About/Sobre

English

Eyes On Brazil was initially created in early 2008 to provide an English-speaking audience with translations of news and cultural items from Brazil. I spent over a decade studying Brazilian culture and close to three years living in Brazil, on and off (I just returned to the US in late Dec. 2012). As for Portuguese, I am self-taught and consider myself fluent.

From February, 2011 til the end of 2012, my focus shifted to mostly hosting my own articles, but it has returned to my initial mission.

If you enjoy this blog, you may enjoy my other blog projects Eyes On Recife, or Eyes On Colombia (no longer updated).

Português

Eyes On Brazil foi inicialmente criado no início do 2008 para proporcionar uma audiência que fala inglês com traduções de notícias e de itens culturais do Brasil. Passei mais de uma década estudando a cultura brasileira e quase três anos morando no país (onde eu estava morando até dez. de 2012). Eu me considero fluente na língua portuguesa.

Se você gostou desse blog, pode também gostar dos meus outros blogues, o Eyes On Recife ou o Eyes On Colombia (desatualizado). Confira!

Meaning/Significado

In Portuguese, Brasis (former name of this website) means Brazils, among other definitions which are listed below.

1. The lands of Brazil. 2. The Brazilians. 3. Indigeneous Brazilians

Em Português, Brasis (nome antigo deste site) significa Brasil no plural, entre os outros significados que seguem abaixo.

1. As terras do Brasil. 2. Os Brasileiros. 3. Os Indígenas do Brasil.

48 thoughts on “About/Sobre”

  2. olá!
    Sou brasileiro, e falo Inglês a três anos.. muito legal e muito criativo.. Obrigado por divulgar a nossa cultura a outra culturas…

    Se quiser me add, pra trocamos informações e dicas de novas matérias.. sintar-se a vontade!

  3. Eu não entendo o porque até agora não tem muitos sites interesasdos na cultura brasileira igual o seu… O Brasil é um País fascinante!! se vc parar pra pensar essa mistura de raças e a diferença de povo q mora na Bahia com o povo de Santa Catarina por exemplo…

    Sou de São Paulo e sou sansei!!! embora minha mãe seja descedentes de Espanhois,Portugueses e indios e meu pai descedente de japoneses!!

    Faço pare desse País um País com muita personalidade e sem a monotomia dos Países como Japão… que pude viver, embora eu amo o Japão tb, minha segunda patria… o Brasil definitivamente me fascina…

  4. amei seu blog…isso ai..todos os Brasileiros deveriam seguir esse exemplo de amor a cultura nacional e divulgação dos propósitos da vertente brasileira seja cultura de musica,literatura,dentre outros..amei!!!!

  5. Ola Adam, I stumbled upon your blog and really like it! Vou continuar a ler. Estou planejando de morar no Rio por dois anos, estudando por um mestrado ali. Aonde voce mora no mundo??? ;)
    Parabens e me contata, se quere, ta’? Ciao, Anna

  6. Hi Adam,

    You have an amazing blog here. I stumbled upon it, when I was searching for the lyrics of the song.
    Truth be told, until I met a few people from Brazil during my graduate studies, I only knew the basics – coffee, samba and football. Unfortunately, favela crime as well. But now I am more interested, which is why I find your blog very useful.

    The film (Moro No Brasil) is interesting, but a bit too anthropological. In a sense that a lot of the music mentioned is not really melodic or pleasing to the ear …you become more interested in the folk practices of the people making music than the music itself.

    I just purchased tickets to go see Seu Jorge in London in two weeks time. It will be a unique opportunity, since I am from Belgrade, Serbia and the chances of him ever coming there are pretty slim.

    Keep up the good work.
    xx
    Jelena

  7. Oi

    I loved your blog!!! I think is it is a unique foreigner’s point of view…
    Even between Brazilians there is some prejudice about our own country so I’m happy to see someone who thinks different. It’s interesting to see things from a different perspective that it is not the nationalistic one from Brazilian, nor what is commonly said that Brazil is all about sex and poverty. So… Parabéns!!!

  8. Thank you everyone, for your positive comments! I hope to keep divulging the unique aspects of Brazilian culture to those that are interested in it. One doesn’t necesarily need to go to Brazil to learn about it and love it…although it definitely can’t hurt to see for yourself and I hope that when you do, you’ll go wiser.

