Be able to…

If you are able to do something, you have the ability to do it.

 (conseguir fazer)

1. How long are you able to maintain a consistent daily routine without giving up? Have you ever heard of Jerry Seinfeld’s strategy called, “Don’t break the chain!”?

2. Some Brazilians take oaths (promises), which usually involves abstaining from something for a long period of time, on the condition that they or a family member gets what they want - for example, passing a public contest. Would you be able to stop eating, say, bread for 4 or 5 years?

3. Very few people are able to admit that they are wrong. It’s not easy to swallow your pride.

4. My daughter is still not able to whistle. That’s only to be expected for her age. Is there anything you‘re still not able to do that most other people can do? I’m still not able to speak Korean.

5. Is there any process you‘re not able to currently complete because of bureaucracy? Have you come up against any dead ends and cannot continue moving forward?

6. Many Brazilians from the Northeast are not able to pronounce the letter “R” as they do in the South of Brazil… or as we do in English. What sounds in English are you not able to reproduce yet?

7. What things are you able to do that others can’t, because you’re highly skilled/ trained in that area? I’m able to play the harmonica pretty well and manipulate the CSS of blogs in general.

8. I’m not able to cook well, but I am planning to improve! What are you unable to do right now that you’re planning to get better at?

9. I am able to work on anything (or watch anything) for hours on end. What are you able to do for a number of hours without getting distracted, tired or giving up?

10. I was never able to finish my Math exams on time. I was not that bad… just a little slow. In what area of knowledge are you unable to process information quickly?

Learn (something) the hard way/ Live and learn

(Vivendo e aprendendo)

1. When you don’t pay a loan or for your credit card installments by the due date, the bank charges you interest. After a month they start charging interest on the interest. Pretty soon you can land yourself in unmanageable debt. Has that ever happened to you before? We live and learn.

2. Do you generally learn from your own mistakes and do better the next time, or do you keep making the same old mistakes? Sometimes mistakes are unavoidable - but in many such situations I tell myself, “You live and learn“.

3. One day in El Salvador, Central America, I drank water directly from the tap. I was too thirsty to care at the time… but I ended up getting typhoid fever shortly thereafter as a result. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way!

4. Have you ever gotten a traffic fine? If so, what was it for? Have you ever gone the wrong way down a one-way street, talked on your cellphone while driving or any other infraction? Sometimes the only way we learn is when we feel it in the pocket - when we get a hefty fine. We learn the hard way.

5. Not everyone can be trusted and not everyone has good intentions. Unfortunately most of us find this out the hard way.

6. Sometimes we learn more by failing and picking ourselves up and trying again. Often we live and learn through trial and error. Can you remember any lesson you learned the hard way?

7. The only way to really know what an ice-cream headache is like is to eat too much and suffer the consequences. We live and learn!

8. When I first came to Fortaleza, I was not prepared for the strength of the sun and the viciousness of the mosquitoes. I learned the hard way to use sun block and insect repellent.

9. After a month of unregulated use of any service, such as long-distance calls on a cellphone, air conditioning (higher electricity usage), etc., one may be shocked to receive a much higher bill than expected. We can then adjust our habits thereafter. We live and learn.

10. If one does not exercise or have a more-or-less healthy diet, it’s a matter of time before health problems start cropping up. If you don’t drink enough water, that may lead to kidney stones. The lesson is so painful, I am sure, that one will immediately increase their water intake to avoid the same happening in the future. We live and learn.