Ordering Coffee at a Brazilian Café: Essential Phrases for Expats
First Sip Shock: My Rookie Mistake I still remember my first dawn in São Paulo ten years ago, when the Dominican humidity on my clothes was swapped for a cool Paulista breeze. I ducked into a tiny neighborhood café, determined to practice the new Portuguese Vocabulary I had picked up from a tattered phrasebook. With […]
Grocery Store Conversations: Asking for Fruits, Veggies, and More
A Bag of Limes and a Lesson in Humility On my third day living in São Paulo, I strolled into a neighborhood mercado determined to make a decent caipirinha. I thought my Dominican‐honed Spanish would magically unlock Portuguese. Instead, I asked for “limones” and got blank stares from the vendor and the line of Carioca […]
Pharmacy Vocabulary: From “Dor de Cabeça” to “Antibiótico”
Landing in Brazil with a Throbbing Forehead I still remember my first Brazilian headache—both literal and figurative. I’d just flown in from Santo Domingo, a decade’s worth of Caribbean habits stuffed in my backpack, and somewhere over the Atlantic the air-conditioning turned my sinuses into a desert. By the time I reached my friend’s apartment […]
Talking to Taxi Drivers and Uber in Brazilian Portuguese: A Field Guide from the Back Seat
How a Shortcut in São Paulo Taught Me Humility My very first ride after landing in Brazil didn’t happen in Rio’s postcard avenues or Bahia’s coconut-lined highways; it happened in a drizzly São Paulo evening, the kind that paints the city an eternal shade of gray. I slid into a taxi, rehearsed my freshly memorized […]
At the Doctor’s Office: Explaining Your Symptoms in Portuguese
When a Little Stomach Rumbling Turned Into a Linguistic Wake-up Call I was sure the feijoada had betrayed me. The morning after scarfing down a majestic Saturday stew in São Paulo, my gut began a samba of protest. Living in the Dominican Republic for ten years, I’m no stranger to Caribbean spice, but this was […]
Taking the Bus: Portuguese for Public Transportation in Brazil
Uma lembrança de São Paulo às seis da manhã My very first Brazilian dawn was painted with diesel mist and the sing-song calls of a cobrador rattling coins in a plastic tray. I had landed in São Paulo the night before with nothing but a backpack, the Spanish I’d polished in the Dominican Republic, and […]
Apartment Hunting in Brazil: Phrases to Talk to Realtors
It was a sticky Tuesday afternoon in Recife when I discovered that the Portuguese word for “cockroach” was barata—ironically close to the Spanish “barato,” meaning cheap. I had just stepped into an apartment that was both barato and full of baratas, and the realtor’s amused grin told me I had mixed up the two. Ten […]
Paying Rent and Bills in Brazil: A Street-Level Guide to Portuguese Vocabulary
Oi, gente! James here. If we haven’t met yet, I’m that tall gringo who traded New York winters for a decade of Caribbean sunshine in the Dominican Republic, then wandered south to Brazil because my surfboard insisted on warmer waves. My very first apartment in Rio looked gorgeous online—until the day I tried to pay […]
At the Gym in Brazil: Sweat, Culture, and Portuguese Vocabulary for Every Rep
A Humble Start with a Heavy Barbell I still remember my first Brazilian gym morning: the sun in Salvador sneaking through the slats of the shutters, a chorus of motorbikes outside, and me—James, a Dominican-Republic–seasoned expat—staring at a reception desk that felt more intimidating than any bench-press PR. I had mastered island Spanish years earlier, […]
Shopping at the Mall: From Trying on Clothes to Checking Out
The Sneaker That Didn’t Fit: My First Mall Misadventure I still remember the exact shade of neon on the sneaker that betrayed me. Ten years ago, freshly landed from Santo Domingo and still mangling my Portuguese Vocabulary, I strolled into a São Paulo mall feeling confident enough to snag a pair of running shoes. I […]