Brazil Archives - Molly and the Magic Suitcase

Capybaras in Rio

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 19:16:47 +0000

Check out these unusual animals! They’re called Capybaras and Michael and I saw them when we went to Rio de Janeiro. They’re so cute and playful, but they’re actually the largest rodents in the world! They live in forests and near water, and some people actually keep them as pets.

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Botanical Gardens in Rio

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 14:02:06 +0000

Michael and I loved our trip to Rio and can’t stop talking about it! One of my absolute favorite things to see there was the Botanical Gardens. There are 6,500 species of plants and animals — you see new things everywhere you go! And 140 different kinds of birds, like toucans, hawks, and araras, the beautiful colorful parrots. Michael loved the monkeys in the gardens. There are also tons of sculptures and fountains, and a Japanese garden area. There are so many beautiful and amazing things to see in this world!

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Curious About Our Rio Adventure

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 02:41:11 +0000

Lots of people like the adventure Michael and I had in Rio. A place called Surprise Ride put our book in an activity box! A lot of kids already have it. Everything in it is about Brazil and the summer games.

It’s so fun to think about! We had a great time in Rio and we’re glad we get to share it with so many other kids. We have a picture of it!

You can see it at their web site, too!

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More About Rio

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 02:43:36 +0000

I thought all of South America spoke Spanish, but it turns out they speak Portuguese in Brazil! Michael and I learned this on our trip to Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro means “River of January” in Portuguese, because the first explorers came in January and thought it was a river mouth.

Rio is such a beautiful place, and there’s so much nature in the city. They have beaches and mountains, and tons of wildlife. One of my favorite places was the Botanical Gardens. We saw all kinds of beautiful flowers, turtles, monkeys, and the gorgeous colorful birds that the locals call Araras.

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Awesome Music in Rio de Janeiro

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 02:49:02 +0000

Molly and Michael watch capoeira with their friend Livia in Rio de Janeiro.

Michael and I just got back from a beautiful city called Rio de Janiero. It’s a gorgeous oceanside city in Brazil, in South America — and the home of the 2016 Summer Olympics! Our favorite part of Rio was the music. They have instruments there we’ve never seen before. There was one that looked like a fishing rod to us. It’s called a berimbau. It has a single string and you play it by hitting the string with a bow. It sounds like a bass guitar, but you also use a shaker with it called a caxixi. ‘Berimbau’ is also the title of an old, well-known song.

There was also a pandeiro. It looks like a tambourine, but it’s different. The jingles have a different noise and the drum itself is used more often than with a tambourine. We also saw a large drum, called an atabaque. It is often made with special wood from a jacaranda tree.

One way they use all these special instruments is to play music along with a form of dance and a martial art called capoeira. You can see videos online – it is amazing!

Rio was an awesome city. There’s so much to explore everywhere we go!

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