Nicole, I pretty much learned to speak from the "Living Language" series. They have a continental Portuguese version. I bought mine at Borders Books. There was also a series called "Teach Yourself _____" (fill in the language). I do not recall if they had tapes/CDs, but I seem to think that they did (although I never got it).
As for Brazilian vs. continental.....Do you suppose you'd have a problem if you had to travel to England? British English and American English are a little bit different, but we understand each other. If nothing else is available, I'd take the Brazilian class. When I had Brazilian students, they understood me and knew I was speaking continental. There's also Maria Oliveira. I haven't used her (perhaps others have). Here's her web site with info on classes, CDs, and online stuff: http://www.marialanguages.com/ My first trip to the Azores (1996, I think) I traveled with another research who was bilingual. I believe my next trip was in 2000 with Shirley Allegre. She'll tell you that I did OK, I didn't have strange food ordered for us, I got us home from Ponta Garca to Ponta Delgada at 12 midnight, and I got the books ordered that we needed to view from the archive. The 3rd and 4th times I went alone and I did fine. I'd say I speak broken Portuguese and it's probably about a 3 year old level, but I can make myself understood (come to think of it, most 3 year olds make themselves understood!) Yes, there is a slight difference between the islands. After being in the Portuguese band in Artesia, many of whom have Terceira roots, I got used to that. Once I got to Sao Miguel, it took me about a day to adjust. Then when I went back to band in Artesia, I had to readjust. It wasn't that bad. It's kind of like the people from NY vs. the midwest vs. the south. Slightly different, but you get it. Cheri --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
