BROCKTON — Across the Atlantic Ocean in the mountainous region of Cape Verde, a young girl learns Portuguese for the first time and eats a classic Cape Verdean meal of rice and tuna while skipping rocks and shooting marbles in the oldest settlement in Cidade Velha on the island of Santiago in Cape Verde. Paula Pires, now 24, left Cape Verde at 9 years old with her family to chase what many call the American Dream. Pires' life 15 years later took the trajectory she's always dreamed of by becoming the first in her family to graduate from college and own a business, Paula M. Pires Multi-Service Company at 101 Torrey St. Brockton.