We are a bilingual school (English-Portuguese) based in Santos, on the southeastern coast of Brazil, an hour drive from São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil. Our school year starts in February and ends in early December. We go on vacation half of December, the entire months of January and July.

We want to motivate our students to write in English more accurately, as well as develop "global awareness". It will be interesting to learn about other cultures and the way communities deal with global issues through the "International E-mail Exchange with Classrooms Around the World".

The city of Santos is situated on a huge island called Sao Vicente. Both Santos and Sao Vicente are on this island as "twin cities".

Santos has the largest port in Latin America and our tourist attraction are marvelous - not to mention the beautiful beaches (though the sea is not as clean as it should be). Our garden at the beach is the most breathtaking sight. It's in the Guinness Book of records as the longest garden in the world (7 km long).

Pele, the "king of football", played at the Santos Soccer Team in the 60's and 70's making our city become even more famous worldwide.

Aerial view of Santos:

The beach garden in Santos is 7 km long and is in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world.

CAPITAL CITY: Brasilia
LONG NAME: Federative Republic of Brazil
GOVERNMENT TYPE: federative republic
TOTAL AREA: 8,511,965 sq km (slightly smaller than the US)
LAND AREA: 8,456,510 sq km
WATER AREA: 55,455 sq km
LANGUAGE: Portuguese (official)
CURRENCY: real (BRL)
GDP (PER CAPITA): 7600
LABOR FORCE BY OCCUPATION: services 53%; agriculture 23%; industry 24%.
INDUSTRIES: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment.
EXPORTS: transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos.
IMPORTS: machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil.
INDEPENDENCE DAY: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil has overcome more than half a century of mimitary intervention in the governance of the country to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of the interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil became Latin America's leading economic power by the 1970s. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.

In the 16th century, the area which is now Brazil was inhabited by several hundred Indigenous tribes who, while racially similar, spoke different languages and had different cultures.
This racial mixing went on as Brazil began, at the end of the 19th century, to receive increasing numbers of immigrants from all over the world. Portugal remained the single most important source of migrants to Brazil, with Italy second, followed by Lebanon. In the first half of the sizable contingents of immigrants came to Brazil from parts of western, central and eastern Europe. In 1908, 640 immigrants came to Brazil from Japan. Because of the welcoming social environment, a Japanese migration trend was established. By 1969, 247,312 Jamanese had emigrated to Brazil. Today Brazilians of Japanese descent are the largest such group outside Japan.

CULTURE

LITERATURE: Brazilian fiction, poetry, and drama account for about half the literary output of Latin America, calculated by the number of titles of individual books. Among the most popular writers we have Machado de Assis, Jorge Amado, Paulo Coelho, and others.

MUSIC: Brazil's origins - the Indians with their reed flutes, the Portuguese with their singers and viola players, and the Africans with their many thrilling rhythms - make it a musical country. From the classical compositions of Villalobos, to the soft sounds of bossa nova to the driving beat of samba, Brazil has developed music of striking sophistication, quality, and diversity.

Today in Brazil, popular music continues to explore new rhythms and new melodies. Its interpreters and composers make use of all music's resources to compete for and please the world's many music audiences. Some of the well-known performers are: Maria Bethania, Alcione, Roberto Carlos, Cazuza, Ney Matogrosso, Rita Lee, Milton Nascimento, Hermeto Pascoal, Fafá de Belém, Chitãozinho and Chororó, Elba Ramalho, Alceu Valença, Luiz Gonzaga, Luiz Gonzaga Jr., João Bosco, Djavan, Ivan Lins, Marisa Monte, and Elis Regina.

* Most of the information compiled here was taken from the Tourism Office of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C. - at www.braziltourism.org.