Child at heart (and possibly of mind ;) )

Luiza is gone and I am alone in a world full of portuguese! :( Murilo's aunt came to visit today (she lives in Fortaleza and sometimes stays with her daughter in Brasilia, but is here for 9 days), and she is good at finding words that I know, so I hope she will be of help and I will be good company for her!

I'm trying to figure out what are the best ways to learn the language. I'm experimenting with movies, but is it best to watch in english with portuguese subtitles? Portuguese with english subtitles? Portuguese with portuguese subtitles? I vote for english with no subtitles, but that doesn't seem to help me learn portuguese very wel... I've rented a couple disney moves like Ice Age, Enchanted, and Bolt, and I do pretty well with those when it plays in portuguese with portuguese subtitles. However, when I watch the movies that I've never seen before like this, I have no idea what's going on.

I also have bought a couple "books" to read, but unfortunately the books that I can read don't help my child status in the apartment (Zairinha holds my hand when we cross the street...). 4 of the 5 books I've bought are little paper pamphlets that tell the Disney princess stories. Entertaining, possible to read, and highly intellectual. The other one is a comic book of the character Monica - apparently she is everywhere here, and by everywhere I mean there are some scary and giant children's dolls of her. Today Mariana (Murilo's aunt) read me Branca de Neve (Snow White). I wrapped up in a blanket, she poured me a glass of chocolate milk, put her arm around me, and we had story time. (well, most of that is true, anyway).

Although I don't feel like I can speak in Portuguese any better, I do feel like I can understand a whole lot better. So mark that as the first step in learning a new language: understanding.

Alright, I have to go. I'm petting Toby and I think he's purring. We may have (another) problem.

Boa final de semana, meninos!

PS tomorrow we're going to the beach and Kelson has promised to take me out in his "boat." Let the adventures begin!!! Stay tuned... there has got to be a reason no one else volunteered for this amazing boat ride...