Partying in another language

Our little friend Nathan just turned 2, and his parents, our friends, were kind enough to include us on the guest list for his birthday party yesterday.
     It was a typical Brazilian party – one meant for adults as much as children, with a themed backdrop for the birthday cake table and artful little favors created by his talented mother, a trampoline and potato sack races for the kids, beer and wine for the adults and, of course, the usual spread of incredible Brazilian food. (Who barbecues better?)
     Most of those present speak at least some English, though one or two had arrived from Brazil within the week, and it was a chance for me to practice the Brazilian Portuguese I’ve been learning by listening to CDs on my way to work.
     I know only a few basic phrases – like “How are you,?” “pleased to meet you,” “I’d like red wine, please,” and “where is the bathroom?”
     But I haven’t had as much fun talking to people in a long time. We laughed at each other’s attempts to converse, provided the fill-in-the-blank word for the sentences the other couldn’t complete and shared our thoughts on the difficulties of learning a new language.
     They, of course, need to know English if they’re going to continue to work and live here for as long as their visas allow. I want to learn Portuguese because it’s fun to learn anything new, but mostly because I have grown to like and admire many of them and I want to meet them halfway in this effort to communicate.

     I’ve never partied in another language before but, based on my experience, it’s “muito divertido.”

     Now you, too, know at least two Portuguese words – “very fun.”