A Comforting Thought About Learning Portuguese

The one thing the image above doesn’t say is that the second you leave your comfort zone, you’re creating a new comfort zone. It’s pretty safe to say most people are, in fact, creatures of comfort. We seek out places, people and situations that make us feel good. Even for people like me who grew up moving around, I still do it because that’s what I’m comfortable doing. Comfort can be felt in many ways, though.

I assume it’s also safe to say that most people are comfortable in places where they can communicate with others and effectively express their own feelings and thoughts. Learning Brazilian Portuguese opened up a whole new world for me in this way and it basically tripled the area of land where I can live, work, play, explore, or simply visit. Just as important, I can do it all quite comfortably.

If you’re looking for a good reason to learn Portuguese, this is definitely it. It’s not only a good reason, it’s the holy grail of reasons, in my opinion. And if there’s one thing that’s certainly safe to say, especially because I’ve lived it, it’s that learning Portuguese was a life-changer.

If you still need an extra little push, think of it this way: If you choose piano lessons, for example, over learning Portuguese, in a few months you might be able to play some simple songs rather badly. But if you choose Portuguese, in a few months you’ll be able to open the door to new friends, and express yourself in a limited way. Like many skills, playing the piano is most helpful and appreciated when understood and used well (ie, when “fluency” is reached). With language as a skill, it can be much more useful during the entire learning process because at its base is communication.

(To be fair, it’s probably better if I compare language learning with learning to read music but, at the same time, if I can read music, that doesn’t necessarily mean I can play the piano. If I learn a language, all of a sudden I can do many things.)

Other Articles You Might Like:

• Brazil, the Land of Yeses
• Taking Brazil with Me
• The Expat Lesson

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