On the rare occasions I can make myself understood in my adopted country, I feel triumphant! But then, the portugues person responds, and I become a mute jellyfish. I grieve the loss of complete, in depth communication. And still, I'm so happy to be living here. Reading your posts is like hitching a ride on your similar experience. This ride was a gem.
I so agree about feeling arms length apart from others due to the language barrier. I began studying learning Portuguese while still in the US, about 2 1/2 years ago. Now that I live here, I read and write pretty well, but understanding and being able to hold my own in conversation beyond the most basic transactional necessities is still a work in progress. I'll echo Jennifer - as an expat living here, I also look forward to your beautiful and thoughtful writing.
I can't remember now, how I found you LaDonna. We were considering moving to Portugal and I expect I did a Portugal search, read something you wrote, and from there - I was taken. No going back. We had 3 big dogs (now 2). And we felt as if taking them across the pond, was a bridge too far, too much, for us and them, our pack, to stay together. And together - that was our priority. And so, we moved instead from Sarasota, Florida to a different place in the sun, someplace - slightly foreign. El Paso, Texas - a border town. And here, people (the locals, ones who grew up here) go back and forth with their language. Oh how I envy them. I find myself listening to Spanish language radio from time to time, to pick up a word here, another word there. But even more, it's the sound, the cadence, the timbre. Even though I understand very little detail, I love the sound of it. It sounds like music to my ears. I have to one day "work it", but until then - music, music to my ears...
I grew up going to my grandma’s Baptist church and I heavily relate to this post! I’m pretty sure if I brought this story up to my son he would have no idea what I was talking about. Your writing reminds me of Jeanette Winterson today - in the best way. As a fellow expat living here- always look forward to your posts. 💕
As I read this, I will soon depart for my A1 class. In retirement, I wanted something to keep my mind churning, and boy, did I get that with learning Portuguese! I am constantly having to be gentle with myself to avoid the frustration that would shut my learning down. Thanks for articulating it so well. And, as always, love your take on the Tower of Babel.
“All this to say that I sympathize with the people of Babylon struck suddenly dumb by the realization that the conversations they had taken for granted all their lives were no longer accessible.” Understand completely. Thanks for articulating it so eloquently. I have made progress in Portuguese but there are days, like today that the verbs don’t conjugate in my head and come out my mouth…But I’ll keep at it.
As we start A2 class, this really hit home. Thank you for such a lovely expression of what, I believe, many of us immigrants lament, and hopefully will someday get beyond basic transactional necessities.
Would love to read this whole story right now, but I’ve got to run to—checks calendar—Italian class. Oh, that’s right, Italian private tutoring day isn’t until *tomorrow*. Arrivederci!
I love this wording of the Babel story. So many strange stories in the Old Testament, but this one really does make you question God’s motivations. (But the King James version is poetic, if often opaque.)
On the rare occasions I can make myself understood in my adopted country, I feel triumphant! But then, the portugues person responds, and I become a mute jellyfish. I grieve the loss of complete, in depth communication. And still, I'm so happy to be living here. Reading your posts is like hitching a ride on your similar experience. This ride was a gem.
I so agree about feeling arms length apart from others due to the language barrier. I began studying learning Portuguese while still in the US, about 2 1/2 years ago. Now that I live here, I read and write pretty well, but understanding and being able to hold my own in conversation beyond the most basic transactional necessities is still a work in progress. I'll echo Jennifer - as an expat living here, I also look forward to your beautiful and thoughtful writing.
I can't remember now, how I found you LaDonna. We were considering moving to Portugal and I expect I did a Portugal search, read something you wrote, and from there - I was taken. No going back. We had 3 big dogs (now 2). And we felt as if taking them across the pond, was a bridge too far, too much, for us and them, our pack, to stay together. And together - that was our priority. And so, we moved instead from Sarasota, Florida to a different place in the sun, someplace - slightly foreign. El Paso, Texas - a border town. And here, people (the locals, ones who grew up here) go back and forth with their language. Oh how I envy them. I find myself listening to Spanish language radio from time to time, to pick up a word here, another word there. But even more, it's the sound, the cadence, the timbre. Even though I understand very little detail, I love the sound of it. It sounds like music to my ears. I have to one day "work it", but until then - music, music to my ears...
I grew up going to my grandma’s Baptist church and I heavily relate to this post! I’m pretty sure if I brought this story up to my son he would have no idea what I was talking about. Your writing reminds me of Jeanette Winterson today - in the best way. As a fellow expat living here- always look forward to your posts. 💕
As I read this, I will soon depart for my A1 class. In retirement, I wanted something to keep my mind churning, and boy, did I get that with learning Portuguese! I am constantly having to be gentle with myself to avoid the frustration that would shut my learning down. Thanks for articulating it so well. And, as always, love your take on the Tower of Babel.
“All this to say that I sympathize with the people of Babylon struck suddenly dumb by the realization that the conversations they had taken for granted all their lives were no longer accessible.” Understand completely. Thanks for articulating it so eloquently. I have made progress in Portuguese but there are days, like today that the verbs don’t conjugate in my head and come out my mouth…But I’ll keep at it.
As we start A2 class, this really hit home. Thank you for such a lovely expression of what, I believe, many of us immigrants lament, and hopefully will someday get beyond basic transactional necessities.
Brilliant. I think you should rewrite the Bible. As an atheist, I would even buy it!
Would love to read this whole story right now, but I’ve got to run to—checks calendar—Italian class. Oh, that’s right, Italian private tutoring day isn’t until *tomorrow*. Arrivederci!
I love this wording of the Babel story. So many strange stories in the Old Testament, but this one really does make you question God’s motivations. (But the King James version is poetic, if often opaque.)
"Behind us three middle-aged British lads..."
A lad is a boy or a young man, you can't have a middle-aged lad. You can, however, have middle-aged blokes.
Thanks!
Brilliant!