Posted by Rachel
Here’s a great video for intermediate speakers, since there are subtitles and the narrator speaks in English. It’s a fantastic short documentary about Curitiba and its high quality of life, due largely to excellent city planning and making people–not cars–a priority.
Check it out!
Questions: Checking Understanding
1. How do you say “a person from Curitiba?”
2. What is “qualidade de vida?”
3. How do you say “efficiency” in Portuguese?
4. How do you say “that’s fine” or “that’s ok” in Portuguese?
5. What is “obra” in English?
Posted by Rachel
One sure way to get Brazilians and Brazilophiles talking is by asking the controversial question: which city do you prefer, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo? So for today’s interactive feature, that’s the question at hand! 
The question isn’t intended to imply that one city is better than the other (although some people from each city have that opinion). It is simply a question about personal preference: the beach vs. the urban center, outdoor sports vs. cultural sites, etc.
It’s a tough question, but I want to hear from all of you!
Posted by Rachel
Today, we’re going to do a listening comprehension activity with a great thirteen minute documentary on graffiti art in São Paulo. Watch the video clicking the link above (which has subtitles) and then take a look at the questions to see how well you picked up on vocabulary in the video.
Photo: Alexandre Orion (artist featured in the documentary)
Questions:
1. What’s the word for “flashlight” in Portuguese?
2. How does the artist say “I could go on forever” in Portuguese?
3. There’s a shot of a graffiti painting with the message “Please don’t throw trash.” How is it written in Portuguese?
4. What’s the difference between the Portuguese words for “tunnel” and “tunnels?”
5. What’s the Portuguese word for “skull?”
Posted by Rachel
Brazil has been nominated for two locations in the Seven Wonders of Nature competition, in which people can vote for the greatest wonders of the natural world. The Amazon and Iguaçu Falls were chosen amongst thirty total natural wonders from around the world. They are competing against the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Dead Sea, and Mount Kilimanjaro, amongst others.
The top thirty finalists were chosen by a panel of experts based on five factors: unique beauty, diversity and distribution, ecological significance, historical legacy, and geo-location (allowing an equal amount of finalists from the seven continents).
You can vote for your favorite seven wonders of nature on the official website, though the results won’t be announced until 2011. You can vote on the website or by phone, and the site will release the latest ranking of the most voted sites next week.
Posted by Rachel
Brazilians are very serious about their beaches, partially because they have so many beautiful ones to choose from. From Amapa to Rio Grande do Sul, there are thousands of miles of coastline. 
So for today’s interactive feature, the question is: what is your favorite Brazilian beach?
I think this is an exceedingly difficult question, since I have visited so many stunningly beautiful beaches in Brazil, but still have many left to see, including those on Fernando de Noronha island, rumored to be the best in the country. I have so many favorites it’s impossible to chose, but I think some of the best states to beach hop in are Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and Bahia.
What about you?
"
