Reading Comprehension: Windows of São Paulo Posted by Rachel on Feb 24, 2010
We’re going to do a reading comprehension with a really cool feature from Estado de São Paulo’s “Olhar Sobre o Mundo” blog. It’s a post featuring a fantastic photo series of windows in the city of São Paulo. Read the article, Janelas paulistanas, and the accompanying text here. Excerpt: “Uma viagem poética pelas fachadas da…
Driving Vocabulary in Portuguese Posted by Rachel on Feb 23, 2010
In case you rent a car when you’re in Brazil or need to get around by car, it’s useful to know some driving vocabulary. Let’s take a look: car = carro/auto to drive = dirigir sign = placa highway = estrada to brake = frear to turn = virar speed limit = limite de velocidade…
Pico do Jaraguá Posted by polyana on Feb 22, 2010
Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day in São Paulo. This hasn’t been the case recently, so my friend and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and do something outdoorsy. We decided on the Pico do Jaraguá, São Paulo’s city’s highest peak, since we’d never been and figured the view would be gorgeous…
A Vida do Viajante… Posted by polyana on Feb 19, 2010
Luiz Gonzaga or Gonzagão is one of the most prominent Brazilian folk singers of the 20th century. He popularized Northeastern baião music throughout the country, and much of his music was reproduced by artists such as Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Geraldo Vandré, amongst other great Brazilian artists. Baião is the foundation for forró, côco, and…
Traffic in Brazil Posted by André on Feb 19, 2010
If you have traveled around Brazil and spent some time in traffic you must know that driving here might not be a good experience, depending where and when. In times such as the carnival traffic jams are much worse and with many people drinking and driving accidents increase significantly. Looking on the bright side of…
Reading Comprehension Series: Business News Posted by Rachel on Feb 18, 2010
For today’s reading comprehension activity, we’re going to take a look at an article from VEJA Magazine about the Brazilian state-run oil company, Petrobras. Petrobras volta a importar gasolina após 40 anos “Após quarenta anos de autonomia, a Petrobras voltou a importar gasolina. Prejudicada pela crise do etanol, a estatal foi obrigada a comprar o…
Winter Olympics Vocabulary Posted by Rachel on Feb 17, 2010
While the Winter Olympics aren’t hugely popular in Brazil, they are broadcast there, and if you ask a Brazilian, they may tell you they like to watch to “refrescar” (cool off), since it’s summer in Brazil now. Also, there are five Brazilians competing in snowboarding and skiing! Olympics = Olimpíadas Winter Games = Jogos do…