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Meeting the Brazilians De cora - o a cora - o
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Meeting the Brazilians: De cora - o a cora - o
Meeting the Brazilians: De coração a coração
As my ten-year high school reunion nears, I am reminded of just how long I’ve been learning Spanish. But as a novice learning Brazilian Portuguese, I can relate to my students' feelings of insecurity, thirst, as well as joy in learning a new language. I was lucky enough to be required by my Latin American Studies program to take Portuguese 101. In fact, to get a head start, I had taken a Port 101 at a community college with the unforgettable mineiro, Professor Oliveira. I fell in love with this sister language and went on to take PORT 102, 103, and 104. I longed for the opportunity to put my book learning into practice.
Then out of nowhere, I was recently given the opportunity to attend an event welcoming over 70 Brazilian youth to Los Angeles. About 50 of them were part of the Ikeda Humanism Brazilian Philharmonic Orchestra. Most are not professionals but form a brilliant orchestra. Of course they spoke Portuguese, not Spanish. The small victories of this weekend took me back to the times I met my first Oaxacan friends at the pizza parlor I worked at over 10 years ago. I hope to transmit this joy to my Spanish students.
I learned that your heart is the most important thing to keep in mind. The night before meeting the Brazilians, I thought about looking up words and trying to write out some things I’d probably like to express the next day during the dialogue dinner. But in the end, I decided that a more effective approach would be to think about the purpose of my dialogue and rouse the courage within me. During the day, I somehow ended up speaking mostly in English when I was approached by any of the Brazilians. I felt shy, even in English. But I remembered that I couldn’t waste this opportunity. All day long, this Brazilian cheer would break out of nowhere, and we were all shouting at the top of our lungs:
É pique, é pique, é pique, pique pique
É hora, é hora, é hora, hora, hora
Then the samba would begin, and everyone was having the time of their life. Have courage, be bold, I told myself over and over. I also realized that my deep desire was to somehow make this the start of a wonderful, lifelong friendship, without worrying about how that would happen. Of course many hours of study and practice are behind that one moment you actually speak with someone in that language. But when that encounter happens, you really only have your bright voice to transmit your heart.
And it worked! Seats were assigned during the weekend dinners. The first night, I was a little more timid, but I was able to connect with people. When the interpreter left for the restroom, I was asked to try to interpret for my friend at the table. As an aspiring professional cellist, he had a burning question for the violin player Fabio. How could he motivate the young musicians of the youth music program he heads and create something as powerful as what the Brazilians had built over more than a decade? Somehow I could keep the flow of this earnest conversation going as a go-between. And I believe my friend was encouraged by Fabio. I felt so happy. The next day, I was able to see their rousing performance once more. Another dinner followed. Something in my face or my voice must have resonated with the handful of people at my table. They really encouraged me to continue learning Portuguese. At that moment, I felt it was all worth it. It helped, of course, that the room was already crackling with energy after that performance. Later that night, my friend and I made rounds of the tables, passing out lembrançinhas of the Bay Area to our new friends. We greeted each person with a Boa noite! and thanked that person for their visit and performance. What a response we got. Each person’s face lit up, thanking us in return. The tuba player even kissed our hands.
I am so grateful for each one of the Portuguese teachers I have had the fortune to meet. I hope to always keep this joy alive as I continue to learn and teach!
Learn to Speak Spanish
Blog Posts by Yuko
Meeting the Brazilians: De cora - o a cora - o
Meeting the Brazilians: De coração a coração
As my ten-year high school reunion nears, I am reminded of just how long I’ve been learning Spanish. But as a novice learning Brazilian Portuguese, I can relate to my students' feelings of insecurity, thirst, as well as joy in learning a new language. I was lucky enough to be required by my Latin American Studies program to take Portuguese 101. In fact, to get a head start, I had taken a Port 101 at a community college with the unforgettable mineiro, Professor Oliveira. I fell in love with this sister language and went on to take PORT 102, 103, and 104. I longed for the opportunity to put my book learning into practice.
Then out of nowhere, I was recently given the opportunity to attend an event welcoming over 70 Brazilian youth to Los Angeles. About 50 of them were part of the Ikeda Humanism Brazilian Philharmonic Orchestra. Most are not professionals but form a brilliant orchestra. Of course they spoke Portuguese, not Spanish. The small victories of this weekend took me back to the times I met my first Oaxacan friends at the pizza parlor I worked at over 10 years ago. I hope to transmit this joy to my Spanish students.
I learned that your heart is the most important thing to keep in mind. The night before meeting the Brazilians, I thought about looking up words and trying to write out some things I’d probably like to express the next day during the dialogue dinner. But in the end, I decided that a more effective approach would be to think about the purpose of my dialogue and rouse the courage within me. During the day, I somehow ended up speaking mostly in English when I was approached by any of the Brazilians. I felt shy, even in English. But I remembered that I couldn’t waste this opportunity. All day long, this Brazilian cheer would break out of nowhere, and we were all shouting at the top of our lungs:
É pique, é pique, é pique, pique pique
É hora, é hora, é hora, hora, hora
Then the samba would begin, and everyone was having the time of their life. Have courage, be bold, I told myself over and over. I also realized that my deep desire was to somehow make this the start of a wonderful, lifelong friendship, without worrying about how that would happen. Of course many hours of study and practice are behind that one moment you actually speak with someone in that language. But when that encounter happens, you really only have your bright voice to transmit your heart.
And it worked! Seats were assigned during the weekend dinners. The first night, I was a little more timid, but I was able to connect with people. When the interpreter left for the restroom, I was asked to try to interpret for my friend at the table. As an aspiring professional cellist, he had a burning question for the violin player Fabio. How could he motivate the young musicians of the youth music program he heads and create something as powerful as what the Brazilians had built over more than a decade? Somehow I could keep the flow of this earnest conversation going as a go-between. And I believe my friend was encouraged by Fabio. I felt so happy. The next day, I was able to see their rousing performance once more. Another dinner followed. Something in my face or my voice must have resonated with the handful of people at my table. They really encouraged me to continue learning Portuguese. At that moment, I felt it was all worth it. It helped, of course, that the room was already crackling with energy after that performance. Later that night, my friend and I made rounds of the tables, passing out lembrançinhas of the Bay Area to our new friends. We greeted each person with a Boa noite! and thanked that person for their visit and performance. What a response we got. Each person’s face lit up, thanking us in return. The tuba player even kissed our hands.
I am so grateful for each one of the Portuguese teachers I have had the fortune to meet. I hope to always keep this joy alive as I continue to learn and teach!
Learn to Speak Spanish
Blog Posts by Yuko
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