I’ll never forget the day I translated my first Brazilian song into English. In one of my first Portuguese classes, the professor assigned the task of choosing a Brazilian song, translating it, and presenting it to the class. “Music,” I thought to myself, “I’ve got this.” I ran home and spent hours on YouTube in […]
The Best Introduction to Brazilian Music
A Springboard for Your Brazilian Music Journey Have you ever wondered where to get started with Brazilian music? Brazilian music is diverse, spanning from the syncopated rhythms of samba to the introspective melodies of Bossa Nova. It’s inextricably intertwined to the history, culture, and people of Brazil, so much so that you cannot understand one without […]
Weekly Round Up – The Best of Brazil Oct 25-31
New Posts from Brazilian Gringo 10 Instagram Feeds that Will Show You Brazilian Culture How to Get a SIM Card for your iPhone in Rio de Janeiro Songs we listened to this week Cartola – Alvorada: One of the classics from Rio’s Samba scene. Cartola singing about the daybreak in Rio. Can’t beat it. Rubel […]
10 Instagram Feeds That Will Show You Brazilian Culture
One of the best ways to speed up your progress with Portuguese is to take your existing habits and do them in Portuguese. There are countless opportunities for you to get more exposure to Portuguese and to build your muscles if you start looking for them. Think about all of the media that you consume. Instead […]
How to Get a SIM Card For Your iPhone in Rio de Janeiro
Once upon a time, getting an iPhone set up with 3G coverage in Brazil was an ordeal that instilled dread into the hearts of short term travelers in Brazil. The process was complicated and highly variable. A satisfactory outcome could not be guaranteed. First you’d have to walk into various cell phone providers and ask them what plans they offered. […]
Weekly Round Up – The Best of Brazil Oct 18-24
We’re going to try something new and share some of our favorite content from the past week all in one post. The idea is to curate the best content from the past week that relates to language learning and Brazilian culture so that you can keep up with what’s important. If this idea catches on we […]
What is Rio de Janeiro whispering?
“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” – Dalai Lama We have a lot to learn from the places we inhabit. Cities are the greatest of teachers. Sometimes they whisper, sometimes they shout; all we have to do is listen. During my […]
É Nois! The Next Generation of Brazilian Gringos
I’m sitting in JFK International, watching the rain beat down on the on the runway. I’m sick of the rain. Just days after historic floods devastated my home state of South Carolina; here I am again, watching rain out of a window. No matter, I think to myself, the forecast for Rio is 95 and […]
How to Behave More Brazilian During Conversations
Here’s a quick tip for you on how to behave more Brazilian during conversations. When Brazilians are talking they’re not actually communicating with words, they’re communicating with emotions. A problem that a lot of foreigners have when they’re speaking Portuguese or speaking with Brazilians is that they’re too logical and not using enough emotion in […]
Youtube Channels Made For and By Brazilian Gringos
Back in 2013 it was a lonely time to be a Brazilian Gringo on Youtube. Aside from a handful of “look at me I speak Portuguese” videos and “here’s what gringos think about Brazil” videos there wasn’t much Brazil focused content. Aside from Charlie there weren’t any foreigners that were serious about building a Youtube audience either […]