Friday, January 12, 2018

from The Exchange Column: Brazilian Geography

By: Fred Amorim

When I agreed to write an article about Brazilian geography, I was lost and confused. I have always loved the subject, but the problem is that geography can include many different themes. It could be about territory, population, politics, cultural aspects, etc. I was stuck because there’s just so much that I could write about. Since I had a really difficult time choosing my theme, I decided to give you an introduction to everything I know about Brazil.

First of all, I suggested a geography article because ever since I arrived in the U.S., I noticed that a considerable amount of people lack knowledge about not just my country, but almost about every other one that is not the United States. I understand that many people here think that this is the best country in the world and I must say that I tend to agree with that statement. I understand that the majority of this country is very nationalist and, while I respect your patriotism, you cannot close your eyes to the rest of the world. The rest of the world matters! We all need to understand that the planet works as a machine called society, and if the the world collapses, the U.S. certainly would collapse with it, so you have to respect and learn about the rest of the world.

The way I first noticed that there was a lack of knowledge, specifically about my country, was by listening to the things that people said and asked about Brazil. I’ve heard things like “I thought Brazil was in Europe,” “You guys speak Spanish right?!” or “Do you guys have monkeys as pets?” These are just a few examples. Trust me, I don’t get mad at these questions at all. I actually love when people ask me about Brazil, but what really gets my attention is that a lot of people have no idea about its basic information. So without further ado, let me give you a quick introduction about my home country.
Brazil is a massive country located in South America. We have the 5th largest territory in the world and our economy is currently the 9th largest. Our population is huge, amassing around 200 million people.

Brazil is famed for its natural beauties, and trust me, it really is a beautiful place. Our beaches are gorgeous and our famous rainforests are full of incredible creatures and cultural aspects that stem from our few remaining native tribes. It is very important to say that even though we have the biggest rainforest on the planet, the country is not just about that. We also have gigantic cities. The most famous ones are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro - but no, none of them are the capital. Our capital happens to be Brasília.

The country is divided into 5 drastically different regions: the North, where the Amazon Forest is located; the Northeast, where you can find our most amazing beaches; the Center West, where our capital is located; the South West, our most developed region, where São Paulo and Rio are located and also where I come from; and the South, the part of the county that we like to call Brazilian-Europe due to the European influence in the region’s culture, architecture, and history. These regions combined make up a large nation of 26 states and one federal district filled with rich culture and happiness, which makes us known as some of the happiest people in the world.

The entire country speaks Brazilian Portuguese - yes, it is different than Spanish - but nearly every single state and region has its own accents and words. Also, the culture changes a lot depending on the region that we’re talking about, but in general, the whole country is very proud of our soccer tradition, as our national team owns the most World Cup titles (5). We also love our very happy, colorful, and traditional holiday, the Carnaval, and our music styles; such as MPB (Brazilian Pop Music), Samba, and Bossa Nova. If you want to listen and discover the Brazilian musical universe, I totally recommend artists such as Legião Urbana, Seu Jorge and Gilberto Gil.

There’s just so much that I can tell you about Brazil that it is impossible for me to write everything down, so if you want to know anything about my country feel totally free to approach me at anytime. I really love talking about Brazil - and about anything really - and while I may seem quiet and shy, I enjoy talking to everyone very much.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Brazil just as much as I love discovering the United States.

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