Olá bom dia! Tudo bem? Yes, it's Monday again, segunda-feira, a clear opportunity to start the week speaking Portuguese. So who are you speaking to today? Where are you speaking to them, and what are you going to say to them in Portuguese? There's also talk in the air about a book club (see last week's Expats Portugal Dream Team session where Gilda P' mentioned the President's book fair in his back garden!). Would you find a book club useful? How would you like to see it work? And if reading is a hobby of yours and you're interested in Portuguese history, you might like to tune into the Good Morning Portugal! show this morning to hear author Tim Richardson speak about his book 'Forgetting Nicholas Trant'. Oh, and here's a new special ops module for you, should you be going to a bookshop or your local library.

1. @Bob Wenger embodies the SWAT approach to SPEAKING Portuguese. He *S*howed up, he *W*inged it, he *A*dapted, and he *T*alked 🤩 2. Europe's oldest man is 111, and guess where he lives?, and... 3. Well done @Alyson Sheldrake, who jumped back in to this community this week, and topped the leader board 🏆 Great to see @Donna Quinn, @Emily Harper, @Veronica - Ondrejech, @Antonia Bunaes, @Michael e Catharine Whitby and @David Willson for showing up too; and 'as melhoras' @Matthias Lanuschny 🙏

Olá, bom dia alegria! Tudo bem? Remember there was a module made yesterday for how to respond in the chat 👇 Nice to see some Portuguese being spoken 🤗 Good work @Alyson Sheldrake, @David Willson, @Donna Quinn and of course @Matthias Lanuschny 🏆 By the way, the repetition, the showing up daily, really helps. @António Ferreira helped me figure out a persistent Portuguese spelling mistake I was making, so thanks to everybody who is sharing a little bit of Portuguese in the chat. Keep it up! Tonight's meeting at 6:00: I'll be there to reflect on the week and progress made in the classroom. If anybody wants to chat, I'll be there with a beer in hand and maybe a Portuguese snack! Not Texas BBQ (but Todd IS on the show THIS morning). Have a great day and bom fim de semana. As usual ... who are you going to speak to in Portuguese TODAY? What are you going to say, and where are you going to be saying it? What would you say if you were going to meet the President?!

Olá bom dia! Tudo bem? Hey, it's getting a bit tumbleweedy again on this community timeline. There are notable exceptions (you know who you are, and "muito obrigado!") Every morning, and especially on a Monday - segunda-feira - when I say: "Who are you speaking to? What are you going to say, and where are you going to say it?", that is NOT a rhetorical question. It's an exercise in its own right! And the very basics, the building blocks of the SWAT strategy! So, então, if you need some help and inspiration answering those questions, those fundamental questions for this community, and to build the habits you'll need to speak Portuguese now, today and every day, here's a guide to 'get you going' (available to all levels of membership)... Please read it, please respond to it, and please reply in the comments. It will really help. Here's some examples... Replying to "Olá, bom dia, tudo bem?": - Tudo bem, obrigado/a! E tu? - All good, thanks! And you? (informal - most SKOOL replies can use tu) - Tudo ótimo, obrigado! - All great, thanks! The template for the daily question - fill in your own details: Who: - Hoje vou falar com... - Today I'm going to speak with... - ...o meu vizinho / a minha vizinha - ...my neighbour - ...a senhora do café - ...the lady at the café Where: - Vou estar em... - I'll be at... - ...no mercado - ...at the market What: - Vou dizer... - I'm going to say... - ...bom dia, e talvez mais nada! - ...good morning, and maybe nothing else! Hope that helps 😁

We had a lovely session on Friday with @Filomena Pascoal, see video 👇 Muito obrigado cara Filomena! @Bob Wenger & @Vivian Shuemake joined us for the new Friday 'party' call and I'm always struck by the inspiring strength of affection they have for each other. This morning's module - Words of affection / Palavras de Amor - is inspired by that... @Matthias Lanuschny was last week's leader board champion. Can anyone challenge him this week? And of course it's Monday, so today of all days, please let me and everyone know 👇 who you're going to be speaking to today. where are you going to be saying it, and what is it you're going to say? (Do you need any help with that?)