No one enjoys a log that abruptly ends, so I thought it was time to give a final update.
I am no longer studying Brazilian Portuguese! There are a few factors at play:
1) I read a few other logs and threads that mentioned how many people use language study as a form of life procrastination. This applies to me as I had been using my language study to distract from some larger life issues going on. I need to focus on resolving those issues.
2) I definitely wish to learn a second language to a high level, perhaps even to that mythical and ambiguous "fluent" level, but the choice of Brazilian Portuguese was a bit fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, My reasons for choosing it were:
a) learning how to learn a language, and
b) I saw it as an underappreciated/understudied world language and because I often meet friendly Brazilians when I travel
I'd say 2a has been met, to a large extent. Getting through so much of Assimil, seeing how my ability to parse understanding on NHK grew, and guessing at meaning of BP phrases I'd see on twitter or hear out and about showed me how far I came from 0. However, I now more clearly understand just how massive an undertaking it is to learn a language to a high level. The decision of which to pursue, if not just dabbling for fun, is not one to be made lightly.
But 2b is where I came up short. I still plan to visit Brazil on holiday within the next year and a half, but the opportunity cost of learning BP to a high level no longer makes sense for me. It never did, but it just took me these months to acknowledge that. I will continue to occasionally review what I have learned, but I feel satisfied that my "survivor" level is sufficient for both my travel needs and to make a nice impression on any new Brazilians I come across where I live.
The issues I allude to in #1 are sort of ongoing. Without oversharing too much, I am in a bit of a transitional space in my life for the next few months. While learning a 2nd language to a high level is definitely a life goal now, BP does not make sense to be the one.
If I were to draw a Venn diagram for languages of use to me in my career, or for countries I may relocate to as an expat, there would be a bit of overlap. However, BP is not useful for me either for my career, or for expat life if I decide to leave my current path and move abroad. Brazil for me is a tourist destination, and not a spot I'd go to start a longer life adventure.
This is getting very wordy. The TL;DR version is that I will have a better idea in ~October on where life is taking me (literally and figuratively), and by then I should know better which language I want to actually dedicate myself to. Brazilian Portuguese will always be my first self-study, and I have gotten a lot out of it (to include a couple of dates, and a few off-menu dishes at local restaurants!), but it doesn't make sense to give it the time it would require now to really go far. Thanks for reading everyone, and thanks so much for all the support I have been shown on this fun journey so far.
I will be sticking around and hopefully contributing more around the forums rather than just focusing on my own study