Paulinho’s night school where he teaches English

I have met a number of people here in Miracema who speak English. But I think I might be forgetting how English works, because its a little difficult to understand them at times. But with my Portuguese and their English we manage to cope.

Meet Paulinho. He has three jobs, and is passionate for the English language. He soon became my most regular visitor here in Miracema. He calls me Mister Adam every time he sees me as he wants to practice his English. I visited his night school where he helps to teach adults who never got the chance to go to school when they were young. I felt an inspirational chill when I was introduced to the whole school and talked with a few of them. Some of the students were older than 60 but just wanted to get an education.

Meet Terese. She runs an English school here in Miracema and nearly broke down in tears when I came to visit and speak with thirty of her students. As she says, We need more forig-aners to practice our English with. The students were a bit shy to start with, but after taste-testing some Marmite, they loosened right up and began to ask questions about Australia and Sydney. They couldn’t believe that I had learnt Portuguese as few people in the world speak it. English to them is a language of opportunity, opening doors in other countries for work and communication. For me, Portuguese is all about understanding a culture better by speaking to them in their language.