    Abraços

  9. Sensacional, sou português e vivo no Brasil temos um blog de tradução de links variados de bacana da web, francamente fique fascinado com seu blog. Gostei tanto que vou leva-lo para meu blogroll para não esquecer o caminho de volta
    Bravo!
    Pedro

  10. Thank you so much for this blog! I can’t express how hard it is to find information on the internet (in English) about all aspects of Brazil. I even found out what Catupiry is after eating it in Brazil and loving it but not know what it was!! After a fantastic vacation in Brazil, I can say that I am addicted, fascinated, in love with Brazil and I have to find my way back there again one day. Big thanks and all the best…

    ~Cindy

  11. This is a great site – I’ve just discovered it and it’s gonna take me a while to dig through all those posts but I just wanted to drop by and show some love. valeu.

  12. Hi Adam,
    I finally checked out your website. It is excellent. I sent you a message through eslcafe.Please read and respond at earliset convenience.Thanks
    Jay

  13. Olá amigo, estou procurando na net sobre como posso mudar a imagem do topo do blog no wordpress (não é a imagem do fundo via CSS) e te encontrei numa resposta de um blog e ví que você falou que não precisa pagar para mudar a imagem do topo do wordpress, além disso percebí que você provavelmente fez isso nesse blog.
    Você poderia, se não for muito abuso, me dizer como faz isso?
    marfig74@yahoo.com.br
    Muito obrigado. Estou precisando muito…

  15. Hi, Adam
    I just discovered by chance your website and I really liked your approach. I have my own English blog on Brazil – http://www.deepbrazil.com – that was created just a few days ago. I realize I have a lot to learn from your experience. To be sincere, I thought I was original, but you’ve got the concept way before me. Cheers and long life to Eyes on Brazil!
    Regina

  16. My goal is to unify and create better understand between the people in the favelas to the asfalt and the other way too. My site has lots of information for people who have interest to learn the truth about favela comunities from people who live there.

    heck out my sites
    http://www.favelatourism.com
    and
    http://lifeinrocinha.blogspot.com

    my friend just start his blog
    http://www.soufavelado.com

    if you have questions you can contat me:
    visitrocinha@gmail.com

    thank you!

    ~Zezinho

  17. Sou estudante de graduação em Tecnologia em Sistema de Computação. Seu site, seu blog é matéria de avaliação e vale nota, na Universidade Federal. A matéria é Inglês Instrumental. Parabéns! Queria poder passar também um tempinho nos USA ou Inglaterra para aprender como você.
    Muito Bom.

  18. Obrigada por divulgar a beleza do meu país não só pela geografia, mas também pelo social. Valeu! Realmente, pessoas como você são muito importante para nossa ascensão no cenário global. Seu texto é excelente.

  19. Parabens pela iniciativa e se puder colaborar , ajudar em algo é so falar . Moro em São Paulo , há 50 anos , e muito interesse pelo modo como o mundo vê o Brasil. Temos muito a evoluir e muita criatividade .
    Abraços Roberto

  20. O Blog sem duvida e Bom!! Mas falta ser *gostoso* de navegar, a nao tao classico! Precisa de mais cor, mais luz, e precisa ampliar mais a visao da cultura brasileira de NORTE A SUL, para se tornar mais atrativo para leitores brasileiros de varias regioes e para que os leitores estrangeiros possam entender a nossa diversidade e variedade cultural.

    • Obrigado pelo comentário mas não concordo. Escrevo sobre vários lugares do Brasil e se não tem percebido, é por motivo de não ter lido os meus 1100 entradas aqui no blog. Se tiver muitas notícias sobre o sudeste últimamente, é porque é isso que os jornais gostam de escrever já que o Brasil está se tornando o país do presente.

      • Eu nao acho que tenha lido os 1100 entradas, mas li muito aqui ( e gostei) Talvez eu nao tenha sabido me expressar do modo construtivo como pensei estar fazendo.
        DESCULPE!

