My experiments without language

“Language is a sophisticated complication when it is not known” - Aashutosh

When you face a person with whom you need to check.. “what is the time” and there is no common language for communication, what do you do?

Do you speak to him in unmodulated relentless marching dialogues to tell you the time OR

You understand the differences and try and make gestures on your wrist repeating time..

And still if you are not able to connect to him.. do you reach out for his hand check his watch and say thanks.

That’s where the language started.. from holding the other guys wrist to check the time..

And that’s where we always go when we are stuck with any language.

Adding another And.. and the most basic form of communication comes down to sign language for sure..

How do you learn a language.. ?

Repetition.. Repetition.. Repetition..

The more you repeat the more you learn..

It’s no rocket science.

Staying in Brazil for a month and still I am not learned enough to speak more than 30 words maybe.

But travelling to places and speaking to people, I was still able to understand them and speak to them too..

And I believe that there is a critical mass needed to start understanding a language and its nuances.

And staying, speaking and fighting when they don’t understand you is the way to learn..

Here is my final finding.. Most Easiest way to learn a language is to have a girlfriend who speaks the new language.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find one to study Portuguese.

My Indian fundas..

What do u do when ..
1. You are in Mumbai, India and

2. If you travel form point A to B and you have taken bus XYZ and then you want to travel back to A from B..?

For me, I would stand on the other side of the Bus stop where I got down, and wait for the Bus.

check with people and then stand and wait.. 

Simple funda..

Applied the same here in Sao Paulo, brazil.

the bus actually had a different route while going back, hahah.. 

Asked a lot of people.. they had no clue of what we were talking and we had no clue of what they understood.. we waited for around 1.5 hrs. and then.. what to do.. 

Went to a restaurant, there were lot of young people sitting, called out in the middle of the restaurant, "Anyone Speak Ingleis here".. typical way to check who speaks english in brazil.

And then I saw fingers pointing at one single person.. checked with him.. and he checked with my grandpa.. Mr. Google and told me where to get the BUS.

It was the same spot where i left the bus in the morning... :)

Google the savior..
Please read the other article where the Grandpa funda is explained.

Where to keep the tissue paper.. learn from the Brazilians

This is interesting..

In Sao Paulo.. in my office there are 2 sets of tissue papers.. one above the wash basin.. the big ones.

And the other above the loo.. the small soft tissues..

Don’t ask me what the small ones are for..

You must be sensible enough to decode..

While it was a new thing that I had seen .. it was interesting as well..

Cleanliness to the next level..

Per Favor .. Don’t Pay please.

City of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Have you ever travelled in a taxi.. or an auto rickshaw.. and if the answer is yes..

Then has the taxi driver said.. oh the distance was very small.. please don’t pay..

Aha.. well this was first of a kind experience for me.

In the city of Sao Paulo, Travelling from my office to my hotel, I and one more person (who knew Portuguese) took a taxi..

As we reached the hotel, and my friend offered 10 rias to the driver, to our surprise, he said.. Nao Obrigado.. No Thanks..

We insisted and said please take it.. and the meter was reading 9.10 rias.

Still he refused stating that the travel was very less and he cannot take money for such a small distance.

I was SURPRISED.. pleasantly SURPRISED