Brazil

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Brazil is the fifth largest country in size and the eighth in population. Brazil is bigger than the continental US (excluding Alaska).
More people speak Portuguese as their mother tongue than Japanese, French, German or Italian. Portuguese is the sixth most common language in the world.
Almost half of the people in Latin America don't speak Spanish - they speak Portuguese. Brazil is larger than Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru combined.
Blessed by nature with white sandy beaches, lush green forests and a friendly people, Brazil is a country worth visiting.

Story

Toniwa Toucan
TONIWA TOUCAN was a stocky little bird, with a multi-colored long beak, who lived with her many relatives in the canopy of a giant tree in the rain forest. They seldom ventured into the upper air where falcons, hawks and eagles waited, or onto the dangerous forest floor. They were content to stay in their special canopy.

It was a splendid place, complete with a swimming pool that was formed when the giant leaves caught the rain. Towina's home was inhabited by many pollywogs that turned into friendly frogs. The canopy was adorned by leaves and ferns. She could look out from this giant height at the edge of the forest and see the Amazon River, rubber and palm trees, and little houses made out of palm fronds. When summer came, the ola bird and the tamaron sang at the same time each day.

Toniwa might have been very happy, but there was one problem. No one would play with her. That was because she had cheated once when she was playing catch with the other toucans. She pretended that she had caught the ball (which was a nut) when it really had gone over her head and bounced off of a leaf. Somehow this small offense became exaggerated. “Cheater, cheater,” the other toucans would call her, and she would sit away from the others, forlorn and droopy.

She thought about this for a very long time, and finally decided to fly away. Perhaps she could live with the children she saw come and go out of the little palm-thatched huts. She would play with them, and never go home.

One day, right before dawn, before the others awoke, she flew down from the canopy to the forest floor, a place she had never been before. It was dark and misty. A giant centipede tried to sting her. Frightened, she closed her eyes and flew as fast as she could out of the forest. Tired now, she stopped to rest on a fern. A green and lavender butterfly fluttered by and pirched on her beak. “Can I help you,” the butterfly asked, “you look lost.”

“I’m not lost, they are,” she said, “They’ll never see me again. I’ll find others to play with as soon as I catch my breath.”

“What is play?” asked the butterfly, “I like to fly, is it like flying?”

“No,” said Toniwa, “I fly too, and it’s nothing like that.”

“Oh,” said the butterfly, “excuse me.”

“If you’re not running away,” said Toniwa, “what are you doing flying out here, which is neither here nor there.”

“Foolishly chasing a blue cloth that people lure me with,” said the butterfly. “If they catch me they pull my wings off and use them for decorations.”

“But then how could you fly?” asked Toniwa

“They don’t care,” the butterfly replied.

“Is that what the outside world is like?” asked Toniwa.

“Sometimes,” answered the butterfly with a sigh. “Your canopy is safe, that’s why birds build nests high in trees. Butterflies are not as fortunate.”

“I guess I was wrong to leave,” said Toniwa. “It’s time to go home and say I’m sorry for cheating. Maybe then they’ll play with me again.”

Recipes

Brigadeiro

This is a great Brazilian sweet that is like a bonbon and extremely scrumptious and delicious! This is a great type of sweet that is loved in Brazil! Try it! You can make it in the microwave too, just remember to stir every minute.



INGREDIENTS:
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS
1.In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cocoa, butter and condensed milk. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest until cool enough to handle. Form into small balls and eat at once or chill until serving.

TIP
1. Condensed milk in the US is a litlle different from the Brazilian version. It is not so sweet as the Brazilian, therefore I would recommend using a chocolate powder like Nesquick. 2. Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring. 3. Pour the mixture in a lightly greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. 4. Now you are ready to form the little balls, remember to grease your hands with margarine first! 5. Roll it over sprinkles 6. Place the balls in candy cups (small size)and voilla! Enjoy it! In Brazil every child's birthday includes this wonderful specialty.



