2004/05 Hunterman - Practicing Portuguese In Rio
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2004/05 Hunterman - Practicing Portuguese In Rio
I had been practicing Portuguese since the day I came back from Brazil in January. Pimsleur’s first 30 lessons had improved my ability to communicate enough to really improve my experience in Rio, so I wanted more. My minimal command of the language was exciting, but also frustrating at the same time, because I could not say as much as I wanted—and I still could not understand spoken Portuguese at all unless it was spoken very slowly. So the day I got back, I put Set I Lesson 1 in the CD player in my car, and when I was finished reviewing the first 30, I went on the second set. I did each new lesson 2, 3, or 4 times, until I mastered most of it.
I was just finishing Pimsleur II early in April when Wayne called and said, “Hey, I’m going back to Rio at the end of April, why don’t you come along?” I had been corresponding with Thumper and Randalst, who were planning to be there at that time, so I had to give in to all the pain from Wayne’s arm-twisting. After all, he was an important business connection since I had gotten to know him on my last trip in November and December—and I needed to practice all that new Portuguese I had learned.
I made my flight reservations, called Vera to get an apartment reserved, called Tereza to tell her when to expect me, and she said that she and Fernanda (her—our—lover) would pick me up at the airport.
The night before I was leaving, Wayne called and told me he couldn’t go, he’d had to change his reservations—and would be arriving the day I left. But it was too late for me to change, and anyway, I was all excited about being with my girls—and some others from the last trip—and the others I hadn't met yet. And, really, the main purpose was to practice my Portuguese, and although I would have been Wayne’s interpreter, I thought I’d still have plenty of opportunities without him.
