Portuguese Language Blues

(Written May 8, third day in Brazil)

Today was all about studying. No one came to visit me. I had nothing on my agenda except to study Portuguese. Of course, one can only learn so much in one day. I should probably be writing this in Portuguese to practice, but that’s not the purpose of this journal.

At breakfast (which I ate rather late, at 9:15), I was the only one. There was a newspaper on the counter, so I brought it back upstairs to practice reading. I read about the storms and the damage being done around the region. I read about the restaurant/bar across the street. Coincidentally, it has recently reopened after a period of renovation, and there was a full-page article about it in the weekend section. I also read a review of the new Star Trek movie which comes out this weekend. I plan to go see a matinee tomorrow after lunch.

Of course, learning a language must be done in increments. I find that if I try to memorize too many words or phrases in one day, it’s useless. And some things, like verb tenses, I have to come back to again and again to remember how to formulate them. Perhaps my haphazard approach will allow me to lurch forward slowly. Of course, I will have to find opportnities to use these words in speech—that’s the only way to really internalize them. And my absolute hardest challenge is understanding speech. The nuns speak so fast, even though they use short phrases, I have a hard time understanding them.

Want to learn a little Portuguese? Do a crossword puzzle!