Palavras

I like words. Words are important to me.  I think about them.  I turn them over in my mind and poke at them from different angles. 
I'm not good at cultural cliches.  I don't understand a lot of them. I missuse them.  Matt says it's because I am unamerican.  True. 
I am not anti-american.  But UN.  Yes, that's fair. 
I have a Brazilian flag I want to hang off my back porch, but I haven't figured out if that is legal or not.
I'm not Brazilian either.  I'm more like a cocktail. The intellectuals call me a third culture kid. Not one or the other--but a mixture. 
It means I use my words differently than most people.
It means I don't always understand what people mean when they use their words. 
It means my vocabulary is HUGE, but only half the people I know at any given time can understand it. 
Some of my favorite words my children are just beginning to understand. 
The approved word around here for the gluteous maximus is "bunda". (u like chew)  Love that word. 
Somedays I need a little kick in the bunda.  Sounds much less offensive doesn't it?
The kids can make a huge bagunca. (a is baa like a lamb, un like moon, c with an s sound.)  That can be a mess or a riot, depending on the context.
I much prefer to wash with sabonete than soap.
I don't use my words lightly.  Though it can be argued that I use a lot of them. 
I generally mean what I say, though I often don't explain.
I expect other people to mean what they say too.
That can get complicated.
Then I might have to ask the question, how do you mean what you say? What are you trying to communicate?  How do you want me to feel about your words?
What does what you say to me tell me about you?
What does it say about me?
What do you mean by what you don't say?  By the words you don't use.
I think about that too.

Sometimes it gets a little fuzzy, a little scary, a little confusing.
Then I just keep my words to myself for a bit.
Protect them, guard them, give them sanctuary. 
Because if you know my words, you might know me. 
And I'm not sure if I trust you yet.
But I want to, I really want to.