WARNING: this is a completely boring linguistic post. if you speak Portuguese read on....and if you don't, I still love you...
One of the sweetest friends of mine on this planet {and literally from the other side of it} came to stay where I work for a few months to learn English. A dream. I just adore this girl and how genuine, pure and loving she is. What a blessing she is in my life!
I absolutely had to see her, so I have been calling the international office and stopping by like crazy for the 411 on her visa. Finally, I was walking past a classroom and there she was studying in her desk. We had a huge moment. The first 5 seconds of it went something like this:
Me: Olá! {and some high pitched squealing}
T: {more high pitched squealing}Tás a falar brasileiro!
Translation:
Me: Hi!
T: You are speaking with a Brasilian accent!
She picked that up from OLÁ!?!??!?!
I was shocked! She had no idea that I was teaching Brasil bound missionaries for the past 5 months...and dang, I knew I needed to get my game on and brush up on my Iberian accent...and PRONTO.
So, I have spent my free time lately nostalgically listening to RTP. For all you Portuguese speakers, this is such a great resource to brush up on the accent. More specifically, my dear friend Clara Hinckley showed me the last time I was in Portugal an AWESOME television show on RTP called "Cuidado com a Língua". It talks about common mistakes made with the language, and it is super interesting. And oh my...the game shows are hilarious.
Moral of the story: Keep working on the language! Watch some of the shows, especially Cuidado com a Língua. It is such a blessing to know how to communicate with others in their native language, don't let it go to waste! It's hard when you are not surrounded by the language all the time, but the time you spend on it will definitely be worth it.
when does she leave the mtc??? Please tell her hello for us! Does this mean her bro is in England? Is there anything she could use? Maybe Jordan and I could get some things together for her....Could we come to the mtc and have her teach us????
ReplyDeleteShe leaves the MTC in May, which means she will still be there during conference. She teaches in the TRC friday nights, I asked her if she needed anything and she said no, and yes Timoteo is in England! (since Dec.) Love you!
ReplyDeleteThat's so cute! Ha ha. Just from Olá. Funny! So we were listening to Carochinha songs - I don't know if they are a particular band or something, but they have six or so albums on iTunes that we plan to buy. Anyway, at first I told Russ that they weren't Portuguese, because they didn't sound like him. Then he was like, "No! That's what REAL Portuguese sounds like!" So apparently he's been slipping into a Brazilian accent, too... since that's mostly who he talks to these days. Brazilians.
ReplyDeleteYou are too cute! We should hang out some time, since we're back here in UT! Ooooh! And you probably have one of the irregular verb charts (or at least access to them). Russ told me to get one from the MTC. I'm not sure exactly what he's talking about, but if you have a clue, let me know. I'm going to go up to BYU tomorrow to find a good Portuguese text books. Any advice? I want to learn Portuguese, but can't really take a class right now :( So gotta do some independent study type stuff. Suggestions?
r-wow. I completely admire you moving up with the kids. you are pretty amazing!
ReplyDeleteYep, the MTC copy center sells verb cards. I can pick one up for you if you'd like...more the reason for me to come see you guys. email me info. on where you are at! As for Portuguese books, the one the missionaries use is pretty good...it has most portuguese grammar you need in concise and clear explanations.
http://www.amazon.com/Portuguese-Verbs-Essentials-Grammar-2E/dp/0071498079/ref=pd_sim_b_2