Oi Londres

Oi Londres! Guia de Londres para Brasileiros, é um site para orientar você que pretende ir à Londres, seja a passeio, estudo ou a trabalho.
Lá você vai encontrar dicas sobre acomodação, imigração, lazer, trabalho e muitas outras.
O site traz ainda uma sessão Aconteceu Comigo com histórias de quem já esteve na tão sonhada capital Britânica.

See you!

O Carnaval na terra do Tio Sam

O carnaval nos Estados Unidos à primeira vista parece se resumir às celebrações de Mardi Gras da cidade de Nova Orleães, localizada no estado de Louisiana(Britney Spears em 2005 fez uma importante aparição no Mardi Gras). Mas o Mardi Gras também é celebrado em outras localidades do estado, de estados vizinhos e mesmo do pais.

Depois de Nova Orléans, em termos de tamanho, vem o Mardi Gras de Soulard, um bairro central, eclético, boêmio da cidade de St. Louis, Missouri. Depois vem a cidade de Mobile, Alabama, da cidade de Pensacola, Flórida e da cidade de Galveston, Texas.
Mas muitas comunidades menores do estado de Luisiana, localidades ao longo do Golfo do México e do Rio Mississippi, que foram colonizadas principalmente por franceses católicos, também celebram o carnaval. Mas são festejos, correspondentemente, muitíssimo menores e freqüentemente até somente caseiros.

Mardi Gras, que significa 'Terça-Feira Gorda' em francês (pronunciado 'márdi grá') é o termo geralmente utilizado por todo o país onde a festa também é chamada de Fat Tuesday (ou 'Terça-Feira Gorda' em inglês). Os termos carnaval (do português)e carnival (do inglês) não são falsos cognatos propriamente dito, mas 'carnival' para a maioria dos norte-americanos tem mais uma conotação de parque de diversão com jogos, algodão doce, tiro-ao-alvo/prêmios, pipoca, etc... e de festas, comparativamente falando, tipo festa de São João ou festa de quermesse (ou de Kerb, como se diz nas zonas coloniais do estado de Santa Catarina e do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, no Brasil).
A palavra 'carnival' é usada de vez em quando no lugar de Mardi Gras, mas não muito. No inglês, a palavra 'carnival' se escreve com 'i' em vez de 'e'. A sua pronúncia só muda, essencialmente, pelo fato de que a ênfase na pronúncia é transferida da última letra 'a' para a primeira letra 'a' da palavra, vindo a soar mais ou menos assim: 'cárnaval'.

Mas é em Nova Orleans acontece o maior carnaval norte-americano, o Mardi Grass. O termo Mardi Grass, termo que vem francês e significa terça-feira gorda, se iniciou quando negociantes fundaram o clube “The Mystick Krewe of Comus”, em 1857, na terça-feira de carnaval, e fizeram um desfile com monumentais carros alegóricos, tendo à frente negros com archotes . Na primeira década deste século formou-se o “Krewe of Rex” que desfilou para o Grão-Duque da Rússia. Durante o Mardi Grass, mais de 50 agremiações desfilam pelas ruas da cidade, os bares ficam o tempo todo abertos, e são tomados por multidões com os mais exóticos trajes, que bebem e saem as ruas fazendo a maior algazarra nas passagens das agremiações. O ponto de encontro do carnaval negro é a Av. Clair Borne, onde se espalham as mais exóticas tribos, com elaboradas e esquisitas fantasia.

O monarca da festa é o Rei ZULÚ e há uma mistura de ritmos de origem negra.
Os locais dos desfiles são amplamente divulgados pelos jornais. O mais importante se estende da ST. Charles Avenue até Canal Street. Uma das agremiações mais conhecidas é a Bacchus que se apresenta com gigantescos e originais carros alegóricos. Outra agremiação bastante conhecida é a Endymion.

Fonte: Wikipedia

Para saber mais sobre termos em Inglês relacionados ao Carnaval, visite: O Bloco do Denilso

See you and take care...

Curiosity Overseas

Australia Australians generally don't like to talk business during leisure hours, and they avoid making class distinctions. For example, when riding alone in a taxi, it's considered polite to sit in the front seat with the driver. If an Australian invites you to afternoon tea, expect just that, a cup of tea. However, an invitation to tea usually will include dinner.

