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The First Few Days

By mfretes93

After 10 hours on a plane, not including the 2 hours spent idle on the tarmac, I finally reached Rio de Janeiro and now, I'm almost done with my first week. And while I still have a lot to see, do, and understand (namely, how not to get lost, everyday), I feel as though I have a pretty good grasp on how things work around here: nothing ever starts on time, coffee is drank like water, and the beach is a way of life. I think I can do this for four more months.

But while this might seem like a dream come true, the initial adjustment period was difficult, and still is. Namely, the language barrier. So, of all the lessons I've learned so far (more on that in the coming weeks), the most important takeaway from my first week is this: speak, speak, speak.

I knew I wouldn't be ready to have political debates with strangers the second I got off the plane. I've taken one semester of Portuguese at GW, and didn't get as much practice in over the summer as I would've hoped, so a lot of that knowledge fizzled away as I browsed Netflix and Facebook. So on my flight over, I was worried that I would be completely lost in Brazil.

And that fear immediately came to fruition when I needed to buy a SIM card for my phone so that I could use it during my semester in Rio. My immediate knowledge of Portuguese was as follows: "hello, how are you? I am good, thank you. Goodbye." But at that phone kiosk, I needed to discuss phone plans and installation and other things that I'd have trouble talking about, even in English.

But what most people don't realize when they worry about not knowing enough of a foreign language while abroad is this: people want to understand you. Shopkeepers want you to buy from them, so they'll help you understand what everything is, and how much it costs. People on the street don't want you to get stabbed on the way to the bus stop, so they'll help you understand what direction to walk in. And SIM card sellers want you to leave with a SIM card, so they'll try to make sure you know what you want, and they'll help you get it.

The key to get over the fear hurdle is just to speak. Even if every other word out of your mouth is "um" and you have to flail your arms around and draw diagrams on scrap paper to communicate a simple sentence, you're still communicating. And though you'll feel embarrassed and maybe a little frustrated that you don't know as much of the language as you should or thought you did, every interaction in that language is learning.

So yes, getting that SIM card was a bit of hassle and did require a lot of gesticulation and speaking back-and-forth in broken English and broken Portuguese. But the transaction was completed, and I left with a Brazil-ready phone and the knowledge of how to say "international calling" and "texting" in Portuguese. I'd call that a success.

Now I try to make an effort to speak in Portuguese everyday--including in embarrassing situations, like when I'm horrifyingly lost in the mountains on my way to school. And so far, I think my Portuguese has improved a lot. I still can't have those political debates, but I can converse generally, and I can definitely go about my day-to-day business. All I have to do is speak.

After all, you don't learn without trying, or without making a giant fool of yourself.

Until next time--tchau!