Saturday, September 15, 2012

A few last tidbits about Brazil

A little Brazilian Portuguese...

Since Brazil was a Portuguese territory for many years, the national language of Brazil is Portuguese.  They, however, have a slightly different way of pronouncing a few words so their dialect is called Brazilian Portuguese.  Here are a few phrases you can learn...

good morning - bom dia      good evening - boa noite

thank you - obrigado (if thanking male) obrigada (if female)

beautiful and marvelous - lindo maravilhoso

hi, how are you? - oi, como vai? (que the Santana - if you have no idea what I'm talking about than you are missing out on some great music )

A few other tidbits you could do ...

  • Soccer is the most popular sport in Brazil, they have the largest soccer stadium in the world and have won the World Cup 5 times!  So go to the park and kick the ball around , or if you really want to learn the game, this book -Everything Soccer Book  has everything  you need to know (it says so right in the name)!
  • Have you seen the movie Rio ? The opening sequence is my favorite- all the birds of the rainforest doing a synchronized song and dance!  Love it and it has a nice message about saving the animals of the rainforest without being preachy.
  • There are many great books at the store and library about the rainforest.  This is a good one about saving the trees- The Great Kapok Tree.
  • While we're talking about saving trees - have you seen The Lorax?  It has nothing to do with Brazil but is a good example of what would happen if we cut down all the trees.  I'll admit it, I cry at the end everytime I watch it (many times already)
  • (Another good segway) The Brazilian rainforest has over 3000 different fruits and many of them are super healthy.  This Brazilian Superfood is one that we tried this week-Zola Acai Berry juice .  I usually get a lot of guff when I try to bring home "superfoods" since sometimes they taste kinda, well, healthy - but this was gone in 2 days and was really tasty AND loaded with anti-oxidants and omegas. 
  • Finally, if you'd like to learn more about Brazilian Portuguese, this book promises to teach you -Everything Brazilian Portuguese Book!

I hope you all enjoyed Brazil and get a chance to try some of the fun and games we did this week!  I really would enjoy reading some of your comments- I opened up the comments section so that ANYONE can post a comment and not just subscribers or people with a google profile.  See you next week................