FIVE...
...episodes that made me laugh (with the benefit of hindsight) and that I enjoyed writing about on this blog.
1. Flying BRA (now bust) back home from Europe
2. Chasing away robbers in my underpants
3. Losing the only key to the apartment under a swimming pool
4. Rachel using the “fear of God” technique to get back a stolen Ipod.
5. Using a baby to help with paperwork.
Bonus:
6. The phantom football match.
Showing posts with label FIVE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FIVE. Show all posts
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
FIVE...
...mates.
Wherever I've lived, I've always had a bunch of blokes around who've been good value for banter, advice, fun and if Chrisitans, prayer and support too. In no particular order here are five Brazilian versions of those:
1. Fernando - teacher at Cultura, upstanding Christian and all-round good egg.
2. Dyego - teacher at Cultura and fellow film, comic, PS2, guitar, writing and YouTube geek.
3. Paulo - Computer guy at Cultura, believer and fellow lover of açai and guitars.
4. Artur - Private student training to be a diplomat: for debates on current affairs and international politics there was no better person to while away a couple of hours (and get paid for it!)
5. Rach's Dad Steve - always up for a beer, a banter and the chance to watch football.
And an honorable mention to Adriano Lima the disabled swimmer (see pic below) who, along with his wife and daughter, have become very good friends of ours in the last few months.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
FIVE...
...extremely common mistakes Brazilians make when they write English.
There are many reasons why my students get things wrong in English writing. Sometimes its ignorance, sometimes its bad luck, sometimes its laziness, sometimes its because their language skills are not great in Portuguese so they lack the skills to transfer them to English. For example, a sentence without a verb has often more to do with not forming sentences in any language than a misunderstanding of English. And then, and this is where my students draw my sympathy, its because they try to create a construction in English but their Portuguese (whether consciously or not) interferes. This, as the pros call it, is L1 interference. And here are 5 very common examples that I've noticed in my short-lived career as an English teacher.
1. My sister borned in Sao Paulo. In English, unlike Portuguese, we use the verb "to be" before born: He will be born, I was born etc. Also, students typically guess the pass tense as ending in -ed, hence "borned".
2. I got an information and a research about a good weather. Uncountable nouns. Information, research and weather are all countable in Portuguese, but not in English. When I teach students we can have "a piece of" uncountable things like luck, luggage, furniture, information and research they are always totally astonished.
3. The taxi was late and I lost the plane. In Portuguese the verb "perder" means both lose and miss. Its just one example of several verbs which don't map exactly to English (see also: know/meet).
4. His mother was arriving soon - he was waiting for your mother. In Portuguese, we have "seu/sua" which cover the bases of all of "your, his, her, their" - context usually helps decide who is being talked about. Unfortunately, students often try, as in Portuguese, to just use one word to fit and they usually choose "your".
5. I was deceptionated and exausted. This is really two problems rolled into one. In Portuguese, to be "decepcionado" means to be disappointed (and has nothing to do with being decieved). This is an example of a false cognate between the two languages and students who don't realise this will often try and paste across the Portuguese word with an English ending (=deceptionated). Also, English spelling his highly irregular compared to Portuguese, so having to spell words like exhausted which includes an erroneous silent "h" is asking a lot.
When students get these wrong frequently, I blame the teacher!
...extremely common mistakes Brazilians make when they write English.
There are many reasons why my students get things wrong in English writing. Sometimes its ignorance, sometimes its bad luck, sometimes its laziness, sometimes its because their language skills are not great in Portuguese so they lack the skills to transfer them to English. For example, a sentence without a verb has often more to do with not forming sentences in any language than a misunderstanding of English. And then, and this is where my students draw my sympathy, its because they try to create a construction in English but their Portuguese (whether consciously or not) interferes. This, as the pros call it, is L1 interference. And here are 5 very common examples that I've noticed in my short-lived career as an English teacher.
1. My sister borned in Sao Paulo. In English, unlike Portuguese, we use the verb "to be" before born: He will be born, I was born etc. Also, students typically guess the pass tense as ending in -ed, hence "borned".
2. I got an information and a research about a good weather. Uncountable nouns. Information, research and weather are all countable in Portuguese, but not in English. When I teach students we can have "a piece of" uncountable things like luck, luggage, furniture, information and research they are always totally astonished.
