Question to expats

Say you're living abroad and you're either studying the local language or you're already fluent in it.

Oftentimes, when you meet someone new, they insist on speaking English with you, despite you being perfectly capable of holding a conversation in the local language. 

Does that annoy you, too? 

introducing myself in italian Just had my first Italian lesson today, so I though I should write a short introduction to review everything I've learned so far. Mi chiamo Augusta e sono brasiliana. Abito a Curitiba, in Brasile, dove faccio l'avvocatessa. Ho un fratello, che è ingegnere. Lui vive all'estero da alcuni anni. Ho venticinque anni, ne mio fratello ha ventiotto. Ho cominciato oggi a studare l'italiano e voglio imparare questa lingua perché lei è belissima e anche perchè è il idioma dei miei antenati. Mi piace molto il cibo e la musica italiana.

a few words on my hometown (toefl format) A southern Brazilian city of about 2 million people, Curitiba is a pleasant enough place. It has decent schools and a healthy job market, plenty of parks and restaurants, and quite a few spots where one can enjoy a night out on weekends. Nevertheless, the city is known in Brazil for its cold, rainy weather, and locals are said to be aloof and even unfriendly towards strangers. A good thing about Curitiba is its relatively low living costs. One can rent or buy property close to the city center at reasonable prices, which is more than you can say for the major Brazilian cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio. However, public transportation is an issue in Curitiba. There is no subway system, and most bus lines do not operate late in the night or in the early morning hours. Also, there are not nearly enough buses to comfortably transport everybody during the busiest times when everyone is commuting. In addition to that, bus fares are an exception to the city's otherwise affordable prices, as they are a bit too expensive for the average commuter, especially when one considers the fact that the bus system is largely underdeveloped and does not meet the population's needs. All in all, I would say it is a nice place to live, with good quality of life for Brazilian standards, but the city does need public investment, particularly in transportation.

nur ein paar wörter Hallo, ich bin aus Brasilien und lerne Deutsch seit ein Paar Jahren. Ich kann schon ziemlich gut Deutsch und spreche es sehr gerne, aber in Brasilien hat man nicht so oft die Gelegenheit, Deutsch zu reden. Ich studiere gerade Jura, aber dieser Studiengang gefällt mir nicht so und ich überlege gerade, zur Germanistik bzw. Übersetzungswissenschaft zu wechseln. Falls jemand von euch Deutsch-Muttersprachlern Portugiesisch lernen möchte, können wir gern ein Exchange organisieren.