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Flooding in Rio Posted by Rachel on Jan 21, 2011
We’ve written about flooding in Brazil before, like the Santa Catarina floods in 2008 and the coastal flooding in Rio de Janeiro last year. There’s often seasonal flooding, particularly in the south, but this year has been exceptionally bad. Heavy rains [chuvas] and floods [enchentes] have affected Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Santa Catarina, but…
Arrasar Posted by Rachel on Jan 18, 2011
Last week, we took a look at the adjective arrasado. This week, we’re going to look at the verb arrasar, which has a few similar negative meanings, and a few very different positive connotations. 1. Destroy, devastate (literally or emotionally) As chuvas arrasaram a Região Serrana do Rio. The rains devastated Rio’s mountain region. A…
Brazilian Nicknames Posted by Rachel on Jan 13, 2011
One of the most important things to know before traveling or moving to Brazil is that nicknames are not only common, but an important part of Brazilian culture. Many people get a nickname, sometimes early in life. It can be a shortening of a person’s name, like Eduardo being called Dudu or José being called…
Arrasado Posted by Rachel on Jan 11, 2011
There are some words in Portuguese that have multiple meanings, but their most literal meanings relate to their other meanings. Arrasado is such a word, and it’s a helpful adjective to know. Let’s take a look at the different uses and some examples. 1. Demolished, crushed, knocked down O prédio foi arrasado durante o terremoto…
BBB 11 Posted by Rachel on Jan 6, 2011
Big Brother is by far the most popular reality show in Brazil, when millions of viewers tune in to watch seventeen contestants live together in a house in Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, and get voted off one by one until there’s one person remaining, who wins R$1.5 million. Cameras watch the contestants’…
President Dilma Takes Office Posted by Rachel on Jan 4, 2011
On January 1st, Dilma Rousseff took office as Brazil’s first female president. In Brasília, she gave an inspiring speech and outlined her plans for her new administration. Watch her speech below: Here are some excerpts: “Continuaremos fortalecendo nossas reservas externas para garantir o equilíbrio das contas externas e bloquear, e impedir a vulnerabilidade externa. Atuaremos…
Email in Brazil Posted by Rachel on Dec 30, 2010
Though we don’t stop to think about it much, the pace of technology has moved incredibly quickly in the last decade, and it’s funny to think that in our lifetimes, the Internet was a new phenomenon. I recently came across a very funny video, a news report about electronic mail on a Brazilian news channel…