3. The taxi was late and I lost the plane. In Portuguese the verb "perder" means both lose and miss. Its just one example of several verbs which don't map exactly to English (see also: know/meet).
4. His mother was arriving soon - he was waiting for your mother. In Portuguese, we have "seu/sua" which cover the bases of all of "your, his, her, their" - context usually helps decide who is being talked about. Unfortunately, students often try, as in Portuguese, to just use one word to fit and they usually choose "your".
5. I was deceptionated and exausted. This is really two problems rolled into one. In Portuguese, to be "decepcionado" means to be disappointed (and has nothing to do with being decieved). This is an example of a false cognate between the two languages and students who don't realise this will often try and paste across the Portuguese word with an English ending (=deceptionated). Also, English spelling his highly irregular compared to Portuguese, so having to spell words like exhausted which includes an erroneous silent "h" is asking a lot.
When students get these wrong frequently, I blame the teacher!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
FIVE...
...Brazilian legends that are largely unknown outside Brazil.
1. Xuxa. Children's TV presenter.
2. Ivete Sangalo. Pop singer.
3. Garrincha. Played alongside Pele and some people say better than "the King".
4. Santos Dumont. Brazilian who allegedly beat the Wright brothers in the race to invent the airplane.
5. Sebastiao Salgado. Actually, this is in reverse. One of the world's best photographers and he is still laregly unheard of in his home country.
...Brazilian legends that are largely unknown outside Brazil.
1. Xuxa. Children's TV presenter.
2. Ivete Sangalo. Pop singer.
3. Garrincha. Played alongside Pele and some people say better than "the King".
4. Santos Dumont. Brazilian who allegedly beat the Wright brothers in the race to invent the airplane.
5. Sebastiao Salgado. Actually, this is in reverse. One of the world's best photographers and he is still laregly unheard of in his home country.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
FIVE...
...of my favourite not A-list Brazilian footballers.
1. Giovanni. A kind of wanderer who seems to have played for just about everybody but never ended up being chosen for Brazil or particularly making a name for himself. But, has scored some timely goals - his efforts gave Man City a win over Man Utd at Old Trafford and Hull City wins over Arsenal and Spurs away.
2. Grafite. The Bundesliga's top scorer.
3. Thiago Neves. One of my favourite players and something of an anti-hero. Scored 4 goals over two legs in the Copa Libetadores only to see the game go to penalties at 5-5. Neves scored his penalty, but the keeper complained and the ref made Neves take it again. Neves missed and his team Fluminense lost. Ouch.
4. Hermanes. Centre midfielder for Sao Paulo and a really important player for Brazil's most successful club of recent years. Probably could have had a glamarous career in Europe but chose to stay put.
5. The two unnamed Brazilians who speculatively sent their CVs to a Welsh football team and managed to get trials. They were hopeless. The Welsh team let them train for a few months and then paid for their tickets home.
...of my favourite not A-list Brazilian footballers.
1. Giovanni. A kind of wanderer who seems to have played for just about everybody but never ended up being chosen for Brazil or particularly making a name for himself. But, has scored some timely goals - his efforts gave Man City a win over Man Utd at Old Trafford and Hull City wins over Arsenal and Spurs away.
2. Grafite. The Bundesliga's top scorer.
3. Thiago Neves. One of my favourite players and something of an anti-hero. Scored 4 goals over two legs in the Copa Libetadores only to see the game go to penalties at 5-5. Neves scored his penalty, but the keeper complained and the ref made Neves take it again. Neves missed and his team Fluminense lost. Ouch.
4. Hermanes. Centre midfielder for Sao Paulo and a really important player for Brazil's most successful club of recent years. Probably could have had a glamarous career in Europe but chose to stay put.
5. The two unnamed Brazilians who speculatively sent their CVs to a Welsh football team and managed to get trials. They were hopeless. The Welsh team let them train for a few months and then paid for their tickets home.
Monday, June 08, 2009
FIVE...
...Brazilian habits that we all should adopt (or do more!).
