So, 3 months in a different language will teach you a lot. I definitely learned lots about Brazilians and about the difference between Brazilian Portuguese and English. Here are some of the main points:
"It starts at 10" - It will start at 1. 1ish. Depending on whether people get drunk or forget.
"Let's definitely have lunch tomorrow!" - I'll call you at around lunchtime tomorrow and put things off until dinner time. We'll go out and drink cachaca then.
"Come! There's all kinds of music!" - There will mostly be music I like (cheesy or crap. If you're in Ipanema or Leblon, it'll be Bieber or David Guetta) but I'll get you drunk enough on caipirinhas that you won't care.
"Yes." - Maybe. Unless I forget.
"Are you here alone?" - I'm going to try to kiss you in 5 mins.
"Oh, there's no meat in that." - It has chicken in it. Well, either chicken or pork. Or beef.
Aside from the language, I also learned a lot about my life. I learned that I can give off the impression that I understand things I don't understand, simply by smiling just a little bit and saying "be serious (fala serio!)" after just about anything.
I learned that R$9 shoes will not even attempt to keep your shoes in them.
I learned that if you want your boyfriend to be more affectionate, you should take him to Boipeba, the peaceful island in Bahia, where the ratio of men to women is about 70:30. And the ratio of hot men to non-hot men is about the same.
I learned that Brazilians will talk to anyone whether they know them or not, so you should ALWAYS be prepared to be part of the conversation. Not even giving someone the book-off will thwart them.
I learned that Rio is the ultimate city of opposites where everyone who isn't born with a silver spoon of açaí in their mouth has to fight for what they want. And that city of power and attitude fits me exactly.
