The Leveling Off Point

After hitting the 10 year mark in my studies of all that is Brazilian, I’ve come to a conclusion that usually applies to language studies but I’m going to apply it here in a cultural sense. Most people learning another language reach a point where they slow down their studies because they’ve reached a leveling-off point where they feel confident enough in what they know to be able to put the brakes on. While it shows one’s dedication to a subject to have reached such a stage, it also points to a shift in thinking and sometimes a change in subject matter. Linguistically speaking, I am more aware of this in English-language learners as opposed to learners of other languages which I cannot call my own. All the same, it can either be seen as a form of laziness or an evolution of thought.

Lately, I have had some time to think about a lot of things and I came to the conclusion that my days of studying every free moment I had are over, at least in terms of the subject of Brazil. This doesn’t mean I’m disinterested or that I’ve somehow lost my Brazilian mojo, as it were, but I have reached the leveling-off point and that means I either need to expand the view I already have or look for greener pastures (at which point I ask myself, are there places greener than Brazil?).

We’re two weeks away from putting the candles on the cake (when Eyes On Brazil turns 2) and I realized a good part of what I post consists of interesting things I’ve found online while the other part consists of my own thoughts based on my own experiences as well as more in-depth analyses of Brazilian culture. What I hope to do now is to decrease the former and increase the latter (option 3 is to increase the former while analyzing those things I find).

For the time being, I need to focus a bit on my offline life but I hope to be back and at it soon.

Deolinda – Mal por Mal

Since I post a thing or two on European Portuguese sometimes in order to help my readers’ ears to know the difference, here’s a great neo-fado group from Lisboa. See if you can understand the lyrics without seeing them in front of you.

Coucilmen in Santa Catarina ban sex bracelets

I found this to be quite new, strange and sad. Apparently, kids in school in Santa Catarina are using colored bracelets called “pulseirinhas do sexo” (little sex bracelets) and according to the game that revolves around them, if someone else can rip off a bracelet of a certain color, they win anything from a simple hug to a sexual act by the girl wearing it. Back when I was in school, we had to walk 10 miles in the snow….oh nevermind.

Here’s the story in Portuguese.

Fica a dica & Vira e mexe – 2 for 1

I thought I’d do a repost here from Eyes On Portuguese, teaching two new phrases as part of a new category there which I’m calling 2 for 1, where I teach two phrases per post.

Here’s two random, but useful phrases for you.

Fica a dica – The closest I can think of would be like “remember this tip”, as “dica” means tip.

Ex. No sabado, tem entrada franca. Fica a dica.
Ex. On Saturday, there’s no cover. Remember that.

Vira e mexe – Although technically it means “twist and turn”, this phrase is understood as “often” or “frequently”.

Ex. Vira e mexe eu esqueço as chaves da minha casa na mesa.
Ex. I often forget my house keys on the table.

NYT’s take on açaí in Belém

From The Good Blood, I saw an article she posted from the NYT on açaí from Belém. I’m surprised and pleased to say the NYT writer Seth Kugel did a great job on accuracy in the article, especially when he said the following…

“The velvety texture of the thicker varieties is wonderful, but the taste is more — how to put this? — earthy. O.K., it tastes like dirt. Making matters worse, the manioc flour that’s often mixed in to thicken it has the consistency of sand.”

I’m also glad the writer mentioned Cairu ice cream store because that’s the only place that I found great (cough*Rio style*cough) açaí, even if it was a little more pricey for what you get. Cairu also sells a flavor called ‘paraense’ which is açaí with tapioca balls mixed in, which I personally think dilutes the flavor.

On Eyes on Brazil, I’ve talked about açaí a few times already. You can find out what I think here (in general), here (while living in Belém) and even here (on açaí in the US).

How to report the news

Hilarious. The original (although less funny, in British English) is below

“Beijo se dá, não se pede!” – Observations

“Beijo se dá, não se pede!”

The phrase above basically means “a kiss isn’t asked for, it’s given!” and throughout my years on the Brazilian ‘dating scene’ (most of my friends are Brazilian so it just happens that way) and during my extended trips to Brazil, I’ve noticed that phrase isn’t just a phrase, but an unwritten philosophy.

Brazilian women are receivers of affection, not takers. The sooner you learn that, the better off you will be if your goal is finding a Brazilian girlfriend. Go to a bar, a club, a park, the beach or the middle of the sertão, and you will find the same thing…machismo, and in a country where there’s an excess of machismo, there will be women who have learned to respond to it.

