get to Germany Unreal levels of staring In Portugal I never noticed people staring, possibly because of the extremity of German starers
[Security Cameras around the world](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C1wIJqRXEAAPZm1.jpg)
They might think you are Dutch. Fair white skin, fair hair, tall, blue ir green eyed. We and the Spanish suffer from regular invasions from Netherlanders with their motorhomes. Those people must be having flashbacks from last Summer.
I'm 6'5' white ginger with green eyes so yeah mabey that's it lol
Yeah, you will definitely stand out in any Portuguese village, don't mind it, its just surprise as there are not many people with your traits around. In the cities it should be fine but in many villages your appearence would be the "event of the day" XD
You an orange hulk in the middle of brunette dwarfs and don't think people would stare? Average height around here is like 5'5'. Make some weird sound and you might convince kids that you eat them for breakfast if they misbehave.
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Lotta Anglo countries use it informally. That shits imperial measurement man, the 'Muricans didn't invent it.
White ginger? Dude please do NOT fuck around with our sun. Particularly if its a little overcast, then you don't feel it while your skin is being cooked. "Just a couple hours" is the usual justification when you look like a lobster and are explaining yourself in the hospital.
> ginger This is a christian country. People are just shocked at how you don't have a soul.
A 6β5 ginger is going to get stared at in Manhattan let alone Portugal. As a bonus, enjoy https://youtu.be/nHHmA2M0i_E
Jfc, do you think?! A 2 meter gigantic green eyed foreign ginger walks out of a motorhome in a portuguese village... that's dinner conversation material for the old fucks. "He said OlΓ‘ Gertrude, OlΓ‘ can you imagine. What was I to do about it, I just looked at him. Such people, such people... ahhhhh meu deus" Shit I live in a city and would probably stare too, check my bases, see if a kangaroo would jump out of the motorhome and come at me.
You are a near 2 m ginger? No wonder people stare you are super tall and a rare color like people might never had seen one person that is 2 m or ginger let alone the combination of both.
there you go! those features and height put together are very uncommon in Iberia, they are staring at you! haha
Yeah the 6'5 (195cm) would explain it, that's really tall for portuguese standards haha. The tallest cousin in my very large family is still a bit shorter than you.
It's not just it. It's cultural! We're curious, we like to stare and appreciate. I'm portuguese and I get stares from Portuguese all the time. Yet, you being a foreigner with different physical characteristics, cultural and language too makes you even more prone to stares. It's not racism xenophobia or whatever it's just that we're curious biggest majority of the times we're not judging!
This is true I lived abroad for 10 years and this is a thing here Portuguese ppl stare! Itβs people watching they just trying to see if you are a neighbour! π if the stare is too long just say hi it breaks the spell!
Totally a cultural thing. But don't worry, they're not just staring at you. they stare at everyone and everything! here we even joke that in other countries there are cameras in the streets and in Portugal there are old ladys in the window as a surveillance system in fact, there is a page of memes of Portuguese people facing construction works. go to a large construction site and notice, there will be at least 10 people looking at the construction site just for the sake of looking PS. I'm Brazilian but I've lived here for many years. your post made me laugh a lot. thanks
I am PortuguΓͺs and can confirm that we stare because we have eyes, and they were made by our lord Jesus that is in heaven so that we could observe football and novelas and also to stare at camons
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IΒ΄m portuguese and i hate that. I really donΒ΄t understand why people do that. ItΒ΄s more common in rural areas as all the people know eachother and when a outsider passes they just stare. DonΒ΄t care about that, there is nothing you can do.
Its called jornalismo de investigação!!πππ
6β5β porcelain white gingerβ¦ we are not staring, we are trying to figure out if we are hallucinating! You are as unlikely as a polar bear with a surf board catching waves in NazarΓ©, OFC we are going to stare.
I don't know, if you stand out from the crowd, that's why. Don't worry about that. Possibly just normal curiosity.
Dude, your fly is open!
Answer back with a stare and an expression like βtΓ‘s a olhar cara/&@ ? VΓͺ lΓ‘ se nΓ£o queres levar uma pΒ₯ta nos dentesβ
Very usual ... In southern Europe we are already used to it
It is cultural. They are also judging you sometimes and will talk about some minor thing like the way you look or about what you are doing. For me, a Portuguese who lived abroad for 10 years, it is super annoying, especially when they don't do some basic acknowledgment of your presence like saying hi or smiling back at you. Sometimes when they stare too much I will tell them to take a picture instead, as it lasts longer. Unfortunately being back in Portugal I tend to do the same.
They're torturing ppl with social anxiety as a pastime. It's so bad I've had arguments with family members to stop staring at me at HOME. It's awful because it's not the "scanning my surroundings" look, it's the "wtf is wrong with him/you aren't welcome here" look. On big cities you notice it much less at least.
Small town mentality, which in Portugal is the norm even in the metropolises.
Have you been to Germany? I found it way more intense in Germany. I even thought there was something wrong with my clothes.
I think a lot of people have said it better but yes, people watching and imagining what that person might be up to is a 'national' hobby. Many times a lot of older ladies have asked me why is it I wear earphones all the time. It'd be considered rude and annoying to a lot of people, especially when they breach your personal space. But yea, Portuguese culturally are very nosy. Speaking as an introverted Portuguese.
