Lisbon Stories
<p>Except for “thank you,” I don’t speak Portuguese. Before a recent trip to Lisbon, I spent a few weeks on Duolingo trying to learn Portuguese phrases such as “I have an apple” and “I am a boy/I am a girl.” During my trip, I wanted to be able to converse with Portuguese as an act of understanding (I am trying to understand your language) and as a way to show off in front of my kids the way I do in Israel or sort of did in Mexico City. I am normally good at languages, but even with Duolingo’s help, I struggled to understand much about Portuguese except that “o” can be “the.” Knowing the word for “apple” came in handy, however, when I tried to buy my son apple juice in a padaria where no one spoke English. I also dropped a newly purchased pasteis de nata on the floor in the same padaria. The woman behind the counter brought me a new one and likely thought I was an idiot.</p>
<p><a href="https://drfabulous.medium.com/lisbon-stories-3ed02435c82"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>