1. Clapping during happy birthday. It makes it more cheerful.
2. Celebrate everything.
3. Use your horn to communicate more (and not just to convey aggression)
4. Hold, cuddle, coo over other people's babies.
5. Pose for photos like you're a supermodel even if you're not. This last one is amazing to me - Brazilians love photos and many have a standard photo smile (and corresponding "best side") which they immediatley turn on whenever a camera is in sight. Maybe they teach it at school. But, they take so, so, so many photos of themselves draped over whatever is lying around (especially when they're in a new place) and just keep on smiling through. I was laughing at the farm we visited the other day. Two ladies, (no spring chickens I should add) frolicked, posed, preened and prostrated themselves in front of a bunch of flowers for 20 minutes taking innummerable and seemingly identical photos all of which, I would wager, were to end up on Orkut (a popular social-network site) faster than you could say "Your knickers are showing in this one". The thing is, it's kind of cheesey, but you've got to love a people who are so confident, forward and full of the love of life - us Brits with our stoney faces and Victorian positions take note.
...Brazilian habits that we all should adopt (or do more!).
1. Clapping during happy birthday. It makes it more cheerful.
2. Celebrate everything.
3. Use your horn to communicate more (and not just to convey aggression)
4. Hold, cuddle, coo over other people's babies.
5. Pose for photos like you're a supermodel even if you're not. This last one is amazing to me - Brazilians love photos and many have a standard photo smile (and corresponding "best side") which they immediatley turn on whenever a camera is in sight. Maybe they teach it at school. But, they take so, so, so many photos of themselves draped over whatever is lying around (especially when they're in a new place) and just keep on smiling through. I was laughing at the farm we visited the other day. Two ladies, (no spring chickens I should add) frolicked, posed, preened and prostrated themselves in front of a bunch of flowers for 20 minutes taking innummerable and seemingly identical photos all of which, I would wager, were to end up on Orkut (a popular social-network site) faster than you could say "Your knickers are showing in this one". The thing is, it's kind of cheesey, but you've got to love a people who are so confident, forward and full of the love of life - us Brits with our stoney faces and Victorian positions take note.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
FIVE...
...Brazilian habits that (to put it nicely) should be left in Brazil.
1. Cycling the wrong way up a street. For safety, of course, to see the cars that might hit you. But for the driver it adds an otherwise unneeded dimension to the already hair-raising experience of driving in Brazil.
2. Motorcycling barefoot. I don't use motorcycles so I'm sure this shouldn't annoy me, but it just makes me squirm thinking about putting nice fleshy feet on fast-moving, fritty concrete. I had to crack a smile though - in torrential rain, seeing a man dressed from head to ankle in an anorak but wth his feet nicely exposed to the elements as he rode his motorcyle past was a sight to behold.
3. Saying what you think the other person wants to hear. This applies mainly to two areas of life 1) party invitations 2) asking for directions. In both cases, Brazilians are loathe to say "I don't know" or "no, I can't". Better to lie (or flavour the truth, at any rate) and say you're coming / able to give directions. Result: nobody knows how many people are coming to any event. Nobody can be trusted to tell you the way if you're lost in a Brazilian city.
4. Why are so many of these connected to driving? Not letting people in to lanes. The other night I was coming back from the school and I tried to switch lanes, I indicated, slowed down and everyone in the other lane flashed at me and accelerated into the potential space. I didn't make my turn and I had to take a significant long cut home. (Interesting that when cars flash in the UK its to let traffic in. In Brazil, it means much the opposite - here I am, get out of my way!).
5. Everything is always so LOUD. Right now, this applies mainly to the church on the corner. On average 4 nights a week they drudge out Brazilian worship music which makes me want to roll over and die (and, therefore, arrive in the skies where the worship music will be better!). Questions Rachel and I have asked as we our TV competes with the din from yet another all night service: "Do you think they ever experience burnout?", "Why don't they do some evangelism on the streets (away from here)?", "Why are there only two volume levels in Brazilian music - loud and louder?" Whatever happened to the quiet contemplative number or the pause in silence?" (Come back St.Mikes, all is forgiven!). But, its not the churches that are loud. Its everything from the cars to the fireworks, from the music to the neighbours... FOR CRYING OUT LOUD STOP BEING SO LOUD!