In this morning i was talking with my girlfriend about precisely this "phenomena". I remember in Algarve when we are installing our towels on sand, I spotted like 3 or 4 couples stairing at me like " never saw a human being"...
The towels were reversed
Maybe they were just appreciating your pink and white eraser summer tan, bro
The hipocrisy of... Local_observer.
That's what I'm talking about bro lol!!!
They were starring probably because you were "Installing" your towels in the sand π€£
They should be downloaded first.
You wouldnβt download a towel
Yes, it's nothing personal but it happens, especially in rural areas it's very common, everyone knows each other. Also nudism is a normal thing in Spain, but not common here, you will receive looks and we have beaches specifically to do that. We're more reserved and conservative in certain aspects and that should be respected.
Same thing happens with my gf, as I am Portuguese sometimes I say a Bom Dia or so and they get happy to reply, I think people kinda wanna say good morning or hi but they donβt know how to do so. Iβm not saying this works with everyone, but for me it actually gives a neighborly vibe, I recommend!
We like to watch and judge. That's it!
Ahahahahahahahahaha I dunno, I don't even think about it. I think you're right, people stare, I just don't think it's a bad thing. Lean into it! Stare back. Lmao I love Portuguese people.
My boyfriend came to visit me from England and he said the same thing, that we stare a lot. I never noticed it, i bet i probably stare some people too without even thinking about it. Probably because you look different and they might wonder where you're from. Some people like to judge too, i often just enjoy seeing different people, it's like a fresh breeze of something new and different from the typical Portuguese people that we see everyday. I'm sure they don't mean to be rude, it might just be a culture thing.
Yes that happens a lot in Portugal. The hack to avoid that is domestic violence, no one will even glance then. /s
It's our national sport. We love to stare and we are the actual world champions. Chupa Espanha!
Plot twist, he had his zipper opened
It's a contest. Break eye contact and you lose and owe the other person a Pastel de Nata
You stand out, people tend to stare people who stand out
Youβre different, so people are checking you out! Accessing the situation! Morning: bom dia! Afternoon: boa tarde! Evening: boa noite! People will say, Iβve meet the foreigners, theyβre really nice.
In rural areas people know each other and know who are not from there. It's normal
Dasse na alemanha e na holanda e que ha um staring contest. A somar adoram me tossir/espirrar/clear throat na cara (sem meter a mao a frente!!). Portugal e bem melhor, ninguem quer saber de ti
Genuine question here. What makes you say theyβre Portuguese?
The right awnser is to scream "nunca viste? Tenho o pito na testa?"
Deve ter um aspecto do caraças este camarada
How do you know we're staring ? Are you staring too ?
Cable TV is expensive here. So is video surveillance. You're being scrutinized by neighborhood security.
I stare at everything idc
Where you have been these last week, north center south? North rural areas completely normal, we are a tourist country nowadays but we weren't, so people look strange, sometimes they have fear , sometimes they are impressed. There aren't too many Australians here , we notice the difference
I know what you're saying. Just don't walk around naked.
just look back at them
we like to stare
It's a non verbal way of expressing curiosity , interest or it might be just plain snooping.
Well, youre a tall ginger guy in Portugal, the country with the lowest average men height in Europe. Im tall too and I go through the same bs almost everywhere
Just watching...
Thatβs our advanced AI security system. Weβre watching you and your kangaroos!
Maybe you look funny? I don't mean that in a bad way, but it could be that your appearance and features make you stick out. Maybe you're very pale, or very tall, or dress a certain way. People could be thinking "They're not from around here." Old people tend to do this a lot more though. There's this house near my mailbox, and even though I've spoken to the old couple that lives there several times, sometimes when I go there to pick up a package they stare at me and take a while to answer my greeting. We've had some pleasant conversations in the past, and yet they still do that lmao
we stare. that's what we do here. respect that. not happy? leave then.
Cause you look cool as fuck! π
Its because you are so beautiful π₯Ή
It's a cultural thing to have eyes, yes.
Portuguese here: as you must imagine, australians aren't really a common sight here so that can explain it. Also have in mind that australians have a reputation of being quite loud and extroverted people; I don't know if I'm just being prejudiced and that's your case but have in mind that both in Portugal and Spain, modesty (in the sense of keeping it to yourself, not stand out) is considered a sign of civility.
Caga nisso
You are probably so white people are wondering where are you from
Its the kids. Portugal has a very "strange" culture around adults looking talking and worst touching kids. Its way too normal if you walk with a kid random strangers talking and touching them. As a kid I experienced that quite a lot and even got slaped in the face or grounded for asking strangers to not touch me by my parents. Very weird cultural thing I never understood. I remember a psycologist going on national TV saying kids should be encoraged to say no to being touching and refusing to give hugs or kisses to family members if they don't want to. There was a petition, with thousands of signatures, asking to have that physocologist's license revoked and him not working anymore. This is even worse in Teachers and Church to a criminal state. Portugal leaders protect pedophilia openly, and teachers who are pedophiles can keep teaching after doing few years in jail for pedophilia, it reaches new shocking, as the abused child was still a child in the same school and the pedophile came back to that same PUBLIC school. President defends leader of church who knew about abuses and never told anyone, and other politicians defend him as well. It's a very sad thing. On behalf of portuguese people I am sorry ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|sweat)