Canada Remember that Canada is, by law, a bilingual country. In fact, about 25 percent of the population considers French their first language. Nearly all government employees in Canada are bilingual.

Brazil In Brazil, remember that the official language is Portuguese, not Spanish. Brazilians take soccer very seriously, and consider their national team to be the best in the world. In business negotiations, Brazilians enjoy conversation, jokes and getting to know each other. This is part of business negotiations, so you should take time to enjoy them.

England In general, the English are a reserved people. A handshake is the most common form of greeting among the English. Manners are important. When visiting, guests usually bring a gift such as chocolate or flowers. Sending a thank you note is also considered appropriate. The English eat continental style, with fork in the left hand and the knife in the right.

Ireland The Irish always toast their visitors, and consider refusal to drink a bit of an insult. So if you must refuse, always say it's for health reasons. Make business appointments in advance, but keep in mind that the Irish are not very time conscious. In Ireland the official language is Gaelic, but it is never used in business. Avoid discussing religion or politics.

Jamaica English is the official language of Jamaica. Jamaicans are generally outgoing and like to have lively conversations. In casual situations, Jamaicans commonly use nicknames. To hail a taxi, one keeps the hand down and waves. Good table manners are considered an important social refinement. Cricket and soccer are very popular in Jamaica.

New Zealand When doing business in New Zealand, prior business appointments are advisable, and visitors should try to be a bit early. Both English and Maori are the official languages in New Zealand, but the Maori language is used primarily for Maori religious ceremonies or other special occasions.

Northern Ireland In Northern Ireland, business people tend to dress conservatively. English is the official language but Gaelic is becoming more popular. Although Northern Ireland is part of the UK, its people are Irish and not English. However, they also consider themselves British. It is customary for dinner guests to bring a small gift for the hostess. People often socialize for a while before dinner is served. It is inappropriate to discuss religion or politics.

Scotland When in Scotland, remember to refer to the people as "Scots"or "Scotsmen." The word "Scotch" refers only to a drink. Never call a kilt a skirt, and avoid making jokes about this formal Scottish attire, which is often worn by both men and women. The Scots tend to be reserved people; handshakes are generally light, and hugging is not common, even among close friends.

Enjoy it yourself. bye-bye

Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is a holiday on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's Cards or candy. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtle love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow. The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

Fonte: wikipedia

In Brazil, this date is celebrated on July 12, a day before July 13, Saint Anthony's Day, a portuguese saint with tradition of being responsable for promoting marriages, probably due to his preaching about the importance of familiar union. The marriage - during the Middle Ages - was all about carnal union considered as being a sin in an age when the single spiritual life was highly taken in value.

The date was created by commerce of São Paulo City and afterward all Brazilian Commerce would take up this date to reproduce a similary effect of Saint Valentines' Day, such as in the countries of North hemisphere, to stimulate the exchange of gifts between the lovers.

Then, enjoy this day to send flowers and handwritten notes to whom you love.

That's all for now...bye, bye.

Inglês Irlandês

Menos de um porcento da população irlandesa usa a "lingua nativa" no seu dia-a-dia. O restante da população usa o "Irlandês vernacular", uma vesão local da língua Inglesa, influenciado pela tradição e a língua-mãe Irlandesa. As vezes isso pode causar confusões ao visitante.

Aqui alguns exemplos do que o visitante poderá encontrar:

Are you Okay?

This is the universal greeting of the sales assistant or bartender. He or she is absolutely not interested in your health or well-being. The phrase translates as "I am ready to serve you, what is your desire?" The correct answer is to place your order, not to detail your ailments. Note that the phrase might be uttered in such a tone of voice that "How dare you to disturb me?" could be a valid translation too.

Blow-in

A stranger or foreigner, basically anybody whose ancestors have not lived within sight of the parish church for at least ten generations.

Come here!

If the person saying this is already next to you, you might feel that the concept of personal space is unknown in Ireland. Don’t worry, the phrase simply means "listen up".

Culchie

An abbreviation of "agricultural" and referring to anybody born and bred outside the few cities of Ireland. Or outside of Dublin.

Deadly

In everyday conversation this means "very good", like in deadly buzz (roughly "a great time").

