Minha gente!
I remember in one of the last weeks in Shanghai, my Brazilian housemate and project teammate Pedro turned on a bunch of Brazilian music in the living room of our small Chinese apartment. With other housemates probably quite amused, Pedro taught me a little how to dance forró, the traditional Brazilian dance in pairs. Thanks to Pedro, I also heard some other music from Brazil, among them I believe a very popular sertanejo (a sort of Brazilian country-style romantic music usually sung by two men) song called 'Chora, me liga', which my friend Vico later taught me to sing the full chorus of. This is how I advanced my Portuguese while in Brazil, by learning to sing silly Brazilian (mainly sertanejo, because they're easier) songs :)
Songs I learned thanks to my friends! :) The title song may not say much to you, but it is actually a song you will certainly recognize the sound of, widely known as the 'lambada'. Ring any bells? ;) I learned a part of the chorus from a girl called Silvana, whom we met in our travels in Bahia, I remember her teaching it to me as I was trying to practice my samba footwork on the beach in Morro de Sao Paulo, as the four of us were waiting for the sun to come out after all the rain. The second half of the chorus my host sister, Mariana, taught me when I came back to Juiz de Fora. As you can see, Brazilian music reflects my experience there, doesnt it?
There are several other examples... Tammy and Mariana taught me a couple of other sertanejo songs, such as 'Te deu o sol, te deu o mar, pra ganhar seu coracao...', a very popular song by the young Brazilian Luan Santana, a somewhat Justin Bieber-esque singer currently on the rise in Brazil. And I have to admit, silly though it may be, I actually like this song, and it brings all these memories to mind :)
My friend Fernanda from Saci, the school where I worked, helped along too in my Brazilian musical knowledge. Not only did she copy a bunch of CD's for me, but she taught me to sing a rock/pop song about how love is the heat that warms up the soul and it has the taste for the person who will drink its water.... how about that :) And that was again while traveling, as we were shooting back Brahmas at a cafe in Buzios, a small beautiful beachtown.
And it was at a Saci Festa Junina party, where amidst selling drinks to thirsty parents and their kids and making popcorn, that Fe taught me the song that was just playing at the time, 'Voce nao vale nada mas eu gosto de voce... Tudo que queria é saber porque'. 'You're not worth anything but I like you... All I want to know is why'... doesn't that sound ironically familiar ;)
Probably the funniest song I learned was during Vico's Portuguese classes, the classic 'Lanca perfume' by the Brazilian diva Rita Lee, where our favorite, most memorable line was 'Me deixa de quatro no ato...'. I won't translate this that so you actually google it yourself, and believe me it's worth knowing what this means ;)
And it was there that I learned the song 'Sutilmente' by the rock/pop band Skank, which Fe incidentally copied for me, and which now still sends so much saudade through me as I hear it... Why do I torment myself so? ^^
It was when I got back from Brazil that I could actually listen properly to all the music Fe copied for me, as well as learn all the Ivete Sangalo songs from her live show CD's that I bought myself, as I was already fond of Ivete while in Brazil. It is Ivete who contributes much to my continuing learning of Portuguese... 'A minha sorte grande, foi voce cair de ceu, minha paixao verdadeira, viver a emocao, ganhar teu coracao, pra ser feliz a vida inteira...'
As you can see, Brazilian music accompanied me much through my experience. I could give more examples, but I think the idea is clear ;) It's funny isn't? Which is why I wanted to write this now in addition to my post yesterday, where I talked about Brazilian music and language, and of course, saudade. No wonder the music brings so many memories, so many emotions... It's not uncommon, of course. But it's like I could write my Brazilian story from Brazilian music! :)
Beijos galera!
Saudades, beijos, meu Brasil
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
'A minha sorte grande, foi voce cair do ceu...' Let's mix it up ;)
Hey everyone!
It's been a while again since I've written here, so I made a new year's resolution to write more often on my blog, so I can finish up my story about Brazil and start up on other topics, so as to become a frequent online blogger, and further my writing career ;)
As the old year is coming to an end and the new one is approaching, and my Brazilian host sisters ('zusjes') are coming to visit Holland (yayness!), I guess the thing to do would be to give some kind of year overview and summary... but I won't do that all in one go, because it's all worth a whole blog - or maybe even a book! - by itself, isn't it! A year ago I was celebrating Christmas and the coming of 2010 in Shangai, China, and a few months later I was in Brazil, trying to learn how to dance samba... it's all kind of surreal, and yet I know I was there and all these things happened! I would still like to write more about China here, too... but all these different cultures, experiences and influences are getting so mixed up now, how to keep them apart is the question! Although, I'd like to think that I don't have to keep them entirely apart, and I couldn't really, they all make up what I am now, after all. It doesn't seem to me that I came back a different person per se, and yet I know I'm not all the same as before, and the course of my life may be different now to what it would have been if I hadnt been to China and Brazil, especially the latter :)
I know that the people I met and the hospitality they showed me in Brazil was the main factor which enchanted me with the country. I never imagined that I would be there, in Brazil, although I always dreamed of going to South America, but the dream came true in a rather unexpected way and time, and here I am, perfectly aware of what Brazilians mean when they talk about 'saudade'. But other than missing the people, and the beautiful scenery, and the warm temperature (I write this while we are still covered with snow in Holland... although I do like the way the snow crunches under my feet when I try to make it to the bus stop at 7 in the morning), there are many other things I miss about Brazil. It's funny how a person can become so attached to another culture! I've traveled around, and I spent two months in China, and lived for years in Russia and Holland, yet my 'saudade' for Brazil is very special... and it's so difficult to explain how this happened!
