Lost in translation.

Four weeks ago, God opened up the curtains and showed me something huge, a 2 month trip to Brasil. Naturally, I started talking to everyone I knew about this upcoming adventure. I got responses everywhere from "You're crazy" to "I wish I could go" and one remark that came up every 5 people or so, which was "Can you speak Portuguese?" Well actually, they would ask "Can you speak Spanish?" and I would tell them that the Brasilian language was Portuguese and then they would ask. And of course, my answer was, "Eh, a little bit." Well, let me correct myself. No, I do not speak Portuguese. I will, but currently, saying that I knew a little bit was an over statement. I feel like when I was 6 years old and I jumped into a pool without knowing how to swim. The water is the portuguese and the lack of oxygen is my lack of this language. Thankfully, when I was 6 years old, my brother pulled me out of the pool when he saw my arms frantically splashing. My "rescuer" here is a team effort. First, the family Jessi and I are staying with are some of the most incredible people I have ever met and 3 of the 5 are fluent in English. They are wonderful teachers, sounding everything out for the hooked on phonics girl. Secondly, Jessi's hours and hours of Rosetta Stone are really paying off. It is a joy to watch her babble with the Brasilians and giggle through the mess ups. She is excellent in helping me attempt communication because she knows my position. Third, acting things out is always a helpful tool. Last summer I became a professional 'sharaids' player because of the language barrier and in the 24 hours that I have been here, I have proudly resorted back to my learned trait. And last but not least, I completed my first lesson in Rosetta Stone today. I walked around the house saying "Lindo, lindo," thinking I was repeating one of my new words, meaning "reading." However, "Lindo" means beautiful and "Lendo" is what I was trying to say. But, it made for a great laugh when Kener, one of the boys that we are living with, walked towards me and I matter of factly called him beautiful. Oh boy, I have a lot to learn. But it is only day one! Needless to say, I had a huge weight of relief lifted when my new family and I walked into a movie that was in English!!! God has a way of blessing us in HUGE way with just little baby blessings :)