Description of Distances, Directions and Time

The "Irish mile" is very flexible. And time is fluid. While you may expect to cover three to four miles walking at home, this will not apply in Ireland. Especially if you have to rely on directions given by locals. They might play down the distance to avoid discouraging walkers, send the same walkers on the "scenic route" or throw in helpful hints like "turn left where the dog usually sits". Get a map.

Feck

This universal qualification of anything ("the fecking yoke yer man gave me") is neither positive nor negative, it simply is. This Zen-like quality can disappear quickly, in which case the "e" is usually replaced by a "u". Expect to hear the f-word more often in short, seemingly normal conversation than in a Tarantino movie.

Good man yourself!

A phrase denoting agreement or thanks and a bit of respect. Also used as a sort of non-sequitur reply to the ubiquitous greeting "A'right?" (the short form of "How are you?", see below).

Hole in the Wall

Unless specifically referring to the longest pub in Ireland this phrase denotes an ATM.

How are you?

Unless the person asking you is a doctor, nurse or paramedic this simply means "Hello!" Do not start any long sentences. Just reply with the same phrase or the common "And yourself?"

Jeanie Mac!

An expression roughly equivalent to the quite common formula "Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the Holy Martyrs!", avoiding to use the Lord's name in vain.

Knacker

Usually this word describes a member of the traveling community. It is definitely insulting.

Sambo

A sandwich and a good example of the (mainly Dublin) tendency to let words mutate into something ending with "o". Up to and including crimbo - Christmas to you and me.

Shinner

Derogatory term for Republicans and Nationalists, specifically members and supporters of Sinn Fein.

Skanger

All-encompassing description of Irish youths cultivating a certain look. Males will sport near-shaven heads, tracksuits, trainers, baseball caps and gold chains around their neck. Females go in for long hair, enormous hooped earrings, a bare midriff and a push-up bra.

Snogging

Prolonged kissing, also known (especially in Dublin) as shifting.

Soft old day

The Irish way of avoiding any mention of bad weather, even if it pouring down in force ten gales it will still be "a soft old day" (at least in the pub).

Sure

Even if uttered with utmost conviction, this will always remain interpretable as meaning only "within the realms of possibility" (see also "Yes" and "No" below).

Take care!

This usually means "Goodbye", unless a total stranger shouts it in your direction. In which case it may be taken literally or it's goodbye to you.

Take the weight of your legs

Not a subtle hint to read up on diets but simply the offer to sit down.

West-Brit

Derogatory term for any Irish citizens too fixated on British culture, traditions or political views.

What's the craic?

This does not refer to the ceol agus craic but simply translates as "Any news?" or simply "Hello!"

Woah?

This almost universally heard word, drawn out to last at least two seconds, is roughly translated as "Excuse me, I did not quite get that, could you please repeat what you just said?"

Yer Man or Woman

Denotes a person whose name is unknown (or cannot currently be recalled) but whose identity is assumed to be known to everyone. Could lead to such hilarious exchanges as "Didn't I see yer man in town yesterday?" "That wasn't him, that was the other one ..."

Yes and No

Irish does not really have a definite "yes", neither a final "no". This explains the abhorrence with which the use of these words is treated. They are avoided as far as possible. Only if pressed a clear answer might be given - the implication always being that both "yes" and "no" are in a state of flux and synonymous with "well, maybe, we'll see".

Yoke

A mechanical or other implement, anything from a spade to a nuclear device.

Important note - take all explanations with a tiny grain of salt!

source Ireland's English

Trends in Restaurantes

According to statistics, people are eating out more often than ever before, but they're spending less time and money for each meal. For better or worse, the convenience of fast-food has become a way of life. The character of the traditional full-service restaurante is changing as well. Here are a few of the new trends: friendly waiters and waitresses - don´t be surprised if you are greeted with a friendly Hi, I'm Brenda, I will be your waitress this evening. salad bars - your friendly waiter or waitress will often invite you to visit the salad bar, where you can help yourself to a variety of vegetables, fruit, cheese, and the like. smoking sections - when you arrive at the restaurant or when you call to make a reservation, you may be asked if you prefer to sit in a smoking or non-smoking section.

Vocabulary:

eating out: sair para comer fora

be greet with: ser saudado, ser bem recebido

the like: similares

Enjoy it and take care.