Brazil Nut Sticks
A crisp, light cookie; easy to make!
INGREDIENTS
2 Eggs
2 Cups brown sugar
1 cup grated Brazil nuts
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Beat eggs till light; beat in sugar.
2. Add everything else.
3. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Break off pieces of dough and roll to pencil shape, about 3" long.
6. Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.




Brazilian Flan



This flan makes an impressive desert ! It is delicious, inexpensive and easy to make. You can leave out the coconut if you desire and add some grated lemon peel
(about 1 tsp.)
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar, caramelized
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS
1. Coat tube pan with caramelized sugar.
2. Allow to harden.
3. Blend all the other ingredients together and pour in mold.
4. Place mold in pan with 2" hot water in preheated oven.
5. Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour or 1 hour and 15 min until deep golden brown.
6. Let cool, refrigerate overnight, then invert and unmold.

Craft

Paper Plate Maracas
A maraca is a Latin American and Tupi rattle. The original maracas were made from hollow gourds filled with pebbles or seeds. Children make these fun rattles so they can take part in the celebration of Carnaval!



You can make simple maracas from one or two paper plates stapled together, containing dried beans or popcorn. These are fun to make at a party for preschoolers - you can then make a lot of noise!



Supplies needed:
• One or two paper plates
• Dried beans, rice, or popcorn
• Stapler
• Paint, markers, or crayons



Optional: crepe paper streamers or ribbons



Put a handful or two of dried beans, rice, or popcorn in a paper plate. Staple a paper plate securely on top of it.
Decorate the maracas with crayons, markers, or paint. Optional: Staple long crepe paper streamers to the maracas. You now have great maracas that you can use to make music!

Craft

Rabbit Mask



Supplies needed:
• Two plain, white paper plates
• Pink construction paper or pink paint
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Glue
• Crayons, markers, or paint
• Optional: small pink pompom
• Optional: elastic



Directions
Making the rabbit's ears: Either paint the center of a paper plate pink or cut a circle from pink construction paper (it should be the same size as the inside of a paper plate); then glue the pink paper circle to the center Cut the paper plate in half (the two halves will be the rabbit’s ears)



Making the rabbit's face:Using a new paper plate, cut a wedge (about 1/4 of the plate) out of the paper plate (the large part of the plate will be the rabbit's face).
Staple the ears to the face.
Cut two eye holes in the face.



Optional: glue a small pink pompom to the center of the face (this is the rabbit's nose).
Optional: staple a piece of elastic (about a foot long) to the mask to keep it in place.



Decorate your mask with crayons, markers, or paint. Don't forget to draw whiskers!

Game

In Brasil, as in many other countries, children play a game known as "bolinha de gude" (in english, Marbles or Glass ball). Our glass bal has about ½ inch (1.25 cm) across. There are differents rules in each region, and kids make your own and new rules everyday.

One of most common game is played drawing a circle in the ground and making a hole in the center of it. Players throw the balls in the circle, and the one which is closer of the hole starting to play. The goal is to shot your opponent's ball and get ir out of the circle.

Kids have collections of this little glass balls, wich can be made in different sizes and collors.

There is a popular song about this game:

Teco Teco

Music by Pereira da Costa / Milton Villela

Teco, teco, teco teco
Teco na bola de gude
Era o meu viver
Quando criança no meio da garotada
Com a sacola do lado
Só jogava pra valer
Não fazia roupas de boneca
Nem tão pouco convivia
Com as garotas do meu bairro
Que era natural
(vivia) subia em postes, soltava papagaio
Até meus quatorze anos
Era esse o meu mal

Com a mania de garota folgaz
Em toda parte que eu passava
Encontrava um fã
Quando havia festa na capela do lugar
Era a primeira a ser chamada para ir cantar
Assim vivendo eu vi meu nome ser falado
Em todo canto em todo lado
Até por quem nunca me viu
E hoje a minha grande alegria
cantar com cortesia
Para o povo do Brasil

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