Episode Recap      

First from our social media roundup [01:57] we have Strega Nona, Furnas, São Miguel, and a traumatizing earthquake museum. Our culture topics [16:00] are Spanglish the movie and Spanglish the linguistics phenomenon and our nostalgia topic [36:12] is 90's con 2023 debrief. For our mental health segment [01:04:22] we discuss the concepts of unmasking and gratitude journaling.

First from our social media roundup [01:36] we have Portuguese beach boys and steak plate ratings spreadsheet. Our culture topic [08:23] is home improvements and our nostalgia topic [19:04] is 90's con. For our mental health segment [37:49] we discuss how opposite ends of the wellness spectrum appear to converge.

First we update on the phallic pottery of Portugal's Caldas Da Rainha. Our culture topic is [unraveling Saint Patrick's Day] and our nostalgia topic is [leprechauns in 90s-00s media]. For our mental health segment we discuss death by 1,000 paper cuts and balancing chaos with stability.

There's a lot to unpack here with country-specific wedding traditions from the UK, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece. Then we unravel the catholic church's unserious positions on love & marriage, discuss the cinematic masterpiece "The Two Popes", and end with a tech-savvy mental health segment.

We dig back through marriage history and make some eye-opening discoveries. A bride pie contained WHAT?! A bundling board is for WHAT?! May is bad luck for weddings because of WHAT?! We're with you on this rollercoaster ride, for better or for worse.

Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday! Shrovetide! Pancake Tuesday! Carnival! Malassada Tuesday! Entrudo! Of course there are an excess of names for a celebration of *excess*. We've got the hilarious deets on the not-so-conventional ways that different countries celebrate this day.

We discuss the three most forbidden words in Portuguese households: "I-love-you". Then we journey from the history of Saint Valentine all the way to The Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts. We explore lovers' traditions around the world and end with a mental health segment on consumerism. You know, keeping it light!

We dig into the history of the Walt Disney World Company and its parks including: little-known incidents, Portugal getting snubbed out of EPCOT representation, and what it was like on Splash Mountain's final day of operation.

We bring you three entirely separate incidents involving self-proclaimed "Sausage Kings" and murder. A fourth generation Portuguese-American Sausage King in California, a German immigrant Sausage King in Chicago, and a Russian Sausage King near Moscow, Russia. Plot twist, one of them is a victim not a perpetrator. Either way, if you ever see the words “Sausage King” in a profile on Bumble, swipe hard left.

Michelle DeMelo has put in more time and effort into our culture and its traditions than most people our age. From her altar serving side hustle as a kid to her current involvement as a cult member (for the holy ghost of course)....and all the funeral and marching band trauma in between.