Happy 2009!
01 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Portuguese
Well, today is the first day of a brand new year!! Yay! How exciting! I’m starting a new college (University of Tennessee) this year. I have orientation on Monday Jan. 5th, and then classes start on Jan. 7th. This is just one of the many changes I am looking forward to for 2009. I’m hoping this will be the best year yet!!
Feliz Ano Novo!=Happy New Year!
Beijos pra todo mundo e Feliz 2009!
Kisses!
23 Dec 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Portuguese
Today’s word is the Portuguese equivalent of the word “kiss”.
Beijo=kiss
There are a few different forms of the word, so it can be adjusted to change the meaning just a little.
For example: beijinho=little kiss, beijão=big kiss, and beijos=the plural form, kisses
Brazilians often type “beijo” at the end of a note or an email. It’s sometimes also said at the end of a phone conversation. Think of the end of the conversation going something like this: “Ok, talk to you later. Beijo! (or kiss!)Bye!” It seems a little strange to us because we don’t generally send a kiss to our friends or family members every time that we talk to them, but it’s the Brazilian way!
Beijo!
O Holy Night
21 Dec 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: funny, Portuguese, random
I have a treat for you all, but first, I have to teach you something! 
Today you will learn how to say a very simple phrase that is used on a daily basis in Rio.
Tudo bem? = How are you?
It literally translates to “Everything well?”, but it’s used with the casualty and frequency of our phrase, “How’s everything going?” So now you know how to greet someone in Brasil!
And now the special treat!!! You are probably wondering why this post is titled “O Holy Night”. It comes from a discussion with a guy at church today. We were talking about this lovely rendition of the song that we have heard. I found a video on Youtube, so I decided to include it for you. Watch the whole thing for the best parts! Enjoy!
Feliz Natal!
21 Dec 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Portuguese
As usual, I’ve been terribly behind on posting. Would yall expect anything less from me?? 
Ok, didn’t think so. But, since i’ve been getting hits from people other than my usual friends/family, I’ve decided to make my blog a bit educational. So I’m going to start teaching a little bit of Portuguese vocabulary along with my general entries. I’m gonna shoot for writing an entry every day….but we all know that might not happen! However, that’s the goal. I’ll teach a Portuguese word or a phrase in each entry. But never fear, if you aren’t too interested in learning Portuguese, I’ll still be writing about my experiences from Brasil, and other general things. But maybe someone might stumble upon my blog and find it useful.
So for the first mini-lesson, I’ll teach you something that is very relevant to the coming days: How to say “Merry Christmas” in Portuguese!
Feliz Natal! = Merry Christmas!
Here’s a picture of the Christmas tree at Lagoa in Rio. Beautiful, huh? Feliz Natal for everyone! Hope your holidays are fabulous!
Progress
15 Sep 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: memories of Rio, Portuguese
I have been thinking a lot about my comprehension of the Portuguese language, and how far I’ve come. (Though I still have tons to learn!) This made me go back to when I first arrived in Rio….and the day I left. If you read my post about the day that I got to Rio, you know how difficult it was for me to communicate with Andre’s sister, Alessandra, and their dad when they picked me up at the airport. And the car ride to Andre’s house with them was pretty quiet. But, then I look back to the day that I left. In the car that time, I could actually hold a decent conversation with them. I wasn’t sitting in silence the whole time! haha It’s nice to have those reminders of such noticeable progression as encouragement for the times when you feel like you know nothing about such a complex language!
Oh, Portuguese….
12 Sep 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Portuguese
I have had an intense craving for the Portuguese language recently. I became so accustomed to hearing it constantly, and now there is a small void that English just doesn’t fill. Of course I listen to my Brazilian music everyday, and I communicate with my friends in Brazil on the internet…so I get exposure to the language by reading and writing it. However, there’s something about having a spoken conversation in Portuguese that I so miss. So, much to my delight, I had a dream in Portuguese last night. I won’t bore you with the details of it, because it won’t really have any significance for anyone other than me. But, the dream was about me being in Rio with everyone again. And, you know when you are waking up from a dream, and you are in that in-between stage where you are coming out of the dream, and into reality?? Well, when that was happening, I was still thinking in Portuguese. I had totally pushed the English language out of my mind, and it was soooo cool
Also, to fulfil my saudades for hearing the language, I decided to watch the movie, “Turistas”. Which, I don’t really recommend. It came out a little while before I went to Rio the first time, and I definitely didn’t want to watch it then! However, I have decided that I am at a comfortable point in my relationship with Brazil that I can watch a negative film that happens to be set in the country. And, it had no affect on my opinion of the place. The good thing about it was: it did have quite a bit of Portuguese in it, and I understood almost everything that was spoken! Yay! But this is my disclaimer: don’t watch the movie.
