Connecting learning to life was one of the most interesting

sections of the portfolio to reflect on, mostly because Ive implemented

or marketed my Portuguese as an academic or professional tool
instead of a personal one. Thus, the opportunity to think about how I
could more greatly connect my language learning to my life was an
interesting exercise.
The first artifact I included was a poem that I wrote for one of my
classes, PORT 355. Other than fulfilling the requirement for this
section, this poem also represents one of my first attempts to really
use the language in a creative, personal, literary sense. (I actually
wrote about how Im glad Im not a poet because Im horrible with
sentimentality.) That said, it was still an interesting assignment
because it forced me to reflect on the language creatively and try to
find some sort of resonance in my personal life. Thats the primary
reason this entry makes a good artifact for this section.
The second artifact I included is my rsum translated into
Portuguese. On the offset, this might seem to fit right in with marketing
myself as a Portuguese speaker, something Ive already had a lot of
experience with. Sitting down and translating the rsum, however,
made me think about how to best portray myself in the language,
which specific vocabulary to use, and how those aspects might change
depending on who is reading it. For example, a potential employer
could see it as proof of my fluency, or a foreign language employer
could be convinced in my speaking ability based on the readability of
the rsum.
Finding ways to continue to connect my language learning to life
is also an interesting topic to discuss, especially considering Ive
already outlined a large set of goals for the other categories. One way
that I can see myself connecting my language learning to life is reading
a series of Portuguese language books I picked up on my mission and
never got to. Theyre by a Brazilian psychologist named Augusto Cury
and his series is called Anlise da Inteligncia de Cristo. It takes a
psychological look at Christs life and how he exemplified how one
should approach life, love, and the sensory world. Its been sitting in a
box in my basement and I never got around to actually reading them,
so picking up this series again would be a great way for me to
integrate my Portuguese skills into something fulfilling to me. The
series itself is 5 books, so theres a lot of material there for me to
cover.
Overall, Im glad I had the opportunity to construct this portfolio,
if only to see how far Ive come over the last few years. This project
has been a great way of connecting learning to life, as Ive been able
to understand a little bit better how my skills can and should be
presented to those it might be valuable to. Being able to show the
fruits of my labor in an interesting way is an important skill that Ive
picked up while building this project.