Getting Started

It seems everyone has advice for a study abroad student.
I haven't actually gotten to the study abroad part yet, but I've accumulated a fat folder of paperwork, and heard a wide range of advice from eating (if it isn't cooked or peeled, forget it) to driving(don't stop at red lights at night if no one is coming the other direction) to technology(lock your laptop up, even if it's in a room with bars on the windows). One bit of advice that seemed particularly helpful was to get key phrases written down on a card which would go everywhere. Then, if I need to try to communicate in a pinch, I can ideally whip out my card and either read or point to the line. If I were to need some sort of medical treatment, for example, it would be important to be able to tell the doctors about my penicillin allergy.

Unlike most of South America, Brazil speaks Portuguese rather than Spanish. After I got accepted into a summer course abroad program for Salvador, Brazil, I realized I needed to start getting some important phrases down. Late one night as I was studying with friends, Juvie offered to help me translate phrases, as she is fluent in Portuguese. So I asked her how to say, I am allergic to Portuguese...