I know there are a couple of things other than what I already mentioned that I love about Brazil - the language, that dancy, musical sound of Brazilian Portuguese, the language I had so unexpectedly gotten to learn! A few years ago, I was still determined to know Spanish, but now my heart went out to it's close linguistic relative :) And now I try to keep it up as much as I can; perhaps sometime I will try to write parts of my blog in Portuguese (and not make any native speakers laugh at my silly mistakes... although in Brazil I spoke with plenty of mistakes for sure, which never stopped me from talking anyway).
And what's definitely related to my love of the language is the Brazilian music. From samba to axé and música popular brasileira, I cannot believe we still know so little about it here in the Northern hemisphere, other than some vague knowledge about samba percussion and the 'Girl from Ipanema'. I really love Brazilian music, and the sound of it keeps my saudade bearable (but sharper at the same time). When I went to a small concert by the Brazilian artist Ceumar (who is living in Holland) a couple of months ago, and she sang so melodiously in the beautiful Portuguese language, it was like honey pouring through me.
Where I will go from here, I don't know. When I will be in Brazil again, I don't know, but I hope as soon as is possible right now. So much still to see and experience, to eat, to dance, to talk non-stop, like the Brazilians do... hahaha! The most honest secret behind my learning Portuguese? Brazilians just don't shut up, and the gringa just has to learn to keep up with them!
Well, and here I will stop talking for the moment! But be sure to hear more, much more, from me soon! Até breve!
Grande beijo para todos, meus amigos!
It's been a while again since I've written here, so I made a new year's resolution to write more often on my blog, so I can finish up my story about Brazil and start up on other topics, so as to become a frequent online blogger, and further my writing career ;)
As the old year is coming to an end and the new one is approaching, and my Brazilian host sisters ('zusjes') are coming to visit Holland (yayness!), I guess the thing to do would be to give some kind of year overview and summary... but I won't do that all in one go, because it's all worth a whole blog - or maybe even a book! - by itself, isn't it! A year ago I was celebrating Christmas and the coming of 2010 in Shangai, China, and a few months later I was in Brazil, trying to learn how to dance samba... it's all kind of surreal, and yet I know I was there and all these things happened! I would still like to write more about China here, too... but all these different cultures, experiences and influences are getting so mixed up now, how to keep them apart is the question! Although, I'd like to think that I don't have to keep them entirely apart, and I couldn't really, they all make up what I am now, after all. It doesn't seem to me that I came back a different person per se, and yet I know I'm not all the same as before, and the course of my life may be different now to what it would have been if I hadnt been to China and Brazil, especially the latter :)
I know that the people I met and the hospitality they showed me in Brazil was the main factor which enchanted me with the country. I never imagined that I would be there, in Brazil, although I always dreamed of going to South America, but the dream came true in a rather unexpected way and time, and here I am, perfectly aware of what Brazilians mean when they talk about 'saudade'. But other than missing the people, and the beautiful scenery, and the warm temperature (I write this while we are still covered with snow in Holland... although I do like the way the snow crunches under my feet when I try to make it to the bus stop at 7 in the morning), there are many other things I miss about Brazil. It's funny how a person can become so attached to another culture! I've traveled around, and I spent two months in China, and lived for years in Russia and Holland, yet my 'saudade' for Brazil is very special... and it's so difficult to explain how this happened!
I know there are a couple of things other than what I already mentioned that I love about Brazil - the language, that dancy, musical sound of Brazilian Portuguese, the language I had so unexpectedly gotten to learn! A few years ago, I was still determined to know Spanish, but now my heart went out to it's close linguistic relative :) And now I try to keep it up as much as I can; perhaps sometime I will try to write parts of my blog in Portuguese (and not make any native speakers laugh at my silly mistakes... although in Brazil I spoke with plenty of mistakes for sure, which never stopped me from talking anyway).
And what's definitely related to my love of the language is the Brazilian music. From samba to axé and música popular brasileira, I cannot believe we still know so little about it here in the Northern hemisphere, other than some vague knowledge about samba percussion and the 'Girl from Ipanema'. I really love Brazilian music, and the sound of it keeps my saudade bearable (but sharper at the same time). When I went to a small concert by the Brazilian artist Ceumar (who is living in Holland) a couple of months ago, and she sang so melodiously in the beautiful Portuguese language, it was like honey pouring through me.
Where I will go from here, I don't know. When I will be in Brazil again, I don't know, but I hope as soon as is possible right now. So much still to see and experience, to eat, to dance, to talk non-stop, like the Brazilians do... hahaha! The most honest secret behind my learning Portuguese? Brazilians just don't shut up, and the gringa just has to learn to keep up with them!
Well, and here I will stop talking for the moment! But be sure to hear more, much more, from me soon! Até breve!
Grande beijo para todos, meus amigos!
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