Ahh...Portuguese

Learning another language is a weird thing. I took a semester of Spanish in high school and then another semester of Spanish in college (actually that was a class called "Spanish for Medical Professionals" so it was mostly just related to hospital/medical settings). But, I learned most of my Spanish in just living...going on mission trips, talking to different people, simply listening. I could speak it some...mildly even get by and carry on a small conversation. But, I never had to LEARN it...a very different thing.

Some interesting things about Portuguese and learning another language:

1. There are so many dang verbs. HELLO!! How many stinkin' verbs do you need. It's so dadgum ridiculous. Even the Brazilians think so. They just roll their eyes and say, "I know." They complain about how they can't even keep up with them. :) Go here and see for yourself. A few of them are not used that often. But...still people. In English, if I want to say the verb 'speak', it's simple...I speak, she speaks, they speak, we speak. Speak, spoke, spoken, had spoken. There are things you have to learn, but nothing of the magnitude of Portuguese. Seriously...ridiculous. I'm treading through though. My portuguese teacher ordered a dictionary of the Portuguese verbs, so that will be helpful. See...a dictionary of only verbs. Different.

2. I asked Joel last night if he thought in 2 languages. He said that at this point he thinks in English since he spent so many years there. I wonder if he thought in 2 languages when he first arrived in the states...I'll have to ask him that. But, right now, if I know the phrase in Portuguese and am saying it in English, I think of it in Portuguese. For instance, yesterday Hadley asked me something and I said, "I don't know." Immediately on the tip of my tongue and at the forefront of my thoughts was "Eu nao sei." When I say, "I think..." I always think "Eu acho..." It's weird. It's good I guess...means I'm learning and starting to have the words needed there, like I said, on the tip of my tongue. But...still weird. Whatever words and phrases I know in Portuguese at this point come up when I use the English equivalents. I'm sure this will not always be...it's probably just because I'm in the process of learning and my mind is going "ding ding, I know that one" whenever I say something in English that I know in Portuguese. But, it happens alot now that I am able to hold actual conversations with people. :) It's funny. My poor mind is working double time.

3. Even though I know the words in Portuguese, they don't really mean anything to me yet. That has been the weirdest part to me I think. For instance, when I tell someone "thank you," I don't feel like I've really expressed and sincerely told them "thank you" until I actually say the words "thank you" in English. "Obrigada" just doesn't cut it for me. It cuts it for them obviously since that is literally "thank you" to them. But, it's just a strange word to me...it doesn't truly express how I feel. So, I'm actually praying about that...that I not only learn the Portuguese language, but that it has meaning to me too.
It reminds me of 2 things...when I was in college I had a friend from Mexico named Jesus. He was actually originally from Spain, but had moved to Mexico as a boy. But, he told me once that he would never tell a girl he loved her in English. When he actually did love a girl, it wouldn't really mean anything to him to say it in English...only Spanish. I thought that was very intriguing and of course couldn't relate to him at all. But, now I can.
Another thing that kind of relates to this is that my friend and former roommate is from Honduras. She was truly saved though only after she lived in the states. I asked her if, when she was alone, having her quiet time and such, if she prayed and all in Spanish or English. She told me that since all of her Christianity had been experienced in the states, it was all in English. She found it a bit awkward/not natural to pray in Spanish.
So strange the relationships we have with language.

4. It takes longer to say things in Portuguese. Almost everything, every word, every phrase, is longer in Portuguese as compared to English...more words in the phrase, more syllables in the word, etc. This seems a bit trivial, but when you are trying to learn, it's not. It seems daunting and you start to say, "You know, it is so much easier and quicker to say this in English." :) For instance, "Joel's house" is "casa de Joel"...longer. There are many examples of this obviously since seriously, practically all that I've run across is longer in Portuguese. Funny.

5. Another thing that I find confusing is the situation with the adverbs/adjectives. They generally go after the subject they are describing (opposite of English), BUT, wouldn't you know...that's not always the case. It is just a matter of time, but I haven't yet studied that out very well to know the rules, so...confusing.

6. A friend of mine that is learning Spanish and living in Peru said on one of her blog posts that she just felt like screaming, "I'm not this stupid in English!!" I thought that was hilarious. Well, I have never thought of myself as that smart...I get by and am not dumb, but that's just not my thing. However, I've always been really relational. It KILLS me to not be able to talk to people...and talk deeply. I want to scream, "I'm not this rude in English!!" I seriously like to REALLY know people, what makes them tick, what their passions are and what they feel their purpose is in life...their life story up until this point, etc. Even though I can communicate with people on a certain level now and we even have some friends who know English pretty well, it is nowhere near the "tell me your life story and what you want to accomplish before you die" level. I hate it. But, I'm getting there. It'll come...sooner or later...probably later. :)

Anyway, just a little glimpse into my world of language learning. Some neighbors stopped by the other night and we were talking in the driveway...in Portuguese of course. Joel said it was truly a "pinch me" moment for him. He was just looking at me thinking, "My wife, Michawn Madden, is speaking my language." :) Funny. I am so excited about being able to wear the label "bilingual" soon. I've always thought it was a cool thing to be bilingual. I never actually thought I would be one of those bilingual people, since I never thought I'd need to be. That wasn't something I was willing to do just for kicks...I'm the type of person that goes to a movie or something when I want to do something just for kicks. :) These people that learn a new language or take extra classes at college just for fun...yeah, I don't really get those people. :) That's just not my thing. Although, I have always wanted to learn sign language.

Anyway, I'm glad for this opportunity and will keep you posted. Just thought this might be interesting for some of you.