Silvana Quadros Russell: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Approx. time Expression Explanation
1:50 Eu...ser...John. I...be...John. [Her husband’s broken Portuguese]
3:22 (time) on my hands plenty (of time) available (nothing to do)
4:55 finalist among the few competitors left near the end of the contest
5:50 moqueca de camarão shrimp stew
6:55 mandioca manioc, also called cassava, is a starchy root vegetable grown in the Caribbean and South America
8:31 tapioca a flour made from the manioc root (Alan misunderstood her as saying “flower.”)
9:07 from scratch starting from all fresh, individual ingredients (no pre-mixing, not prepared ahead of time)
9:38 gluten free have no gluten inside
12:22 jalapeño a hot Mexican pepper not used in Brazilian cooking
14:03 caught me off guard surprsed me, came to me when I wasn’t expecting it

Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.