I received an English lesson the other day when I went with Stacey to pick up the boys after school. I was standing holding Brandon's hand when a boy that was about seven or eight came up to us.

"Ele é americano?" he asked, pointing at Brandon. ("Is he American?")

"Sim," I replied.

His eyes lit up and he asked, "Você é Americana?" ("Are you American?")

Once more, I replied, "Sim."

He cracked a grin and said, "WWWWhhhhut issss your nay-meee?"

I quickly responded, "Valéria."

He looked disappointed and shook his head. "My nay-mee issss..."

"Oh!," I said. "My nay-me issss Valéria."

But by that point, I had lost his interest and he walked away. Apparently I don't speak the right kind of English. More specifically, I didn't remember the script that we've figured out that Brazilians learn in school. Anyone who claims to know any English knows the phrase "what is your name". That's usually all they know. But hey, it's more than we knew of Portuguese a few years ago.