Language shower

Have you ever drowned in a language shower? Or got caught without a raincoat ...? Last weekend Niki and I spent a few days in Sarzedo where we spent time with Cristina and Carlos, Niki's partners in business, and their children at Cristina's parents' house. From there we had a lovely view of Niki's house, surrounded by scaffolding, clad with a new roof (well, the beginnings of it).

During those few days in de Serre I was completely and almost all the time showered in language … the fastest and loudest Portuguese imaginable, often spoken by at least five people at the same time at the tops of their voices. Serious chat, village gossip, jokes aplenty, lots of raucous laughter - an endless rifle range of words and sound.

Did I understand most, or all, of what was bandied around the breakfast/lunch and dinner table ...? No, I can't say that I did. It's fascinating, and at the same time humbling, daunting and exhausting, to experience that. You do try to follow what is being said and, at times, you have to admit defeat and just switch off, just float on a sea of sound until a helpline is being thrown at you, in the form of a word, a phrase which you do understand (“Do you understand?’) to get back on board and sail another few miles till the next shipwreck.

This is not easy when you're used to freely and spontaneously contributing to conversations; when you want to avidly learn and know about new people and places; when you do know what they are on about and have an opinion but can’t express it …

I do understand and can distinguish more and more words and phrases as time has gone by, despite the incessant and exotic buzzing of strings of Portuguese words and phrases that seem to have no beginning or end. (Somebody this week compared it to some of the Slavic languages in that sense, lots of sibilants, lots of elision (leaving out or stringing together two or more sounds within or between words).

I was, by the end of the weekend, able to venture a 'Possu mais agua, se fas favor' (to loud applause) but, by Jove, it sometimes makes you feel as if you're in the middle of the ocean with very little water to drink and nothing to repair the leaking raft with...

Niki was a star is tirelessly dragging me back on board with little translations and summaries. Cristina was a great support in 'translating' her father's contributions, Carlos (who claims his English is not very good) helped by speaking to me in English most of the time); Mr Ovidu's incessant and incomprehensible jokes cracked at the speed of light (while uproariously laughing at them himself) which I did, of course, not understand most of the time, were charming. He recounted a story where he himself was in a similar situation and the only thing he could say to his partners in talk was ‘Hello!’ ‘Yes!’ It became a bit of a running joke for me to say those words when he was rattling off another litany of sound at me and I glazed over because I didn’t understand … I’m glad I’ve sort of gone past that stage now a little bit …

One day I will no doubt master this new and inviting language ...