Hi there, Sidney.

  Were you talking about me? he he...

   In some ways I am like this, have been part of my life, studying and job. 

   In fact, in the last course I took I could talk well, but I experienced a feeling like my mind gone blank.    

    We went to another room to train (for some minutes) our lines but, for me, the words simply never came, and then they came; at first awkwardly then I would have them.

    It was some sort of adjustment.   Even in Portuguese; one day I had to make an essay (digo, redação) and when I saw the title "ploc" my grey matter had dissolved or something.   Again, with time it worked.

    On the other hand, I have noticed that when I know, when I do know something I don´t get nervous or anxious.  Let´s say, if I have to say something obvious, an easy matter, I don´t get that edgy.

     Even if I have to deal with a difficult boss, an hostile audience or what you have

but if I have to explain that two plus two equals four I don´t get my hands sweating or shaking, don´t stutter, my voice doesn´t get thin and I don´t jerk when I grab things.

    Sidney, many pieces of advice there (in the link you divulged) are very interesting and gainful. About breathing, it wasn´t there, but I would add to them: count to five (or more), give a damn to mistakes (the minor ones, don´t be such a perfectionist!).

    Why do you feel at home in Canada? some possible reasons:

     1-Your neighbourhoods or your co-workers were nice;

     2- The Canadians you knew let you at ease (weren´t that judgemental or nitpickers...);  there are people even in Brazil that I don´t get comfortable to talk to, if this can be of some cold comfort.

     3- You had some stereotypes into play (pre judging that Americans are mean, because you had some bad previous experience with one...) or even by hearsay;  sometimes our parents pass on "commo-sense knowledge" like these. They stuck in our brain even tough we don´t realize.

      4- As for English speakers doing well in Brazil, to begin with, their parents teach about being a world citizen and the variety of languages.  

          Second, they know that in Brazil people are warm and welcoming; and most of them aren´t judgemental; and third, they know that English is the language or commerce and finance and international movies/art etc.

        Now the accent; I think we are starting the language learning in Brazil (in a serious way, I mean).   So, it´s natural that our accent don´t be that good as yet.   

        Plus, even many Americans don´t master a perfect accent.

        That´s more, many of them accept that the proverbial "local variety of English" exists, so they know that there are a Singaporean English, a Caribean one, a British one.  And who knows? maybe they are adjusting themselves to accept the Brazilian one (pronounce-wise, but I am not advocating an English on it´s own right. The more close to the "original" English wich you learn from, the more accepted it is). 

        Sometimes it is not complaining, it´s a way of trying to help, they are very practical sometimes and we understand this as they being rough! it´s not the case, many times.

       Cultural, on Brazilian part, yep.  Because our society have a serious problem with

self-steem.     Like a soccer team from Northeast playing agaisnt a team from Rio (no matter how he is doing well; suddenly, when confronted with these teams they lose or get a tie!)         I am not talking about a match, there some matches in wich our teams

score 3 or 4-0 agains them, but I am talking about the pattern...the long run.  

       On the other hand, there are many (millions) of English speakers that really don´t feel comfortable with a simpleton like me, butting in their conversations (I have noticed that in chats...but most of times they turn into friends of mine). 

      Well, I am not going on and on, even because I am uninspired today.  However, my aim was not to cover all sides of this question, only kick it off. 

       That´s my twopence, then.

      PP.