Eu me lembro, I remember.

July 2010

I remember reading The Little Prince in three different languages.

Le Petit Prince

O Pequeno Principe

The Little Prince

I remember switching from Portuguese to English and from English to French in order to fill in the missing words and feelings I wanted to describe.

I remember associating my mother’s moods to each language.

Portuguese when she felt passionate.

English when she felt hyper.

French when she had nothing else to turn to.

I remember teaching my father French and correcting his Portuguese.

I remember discovering in Portuguese, teasing in English and loving in French.

I remember that movies dubbed in Portuguese sounded softer than those dubbed in French.

And yet, all the voices were the same.

I remember dreaming about emotions in English.

About worries in French,

About fantastic delusions in Portuguese.

And in times of desperation and loss,

I remember that I have something to feel.

In French. In Portuguese. In English.