day 1: embarrassment and failure

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yesss... two of my favorite things. well, with all our planning and arranging, we ran out of time to learn portuguese. no problem, i thought. we'll pick it up along the way. i know spanish, i'm sure we'll be fine.

i was unaware that portuguese sounds a lot like what i imagine to be italian and latin...spoken backwards. and that practically no one speaks english and can thus guide us through our quest to learn. so what does this all mean?

when we went scrounging through the streets of copacabana for some food this evening...totally groggy, totally starving (i ate a granola bar on the plane at 4 am EST)...we couldn't read a single thing on any menu. of any restaurant we could afford, anyway. or if we could, it was accompanied by other, even MORE enigmatic words. so, after an hour of wandering the streets (did i mention it was raining) of a busy, loud HUGE city that we know nothing about, we finally gave up and...

...ate at a burger joint in the mall. i'm so humiliated. and now i'm on lesson 7 of our portuguese book. here's to hoping it gets better. ~eden

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Photos

Tasting Brazil's Unique Flavors
Interestingly, burgers taste exactly the same as they do in the United States. They do, however, come with barbecue sauce and are much more difficult to order.

Comments

[Mom]

Roberto's Deli
Hi, I love this blog. Bob's in Brazil? How funny is that? Loved the picture, it perfectly tells your story todate. More pics of beautiful Eden. Glad you are enjoying the local cuisine. Have fun. All is well here. Take care. Much love, xxxooo mom and dad

[Jeff]

Portuguese
Having only heard it in movies and whatnot, Portuguese is like Finnish or Dutch to me: a beautiful language to listen to, incomprehensible from context to the English speaker. I believe it's actually the progeny of Spanish and French(?), so I think some of the roots may be recognizable. Good luck with the lessons! I hope you're both having some fun. If not, just ask one of the locals where you can meet Zé do Caixão (pronounced zhay doo ky-show). Saúde.

[Dorria]

funny stuff
I can't believe your thousands of miles away - and still making everyone laugh! very nice of you - thanks. You will want to keep that sense of humor as you continue travelling - it will become more important that speaking portuguese or any language. Remember a smile is international!

[drae j namaste-rose]

words..
frankly speaking, you look petered out at bob's.. language is a funny thing. maybe in portuguese, "bob's" implies "the greatest" or "the most extraordinary" or "just like the unitied state's serves". i like your face in the picture. i hope things get better for you..

[marilyn t]

sign language
Get down to basics, moo for milk, draw foods needed, etc. It will make people willing to aid you on your quest for what ever. Eden, your funny, put your experiences on paper when you get back. You guys are a good team. Good luck, Mom T