I can't tell you how many times we have heard someone say that it is so good for ElliAnna to be here now, she will have no problem learning the language . . . etc. As I have considered this thought and contemplated our own language labors I realized that I know as much Portuguese as ElliAnna knows English. She has started to pick up on a few voice inflections and joins us in say "Hhot" to her plate of steaming food or the warm oven, she joins us in saying "mn" when we are through thanking God for our food. She is getting more and more used to imitating the sounds we say to her and understands so much of the commands and requests that we show her. She has learned a lot in one year. However, she still gets frustrated and screams when her communications are ineffective and do not produce the desired response. Sometimes, when I can't get my point across or understand the other person speaking in Portuguese I want to do the same, in a mature, adult sort of way of course. ElliAnna will spend the next 18+ years of her life in formal language study of some kind or another. Yet I aim to make my way through intense language study for the next 9 months or so and hope to have a working grasp of Portuguese.
Ha!
It is true, ElliAnna gets to learn Portuguese as she learns English, but it doesn't mean it isn't painful for her. We have immersed ourselves in Portuguese, and hope to have a third grade level with some extra theological terms thrown in when we are done. Here is the question: will I be able to communicate effectively in Portuguese before ElliAnna can communicate effectively in English?
Stay tuned . . .
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