I wasn't really hungry. My family had colonized half of the outdoor seating area of a beautiful restaurant in Albufeira. I gave the menu a cursory glance over. It was the usual British fare, but most of all, I wasn't ready to eat again just yet.
Instead I set myself a mission. I would wander off alone through the winding alleys and broad avenues of Albufeira. I would find Portugal. After all, how hard could that be? I was in a Portuguese town!
Just in case I did get hungry later, I even jotted down what I wanted to eat: 'comida de vegetaranio à Portuguesa'. I hope that said 'Portuguese vegetarian food'. I never did find any.
In fact, I found little which appeared at all foreign to me. The architecture was the main exception. It was wonderful and so much prettier than you'd find in Britain. No two buildings appeared the same. Designers out-did each other to create truly unique edifices, which were really pleasing to the eye.
But they were all adorned with signs which were sometimes bi-lingual, but often merely English. There was nothing that I looked at which I couldn't read. I even came across a job vacancy notice for a waitress. It was in English first, with a Portuguese translation directly underneath. The final line returned to my language. It said, 'Applicant must speak English.' That pretty much said it all.
Later on, I spoke with the owner of JKs Restaurant and Bar. He was born and bred in London. I asked him where I could find something authentically Portuguese in the Algarve. He told me that the whole region is British now. He appeared quite sorrowful, as he added, "I do wish that there was more of a return to the old Portuguese. It needs it."
Comments
Ah! Come on, yesterday was history, as was two seconds ago. It's when your memories get to be ancient history that the trouble starts! :)
Mmmm I'm a historian too (ex teacher as well) .....rather worrying to think that I'm so old that my own memories are now history! Thanks for the suggestion though- I might have a go at this sometime.
That one was courtesy of my mother. :)
:-) I love it :) "It's a bit naughty of us, really, isn't it?" :):)
@Mira Some preliminary questioning amongst family members:
"We don't like change."
"It's a bit naughty of us really, isn't it? Arrogant. I guess we just like what's familiar."
I don't really know how to advise on starting here. It's not been my field of expertise. But I do know some sociologists. I'll ask them for you. :)
I'll try to find some books as well -- coming from Britons who do analyze this aspect of Britishness. Don't know where to start though. :) You're right about Britons being born in a culture that still remembers the ways of the British Empire in the sense that they expect a whole lot of the world to speak English and be British to an extent.
I strongly suspect that it's because it wouldn't occur to a Briton to want anything other than British while abroad. We're not so far out of the British Empire to have enacted that great a sea-change in world view.
Britons expect every country in the world to speak English and provide something familiar to home. They wouldn't even consider that to be arrogant or unadventurous. They wouldn't analyze it at all!
However, that might just be me presuming too much about my fellow Britons. I will ask your questions for you here. :)
This is really interesting. I could see myself doing a study on it, going to Britain and interviewing people on the topic :-). It would be easy to find out their preferences but it would be harder, I think, to discover the motivations. I see a lot of British travelers reaching to far-away places like Asia and all kinds of islands, going to retreats in India, so there definitely are people like that too. But why do you think the majority of Britons want a version of Britain?
Is it
a. they really love their country, with all it involves in terms of experiences in the day-to-day life (it sounds corny, but it can be a reason)
b. they want something familiar because it's less stressful, and you do go on vacation to relax
c. they want something familiar for other reasons -- such as . . .?
d. they want a place where people speak good English
e. they find comfort in British food. On this topic, I find that many Romanians abroad continue to eat just like at home; that includes one high-powered executive I know, who travels a lot and has lived with his family in various European cities
f. other reasons
These are questions to you and all the British Wizzleyans who might be reading. I would really appreciate any responses, besides those I've already seen here so far!
Since I've been home, I've had plenty of people ask what Portugal is like. When I reply, 'Britain with sunshine!' They've invariably gone, "Good!" It's what the majority of British tourists seem to want, so fair enough on the Portuguese for providing it. It's their livelihood at the end of the day.
It's good to hear that at least one other Briton would have liked to experience other cultures.