quinta-feira, 9 de agosto de 2012

Some Thoughts - Traveling makes me think deep thoughts.

It’s been a while since the last time I came around here to put my thoughts forward, but I am back and ready to do so.
Being in America for almost 3 months has made me realize how much I love Brazil. I am not trying to say that Brazil is better than America or the other way around. Brazil and the USA are two different nations which face different types of problems and social issues: racial slur, poverty, starvation, prejudice, gossip, ghettos in inner cities, and many other problems.
The best of being in America is knowing that I’ll soon be back in Brazil. The United States is a great country and it is full of opportunities. That is, it’s way easier to have or become what you want. Here in America, I can buy all those clothes my Brazilian friends crave for and could never buy. Here, I can drive a Honda Civic or a Ford Fusion and, even still, be looked down upon because they are “shitty-ass” cars. Mc Donalds is “trash” and Burger King is “okay”. Ecko, DC Shoes, Oakley, Nike, Jordan, Reebok and any other name brands Brazilian people love and would like to have, in America you can buy’em for really cheap and you will not impress anyone.
On the other hand, Brazil is a developing country where people still struggle to pay for those shoes they bought 5 months ago. A typical middle-class Brazilian citizen has one pair of shoes to go to school and play soccer and a nice pair to go to nice places. Brazil is the country where corruption takes place right in front of people but we, Brazilians, just don’t care. Brazil is where rich and poor people live together in different worlds. Brazil is hypocrites! We love to say that our food is better, our beaches are more beautiful, our women are prettier, our soccer skills stand out, but everybody wants to move out of the country because “Brasil eh uma merda”. Brazilians tend to say they are not racists, but when I come around, people still hide their purses, wallets and cellphones because being black is threatening. Brazil is where pedophilia is seen as “As Novinha”. Funk is culture, but pedophilia is crime. Brazil is as big as my dream to be proud of being Brazilian for having become a successful nation. I would rather be recognized as a country where people are intelligent and tolerant than as a country where Carnaval means being naked on the street, “tworking”, and kissing tens of people in one night because it is cool. However it is way far away from coming true. Being sexy is part of Brazilian culture and costumes. Being sexy is a gift, but we do not need to use it in order to make a living when we can use our brain. When Brazilians get out of the country, the first thing they show to other people is how women are “hot”, how they dance in funk balls, and how small their bikinis are. Don’t get mad when they come up to you say “I heard Brazilian women are slutty”. That includes my mom, your sister, your girlfriend, wife…
Crimes in Brazil don’t affect people anymore. When breaking news show people dying, kids dealing drugs and holding guns, we just look at the TV and keep on doing what we’re doing as if nothing had happened. Most Brazilian people do not do anything to change this scenario. The only way I know is EDUCATION. If you have a different one, please let me know and let us work together.
Even still, I am really happy for being born and raised in Brazil, because it is so much fun to be raised on the streets flying kites, playing soccer, go down the hill on carrinho de mao, and simply vibrate when your mom or dad brings danoninho for you because you have behaved as you should. Being rich might be really nice, but rich people miss all the fun when it comes to accomplishing those little things in life that make the greatest memories such as: taking your girlfriend to the beach for the first time, going to a really nice restaurant, buying your first laptop, buying Coca-Cola and forgetting about refrigerecos for that amazing churrasco you threw with your friends. Simple things like that make me love being Brazilian. We are happy and we are the only people I know that are able to joke on ourselves and our weaknesses without being mad.
Being successful in a successful country does not change people’s lives. But being successful in a country like Brazil shows people that whatever you put your mind to and work hard for what you want, you can achieve.
It is great to know I will soon be back home in Brazil so that I can help other people’s dreams come true. There is a wide range of dreams I can help people accomplish like teaching English, helping people get a better job, helping people travel abroad, showing different cultures or simply helping them open their eyes to another opportunity in life. I know I can do that and that’s why I never stop trying to make people’s lives better. What have you done to help others?
Everything I wanted to have when it comes to outfit, shoes, gears, hats, and electronics, I could buy in America and it taught me something really important - They don’t mean anything if you are not genuinely happy or if you did not work hard for what you could purchase. People in America usually buy what they do not need, waste food, and label people based on what they look or dress like. It is called stereotyping, profiling or simply prejudice/preconception.  
I love to have a thuggish style and being educated at the same time. People get really confused when they see me sagging and walking with a limp, listening to gangster rap music, but when I speak, proper or mainstream English comes out. Or when I sit at Starbucks and start reading a book. They look at me as if what I am doing were a crime or something surreal. 
Traveling makes people multicultural and this is what I feel now. Part of me is American and the other part is Brazilian. Whenever I am in Brazil, I miss America. On the other hand, whenever I am in America, I miss Brazil. I still have room in my mind and heart to be part of a whole lot of other cultures, creeds and nations. Just need to have more money and time to travel. 
If you Y.O.L.O (You Only Live Once), do something that makes people remember you positively when you leave this world to chill with Jesus. 
Rodrigo P. Honorato

