Journal

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Dear Majo;

Do you remember our trip with mom to Rio de Janeiro? I do, and specially I recall the moment we visited the Christ redeemer statue. Nowadays I laugh at myself about the conversation we had with the Australian tourist that was going upstairs to see the figure just like us. I have to recognize that when he asked me: “Hey, do you speak English?”, I was very nervous and shy about answering with a timid “Yes”. That was the first time ever I had used the english outside of school. There was a moment of doubt inside my head, worrying about what was the correct answer, without being too formal or too simple. I felt like in an exam; not knowing which option to choose!! Meanwhile we kept going up stairs, I relaxed, and fluidly talked with the tall-white man. I felt like if I was in another world; it was the first time I consciously used my second language in a daily conversation, and to be honest, I noticed that I still had a lot to learn about grammar. There was a phrase that left me thinking about the Australian slang, and it was something funny that the man said as soon as we were in front of the Christ redeemer statue; “Crikey, blimey”, he said, which means; awesome! Just like Jonathan Culver said: “The English language is a work in progress. Have fun with it.”