The "Cou" Story

I'm of Portuguese, Irish and English descent. Like in many American/European families, my family often lived with each other or very close by. So the whole family had a hand in raising the children. We lived with my maternal grandparents when I was young. I soaked up everything Portuguese, food, stories and almost the language. Let me explain, my grandmother wanted to teach me Portuguese because children learn a foreign language more easily when they're young but my dad didn't want me to learn because he didn't want me to know more than he did. My grandmother (Nana) still taught me words here and there. For example, she and my mom would have me say good night "boa noite" and other words and phrases. They taught me the word for rearend "cou". One day while in kindergarten I fell down and started crying, when my teacher asked me what happened, I told her I hurt my "cou". She looked at me like I was an alien from another planet. I couldn't get her to understand what I meant. I was so frustrated. When I got home I told my mom the story in my little girl way. It then hit her and she started smiling. When teaching a child words in a foreign language you have teach them the words in English also. Boy, did I feel like a giant "cou" that day. It's now a lovely family story.