Hen Adopts Seven Puppies in Rio Grande do Sul Posted by Rachel on Oct 27, 2008
In the rural town of Santa Cruz do Sul, in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, a surprised woman found that one of her hens had adopted seven abandoned puppies. Though the woman has begun feeding the puppies, the hen has made herself responsible for the puppies’ well being. She nestles them…
Brazilian Fruit Series: Part VI Posted by Rachel on Oct 24, 2008
Today we’re going to look at the jaca, known in English as the jackfruit. Jackfruit originally comes from India and Southeast Asia, where it was cultivated up to 6,000 years ago. Now it is commonly found in tropical climates throughout the world, including tropical regions of Brazil. This fruit grows on a jaqueira, a jackfruit…
The International Humor Festival Arrives in Rio Posted by Rachel on Oct 23, 2008
The International Humor Festival began this week in Rio de Janeiro and will run until November 23rd. The festival features expositions at two venues, Centro Cultural Correios and Espaço Cultural Oi Futuro, as well as debates and theater productions. The festival will also honor several Brazilian cartoonists, including Luís Fernando Veríssimo, Laerte and Angeli (cartoon…
Foreign Business in Brazil: Part II Posted by Rachel on Oct 22, 2008
Expat American engineer Hunter Hagewood lives in Brazil where he works for a major IT company, Nevoa Networks. But you won’t find him in Rio or São Paulo, but rather in a more unlikely place: Campina Grande, Paraíba, in the sertão (desert) region of the Northeast. At only 33 years old, Hunter helps run a…
Terms of Endearment Posted by Rachel on Oct 21, 2008
There are a lot of words to express affection for others in Portuguese, so let’s take a look at some of them: mamãe: this means mommy, or mom. papai: this means daddy, or dad. fofinho: this means “cute,” or “cutie pie.” bonitinho: this means “pretty” or “cute.” amorzinho: this literally means “little love,” used to…
Orkut, the Brazilian Facebook Posted by Rachel on Oct 20, 2008
In Brazil, the most used social networking site on the Internet, which has become wildly popular nationwide, is known as Orkut (pronounced Or-coo-chee). It was created in 2004 by a Turkish Google employee and originally was marketed in the United States. Gradually, though, its two largest markets became Brazil and India, which make up 55%…
Portuguese Language Tools Online Posted by Rachel on Oct 16, 2008
Today, I’m going to give all of you some very useful websites to help you clear up doubts about Portuguese grammar and to help you with translation. Word Reference has a Portuguese-English online dictionary, as well as Portuguese-Spanish Globo’s digital dictionary has a Portuguese language dictionary, as well as a grammar and verb section Conjuga-me…