We needed to find somewhere cheap to live for the summer and had been looking in some random places. One of these places is Porto do India, an Indian retreat a few miles up the Canto Da Lagoa trail. While we were checking the place out, the owner shared some language-learning advice. He told us to focus on phrases rather than words or rules. He said when he came to Brazil he learned a new phrase every day for the first thirty days and after that he was well on his way. He shared a story about a day when his phrase was não estou nem aí which literally translates to "I'm not even there" and is a strong way to say "I don't care." He was dating a Brazilian who asked about plans for the evening. His practice was to use his phrase all day, especially when responding to questions so he responded não estou nem aí and it caused an argument that bothers him to this day. Interesting language approach, decent story. I don't think we will stay at the retreat but I did learn something from the guy. If I pick a phrase for the day, it will be something like do fundo do meu coração which means from the bottom of my heart and I will use it all day long to tell Carol how much I love her.
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