...Brazilian habits that (to put it nicely) should be left in Brazil.
1. Cycling the wrong way up a street. For safety, of course, to see the cars that might hit you. But for the driver it adds an otherwise unneeded dimension to the already hair-raising experience of driving in Brazil.
2. Motorcycling barefoot. I don't use motorcycles so I'm sure this shouldn't annoy me, but it just makes me squirm thinking about putting nice fleshy feet on fast-moving, fritty concrete. I had to crack a smile though - in torrential rain, seeing a man dressed from head to ankle in an anorak but wth his feet nicely exposed to the elements as he rode his motorcyle past was a sight to behold.
3. Saying what you think the other person wants to hear. This applies mainly to two areas of life 1) party invitations 2) asking for directions. In both cases, Brazilians are loathe to say "I don't know" or "no, I can't". Better to lie (or flavour the truth, at any rate) and say you're coming / able to give directions. Result: nobody knows how many people are coming to any event. Nobody can be trusted to tell you the way if you're lost in a Brazilian city.
4. Why are so many of these connected to driving? Not letting people in to lanes. The other night I was coming back from the school and I tried to switch lanes, I indicated, slowed down and everyone in the other lane flashed at me and accelerated into the potential space. I didn't make my turn and I had to take a significant long cut home. (Interesting that when cars flash in the UK its to let traffic in. In Brazil, it means much the opposite - here I am, get out of my way!).
5. Everything is always so LOUD. Right now, this applies mainly to the church on the corner. On average 4 nights a week they drudge out Brazilian worship music which makes me want to roll over and die (and, therefore, arrive in the skies where the worship music will be better!). Questions Rachel and I have asked as we our TV competes with the din from yet another all night service: "Do you think they ever experience burnout?", "Why don't they do some evangelism on the streets (away from here)?", "Why are there only two volume levels in Brazilian music - loud and louder?" Whatever happened to the quiet contemplative number or the pause in silence?" (Come back St.Mikes, all is forgiven!). But, its not the churches that are loud. Its everything from the cars to the fireworks, from the music to the neighbours... FOR CRYING OUT LOUD STOP BEING SO LOUD!
Saturday, June 06, 2009
FIVE...
...unusual Brazilian first names.
1. Jamaica. And her brother Israel, and sisters Argentina and Libya. True story.
2. Keith. For a girl. I talked about this in my blog several months ago.
3. Everton. One of the students at Cultura is Everton, as in the football team.
4. Various male names beginning with J - Jurandir, Jaelson, Joris, Jaibelerson, JurIraeldson and so on... (I find several new variations on this every time I go to the supermarket and read the shop assistant name tags).
5. Madeinusa. Rachel told me about this one. Named after the place where an item of clothing was manufactured. Although, in recent years this could well have resulted in the name Madeintaiwan. That's almost as bad as Beckham calling his son "Brooklyn..."
...unusual Brazilian first names.
1. Jamaica. And her brother Israel, and sisters Argentina and Libya. True story.
2. Keith. For a girl. I talked about this in my blog several months ago.
3. Everton. One of the students at Cultura is Everton, as in the football team.
4. Various male names beginning with J - Jurandir, Jaelson, Joris, Jaibelerson, JurIraeldson and so on... (I find several new variations on this every time I go to the supermarket and read the shop assistant name tags).
5. Madeinusa. Rachel told me about this one. Named after the place where an item of clothing was manufactured. Although, in recent years this could well have resulted in the name Madeintaiwan. That's almost as bad as Beckham calling his son "Brooklyn..."
Thursday, June 04, 2009
FIVE...
...things I still haven't done in Brazil that I need to put on my "bucket list".
1. Visit the interior/amazon. I've spent most of my time here on the coast and have hardly ventured inland (except to Chapada Diamentina in 2005). There are various interesting aspects to Brazil "no interior" within this state, including the quaint villages that are the perfectly places to be when celebrating the June harvest festivals. And of course the best thing about going inland is that the ecology changes dramatically with mountains, plains, unusual geological sites and ultimately you eventually get to the Amazon which is like no place no earth. Also, Brasil's capital is inland - Brasilia. A tour inland: something for next time with Nelson when he's a bit more grown up.