domingo, 13 de maio de 2012


What's up with y'all Flabbergasting English people,

How are y'all doing today? I hope you've been good. Even though it is Sunday, Mother's Day, here in Brazil, I have to work...Gotta bring home the bacon, right? Well, I have had a lot of fun with English throughout my life and this really caught my eye. I played this song in class and asked what my students feel about it. 98% of them said "Teacher, it sounds really cool, who sings it?"... I played it for the second time and they were like "Hold on! It's kind of weird!"... But they still liked it! 

Try it without reading the lyrics and let me know what you think. By clicking HERE you will be directed to  YOUTUBE. Listen to the song and tell me whether or not you like it. Then, read the lyrics below.

LYRICS:

This song sounds dramatic
but I'm bad at writing words.
If you don't speak English,
this probably sounds pretty good.

You'd probably think I'm singing
bout some pretty serious stuff.
But in reality, I'm singing 'bout 
the lack of stuff i'm singing 'bout.

This part's intense. 
And emotional.
As long as you don't understand it.

Your foreign grandma 
would love this song.

Please send it to her, 
and she'll probably tell her
foreign friends about the song her 
grandson or daughter sent her today.

This song might hit the charts in her country
if parts sounded like Coldplay.

If the chorus sounds like Coldplay.

Then I put some 'La-La-La's in there.
La la la la la, 
la la la la la la la (Coldplay)

Hopefully your foreign grandma
listens to this song everyday.
And if she asks you to 
translate the lyrics, here's what you say:

"A perfect translation does not exist.
Well, at least, not in your language.
But if you must know, well, picture this:
Fifty billion rainbows,
and the sun is setting,
and the moon is setting, also,
and you're there in a gazebo.
And then God descends from heaven
and He gives you a million dollars.
Take that feeling,
and put it into a song.
I could translate word by word,
but that'd take too long.
And I've got stuff to do grandma.
I don't have time for this.
You've gotta trust me grandma,
this freakin' song is brilliant."

Rodrigo P. Honorato 

quarta-feira, 9 de maio de 2012

Why is comedy funny? How to make comedy?



WHAT IT DO, Y'ALL?
I would very much like to invite y'all to come over to attend this lecture on Comedy, Culture and Language. I bet we'll have a good time and learn some things about "what makes comedy funny or unfunny"

Rodrigo P. Honorato

terça-feira, 8 de maio de 2012

That's what's up!


Flabbergasting People,

What's up with y'all? Is everything good with y'all? Hope you're great! Well, I came up with this video about the expression "What's up". You can watch it by clicking HERE and let me know what you think...Oh, by the way, tell me what Bugs Bunny means when he utters his famous quotation "What's up, doc?"

Rodrigo P. Honorato

sexta-feira, 4 de maio de 2012

HOW TO USE THE WORD "AIN'T"


Hey Flabbergasting English people,

As you might have seen before, the word "ain't" is used by native speakers, but we sometimes don't understand how they use it. It is really simple, check this video out and learn how to use this beautiful word. 

Rodrigo P. Honorato




sexta-feira, 27 de abril de 2012

Black English Vernacular - Watch the video

Have you ever heard of African American Vernacular English? If so, you might be familiar with this kind of speech. AAVE is also known as Black English or vulgarly Ebonics. The latter is a portmanteau of the words EBONY and PHONICS.

That's the most beautiful English I've ever heard in my life. I love African American Vernacular English and she speaks it fluently. She might not even know there is a science called Sociolinguistics and another called Dialectology in which people study Black English Vernacular and other kinds of English. So before you criticize her speaking skills, go get further information on language!

Click on Black English Vernacular and watch the video.
This is what she has said:
"Well, I woke up to get me a cold pop, and den I thought somebody wuz barbecuin'. I said: Oh Lord Jesus! It's a fire. Then I ran out, I didn't grab no shoes or nu'in' Jesus, I ran fo' ma life! And den a smoke got me, I got bronchitis, ain't nobody got time fa' dat."
Transcribed by BKA JAY and Evison Sarmento Thank you for the collaboration.
The comparison between Mainstream English and Black English.

