• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog

Brazil, Up Close

posted on February 4, 2014

The Western world has gone Brazil-crazy in recent years and I’ve never been quite sure how I feel about it (even though I’m certified Brazil-crazy myself). If we’re talking linguistically, where more and more people are discovering the beautiful language that is Brazilian Portuguese, then I’m all for it! I really feel that I will never, not even for a second, regret learning the language. 

In general, though, seeing Brazil being looked at up close reminds me of a smaller craze in 2010 called Secret London which amassed 180,000 members on Facebook in one month’s time. Despite the success of it, some journalists were asking questions about the whole concept of secrecy and if or when something is no longer a secret, how can it still be called such?

One writer in particular had the following to say about the group in an article titled “Why Secret London might ruin our city”,

“The point, apparently, is to tell absolutely everyone about those great places that aren’t already filled with tourists. The result, I can only assume, will be for all of those lovely little places to quickly become overcrowded and not-so-lovely little places, but that is only the beginning.”

Likewise, a PBS documentary project from 2001 titled “Merchants of Cool” details how corporations and consultancies literally create what’s cool. In the documentary, they demonstrate how the manifestation of what is cool is always changing because the very act of being cool means the trend-setters move on to the next big thing.

If the focus is to remain on Westerners then it’s safe to say the jury is no longer out on the question of whether or not they love Brazil. Brazil is awesome in so many ways, socially, culturally and geographically. But what is there to be said about over-saturation? Try to search for the word ‘Brazil’ on Twitter to get an idea of what I mean.

Tourism aside, what does it all mean for Brazil? On one side, it’s great for Brazilians themselves to understand all the positives, assuming they don’t already. And be it positive or negative, placing society and self under the microscope can lead to (more) positive results. But on the other side, my fear, at least from an international perspective, is that all this interest will dry up in a few years and the microscope will be put back on the shelf. I love Brazil in a dozen different ways and I don’t want to be left feeling that all this attention, like investment in sporting events, was for reasons whose usefulness is temporary.

—————————

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Related Posts:

  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Started my first Portuguese class tonight with Street Smart Brazil! Foi ótimo. Now I’m even more excited for the second! It turns out group classes online actually work pretty well. Congratulations to… Read more
Steve
Street Smart Brazil is in my opinion the very best site for Portuguese learners on the web. Their teachers and lessons are definitely five-star quality. They not only teach you the language, but in a… Read more
Jack
I can highly recommend learning Portuguese with Street Smart Brazil. I have very good tutoring. My teacher is competent and nice. Her classes are great and she challenges me every single time in a ver… Read more
Marina
My classes are awesome – I’m learning A LOT and it’s fun, convenient, and enjoyable. My instructor is a wonderful teacher, and she gives me a nice balance of grammar and oral & written comprehension.… Read more
Vanessa

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • Family Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/xoNtWBolAzE

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved.