Você fala Português?

In the five months that we have lived in Brazil, I have been asked that question hundreds of times.  I have always said, “um pouquinho” (a little).  I think I am going to change my answer.  Last Sunday, I had to give a talk in church – in Portuguese!  It was a real talk, ten minutes, with a real assigned topic not just a “please bare you testimony” type.  I wrote it first in English and then translated it into Portuguese.  I then asked some native Portuguese speaking friends that also speak English to read it over.  I was very happy with the result.  The main edits were in verb tense.  I really do not get something called a personal infinitive nor am I really good at getting the subjunctive mood correct.  Other than the verb tense changes, only a few sentences were changed due to “we don’t really say that in Portuguese” corrections.  I am really glad, in retrospect, that they asked me to give a talk.  I feel much more confident with the language now.  I have a lot to learn but I still have two years to go!