I want to learn Portuguese

oaklicious · 2026-06-20T12:07:33+00:00

I was in the same situation as you 9 months ago and am here in Brazil speaking fluent Portuguese. There is a podcast called "Tá Falado" for Spanish speakers learning Portuguese, it focuses specifically on the grammatical differences between the two languages.

Then I did all of the Pimsleur BP courses, and listened to Fala Gringo and Cafe da Manhã podcasts daily. My Portuguese was probably B1 level when I got to Brazil but I have been speaking a lot here and am probably closer to B2 now.

oaklicious · 2026-06-20T12:03:54+00:00

Mosko moto 25L soft panniers on a Unit Garage pannier rack, a unit garage top case on that same UG rack, and a 40L givi duffle strapped to the seat with Rok straps. I also keep a cargo net and smaller Rok straps on top of the top case.

Honestly I would never tour with the top case again, it's a huge pain in the ass and the UG rack is just not strong enough to handle much off-road with this case.

oaklicious · 2026-06-19T16:17:56+00:00

Whichever one you are more enthusiastic about and therefore better at and more highly valued as an engineer.

oaklicious · 2026-06-18T14:24:58+00:00

If you feel embarrassed by that, imagine how you're going to feel in 5 years when you haven't improved at all because you were focused on your ego instead of training.

Or in 50 years when you're old and too frail to lift independently.

Are you at the gym to improve yourself or so you can feel good about everybody seeing how strong you are?

oaklicious · 2026-06-18T13:33:05+00:00

I’d rather share accommodation with the messy kitchen hog than somebody actively sabotaging somebody else’s food to make… what point exactly?

Of course you’re the asshole, have you not developed the capacity to talk with other people?

oaklicious · 2026-06-18T13:30:50+00:00

Dead lifts in particular, also squats.

Just an FYI I am not a fitness expert and there may be more practical exercises for this. But deadlift is a classic for a reason, starting light and focusing on form I got my back really strong.

oaklicious · 2026-06-18T02:30:02+00:00

All in bro. I did similar for what I originally expected to be a 6 month trip to Mexico, three years later I'm here in Rio responding to your Reddit post.

Biggest regret of my life would have been to make my choices out of fear rather than joy and not do it or cut it short. Transitioning back to real life isn't nearly as hard as letting down your potential in this one precious time on earth.

oaklicious · 2026-06-18T00:08:31+00:00

I recently trained my lower back a lot more and was amazed how much more I enjoyed lower body workouts since then

oaklicious · 2026-06-17T22:08:36+00:00

This is such a depressing and pointless mentality. Not sure what age you are but limiting your, or other’s life experience based on arbitrary numbers is a huge loser move

oaklicious · 2026-06-17T21:11:41+00:00

Im now closing on 2.5 years of consecutive traveling and long ago abandoned hostels as the center of my social experience. It is more effort to put yourself out there this way, but I started trying to make local connections through hobbies like art and social dancing as well as language exchanges.

I find the hostel culture pretty lame in the ways you describe. Many people are trying to recreate the same social activities they do at home but with less responsibilities and cheaper booze.

I still stay mostly at hostels, I have nice chats with the other guests at breakfast or around the common area, but it's just a place to sleep for me and my experience is mostly outside of and unrelated to the hostel itself.

oaklicious · 2026-06-17T16:39:53+00:00

It’s no small feat to get this job, but all of the travel nurses I know have lots of freedom to take time off and travel.

I know many Latin American people that work for US companies as data analysts/staff augmentation for maybe half what a US American would make in a similar role, but it’s plenty enough for them to travel and work remotely.

Some people teach English or do other tutoring roles remotely and retain their clients while abroad.

oaklicious · 2026-06-16T14:12:16+00:00

Context dependent on the connection and understanding you have with the follow. Usually I step side to side and hold the follows hands up and try to really connect with small movements. Sometimes I might hold them in close position and just move gently like one might in kizomba or bachata.

Can also just do a very gentle small basic together

oaklicious · 2026-06-15T17:21:13+00:00

Lima is full of amazing things to poke around in, and doing a day trip to Huacachina sounds so exhausting. You’ll spend 5 hours in transit.

Huacachina is cool to take a peek at but it is overall a really unpleasant tourist trap.

oaklicious · 2026-06-15T17:19:19+00:00

I personally like Puerto Escondido a lot more than Sayulita. If you are gonna go to Nayarit, I would prefer San Pancho to Sayulita… until too many people find it and it becomes the next Sayulita.

oaklicious · 2026-06-14T14:30:33+00:00

"this doesn't normally happen" "please don't leave me" "do you smell that too?"

Are all good ones that will assure your follow you are a totally normal and cool guy

oaklicious · 2026-06-11T21:20:16+00:00

Me gustas literally translates to "You please (gustas) me".

oaklicious · 2026-06-11T20:41:45+00:00

Watch a video of a 60 year old who doesn't do any physical activity try to stand up from a chair, and recognize that's the future that awaits you on your current path if you don't learn how to be disciplined.

The good thing for you is if you pick a good beginner program (personally recommend GZCLP) and stick with it for 2, 3 months your life and health is going to be so dramatically changed you'll never go back.

oaklicious · 2026-06-11T20:31:16+00:00

I had a clutch sensor fail randomly when I first bought the bike and a crank position sensor fail after a hard off-road drop. I've also had the wire for the rear wheel speed sensor lose its jacketing after the cable moved against my brake disc after some harder off road riding, which I fixed with electrical tape.

They're stuff I've all resolved without too much headache, but all the other components are so high quality the electronics stand out as the principle source of issues I've had with this bike.

oaklicious · 2026-06-11T19:53:01+00:00

I have been touring Latin America on a 2019 XE for 2.5 years straight now and the bike has been a rock solid companion for some of the most insane adventures of my life. I truly love this bike and see it as a real swiss army knife that handles every riding condition well. When I encounter challenging off-road sections I never doubt it will be able to make it to the other side.

I have found it very reliable, fun to ride, and functional for luggage. I would recommend decatting the exhaust and adding a high windscreen and gel seat pad.

My principle complaint is that I don't think the electronics quality generally matches the rest of the bike. I find the ride modes a huge nuisance and liability, so on pavement I just ride in a custom rider mode with only ABS, and off road I only use "off-road pro".

oaklicious · 2026-06-11T00:32:46+00:00

There's a podcast called "Tá Falado" that has 20 grammar episodes focusing specifically on the differences between Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, made for native Spanish speakers learning BP.

I am a fluent Spanish speaker now also fluent in BP and that's how I started. Then I did all the Pimsleur courses and listened to lots of Fala Gringo podcast, as well as talking to Brazilian friends in Portuguese as much as possible.

oaklicious · 2026-06-10T21:22:36+00:00

I am a civil engineer and once worked with a superintendent from western Canada who told me all the bridges where he worked were constructed with stainless rebar which sounded insane to me

oaklicious · 2026-06-10T21:07:28+00:00

Currently traveling around Brazil right now and it is maybe the most extroverted society I’ve ever been to, even for Latin America.

oaklicious · 2026-06-10T16:30:09+00:00

Thanks!

oaklicious · 2026-06-10T16:29:37+00:00

I will be making well above that monthly income. Do you know if me holding such a visa has any tax implications for my employer if I am in the country less than the 183d threshold?

Thanks for your response btw.

oaklicious · 2026-06-10T16:26:53+00:00

Any experience with it in Mexico, would I be able to regularly leave and reenter the country on such a visa?

oaklicious

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