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Just one day under a six-month streak, I have finally completed every lesson and read every story on the DuoLingo Portuguese language tree. Out of all days, it was a memorable one for this achievement to happen: September 7th is Brazil’s Independence Day.

DuoLingo has been incredibly helpful for learning a second language. The program kept me engaged and I was frequently charmed by translations such as: Ficarei feliz se você ficar. (I will be happy if you stay.) Or, agora que eu sei que você está aqui, eu vou dormir melhor. (Now that I know you are here, I will sleep better.) Yet, at other times, DuoLingo would have sentences like: Alguém teria achado o corpo. (Someone would have found the body.) Nonetheless, the app has really kept me interested and it has provided a strong foundation for me to continue building language skills with a professional teacher.

At what point can someone confidently add a second language to their résumé? Although I read well, and am almost conversational, I’ll admit that I do not always understand certain accents. By ACTFL proficiency standards, my skills are somewhere around intermediate middle. I’m so pleased knowing how far I’ve progressed since Day 1 and I am excited to see where I will be after one year. While I was once told that Portuguese can be grasped after six months, I’d say learning really starts from this point on.