Hola chicos,
Did you know I speak Portuguese? Me neither! But this week, I am the one and only Portuguese translator for the refugees at the border coming in from Brazil. I think I have to thank my friends Amanda and Travis and their little baby Liam for this. Amanda and Travis
speak Portuguese all the time around me and it must have gotten stuck in my head. Somehow, I can understand Portuguese. One of the refugees is a 17 year old boy from Brazil who also understands Spanish. Neither one of us can communicate in the other’s language, yet we are working as a team to translate for all of the other Brazilian refugee families. It works like this… the Brazilian family speaks to me in Portuguese and I can understand their questions/needs, then I tell the 17 year old my answer in Spanish, and he tells the family in Portuguese. None of us can speak the other’s language, yet in this circle of tres we all understand each other. It truly is amazing.
So point of this story is always keep your ears open when different languages are being spoken around you. You never know what you will pick up! Obrigada Amanda, Travis, and Liam.
Senora Traub
Comments