Now that I am profficient in a different language besides English I thought it would be nice to put down the thoughts I had about learning and speaking foriegn languages. First of all, to learn a language either you really really want to learn it or you need to learn it. Before I came to brazil I studied using flash cards and reading portuguese for dummies by myself, but to tell the truth I wasn't really motivated until about a month before I left. I then took one class from a berlitz teacher and about five classes from a women from Rio de Janeiro. During these classes, I learned more about culture, vocab, and grammar than I had by myself in five months. It was funny and educating at the same time. Then when I got to brazil and I spoke portuguese only mais ou menos I had to really learn it fast. It really is amazing what happens in two weeks when nobody speaks your native tongue. After about two months I was able to understand almost everything and I experienced thinking in a different language. I still don't think completely in portuguese, and I don't think I will unless I lived in a place where nobody spoke english. I do think simple phrases and half sentences in portuguese though, and it is very amazing to see. Also, when speaking one language sometimes its possible to understand others even if you can't speak it correctly. For example I am able to understand spanish fairly well even if my spanish came out with a hardcore portuguese influence. I am also learning that my native tongue, english, is going down the drain in quality. Even when writing this little essay right now I put writing as righting or half in have and it easy to see all the little pitfalls that happen when people try to learn english. So I am officially at the point where I can understand a normal brazilian conversation without difficulty. My next goals are to be able to understand films in portuguese and to be able to read books in portuguese. It'll take some of those headaches I had my first weeks here, but it'll be worth it. Just whoever you are and wherever you are, try to just learn a bit of a different language, you never know when it'll help.