• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Road Less Traveled

Road Less Traveled

posted on October 12, 2012

(Carimbó dance)

I grew up differently than most people. My parents moved us around quite frequently and by the time I became a teen, I had already had around 12 previous residences across 5 states. From that moment until now, I’ve done what I know best and my current previous residence count is somewhere north of 30. Most people would be pretty bothered by moving so much but I suppose that’s the difference between being forced to move and choosing to do it. Either way, it’s a great way to learn about yourself and about the lay of the land.

I’ve traveled through the lower half of the US and lived in several states in that region and this has given me a good sense of what kinds of environments suit me best. Learning, in this sense, seems to come through a process of experimentation (of new places), elimination (of unfavorable places) and reflection (on past and future moves). I use the same method in Brazil and it has served me well, especially in the case of elimination.

Living in Belém, in the north, I felt really isolated, even though it is a city of over 2 million people. A good amount of time was spent to reflect on why I moved there and what I learned by going somewhere most people don’t go. Sure, it wasn’t exactly Acre (sorry, people of Acre) but there’s a certain distance-based psychological barrier that revealed itself while I was there and which kept me from continuing to live there. It didn’t help that my initial plan was only to stay there a few weeks before heading to Rio.

I do ask myself how can I really judge it, though, if I only spent 90 days there. Sure, I met a lot of cool and good-hearted people, went out at night, tried all the regional cuisine and even traveled straight across the state, but unfortunately I missed some of the region’s esteemed attractions. That includes Marajó Island where they have amazing pottery and where buffalos roam, or Algodoal Island where people head in droves for sun and fun during long weekends, and I also missed the Círio de Nazaré, an important yearly religious procession.

I remember when I told my Brazilian friends back in California that I’d be going to Belém, and they just looked at me, with a bit of a blank stare and said, “cool…have fun…”. Looking back, I suppose it’s like saying I’m all of a sudden going to move to South Carolina or something, or Alaska if we’re talking distance. The point is that I got to do something unexpected and be surprised by the unknown. I went somewhere most Brazilians, and even foreigners, don’t know much about. I like to think I carry a little bit of carimbó (a popular dance there, pictured above) with me, and came away with a better palette thanks to jambú (a plant with a numbing sensation that they put on pizza) and maniçoba (an indigenous leafy dish that can poison you if it’s not well-cooked).

When I look at my list, I can say that my more than 30 moves have made me happier. For anyone looking for a way to continually place themselves in unknown territory and learn at a quicker pace, I can recommend the road less traveled. I suppose what it comes down to is choosing between ‘happy’ and ‘interesting’, where happy describes the steps that should be taken in order to be happy (“graduate so you can get a good job so you can get a good house…”). Choosing interesting, on the other hand, is an automatic passport to “Door # 3”, the door with the question mark on it. Funny thing is, that’s what makes me happy.

—————-

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Related Posts:

  • 12 Ways to Say You are Welcome in Brazil - Portuguese lesson
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

After studying abroad and living in Brazil I use Street Smart Brazil to keep up my Brazilian Portuguese. It is not just a tutoring service but a community. Constantly keeping it fresh with new ways o… Read more
Kevin
We found that knowing a little Portuguese was very helpful. We had an absolutely incredible trip! Words in an email can’t describe how amazing our time in Brazil was.  And it was really nice knowing … Read more
Suzanna & Jeff
I can highly recommend learning Portuguese with Street Smart Brazil. I have very good tutoring. My teacher is competent and nice. Her classes are great and she challenges me every single time in a ver… Read more
Marina
I’ve been extremely happy with my classes through your program. My instructor is great and very good at formulating lessons which are challenging but also accessible for a beginner like me. She’s also… Read more
Bernard

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • Family Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/xoNtWBolAzE

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved.