Episódio 2: Modern Love (Amores modernos)

Duolingo English for Portuguese Speakers Podcast

Em uma noite de 2016, os pais de Disha Gulati foram jantar na casa dos pais do namorado dela, Arun.

Era a primeira vez que todos se reuniam.

I met Arun four months before that dinner.

We actually met on the dating app Tinder.

His mum prepared us a delicious Indian meal.

As we were eating, Arun's dad asked, “So, where did you two meet?”

Disha e Arun responderam ao mesmo tempo:

“Online,” I said.

“Through friends,” Arun said at exactly the same time.

Then he looked at me.

He seemed upset.

Clearly, he didn't want his parents to know that we met online.

A lot of people disapprove of dating apps, but I didn't want to accept that stigma!

Welcome, bem-vindas e bem-vindos ao podcast “Histórias em Inglês com Duolingo”.

Eu sou Helena Fruet.

Em cada episódio, você vai poder praticar inglês no seu ritmo, ouvindo histórias reais e emocionantes.

Os personagens falam um inglês simples e fácil de entender — perfeito pra quem tá aprendendo.

Eu vou te acompanhar em cada episódio pra ter certeza que você tá entendendo tudo.

Siga nosso podcast no Spotify ou na sua plataforma preferida!

Hoje vamos conhecer duas pessoas que encontraram seus companheiros de formas bem diferentes.

Algumas vezes, o amor surge simplesmente por acaso.

Em outras, a gente vai atrás dele nos aplicativos de namoro, ou dating apps, como Tinder ou Bumble.

As histórias desse episódio sobre encontros amorosos vêm diretamente do Reino Unido e do Canadá.

Na primeira, Disha, nossa narradora, tem sotaque irlandês.

Você vai perceber que os “Ts” e os “Ds” dela são mais suaves.

Assim, em vez de “that”, ela fala “thah”, com um leve sopro no final.

Desde a adolescência, Disha sentia que seus pais queriam que ela se casasse com alguém que fosse da comunidade indiana na Inglaterra ou Irlanda.

My parents wanted me to marry someone from a similar cultural background.

I thought that was funny because I grew up in rural Ireland.

And there aren't many Indian families there!

Um terço das pessoas que se casam no Reino Unido se conheceram online, depois de criar perfis de namoro, ou dating profiles.

Disha sabia que algumas pessoas achavam estranho encontrar um namorado ou namorada na internet, algo que chamamos de online dating, mas pra ela era normal.

I was twenty-six, and I was single in London.

For years before that, I dated nice guys that I met through friends.

But those relationships didn't last very long.

So, I decided to try online dating.

Some of the dating profiles were really funny.

One guy was covered in dollar bills in his picture.

Another guy's picture looked like that famous scene from the movie American Beauty.

But he had strawberries all over his body instead of rose petals!

Até que...

Na tela do celular apareceu Arun.

In comparison, Arun's Tinder profile was pretty normal.

He looked cute, and his profile said that he had 5 stars on Uber! Who has 5 stars on Uber?! Then I noticed that we had a lot in common.

We both like board games, and we had mutual friends.

He also lived near me! That was Christmas 2016, and we had our first date on New Year's Day at a table tennis bar.

Em Londres, muitas vezes o primeiro encontro acontece num bar de tênis de mesa, ou table tennis.

Esses lugares têm ambientes bem informais, em que dá pra beber e jogar.

At first, Arun was very shy, and I thought about leaving our date early.

Then, we played a few games of table tennis, and I won.

He became really competitive! After that, we got a drink and played a board game.

He was actually really good at board games! I started to realize that he was smart and interesting.

Depois daquele encontro, Disha e Arun continuaram saindo… e logo perceberam que aquele relacionamento era especial.

Foi assim que aconteceu o jantar na casa dos pais de Arun.

At dinner that night, I don't know if Arun's parents heard me say that we met online.

They didn't say anything about it! And Arun quickly started talking about something else.

It was very clear that he didn't want his parents to know how we met.

Depois do jantar, Arun explicou pra Disha que não tava pronto pra contar como eles tinham se conhecido… Ele tinha medo que seus pais não aprovassem a ideia.

I understood.

Arun and I are both from traditional families.

It was only when my relationship with Arun became more serious, that I told my parents all about online dating.

Disha acha ridículo esse estigma associado a namoros que começaram na internet, já que muitos casais se conhecem assim.

Por isso, ela acredita que é importante ser sincera e não esconder esse fato.

Online dating can be really frustrating, especially when you have a lot of bad dates! I wanted to celebrate finding love this way, so I told my parents how I met Arun.

At first, my mum was worried.

But soon she realized that my relationship with Arun was serious and that we might get married.

Then Tinder seemed more respectable to her.

Embora a família de Disha tenha sido compreensiva, Arun continuava se recusando a abrir o jogo com os pais dele.

So, Arun wasn't sure if they would understand online dating.

Arun's parents didn't go on dates before they got married.

Their parents arranged their marriage.

Nos casamentos arranjados, ou arranged marriages, os pais encontram um marido ou uma esposa pros filhos, algo comum entre as comunidades indianas do mundo todo.

E foi justamente porque seus pais eram mais tradicionais, que Arun decidiu manter segredo sobre como tinha conhecido Disha.

Nine months after I met Arun on Tinder, I went to live in Singapore and then Australia for two years because of a job opportunity.

While I was abroad, Arun and I talked to each other on Skype often.

I don't think we would still be together if we didn't have technology.

And now, we're going down a new path together.

Em 2019, Disha e Arun fizeram uma viagem pra Berlim.

Arun planned a boat trip on the river.

He was wearing a formal shirt.

After we got in the little boat, Arun got down on one knee.

That made the boat move a lot! I was scared we would tip over! Then, he asked me to marry him!

Disha aceitou o pedido e eles marcaram o casamento pra 2020, mas tiveram que adiar a cerimônia por causa da pandemia do coronavírus.

Our wedding had to be postponed, but our friends planned a virtual celebration for us.

All of our friends joined us on a Zoom video call, and they even had a quiz about our relationship!

Como o casamento foi adiado, Disha tem um plano pra nova data.

Ela está preparando um discurso, ou speech, que ainda é segredo — inclusive pro Arun!

During my wedding speech, I'm going to project Arun's Tinder profile on the wall.

And I'm going to thank the founders of Tinder! I want to celebrate that we met through the app and that's how lots of people meet now.

People should feel it's OK to use dating apps.

I know that our friends and family, including Arun's parents, will be very happy for us!

Arun e Disha se conheceram de um jeito muito comum pros millennials: por meio de um aplicativo.

Mas o acaso ainda tem seu papel nos encontros de hoje, que às vezes são bastante inesperados!

Em 2002, Lisa Ayuso trabalhava como produtora num programa de notícias na rádio pública do Canadá, na cidade de Toronto.

Ela adorava essa função, mas aceitou uma mudança temporária pra substituir a apresentadora de outro programa.

A new woman started working at my company.

She was doing my old job.

I heard a lot of people talking about this person named Victoria Stacey, or Vicki.

I asked my friends, “Who's this new girl?”

Lisa tava curiosa pra saber quem era sua substituta.

One day Vicki came to my work area to give me something.

We talked a bit, and I noticed that she was funny, and she had a big smile! I wondered if she might be gay, like me.

Fazia alguns anos que Lisa tinha saído do armário, ou come out of the closet, e ela tinha muitos amigos e amigas na comunidade LGBTQ, conhecida como the queer community.

My friends knew I was gay, but I knew a lot of LGBTQ people who were still in the closet.

At the time, Vicki had short hair, and she wore button-down shirts.

But, obviously, you can't know that someone is part of the queer community because of how they look.

I just had a feeling that she was gay.

When I asked my colleague, Sue, she also thought Vicki was gay, but then said, “Vicki is married… to a man.”

Lisa achou que talvez sua primeira impressão de Vicki pudesse estar errada.

Além disso, ela estava com um pouco de ciúmes, ou jealous.

Everyone at work loved Vicki.

She was always baking for the office.

She made these incredible cakes and cookies.

I got jealous, because I thought she was going to steal my work friends.

But, at that time, I didn't realize that Vicki was really depressed.

Depois de almoçarem juntas várias vezes, Vicki começou a se abrir com Lisa.

Ela contou que tava depressiva porque ainda não tinha saído do armário.

So, Vicki knew that she was gay, but she wasn't out of the closet yet.

Yes, she was married to a man, but she was unhappy.

Vicki and I started talking a lot more.

I stopped being jealous, and Vicki started to tell me more about her life.

Vicki cresceu no Quebec, a província do Canadá onde se fala mais francês.

Já Lisa cresceu em Toronto, onde se fala inglês.

You know, I was always a city girl.

When I was growing up, my mom worked for an airline, so I traveled internationally a lot.

But Vicki grew up in a small community in northern Quebec.

She didn't know a lot of people in the queer community when she was young.

Um dia, durante uma conversa, Vicki fez um anúncio importante.

Vicki was very nervous.

She told me that she was ready to come out to her husband and her family.

She wanted to leave her marriage.

Pouco tempo depois, Vicki se separou do marido e foi morar sozinha num apartamento com sua cachorra Phoebe.

Lisa e Vicki continuaram sendo amigas.

Até que, um dia, aconteceu um acidente.

Vicki rode her bike to work that day.

She was very close to our office building when a taxi driver opened his door, hit Vicki, and she fell off of her bike.

One of our colleagues was outside of the building.

He saw everything and brought Vicki upstairs.

Vicki was able to walk, but she was really hurt and bleeding.

Our boss said, “Oh my God! Someone needs to take her to the hospital!” She turned to me and said, “Lisa, you take her.”

Lisa levou a amiga pro hospital.

Lá, descobriram que Vicki tinha quebrado o braço e precisaria engessar.

Vicki had an injured arm, so I offered to walk Phoebe, her dog, every day.

I loved walking Phoebe.

Vicki and I became close friends during that time.

She told me about dating people in the LGBTQ community, which was a new experience for her.

Her dates sounded intense.

There was a lot of drama!

Lisa suspeitava que Vicki ainda não se sentia muito confortável nos seus encontros.

I thought of a date as just a casual conversation during a meal.

But Vicki was very nervous about dating.

So, one day, without thinking, I said, “Dating isn't scary! Let's go on a date!” I didn't realize it then, but I obviously really liked Vicki.

Vicki aceitou a proposta e, mais tarde, convidou Lisa pra jantar na sua casa.

Mas no dia do encontro, teve um apagão!

I thought about canceling our date because I knew Vicki couldn't cook without electricity! But in the end, Vicki convinced me to come over.

Vicki teve que trabalhar até tarde na rádio informando os ouvintes sobre o apagão em Toronto.

Mas, depois, convidou Lisa pra ir ao seu apartamento.

I walked Vicki's dog for many months, but I never went inside her apartment.

I was very curious! I thought Vicki's apartment would show her fun personality.

But when I finally entered the apartment, I was surprised by how it was decorated! There were doilies everywhere!

Doilies são toalhas de bandeja, como essas toalhinhas rendadas de crochê, e pra Lisa aquilo parecia uma coisa de outra época.

I thought, “What the hell is this?” It was like being at my grandmother's house!

Lisa achou a decoração estranha e fofa ao mesmo tempo.

Mas ainda mais fofo era o que Vicki tinha preparado pro jantar, já que ela não pôde cozinhar por causa do apagão.

She offered me granola bars and juice boxes.

I was happy to be there.

We talked all night.

When it was time to leave, she walked me home with her dog.

She brought a candle on the walk, because it was so dark outside.

After that, we went on more dates.

And, we fell in love.

Com o tempo, Vicki começou a falar em casamento.

Mas Lisa vinha de uma família de pais separados, e achava que casar era coisa pra heterossexuais, ou straight.

Vicki wanted a more conventional wedding ceremony.

She wanted to get married in a church!

No Canadá, assim como nos Estados Unidos, existem igrejas protestantes que permitem o casamento gay.

Vicki wanted her family to see that our marriage could be legitimate, just like her siblings' marriages.

For me, it was hard to accept this idea.

Mas, em pouco tempo, Lisa começou a enxergar o casamento de outra forma, como algo especial pra ela e Vicki.

I thought, “Why do we have to get married in an old, traditional way? Why can't we have the kind of wedding that we want and make new traditions?” So, that's what we did.

We decided to get married in 2005.

Pra Lisa e Vicki, foi muito simbólico se casar em 2005, pois foi nesse ano que o Canadá legalizou o casamento homoafetivo em todo o país.

Antes, só era permitido em algumas províncias.

Our wedding was amazing.

We played music by Dolly Parton, our favorite singer.

It was just perfect.

We've been married for 15 years now.

When I think about the first time we met, I shake my head and laugh.

I can't believe that a car accident and a blackout brought us together.

Now, we have two beautiful daughters.

And, of course, a house full of doilies.

Lisa Ayuso é jornalista e mora em Toronto.

A história dela foi produzida por Caro Rolando.

Disha Gulati mora em Londres, no Reino Unido, junto com Arun, e sua história foi produzida por Eloise Stevens.

Obrigada por ouvir mais um “Histórias em Inglês com Duolingo”.

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