Boa noite, Amigos

     So here’s another “first” for my list – learning a new language at 64.
     I’m now half-way through a set of eight CDs (I listen during my commute morning and night) of Pimsleur’s “Learn Brazilian Portuguese.”
     Why? I’m reminded of the famous comment by a renowned philosopher (was it Bertrand Russell?) who was asked why he was studying Mandarin Chinese in his late 80s. “If I don’t learn it now,” he said, “when will I?”
     If I don’t learn Portuguese now, when will I?
     It’s an odd language, compared to others I’ve studied, fairly guttural, with a lot of  half-pronounced “ch” or “ji” sounds at the ends of words. Some phrases (“por favor” for “please”) are the same as in Spanish while others bear no resemblance to any language I’ve heard before.
     Why Portuguese? Because we have many friends who are Brazilian and I’ve watched them toil to learn our language so they can work and communicate with people like us. It seems only fair to return the favor and share in their culture as they do ours.
     And besides, learning something new is exhilarating – even if, in our 60s, we no longer have built-in opportunities to do so. At this age, we have to make our own.
      Boa sorte!