2. See a football match at the Maracana.
3. Visit the south - foz de iguacu, Florionopolis, Porto Alegre.
4. Go to a forro concert. It has to be done, just once. I want to see one of these forro bands that are so popular up here in the north-east - Deseja de menina, Avioes do Forro etc. - and I want to see them live. Think cheesey country music for chavs.
5. See an historical passion play. There is a famous passion play every year in the interior of Rach's home state, Pernambucano. We never made it to that. Something for next time.
...things I still haven't done in Brazil that I need to put on my "bucket list".
1. Visit the interior/amazon. I've spent most of my time here on the coast and have hardly ventured inland (except to Chapada Diamentina in 2005). There are various interesting aspects to Brazil "no interior" within this state, including the quaint villages that are the perfectly places to be when celebrating the June harvest festivals. And of course the best thing about going inland is that the ecology changes dramatically with mountains, plains, unusual geological sites and ultimately you eventually get to the Amazon which is like no place no earth. Also, Brasil's capital is inland - Brasilia. A tour inland: something for next time with Nelson when he's a bit more grown up.
2. See a football match at the Maracana.
3. Visit the south - foz de iguacu, Florionopolis, Porto Alegre.
4. Go to a forro concert. It has to be done, just once. I want to see one of these forro bands that are so popular up here in the north-east - Deseja de menina, Avioes do Forro etc. - and I want to see them live. Think cheesey country music for chavs.
5. See an historical passion play. There is a famous passion play every year in the interior of Rach's home state, Pernambucano. We never made it to that. Something for next time.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
FIVE...
...unusual ways to make a living in Natal.
1. Joke teller. At the crossing for a ferry once, everyone arrived hawking their wares. One enterprising guy however proceeded to tell Rachel several jokes and ask for money!
2. Shopping Mall Nappy Changer. Enough said.
3. Car Shepherd. A very common way to earn a bit of cash. Stand around the street and wave vehicles into spaces and back out again. In theory, these guys are "security" for your car but if a guy with a gun turned up and threatened to break in, I`m pretty sure the car shephereds would scarper very quickly.
4. Umbrella holder. When it rains (more about this in another post) a bunch of people with umbrellas suddenly appear and walk around protecting you from every drop... for a price.
5. Flag holder. Not very glamorous, but a lot of the large car and property companies pay people to hold flags for the day. I heard that they even give you a free lunch but only provide it at the end of the day in case you don't come back to work.
...unusual ways to make a living in Natal.
1. Joke teller. At the crossing for a ferry once, everyone arrived hawking their wares. One enterprising guy however proceeded to tell Rachel several jokes and ask for money!
2. Shopping Mall Nappy Changer. Enough said.
3. Car Shepherd. A very common way to earn a bit of cash. Stand around the street and wave vehicles into spaces and back out again. In theory, these guys are "security" for your car but if a guy with a gun turned up and threatened to break in, I`m pretty sure the car shephereds would scarper very quickly.
4. Umbrella holder. When it rains (more about this in another post) a bunch of people with umbrellas suddenly appear and walk around protecting you from every drop... for a price.
5. Flag holder. Not very glamorous, but a lot of the large car and property companies pay people to hold flags for the day. I heard that they even give you a free lunch but only provide it at the end of the day in case you don't come back to work.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
FIVE...
...footballers who played in Euro 2008 but were actually Brazilian.
1. Marcus Senna. A contendor for player of the tournament, playing for Spain, born Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2. Deco. Playing for Portugal, born Sao Bernando de Campo, Brazil.
3. Roger Guerreiro. Playing for Poland, born Sao Paulo, Brazil.
4. Kevin Kuranyi. Playing for Germany, born Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
5. Eduardo Silva. Should have been (but was injured) playing for Croatia, born Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
...footballers who played in Euro 2008 but were actually Brazilian.
1. Marcus Senna. A contendor for player of the tournament, playing for Spain, born Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2. Deco. Playing for Portugal, born Sao Bernando de Campo, Brazil.
3. Roger Guerreiro. Playing for Poland, born Sao Paulo, Brazil.
4. Kevin Kuranyi. Playing for Germany, born Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
5. Eduardo Silva. Should have been (but was injured) playing for Croatia, born Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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