Rehearsal

The language is all around me.  It is so exciting, every time I hear a  “Tudo bem?” or “Agua” I get excited all over again and try not to stare at the native Portuguese speaker.  I have even thrown in my occasional “Obrigada” and “Eu não falo Portuguêse.”  I had a dream a few weeks before I left that I was in a play.  I had my lines all memorized and my character was perfected to a tee.  It was the last dress rehearsal and my director came up to me and informed me that I was doing a great job, but now I had to do all of my lines in Portuguese.  And that is exactly how this feels right now.  I know my lines; I know how to communicate with the customs officer and what to say to the nice man who helped get my bag off of the belt.  But now, I have to say it in an entirely different language.  When the woman at baggage check asked me a question that I quite frankly had no idea what it meant, I felt exactly as if I had forgotten my line in a play.  I just drew a blank.  However, unlike community theater, your fellow actors don’t know what your line is supposed to be and therefore can’t give you a hint.  I’m considering carrying around cue cards.