Tag Archive For "brazil"
in Brazil
In Search of The Real Samba
Her skirt billows in a gentle breeze, and she fixes her gaze forward and upward, aglow with expectant ease. She handles her own luggage, insists on elegant travel clothing, and comes from a time everyone pretends to remember. Is she picking up the suitcase, or setting it down? Is this the end of her journey, …
in Brazil
Learning Portuguese is No Big Problem
As far as Portuguese language acquisition goes, I confess that I currently understand almost zero spoken Portuguese and can rarely make myself understood. I’ve assessed my current level of competence thoroughly with Uber drivers, restaurant professionals, and bureaucrats throughout São Paulo. During my most recent Uber ride, I told the driver “Eu preciso practicar portuguese,” …
in Brazil
Foray into Brazilian Literature: Machado de Assis’s Mordant Ironica
Machado de Assis’s the central figure of Brazilian literature, he wrote most of his work between 1870 and 1908, and in 2018 Liveright published a swollen (960 pages!) new English translation of his collected stories. For a taste of this work, consider two stories that depict characters of a certain type serving as their own …
in Brazil
Taking Leave
When I light out from some place, two questions come up: did I leave a mark and, as important, what did I forget? Here’s a poem about these questions: So few have seen the pictures of my past I tramp up familiar dusty stairs And clack the brass ring attached To the door of my …
in Brazil
from Larry Rohter’s “Brazil on the Rise”
In case you’re not moving to Brazil and have only a casual interest in the country and its people, I’ve selected some highlights from Rohter’s book: One of the basic organizing features of daily life [in Brazil] is the jeito…[which means] the skill required to maneuver around the laws or social conventions that prevent you …
Treating Classes Like Gatherings, Part Three: Ending Well(If you haven’t read part one, on establishing purpose, or part two, on facilitating well, I’d [keep reading...]
Treating Classes Like Gatherings, Part Two: Teaching With Generous Authority(If you haven’t read part one, about establishing purpose, consider starting there.) After [keep reading...]
Why Teachers Should Consider Their Classes “Gatherings”Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering, a book that, as the subtitle suggests, takes up the subject of [keep reading...]