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jueves, 21 septiembre 2006

Le Brésilien sans peine

I love reading, learning, and... yes, of course, BOOKS! It is very hard for D and I not to buy all the nice books that we find interesting at the bookstore (if it wasn't for the price) and even harder when we go at the second-hand bookstore (because the price is much nicer). Then why do we try to resist? Well, for the simple fact that books are heavy, and that when we move from place to place, boxes full of books weights a lot (and I'm not the one carrying, since I'm Lady Iphigenia the one and only, eh!). Luckily Don Quixote is a gentleman with big muscles (and a charming smile).

Somehow, with that great foundness for books, something strange happens with me (strange things often happen with me, to me, towards me...): when I own a book, I don't have a great urge to read it. I have maybe 10 to 20 books that I plan to read one day, but in the mean time stay neatly placed on the shelves. However, for the books that I choose at the library, I often read them much faster than the due date and can't put the book down until I'm done with it!

For the books I own, I sometimes start reading one book, then start another (without finishing the first one), then another (without finishing the second one) and so on. At the moment I am reading 2 books at the same time: The Chronicles of Narnia, The French are never wrong (or something like that which was a book that I offered to my Darling last christmas), there is another unfinished book about the voice, and (now comes the subject of this post) I am also teaching myself portuguese!

Last Christmas I bought myself this method complete with CDs (along with the other book that I offered to super Darling). It was on sale at the local Chapters bookstore and since the best gifts are the ones that one makes to him/herself, I had no reason to resist to that one. Plus, I am a complete addicted to learning new languages, AND it's my Darling's native language! (Go, go motivation!)
With all this good will, and the above mentioned reasons, I only opened this book last week, put the CD in our Mini-HiFi, and started repeating with the recording "Bom Dia! Todo bem? Sim. Eu me chamo Iphigenia. Tem um apartamento reservado em meu nome?" (literally: Hello! All good? Yes. My name is Iphigenia. Do you have a room reserved on my name?)

So far, so good. I think it will be easier to learn with a CD/method, than only relying on D for correcting my pronunciation (we are otherwise always talking in French together). When I try to speak in Portuguese to his parents/brother through MSN, it is hard at the moment because I mix it up so easily with Spanish or Italian! Hopefully, I'll get better with time and one day we'll have the opportunity to be surrounded by the language for a little while, either visiting Brazil or Portugal: the best way to learn!

* Le Brésilien sans peine is the title of the book that D offered for my first birthday together (he had bought is when we weren't even together yet!). It could translate the Brazilian Made Easy, or literally the Brazilian without pain which I find is a funny title, but then, I also have a queer sence of humour... HAHA to me!

21:35 Anotado en Books, English, Languages, Portuguese, Shopping | Permalink | Comentarios (4) | Enviar a Email

Comentarios

LOL ! It reminds me of my "Danois sans peine" ... which is still somewhere in a box I haven't opened yet since I moved .... Anyway, the "without pain" thing is nothing but a lie !!!

Anotado por: Sandrine | viernes, 06 octubre 2006

The only thing that I "know" Danish are the yummy danish pastries! :-)
(and my mum's mum keeps telling that she is herself half Danish-- so I might in fact have 12.5% of Danish blood in myself as well!)

But in your case, Sandrine, don't worry! You might find a "real" Danish "without pain" one day!!

Anotado por: lady iphigenia | sábado, 07 octubre 2006

Do you mean a "real Danish without pain", or a "real Dane without pain"? ;^)
Anyway, I'm interested in both :^) ...

Anotado por: Sandrine | martes, 10 octubre 2006

This is the proof that I don't always think before writing (or before anything, that's why I'd rather not speak much)... but yeah, I guess I meant both! ;)

Anotado por: lady iphigenia | martes, 10 octubre 2006