Post in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Hi Anri, I am happy that you are learning Portugues in Brazil. It is a lovely experience. I am from Colombia and I´ve been living in Porto Alegre for 3 years now. I guess that it will all depend on what are you expecting from your learning experience.

Here at the south you will live a complete different brazilian culture due to the italian and German immigration. Also the accent and use of the portugues is kind of different since here they use the "tu" instead of "você" but they do not change the conjugation of the verb, and things like that.

I think you will like it here. It´s a different Brazil. However, there is no much to do in Porto Alegre, that might be a downside. The closest beach is at least 3 hours car-trip. Anyway, I think you wont have time to get bored in 3 weeks.

About the schools, I know a private teacher, not sure about the schools for portugues for foreigner but you will find teachers on campus and Facebook.

well, hope you made up your mind soon. Good luck!

Hi Cristian, thanks for your reply and advise :)

Since my main purpose is to learn Portuguese, I am not seeking for many touristic activities. Right now I am experiencing brazilian cultures with african influences in Salvador, so as your advice, Porto Alegre sounds very attractive.

The change from "voce" to "tu" would be a bit complicated as I speak Spanish and it would cause more confusion... but can be good experience, too. I will consider it positively and decide my destination.

Muito obrigada, muchisimas gracias!

Hi Anri.

I'm Brazilian, originally from Campo Grande/MS, raised in Campinas/SP, graduated in Porto Alegre, and about to live in Porto Alegre again. I will try to give you a hand answering some of your questions.

• you asked what is the best place in Brazil to learn Portuguese. In my experience working with Brazilians from many places, I would say that cities in Minas Gerais are particularly welcoming. People around there tend to be very warm and easy to interact with. That could be a good option for you.

• I lived in Porto Alegre for 9 years, and I would say people there are easy going too. It is true that the use of certain words and grammar is peculiar to there, and the accent is probably a little different to the one you find in Salvador. But it is not thaaaat different... shouldn't be a problem.

• I would say that in Porto Alegre and surroundings you can probably find a lot to do. There is a lot of night life, a great number of restaurants offering typical local food, and also food from around the world, including delicious sushi, that is becoming massively popular. There are also tradition centres that you would probably like to visit if you are into different cultures. Not to mention some nice cultural attractions in the town centre. And you can always travel to beach cities around, and also to cities in the nearby chains of short mountains, that have a certain European vibe, but that feel very Brazilian at the same time.

As I said, I will be moving back to Porto Alegre within a few days. When exactly will you be there? Feel free to message me and we can try to arrange something. If our agendas don't match for hosting, we can at least arrange to do a few things together. My wife and I would love to see your reactions to things and places that we like.

Kind regards.

Renan

Hi there! Welcome to Porto Alegre. I think Cristian and Renan answered all the questions. I agree with Cristian that Porto Alegre is not very much a touristic destination, but like Renan said you have a lot of things to do here and you are going to stay only three weeks. That is not much. For you to have an idea today is happening here a Food Trucks fair; a very good concert of Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento in the park, free of charge; a party in the street to celebrate the anniversary of our beloved Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana (cultural center). Plenty of options to do. If you decide to come to Porto Alegre please let me know. I can help you with Portuguese and you can help me with Spanish, since I started learning a month ago! See you,

Carla.

I and my family are open to receive travelers to learn other languages and teach the Portuguese as well as the exchange of cultures, I am from Cachoeirinha / RS city near Porto Alegre. If you're interested, call me.