      • Oi Jacqueline,

        Obrigado por voltar aos comentários aqui. Bem, ia explicar o que acontece com o que eu gosto de dizer é o “efeito Rio” das notícias nacionais e internacionais mas estou vendo que a Regina respondeu com uma boa resposta. Morei onde o vento faz a curva, lá em Belém do Pará e durante aqueles três mêses, escrevi 40+ entradas sobre a cultura do norte. Ainda não cheguei a morar em Salvador mas também escrevi muito sobre a cidade de todos os santos. Tem menos sobre o sul e até menos sobre estados como Mato Grosso do Sul, Acre, Rondônia, etc. Sugestões são sempre bem-vindas!

  21. Jacqueline, tenho que concordar com o Adam que é muito mais difícil conseguir informações de qualidade sobre rincões mais isolados ou mesmo capitais de outros estados. A Globo ilustra bem esse problema. Quantas novelas fogem do eixo Rio-São Paulo? Quando elas mostram uma cidade do interior, na maioria das vezes é uma cidade fictícia, sem indicação do seu estado. Se for uma novela nordestina, pior ainda. Tem um “sotaque nordestino padrão da Globo” que simplesmente não existe no mundo real.
    Sinto isto na pele produzindo o meu próprio blog, o Deep Brazil (www.deepbrazil.com). Não é que a informação não exista, mas ela exige muito mais garimpagem.

  22. Eu posso compreender como pode ser dificil!!! Feliz daquele que consegue escapar do efeito mais comercial de certos lugares, terras e de qualquer coisa e chamar a atencao para a beleza da nudez, pura e crua.
    Eu tenho muitas saudades do Brasil ( puro e cru )que conheco, pois por ser filha de militares e passei 19 anos da minha vida como nomade de norte a sul, passando pelos lugares mais badalados aos mais remotos deste pais e por escolas que ate Deus duvida que existam.
    E todos os lugares foram magicos, e toda a gente linda, e todo o accent maravilhoso aos meus ouvidos.
    Talvez eu queria ver,rever e ler sobre coisas que o tempo ja levou ou ver o Brasil sem tantos rotulos, porque sem duvida ele e muito mais bonito do que parece ser se a gente conseguir olhar com a alma.
    Ah!!! Sou do Sul, senti falta deste pedaco por aqui.
    Porto Alegre, Floripa, Curitiba!!!
    Regina, gostei do ( sotaque nordestino padrao da globo) deve mesmo exisitir e isso deve ser engracado.
    Vou visitar o seu Blog a tempo, mas vou bisbilhotar um pouco mais o do Adan, depois que eu ler todas as 1100 entradas, eu volto a comentar ( EH PIADA, VIU??) vc deve saber como pode ser o senso de humor de um brasileiro :-)

  23. Hi Adam,

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog, the way you write and the topics are awesome, I’m brazilian myself but I live near Boston MA, but I miss Brazil a lot and I’m very happy that Brazil is getting stronger by the day… My dream is to go back one day and have a bed and breakfast in paradise. For now I’m a wedding and portrait photographer in Massachusetts, which I love too, but there is nothing like the brazilian way of living…

    Keep up the good work!!! All success to you!

    Thanks

    Alice Pepplow

    • Thank you for the kind words, Alice! There are times when it gets hard to keep up with the pace I’ve always tried to set for the blog, not to mention maintaining some sort of quality. Three years is a long time to do a monthly average of roughly one post per day and as life continues to get in the way, I only hope to be able to keep all the balls I’m juggling in the air.

      Pousada life sounds like a great retirement plan. I may follow suit..

      Abs

  26. After living here in Northern Brasil for almost 5 years as an American, I can relate to the true but funny (laughable) things you write in the blog about culture differences. I just discovered you site tonight when I was looking up Rabada (love it) and it’s information. I will read your blog from now on. Thanks !
    Keith writing from Acre

    • Hey Keith,

      Nice to have you aboard as a reader. I’ve never been to Acre but I did live in Belém. 5 years is quite a long time, suppose you won’t be going back to the States then. I’m rounding 2 years myself. There’s a lot of positives for me here, even of a simple nature, so it’s hard to trade it these days for what I used to have back in California.

