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Word of the Day: empregada Posted by Rachel on Jul 8, 2009
Today’s Portuguese word of the day is empregada. This word is fairly easy to pronounce: em – pray- gah-dah. The most common meaning of this word is maid, as in a female servant who cleans and/or cooks for clients. The complete term is empregada doméstica, to indicate that the maid works in a home. This…
Brazilian Cooking Series: Part VII Posted by Rachel on Jul 7, 2009
Cuscuz is a Brazilian dessert that you will find being sold by street vendors, as well as being a popular family dish. Made with coconut, tapioca, sugar, and condensed milk, it has a gooey, jello-like consistency and is served in rectangular hunks. Sometimes, people will pour condensed milk on top before eating it. Basically, you…
New Music: Mônica Marianno Posted by Rachel on Jul 6, 2009
Mônica Marianno is a singer from Sao Paulo, influenced by rock and MPB (Brazilian “pop” music). as well as other contemporary Brazilian music forms. She has a really great, funky sound, and sings in English and other languages, as well as Portuguese. I highly recommend listening to some of her songs! Check her out on…
Accidental Archaeological Discovery in Amapá Posted by Rachel on Jul 3, 2009
This week, construction workers discovered an ancient indigenous burial ground while building a school in Laranjal do Jari, in the northeastern state of Amapá. The site contains ceramic artifacts that could be up to 2,000 years old. After the site was discovered, local archaeologists were called in to assess the findings. They found fifty funeral…
Favorite Brazilian Beach Posted by Rachel on Jul 2, 2009
Brazilians are very serious about their beaches, partially because they have so many beautiful ones to choose from. From Amapa to Rio Grande do Sul, there are thousands of miles of coastline. So for today’s interactive feature, the question is: what is your favorite Brazilian beach? I think this is an exceedingly difficult question, since…
Brazil’s New Craze: A Fazenda Posted by Rachel on Jul 1, 2009
Rede Record, Globo’s major competitor, has come out with a new reality show to rival Globo’s Big Brother series. The show, called A Fazenda, is like Big Brother, but the participants are famous Brazilian actors and actresses who live together on a farm in rural Sao Paulo, rather than in a house on a set…
Podcast: Air Travel Posted by Rachel on Jun 30, 2009
Today, we’re going to discuss air travel on the podcast. Click here for the podcast. Fui ao aeroporto às 16:00 horas. Fiz o check-in, passei pela imigração e pela segurança. Depois, esperei no portão. Embarquei no avião e achei o meu assento. A aeromoça trouxe o jantar e depois fiquei dormindo. Quando cheguei ao aeroporto…