“But we’re in the 21st century!”

I know, I know. I’m not endorsing it as a lifestyle, but merely as a means to attracting and being attractive to women in Brazil. Men must do all the ‘work’ in Brazil (and in most ‘latin’ countries) and it is a woman’s job to let you know if she’s interested or not. Argue with me on this point if you will, but Brazilian women don’t give signals…period. If you like a woman and want to get to know her, you have to do more than flirt and be affectionate towards her (because many guys will do this). You have to approach her, start a conversation, make sure her reaction isn’t negative and as long as it’s normal or positive, then you can assume you are on the right track. This track might lead to a kiss a little bit later, which you will have to completely initiate (as she will give you no signs she wants one) and it can lead to seeing her another night, etc.

There’s a sentence I recently read (not a popular saying though) that says “Se gostou, pega pela cintura” and that means “if you like it her, take her by the waist”. What that translates to in other terms, is you need to have a certain forwardness about you while in a social setting (bar, club, party) and in proximity to a woman you are interested in, otherwise you are doomed to have very little luck. Unfortunately, I know what I’m talking about.

During most of my 10 months in Brazil in total, I didn’t act accordingly and I got nowhere. No extra-long glances nor smiles that hide something more, no reason to think any woman in any social setting had the least bit interest. I’m no hermit, I’m not super shy nor do I share any similarities with Mr. Bean, I just wasn’t forward enough for the average Brazilian woman. Mind you, I’ve had long-term relationships with brasileiras but I didn’t initially meet them in social places.

So how do I know these things if I’ve never been the macho man, with the forwardness to prove it? Learned it all secondhand. I’ve seen it happen a million times but I’m fairly happy with how I am so this is a lesson for you. Take it or leave it.

‘Following the Euro’ short documentary

There’s a short documentary on Current about Brazilians reclaiming their Italian citizenship due to a loophole in the system. Basically there’s an Italian law that says if you have an Italian ancestor, you qualify to become an Italian citizen (and EU passport holder). Many Brazilians though are using the law to have access to other European countries, rather than stay in Italy.

With Italy’s low birthrate, it might do the country good to somehow give citizenship to those who stay in Italy for 5 years before leaving, and therefore create ties to Italy…and why not, some good-looking babies who would speak two of the most beautiful languages in the world.

On a side note, here’s my article on Italians in Brazil (in English & Portuguese).

The way things should be done – Site News

I’ve spent the last day or two building another blog. I know, I know…will I build it up only to tear it down? I highly doubt it, especially since this one will not be about another city, country nor culture. It will be for learning and talking about Portuguese.

Eyes On Portuguese is now up and running, with all the Portuguese-related posts from Eyes On Brazil in one place. This site (my main one) was always about two things: Brazilian culture and the Portuguese language. The only change is that I want the latter part to have its own place with space to breathe. People can specifically go there for language or specifically go here for culture. No more sifting needed. No more singular category for the entire language.

Other changes I hope one can expect with Eyes On Portuguese is a professional site in a few months instead of just a blog, a more professional set of videos teaching Portuguese and some collaborations. I’m still unsure if I will pull the Portuguese language posts from here but if I do, Ill transfer over the comments too.

Check it out!

Just as a reminder, for those interested in other parts of South America, I still run Eyes On Colombia!

Morro do Boi criminal gets 65 years

One year ago, I decided to post a very sad story on a young couple who, while walking to the top of a hill overlooking a beach in Paraná, was confronted by a criminal that ended up murdering the young man (Osiris), shooting the young woman (Monik) and then coming back to rape her. In the comments section of the post I did on it, someone who knew Osiris, expressed how sad she was to learn of the news of his passing, as her memories of him were fond ones.

In any event, after one year and a lot of enrolação (getting tied up), the right person was condemned (in PT) to 65 years in jail, thanks to the initial sketch that Monik, the young female survivor, helped to create. Meanwhile, she is hard at work doing physical therapy to regain feeling in her legs after becoming parapalegic due to the attack.

In the world we live in, we can get so unphased by so much bad news being reported that it doesn’t effect us as perhaps it should. When I woke up that one morning one year ago and read what had happened, it greatly saddened me that someone felt they had to wreak such havoc on a young couple that only wanted to enjoy their weekend together.