      Cheers

  27. Hello Adam I would like to complement you on this amazing blog. I love it. My boyfriend (he’s Brazilian) had stumbled on it about a year ago and shared it with me. He lives in Brazil and I am still in the States, so I am in Brazil for three months at a time since that is what my visa will allow me to stay there for and then back to the US again for three months. I love reading another view of Brazil from you because I can relate to a lot of that. It has given me great joy reading your hilarious differences between the States and Brazil, because I have lived a great many of that in person as well. Just an off handed question, but you say that you taught yourself portuguese…as it is one of the hardest languages I have come up against, may I ask, how did you do it?
    Keep at it!
    Amanda

    • Hi Amanda,

      Thanks for your kind words! I wish I had positive differences to share but they all seem to hit below the belt a bit. I can’t help it, though, some things are just odd no matter what culture, lol.

      As for the Portuguese, well, it was all about studying any chance I got, even if I was dead tired of ‘going through the motions’. Do the annoying things (translating articles word for word with a dictionary and writing lists of random words and their meanings in your free time) and the strange things (talking to yourself or forcing yourself to think in Portuguese). Most importantly, bombard yourself with the language in every which way (listening, reading, speaking, writing) from multiple sources and via multiple methods. That’s how I did it. Doesn’t hurt to have Brazilian friends in your immediate vicinity either.

      Cheers

      • Hi Adam and Amanda!

        Adam thank you so much for this blog! I love it so much! I too have a Brazilian boyfriend. We attend the same University here in the States and he is on the soccer team! lol (of course..) haha But before he and I got together I had two Brazilian friends that also go to my University and I just loved them and everything they told me about Brazil. However, it was in high school that I started having an interest in Brazil and I had to do a project on the culture. Now today I can say that I am not only in love with a Brazilian but with all of Brazil! I love the culture, people, music, food. EVERYTHING!! I am also trying so hard to teach myself portuguese and my boyfriend helps but I need to force myself to study more. I will take up the advice you gave Amanda. I also have watched a few of the movies you recommended. Any other comments of advice you have I would love to know!

        Obrigada Adam!! Looking forward to reading more posts! :)

        -Aubry

        -Aubry

  28. Hey Adam, I “stumbled upon” (and subscribed to) your blog last week. Just read the last post and tell myself that I need to read a lot more of your posts. After reading some of the comments on this page alone, It’s clear to me that you have a lot of interesting experiences and stories.
    I’m living in Volta Redonda at the moment, but thinking about moving to Niterói, closer to Rio de Janeiro. I have my own blog (Brazil Road Trips – twitter: @mototoursbrazil) where I write about my trips and adventures across this beautiful and fascinating country. Would love to have a coffee (or a caipi or whatever) with you sometime. I’m sure we could share some great stories :)
    Cheers
    Raf

    • Thanks, mate. I’ll be sure to check out your blog, ‘motortoursbrazil’ sounds familiar to me. There are some guys in Colombia who are doing motorcycle tours there. Sounds awesome (I used to ride)!

      Well, I’m currently living in the Northeast but will likely move back to Rio after July. I’ll let you know when I do.

      Cheers

  29. ah this is blog is simply amazing! I’m brazilian but I was a foreign exchange student in the USA for a year so I can relate to those cultural differences! I love when you compare the way brazilians do it and the way americans do it, I miss the USA very much, but I can’t think of living anywhere other than brazil haha congrats on the blog! beijão – Julia

  30. I’m really impressed by your eyes on Brazil. Your blog transcribes some questions, feelings, thoughts… I had and still have discovering Brazil: Natal, o jeito mineiro de falar, a lingua, ficar, how to buy a book, Brazilian music(s), and all the etc. I have read it like an old book, linearly, without a break (except for some videos and other interesting links), … well, from the most recent post to the eldest one. I like the way you turn your subjective approach/vision/interest into something that isn’t subjective at all. Your blog is interesting also because you never seem bored, and always in a state of flow, always with your eyes/hears/nose… wide open… The French word “passeur” could translate what I was feeling reading your blog and what I feel about your personal presence/absence in your posts: dar a capacidade de ver, tocar, ler… alguns Brasis… By the way, are you an anthropologist?

