LANGUAGE-learning is fascinating, but not for those who can't
take the occasional humiliation.   I live in São Paulo and
though I'm sure my Portuguese accent is horrible, it's horrible
in a recognisably Paulistano way. I say the “e” in duzentos (two
hundred) with a twang; and I don't say “sh” for “s”,  as
Cariocas, or residents of Rio, do. Generally people in São Paulo
understand what I'm trying to say—and so do taxi drivers and
hotel staff in Rio. Indeed, they are usually so delighted to
meet a foreigner who speaks any Portuguese at all that they are
highly complimentary, which even if it is more to do with
Brazilian hospitality and courtesy, is delightfully confidence-
inducing.  Not so Cariocas who don't have regular contact with
tourists. On holiday in Rio with my family recently, I tried to
strike up conversation with some children aged around 11 or 12
on the top of the Pão de Açúcar, or Sugarloaf Mountain, one of
Rio's most famous tourist spots. I asked one if they were
visiting with their school. (This