Do i need to take my anti-depressents to Finland?

[Jose]

hi Hank W.

maybe you are right. It's an interesting theory but a wrong one. The food here is Lisbon is certainly something I'll miss.

I'm a very good cook (portuguese food included) so my mother says.

who know maybe I'll open the first Portuguese restaurant in Helsinki.

cheers

Jose

[Tom and Jerry]

Now I have to test my logical theory of why there are 130 portugese men in Finland and only 20 or so women.

Perhaps you should know first how many Finnish woman and man are living in Portugal. I guess it is something like 130 Finnish woman and 20 man who live in Porto, Lisboa, Alentejo and Faro.

[Tom and Jerry]

Many people who move here from areas where there's more daylight and a closer proximity to the sun *do* need mental health assistance... ie...meds, psychotherapy and/or light therapy (big lamps with UV rays).

It's important to keep moving in the long cold winter months...stimulates the seratonin in our brains, which is our biological "happy" drug. Learning how to Xcountry ski and skate and learning how to appreciate a brisk walk on a beautifully sunny day help tremendously!

So, yup...I guess it's safe to say that if you're taking anti-depressants for some chemical imbalance...you'll most certainly need to continue them here, too.

Cory

Avantouinti (Polar bear swimming or ice-swimming) stimulates these happy drugs, seratonins.

What are in Finland the commercial names of these anti-depressant drugs?

Any pharmacist around here?

[ajdias]

Now I have to test my logical theory of why there are 130 portugese men in Finland and only 20 or so women.]

Hank, where did you find these numbers? Perhaps this site ( http://www25.brinkster.com/inepcia2/tips.html ) can give you a sort of an answer (look for tip number 7).

Seriously now, this pattern is not uncommon for other southern-European countries. Men leave to find work abroad, make money and return to marry and take their wives with them. But not in Finland where there are enough beauties.

You can compare those numbers with the corresponding ones for Spaniards, we share a short democratic history (less than 30 years). Perhaps the numbers are not so brutal but you’ll find that females living here are mostly aged between 20 and 35.

This is evident from the times of Enriques the Navigator when he ordered Portugese sailors to find spices to hide the disgusting taste of the chopped fish in the cataplana.

I have never really believed the version they feed us in school, that we went all over the world to spread God’s Word. But you went a bit too far.. interestig theory, though..

And so Portugese sailors went to all over the world to escape Portugese cuisine. Yes, Portugese men get an instant culture shock because there are no bales of dried bacalhau in the corner of the supermarket! No bacalhau! This must be paradise! ...until they find out lutfisk exists...

So you went to a restaurant asked for bacalhau and they served you something like lipeäkala, was it?
You can mock portugal for many things (believe me I know), but not for its food. Perhaps you can try something different next time:
http://www.yle.fi/java3/korttikanta/pro ... ey=118.4.1 ...

[Hank W.]

Well, yes, the first Portugese restaurant in Helsinki would be quite something. There is a lot of competition in the restaurant business though.

Hopefully you guys didn't take anything too personally

But yes, the 'mediterranean factor'

country men women
UK 1937/584
Germany 1579/851
France 624/329
Italy 673/210
Netherlands 560/155
Spain 439/205
Denmark 411/207
Greece 286/44
Ireland 204/54
Austria 147/94
Portugal 101/41
Belgium 93/48
Luxembourg 7/2

So it seems the most "HHHHot Greek Lovers" come from the UK, Netherlands and Luxembourg It seems the ratio is almost 50/50 (ok, the hot Greek lovers are true to their reputation)

So what does this say about UK and Dutch cooking???

[Tom and Jerry]

This tell you the following: combine it with the messages on rotton onions, spinach and brussels sprout.

Eat more fresh onions, cabbage, fresh spinach and brussels sprout!

[ajdias]

Well, yes, the first Portugese restaurant in Helsinki would be quite something. There is a lot of competition in the restaurant business though.

Hopefully you guys didn't take anything too personally

Restaurant business has a lot to do with marketing, selling foreing food is also promoting the image of the originating country. Portuguese used to have low self-esteem and tend to have a low profile (that is not necessarily bad if you think of other mediterraneans )
One example: check the sole of your shoe. Does it say "made in italy?" A friend imports thousands of those soles just because of such label. In the end, you're probabluy better off than you'd be buying genuine italian shoes for that same price.

[Hank W.]

Well, most of my shoes seem to be 'made in portugal'. I can't fit into italian shoes or clothes. They are made for children...