Language-barriers

The place we are staying in is a huge sports-center which includes numerous football-pitches, several gyms used for all kinds of sports, several swinmming-pools etc... I like the place very much: It's big and gives you some shelter from the noisy city...

Until the actual start of the Conference Brazilians continued to use the facilities... I was told that many of them are living in the streets and the sport-facilities are there to give them some sense in life...

Of course it didn't take long and we were surrounded by what seemed like 20boys trying to make conversation with us etc. I doubt I ever experienced a language barrier thus extreme: Neither side was able to introduce themselves... Questions like "what's your name?" remained unanswered... Not even Spanish would help.

By now I am proud to have learned at least a couple of phrases. My plan is to leave Spanish aside for the moment and to continue learning some more Portugese in order to use it as long as I am in this country...