Brazil!

[Ole Unka Phil]

Ok.... in the kids never ending saga of never knowing what he wants to do... he now is going to Brazil. For two years.

He is a Morman Missionary. Been now assigned (called?) to go to the MTC in Sao Paulo Sept 14th and then on up to Bella Horizonte Mission for his two years of service.

Should be an interesting experience. And learning a language not spoken elsewhere should be interesting too. Brazilian Portuguese. Erm.... yea.....

[magman007]

well, he could always go to portugal.... but yea, thats about it. portugueese is so similar to spanish though, he could bum through italy and any spanish speaking country without much trouble. i did italy with spanish and it worked pretty well


also, tell him to be careful, i know in chile they didnt like the mormon missionaries too much, they would avoid them on the streets, lock their doors if they got a call if they were in the neiborhood, and even refuse them service at places because they spotted their black shirts, pocket protectors, and their american flag patches.

[Ole Unka Phil]

Well I am told that Brazilian Portuguese is totaly different than Portugal Portuguese... well not totaly... but different enough to be difficult to transend.

I am also told they love them over in Brazil. Which is quite odd because its mostly Catholic. But they never send them to a totaly hostile country I am assured. And most of the Missionaries that return from Brazil love it. And, best of all, most return....

I bought him a set of training CD's that are specific Brazilian Portuguese. Hoping that helps him some. But I am told they intensively train in language at the MTC in San Paulo. And pair them with Brazilians as well.

[tropical_fishy]

Well I am told that Brazilian Portuguese is totaly different than Portugal Portuguese... well not totaly... but different enough to be difficult to transend.

You're right. It's infused with a lot of native slang and a lot more mexican (latin american) spanish, as well as random indigenous words.

That's really neat though. Tourists in general are treated really well in the "good" parts of Brazil-- Sao Paulo, Rio De Janiero, etc... the big cities .

[SpecialBlend2786]

that's awesome. Hopefully he stays safe and has a great time. Best of luck to him.

[magman007]

the best way to descriibe how the language is different, is to think about how americans speak, and australians speak, thry have many words that are different and we dont know what they mean, but you can usually get the message across. thats the same how spanish is spoken in spain, and how spanish is spoken in chile, so i know what he is up against. but it is all still the same relative language, and when you are imoersed in it for 2 years, you should be able to pick either version up no problem