It takes a village. Or maybe a newsletter?
Each month, we'll bring the best stories from parents on raising their CBC Kids. | | | BY BRUNA NOGUEIRA | When my husband and I moved from Brazil to Canada with our two daughters, my biggest worry was if and how they would adapt. Our oldest was five and just starting kindergarten, and the little one had just turned one. I wasn’t too stressed about the cold or snow (even though it was a big change!). What had me really nervous was the language.
On the one hand, our oldest hadn’t started reading or writing in Portuguese yet, which made learning English a little easier. But on the other hand, I kept wondering — What happens when English becomes their first language? How will they talk to their grandparents who don’t speak a word of it? | | | Six years later, I can happily say that they’ve adapted completely. English became their main language, but we managed to keep Portuguese alive at home, with effort, love and lots of funny moments. Especially with the youngest, who used to fill in the gaps in her Portuguese with English.
One day, during a FaceTime call with the grandparents, she said:
“Vó, o leperchon came here e bagunçou meu quarto.”
Which means, “Grandma, the leprechaun came here and messed up my room.”
The grandparents had no idea what she was talking about. Nobody in Brazil knows what a leprechaun is!
Those FaceTime calls became little English lessons filled with humour. The grandparents learned new words, tried to repeat everything with an accent, and between laughs, we found our own special way to stay connected. | | | "Keeping our roots became a superpower — it brought generations together, created strong bonds, gave us hilarious FaceTime moments and shared our culture with everyone around us. " | | | At Christmas, they even started watching The Elf on the Shelf movies just to understand what the girls were talking about. Now, they count down the months until Christmas so they can join in the magic from afar. Everyone loves our elf, Jackson, who even came with us on a trip to Brazil one December! It was so fun seeing him in the hot weather.
Once the girls were completely comfortable in English, they started teaching Portuguese words to friends and teachers. I still remember the day my youngest’s preschool teacher excitedly told me, “Today I learned how to count to 10 in Portuguese!”
That kind of cultural exchange opens doors and it didn’t surprise me one bit when, a few months later, the teacher told us she was planning a trip to Brazil after hearing so many stories about the beaches, food and traditions. | | | During the World Cup, all our neighbours basically became Brazilian fans, cheering loudly for the Brazilian National Team, because soccer to Brazilians is like hockey to Canadians.
Today, Portuguese has become our secret language. When we want to say something just between us and not have anyone else understand, we switch to Portuguese! It’s like magic, and it’s just ours.
In the end, keeping our roots became a superpower — it brought generations together, created strong bonds, gave us hilarious FaceTime moments and shared our culture with everyone around us. And the best part? It was all done with love, laughter and warm cheesy pão de queijo (a delicious Brazilian cheese bread). | | |  | | Bruna Nogueira, originally from Brazil and now a Canadian citizen, has been living in Edmonton, Alberta, for the past six years with her husband and their two daughters, Antonia and Joana. She has a degree in journalism, works as a set designer by vocation and writes out of passion. | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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