Archive for 'Customs'
Horas (time) in Portuguese Posted by Ester on Aug 10, 2015
Beleza, galera? What do you do when your phone is out of battery and you do not have a watch or a clock to check the time? It is easy: just ask someone on the streets. A good way of practicing it is to ask people on the streets what time it is even if…
Brazilian sense of humor Posted by Ester on Jul 6, 2015
Sense of humor is intrinsically connected to a country’s language and culture. Watching Brazilian comedy on youtube is a great way of getting to know and understand the Brazilian sense of humor. So let’s take a look at a funny video with some vocabulary explained. You can change the settings on the video to show…
Making, accepting and refusing invitations in Portuguese Posted by Ester on Jun 29, 2015
Inviting people to places in a polite way can be tricky if you are not sure what the proper approach is, culturally speaking. For the same reason it could be even more difficult to decline or accept invitations. Convites – invites Saying yes is much simpler than saying no to something. Before we check other ways…
Public transport in Brazil Posted by Ester on Jun 8, 2015
Getting the ônibus (bus) or any other transporte público (public transport) in a different country can be quite estressante (stressful). This is why it could be handy knowing the culture as well as vocabulary related to it. Useful information and cultural aspects: There are websites for different cities where it is possible to check the…
Folclore brasileiro – Brazilian Folkore Posted by Ester on Jun 1, 2015
Folclore brasileiro is part of Brazilian culture and represents popular culture and social identity from different parts of the country. There are various myths, tales and legends which originated from either cultura africana (African culture), tradição indígena (indigenous tradition), a igreja católica (the Catholic Church) or medieval Iberian traditions brought to Brazil by the Portuguese…
Regiões (regions) do Brasil Posted by Ester on May 18, 2015
In order to understand Brasil, the language and the culture it is important to know more about each one of the 5 regiões (regions). Brasil has 27 unidades federativas (federative units): * 26 estados (states) * 1 Distrito Federal (Federal District) The country is divided in 5 regiões: Norte (North), Nordeste (Northeast), Centro-oeste (West-Central), Sudeste (Southeast) and…
Catching some Z’s in Portuguese Posted by Ester on May 11, 2015
Some people need more sleep than others, but who doesn’t enjoy a good night sleep or even taking a nap during the day? Talking about how you slept and sleeping habits in general are topics which are highly likely to come up in everyday conversation. For you to be able to properly engage it is…