The Four Engines that Accelerate Language and Life

Last fall, my girlfriend and I sat down to have a street food dinner in Bangkok. It was a tiny street stall with only a handful of plastic chairs and tables, so seating was cramped. Soon another foreigner came and sat down across from us and began to eat silently.

A few minutes pass and the foreigner sitting with us takes note of my girlfriend’s accent. He asks in Portuguese, “Você é brasileira?” (Are you Brazilian?) She says yes, and the three of us then initiate a conversation in Portuguese...