My Life in a Nutshell

Me trying to look cute

Hello everyone! My name is Joshua Abreu and I'm a Junior at Rhode Island College. I'm majoring in World Language Education with a Concentration in Portuguese and minoring in Spanish. I live in East Providence with three siblings (one older and two younger)and my parents. My family is very tight-knit and close since all of my siblings and I are close in age and we were homeschooled at the same point. Furthermore, we were forced to get along since we couldn't get away from each other.
My parents immigrated to the states from Portugal with all of my grandparents and they began a new life here. Essentially, my siblings and I are first-generation Americans, but we've always identified ourselves as "Portuguese people who were just born in the wrong country". Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm used to there always being Caldo Verde in the fridge and having my house decorated with countless Galos de Barcelos.

Galo de Barcelos

I grew up speaking Portuguese at home, but over time my family made a switch to speaking in English instead. Since I never spoke Portuguese anymore, I began to forget it and it became increasingly difficult even when I wanted to speak in it. I decided to study abroad in Portugal because I wanted to experience first-hand the culture and language that my family is from and better my Portuguese so I can become more qualified to teach it. Also, the pride that my grandparents have of my "returning to the homeland" is always a plus.

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My classes at Nova University of Lisbon

Although it may come as surprise, studying abroad does not only consist of traveling and gaining weight. Technically, I am here to study, so here is a description of the classes I am taking: 1) Gramática Portuguesa This course focuses on identifying the different components of Portuguese grammar and the different characteristics of sounds, words, and phrases. The class is split up into six different parts: grammar, phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. So far I've gotten halfway through the unit of morphology and I've come to the conclusion that this class is the hardest of all the classes I'm taking. Since it's about all new concepts regarding the Portuguese language (that haven't even studied in the english language), it can be a bit frustrating to understand. I find myself rereading my notes constantly, in class and out of class, to make sure I am following along with all the new material. Regardless, I'm loving the experience of doin

My internship in Portugal

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm completing an internship here in Lisbon, in addition to my classes. When I first heard of the opportunity to earn credits that count towards to my major that did not include listening to lectures, I jumped on it. One thing led to another, and now I find myself interning at the Fulbright Commission. Essentially, the Fulbright commission is an organization with the goal of building relationships between the United States and Portugal by means of education. This includes providing scholarship and opportunities for educators and students to teach and study in the other country. My role at the Fulbright commission is to help with a specific program that it offers, called the Competitive College Club. This program assists Portuguese high schoolers with the process of applying to universities in the United States. I assist with presentations and meeting covering each part of the process; completing the SAT, writing the essay, and finding profess

Studying Abroad in Lisbon, Portugal

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