"Ain't nobody got time" means "Nobody has time"
"I got bronchitis" means "I have bronchitis"

As you can see above, the word "got" is used to express possession and even though it is the past tense of "get", it is used in Simple Present sentences.

I got a car and it is blue. = I have a car and it is blue

The negative goes exactly like this:

I ain't got no. = I don't have a car.

Rodrigo P. Honorato

quinta-feira, 26 de abril de 2012

25 Most Fascinating Blogs of 2011 - By Accelerated Degree



Hello Flabbergasting people,

First off, I would very much like to thank you all for having voted for Flabbergasting English. I am really happy to have our blog amongst the top-25 Most Fascinating Education Blog according to Accelerated Degree.

By clicking on the link below, you will be able to see the 25 most fascinating blogs:

See you soon,

Rodrigo P. Honorato

sábado, 21 de abril de 2012

Assess Yourself as an English Speaker


Hey Flabbergasting People,

How have y'all been? First off, I would very much like to thank you all for coming over and following Flabbergasting English. Be sure it is a pleasure for me to share my thoughts, ideas and questions every now and then with y'all.

Speaking of my questions, I want to know how you classify your English according to the photo above. And if you can, how would you define the four types of speakers? As a Brazilian teacher, I would say I'm a proficient speaker of English. I can naturally communicate with people in English and I know how to use grammar accordingly. However, these definitions might change from time to time and people might define each of the types differently. Let me know what you think!

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Rodrigo P. Honorato

quinta-feira, 19 de abril de 2012

Prepositions of Time

Hey Flabbergasting People,

How have you been? I hope you are all okay. Well, I came here today to help you with these prepositions of time. There are three which are really useful: IN, AT and ON. They are used in different situations. It is really simple. Check them out.

IN - Years, Months, Periods of the Day, and Decades
Examples:

  1. My birthday is IN March. Generally we throw a party to celebrate it. 
  2. The World War II started IN 1939 and finished IN 1945.
  3. What do you do IN the morning? And IN the afternoon?
  4. The Beatles were very successful IN the 60s.
 AT - Time (Hour). Use AT ABOUT when it is not that EXACT time. And it is used before NIGHT.
Examples: 

  1. What time are you going to be there? I might be there AT ABOUT 3:00pm.
  2. My alarm goes off AT 7:30am, but I hop up out of bed AT 7:45am.
  3. What are you doing AT 2:00pm? I'm teaching 
  4. My class starts AT noon. NOON = MIDDAY = 12:00
  5. I would rather work AT night than in the morning.
ON - Days of the Week, Weekend, and Holidays
Examples: 

  1. I usually go to the church ON Sundays.
  2. I think my mother will be traveling ON the weekend.
  3. What do you usually do ON Christmas? 
  4. Christmas is celebrated ON December 25.


Well, I hope it helped you see how to use these prepositions. There aren't rules to use them. The best way is memorizing and putting them in practice. See you later.

Rodrigo P. Honorato

Nomination - Most Fascinating Blog

Hey y'all,

Flabbergasting English has been indicated by Accelerated Degree as one of the Most Fascinating English Teacher's blog. If you can, please vote for flabbergastenglish.blogspot.com

Click on the link below and vote. Thank you in advance.
http://www.accelerated-degree.com/2012-fascination-awards-english-teacher-blogs/

Rodrigo P. Honorato

terça-feira, 10 de abril de 2012

quarta-feira, 18 de janeiro de 2012

A Little Dirty Joke

When Jane initially met Tarzan in the jungle, she was attracted to him
and, during her questions about his life, she asked him how he had s
 Ex. 
 

"Tarzan not know s
 Ex," he replied. 
 

Jane explained to him what s
 Ex was. 
 

Tarzan said, "Oh ....Tarzan use knot hole in trunk of tree."

 

Horrified, Jane said, "Tarzan, you have it all wrong, but I will show you how to do it properly."
 
 

She took off her clothing, and lay down on the ground.
 
 

"Here," she said, pointing to her privates, "you must put it in here."
 
 

Tarzan removed his loin cloth, showing Jane his considerable manhood, stepped closer to her, and kicked her in the crotch!
 
 

Jane rolled around in agony for what seemed like an eternity.
 
 

Eventually, she managed to gasp for air, and screamed, "What did you do that for?!"
 
 

Tarzan replied, "Check for squirrel."



Rodrigo P. Honorato