Archive for February, 2009
Albino Turtles Born in Amazonas Posted by Rachel on Feb 18, 2009
This week, two albino turtles were born on the Abufari animal reserve in Amazonas state. In the second half of 2008, over 381,000 turtles were born on the reserve. According to the director of the reserve, one or two albinos are born for every hundred thousand turtles. Via Globo/ICMBio
Watermelon Festival in Rio Grande do Sul Posted by Rachel on Feb 17, 2009
While the rest of the country gears up for Carnival, the city of Pedro Osório in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul is having a different kind of celebration: a watermelon festival. In the eighth annual edition of the festival, watermelon producers sell fresh fruit to the public, as well as the…
Rio de Janeiro Presents 2016 Olympic Bid Posted by Rachel on Feb 16, 2009
On Friday, the Brazilian Olympic Committee submitted a US$14.4 billion bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The plan calls for $2.8 billion in operational costs and $11.6 billion in associated costs for construction and services. The plan also states that the city will use infrastructure from the 2007 Pan American…
Coca Cola Expands Brazilian Market Posted by Rachel on Feb 13, 2009
Despite the international economic crisis that has recently begun to affect Brazil, Coca Cola has been doing extraordinarily well. In 2008, it earned R$15 billion in Brazil, a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Also in 2008, Coca Cola Brasil’s sales volume increased by 7 percent, greater than the company’s average percentage worldwide. As…
Slang Phrases Posted by Rachel on Feb 12, 2009
Today we’re going to look at some slangy phrases you can use in everyday conversation with friends. 1. Até parece This means “yeah, right.” Vou na festa da Camila amanhã. O Tom Cruise também vai! I’m going to Camila’s party tomorrow. Tom Cruise is going too! Até parece! Yeah, right! 2. Pois é This literally…
Video Learning Series Posted by Rachel on Feb 11, 2009
Today, we begin a new series using Youtube videos in Portuguese to practice listening skills, as well as a way to learn about Brazilian culture and history. This excellent series, called O Povo Brasileiro, is broken down into thirty videos on Youtube, which describes Brazilian history from its indigenous origins to modernity. After watching the…
Off the Beaten Path: Part IV Posted by Rachel on Feb 10, 2009
Most certainly off the beaten path, the Parque Nacional das Emas is tricky to get to, since it’s nearly 500 kilometers from Goiânia, the capital of Goiás, and almost 400 kilometers from Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul. Ema National Park encompasses 1,300 square kilometers on a plateau with little forest cover…