Posted on 06/13/2006 3:29:15 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
Forty years ago this month, I began training to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil. I was excited to be going to serve in the only South American country where Spanish is not the principal language.
I would be deployed by myself to a small city in the interior, so the necessity to become proficient in Portuguese was the cornerstone of my comprehensive training.
The returned Peace Corps volunteers from Brazil who were part of the training staff told us that we would become fluent within six months. I found that hard to believe, but it came to be true. By the time I traveled up and down the Amazon River 10 months later, few thought I was an American.
As the only American for many miles around and the only one who spoke English in my town of 6,000 people, I immersed myself in their language and rich culture. I worked with Food for Peace, coached a softball team and taught English. My living allowance was $48 a month.
For six months I even had a Brazilian girlfriend. While I had infrequently dated during high school and college, I never had a steady. So the first time a love interest told me she loved me, it was in Portuguese, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
A few years after Peace Corps I returned to work in Sao Paulo. It is now more than 30 years since I have been back.
I fell in love with the country, the people, the diverse culture, learning so much about the Brazilian history and way of life. I received much more than I gave.
Today in Atlanta there are as estimated 35,000 Brazilians. But many of them are not living among us. They live among themselves. When I frequent a couple of my favorite Brazilian restaurants, I am shocked that after all these years, my Portuguese is often more functional than their English.
Sadly, they don't have to learn English. They either learn a few words to get by or designate one among their group to interpret.
Our generational missions are quite different. I went to Brazil to serve my country and make a contribution; they came to the United States to earn enough money to support themselves and loved ones back home. Many plan to return to Brazil.
I think Portuguese is an incredibly lovely and sensuous language, far more so than English, but it is English that will be the vehicle to building relationships here in Atlanta. I encourage Brazilians to stretch and become proficient.
We're not their host country. We're their occupiers. We should either learn Spanish or get out, preferably the later. < / sarcasm>
O Brasil um estado de mente. Se você não conhecer o português, você está perdendo o lado de divertimento de América do Sul. Como as meninas nos biquínis de Copacabana.
Well, let's just say that the Atlanta Journal Constitution is viewed by a lot of us Georgians as "Pravda South," and Atlanta as "Chicago with a better PR department."
More representative local papers:
Desculpe-me para tropeçar as minhas palavras. Pensei as meninas encantadoras das praias do Rio. Viva o Brasil!
Only half of this propblem is Mexicans. The other half has many faces, but Brazil is one. They even have a regular TV show in Brazil on how to come to America illegally.
Realmente? Admiro-me quando Portguese ficará a terceira língua dos Estados Unido!
Eles tiveram português no Canadá. Não Brasileiros mas o Lusitanians original. Quem terminou de ser deportado atrás à sua pátria, já que de todas as coisas, sendo ilegalmente no Canadá!
I believe that the second largest illegal immigrant group in the US.... is the Irish.
Eu tamben- portugues e uma lingua muita bonita. Pessoas que pensam todos os immigrantes e mesma precisa fazer distincoes mais exato.
What really fascinates me is that the languages of English, Spanish, and Portuguese are so very similar that it's easy to learn one when you speak another, yet still others refuse to learn English. Half the words are the same. We can all make out what you're writing in Portuguese. So it indicates real laziness on the part of these immigrants if they can't get themselves together to learn English. Heck, it's not as if they had to learn a totally dissimilar language, as immigrants from other parts of the world do.
Also referred to as the Atlanta Urinal/Constipation
"...the only South American country where Spanish is not the principal language."
What about the former British, French and Dutch Guianas?
That's interesting. I have not seen that before. I know that there are muchos Poles in Chicago. Here in South Florida we get mostly refugees from communist countries. They are not coming here to work but to survive.
We are truly blessed and should not take it for granted. There are many truly good families and people who are victims of corruption and governments that they have no control over. Our constitution is an amazing piece of work, that saved us from that turmoil. There but for the grace of God go us.
It's the same problem--failure to assimilate.
I will say this much or the old Atlanta "Urinal Constipation" They used to have an after noon paper that had a Republican bent and the morning paper and weekend paper that was Democratic. Rick Wooten still who edited the old afternoon paper still writes his columns with a conservative slant. In this way there is a respect. But, then again Cynthia Tucker is the total left wing slime liar,scum bag and I will never buy the AJC becuase as long as she is editing it. the paper is owned by Cox communications which was founded by GOv Cox a former Dem Presidential nominee in '20 and his grandaughters still run the paper and are big contributors to the 'crats.
The comment I was responding to seemed sort of biased against South Americans. But yes, I heard that fact the other day.
One funny thing about Mexicans in particular, is that if illegal Mexicans could vote, they would overwhelmingly vote Republican. Mexicans are so right wing, they'd make your head spin!
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