At Wise Up…
04 Aug 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: in Rio, Portuguese
I am at Andre’s work again…since it is my last full day here, I wanted to come with him. And, about 47 seconds after he left me sitting in the little lounge area…I was forced to talk in Portuguese. As soon as he walked out the door, the custodian lady starts talking to me.
The conversation: (all in Portuguese…since I found out last time that employees, other than teachers and coordinators, don’t speak English….. )
Her: “Do you live close to him??”
(…..cut to me laughing, and trying to hold it in…because it was a funny question….but I was also very pleased, because that meant she thought I was Brasilian….and to me…that’s a very nice compliment.)
Me: “Um, no I’m from the United States.”
Her: “Oh, ok! But you speak Portuguese!!”
Me: “Well, a little bit.”
Her: “Only a little?!?”
Me: “Yes…a little. Only that.” (giggling….)
Her: “Ok. Nice to meet you!”
Me: “You too.”
Not too bad, I suppose. The problem is: when I’m not expecting people to start talking to me, and then I realize they are speaking Portuguese…it takes me a second to switch gears in my mind. It’s good to practice though!
beijos
Tuesday Evening in Caxias
02 Aug 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: in Rio, Portuguese
Tuesday night, we went to a service at the church. As we were walking there, I started getting so anxious to just see it again! Finally, we turned the corner, and there it was. The exterior gates are painted differently now, but I still saw just as I had before. We walked inside, and I saw Ingrid (she worked with my group last year). It was really exciting to see her again. When the pastor got up to start his message, he made a few announcements first, and THEN something happened that I was totally unprepared for! He told Luan to bring me up to the front and introduce me!! It caught me by surprise, and even though it’s a small church, I was shaking a bit. haha. Luan introduced me, and then tried to hand me the microphone. WOW! Hold on! You want me to speak in front of all of these people…in Portuguese??? Not happening, sorry. I looked at him and said, “Nao quero falar! Por favor, nao quero….” (I don’t want to talk! Please, I don’t want to…) Thank goodness they let me off the hook. After the service, I did mix and mingle, and talk to people though, and I really enjoyed that.
Some of the youth in the church are doing a skit for one of the services, and they were practicing after the service. Since I used to do that at my church, and I really miss it…..cough, cough…hint, hint…Tina! I helped them out some, and then talked with them some more. Here are some pictures from Tuesday night and Wednesday night at the church…
Marcello, Luan, and Juliana
Marcello, me, and Luan
Ingrid and I
Marcello and Angela (the pastor's wife)
Tired…..
09 Jul 2008 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: in Rio, Portuguese
I am too tired to write a long post tonight, but I did want to mention something that Fleda pointed out to me:
In my post about Sunday, I said “Comprehending the sermon was much difficult…” She commented that I was translating in my head when I wrote that, and that is exactly what happened. I meant it was “very difficult”, but I was thinking “muito dificil”. Apparently Portuguese is taking root in my brain a little more than I realized.
beijos
Funny Story…
08 Jul 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: in Rio, Portuguese
This just happened:
So, I am still at Andre’s work, and a few minutes ago, I thought to myself, “I need to find out where the bathroom is.” So, I walked downstairs to the front desk, and asked the secretary: “Where is the bathroom?” She kind of looked at me, and I realized, “Oh, she doesn’t speak English.” So I said, “Banheiro??” And then she thought for a minute about how to give me directions. She said, “Um, it’s hard…” Right, I understand that…it’s hard to speak a language that you aren’t fluent in. Then she said, “The front….and go right.” I said “Obrigada” (thanks) and walked away. Since I was already at the front of the building, I figured out that she meant upstairs. Luckily, it is not a very big building at all. There aren’t a lot of hallways to get lost in, or anything. So, I walked back upstairs, and went to the right…..where I found 2 classrooms. Hmmm. So, I went to the left, and TA-DA!!: found it. Honestly, I would have been better off if she had told me in Portuguese. I completely understand the words “upstairs” and “left” in Portuguese, so I would have been fine. That’s what I get for assumming the secretary that works at the English school actually speaks English. So funny.