    • I wrote a long comment and WordPress erased it…c’est la vie

      Thank you for all the compliments, Philippe! Very rewarding to read them. I’m not an anthropologist but I likely would have been, had I finished my degree. After 3 years and never really feeling like being a part of the system, I left. In fact, the reason I left the US lies along these lines, wanting to be different and therefore doing different. My intellectual curiosity has kept me on the poor side for pretty much all of my adult life, but it is as I have chosen it, in order to have more time to myself so that I can learn more about the world. Obviously, the university is where most people do their learning but my interests are too varied to have them satisfied by one degree program, thus I learn on my own.

      While I’m interested in everything and enjoy educating myself, I find it curious that I keep placing myself in communities (favelas, small towns, etc) where people are less likely to be very educated, in the institutional sense. Perhaps it doesn’t have to do with education, but rather with what Clarice Lispector said about living in the NE.

      “I grew up in Recife, and I think that living in the Northeast or the North of Brazil is to live more intensely and closer to the real life of a Brazilian..”

      After all, if Brazilians don’t travel through their own country, what does it mean to be Brazilian (or insert nationality here)? People in the SE gave me strange looks when I told them I was going to move to the North and NE, just like they find it odd that I went to live in various favelas. No worries, though.

      I can’t recall if it was episode 3 or 4, but I think it was episode 4 of this radio series (http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/features/2010/04/26/the-origins-of-the-modern-public/#episode3) which discusses how maps changed the way people saw themselves in early modern Europe. I would posit that Brazilians (or any nationality) could use a ‘map’ of sorts that would allow them to begin to recognize themselves. The only real way to do this, though, is to live in diverse places.

  31. I did a search on the internet and it lead me here……..I am trying to find a song my father use to play when I was younger about a frog who doesn’t wash his feet. I asked my father the name or singer of the song (he is 81 now so his memory is not the greatest) and he told me that the name of the song was called Sapo Nao Lava O Pe. I looked this up on the internet and this is not the same song that he had on record. I guess he had an adult version of the song that had a totally different beat and rhythm. Any knowledge on this would be greatly appreciated!!

  32. Hi Adam, I’m a fellow expat, living in Rio for over a decade…nice blog! A friend of mine told me about it. I have a blog on WordPress, too, focused on my autobiography, which has a lot of stuff about Brazil in it.

  33. Great blog Adam, you are able to share your experiences in a way that people can relate to, and that’s important for estrangeiros to not feel so alone in a new culture/environment. I have been living in São Paulo for over a year now and am still adjusting, all the while completely loving the lessons, opportunities for growth, and insights this experience has brought me thus far. I’m sure you experienced something similar. Good luck on your new adventure, I hope that you continue this blog from California. Please eat some pancakes at IHOP with LOTS of maple syrup and surf some waves in the warm Pacific for me. Aloha.

    • Thank you! If anything, my time in Brazil helped me learn about how most of the world actually is and help me reevaluate my negative views on American culture and life. I find it interesting being back and mentioning some of Brazil’s problems when among Brazilians living here in California. One friend in particular debates me and often gives me American examples of the system failing or of people acting immorally here. Some, who I know less, would prefer I shut up, even though they know that we both know the truth of the matter. What it comes down to, I find, is that if you say something that is real, and not based on conjecture, then it should be heard, valued and pondered. I have zero problems with foreigners pointing out something bad about the US, as long as they know what they’re saying. Also, to opine on Brazil from an American standpoint, or vice-versa, is bound to cause problems, both personal and interpersonal. A culture should be judged from within it.

  34. How you doing man?

    I hope all is well with you.  

    I saw a couple things on your blog that are very useful to me and I agree with a lot of things you talk about. 

     I got my film media degree in london last year out the way and just doing some work in london here and there, I hope to maybe take my career in media to south america with Brazil and Colombia in mind. I plan on going to brazil and staying for some time bro. 

    In fact this year I actually got most my thing together for Brazil and I was just wondering if are you going Brazil this year or next? 

    If you use Skype add me – CIG1988
    Definitely be cool to keep in touch if you like and maybe we can even work together. I’m very ambitious with what I do and I like to reach me a heights. 

    I’m in London as usual so I know Skype is probably the easier way to call. 

    Be safe man

    C

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