Word of the week: The Heckle

So, I have experienced a numerous variety of heckling here. Two of which Iºm very familiar with and one, not so much.

Is it true to say there´s a bloody Irish pub in every fecking big city in the world? I enjoyed my first bit of reciprocated English in almost 2 weeks a few days ago. Although I couldn´t make out half of what the Yorkie said because number one, he had a few too many and two, he had the hiccups, I enjoyed every minute of it. My Brazilian friend Pedro and I sauntered in to this Irish pub here in Lisboa (Lisbon, Dad!) on a Sunday and found ourselves amidst a one sided conversation with this older gentlemen about anything you ever wanted to learn from a newspaper, magazine and travel guide. Still not sure how he was able to drink his beer to the same cant as myself - practice, I suppose. He did introduce me to a new German beer and swore up and down that the Germans make the best, cleanest beer in the world. I meant to write down the name so I´ll try to update you all on that one. Anyway after my first glass of Guinness, the bar held their weekly Sunday quiz contest - in English of course. The Yorkie didn´t wait long before heckling the lovely female announcers with rubbish comments - Train, do you know this guy? It was an awesome spectacle and I felt right at home.

My next familiar form of heckle came from my first ever pick-up game of Ultimate Frisbee on a beach! It was a fantastic feeling of throwing this beautiful piece of plastic with the ocean begging in the background. That is, until I had to run in it. Gruesome and I had no game on these people until I slowly figured out a new way of running. As I sat and watched a game, one of the locals yelled out a familiar sound - ah yes, I thought - I know this sweet lullaby I call the heckle. Nice! UF isn´t any different here. I felt right at home.

Today I experienced Mercado de Carcavelos - Carcavelos Market! A crazy event of merchants selling their wears for cheap cheap cheap. Is it just me or is it that all local merchants at these outdoor markets seem to carry the same bloody crap in the same color and everything? It looses it´s value by the fourth time you see it. The amazing thing I witnessed was the style of their selling technique. Most of the vigorous venders would sit or stand on the same table of which their articles were promoted and proceed to yell out to the customers their cheaper price and how much better their good was than their neighbor´s. And when one would let out a scream, the adjacent vender would yell even louder with a throaty rumble. I even saw three separate kids - I´m talking like 6 years old, yelling out their mother or father´s complimenting yowl, no less in volume or meaning.