Six months in America Hi! It has been six months since I moved from Brazil to the US. I have learned a lot about the differences between the American and the Brazilian cultures. It's not that both cultures are entirely different, but I had to adjust in order to get adapted. It starts with the food. A lot of people says that all that you can find in America is junk food, and they couldn't be more wrong. I learned that food in the US is all about choices: you can either make a good or a bad choice - it's always up to you. I also learned very quickly that you've got to have a car. Depending on the city that you are living in, public transportation isn't an option. I live in Atlanta, and the public transportation in Atlanta doesn't serve much of the Atlanta's metropolitan area - though the subway system serves the whole downtown area. Regarding economics, well this a country that wants you to spend as much money as you can - though you might be limited to your credit card limit. There is a lot of special sales such as the Memorial day weekend, mother's day, father's day, and all of the other special days where the stores claim to have special prices with incredible discounts. Sometimes the discounts seems to be very good, but don't be tricked by the price tags that say 70% off - unless you are in an Outlet. You should also be attentive to not purchase stuff that you don't actually need. The food isn't that expensive if you are willing to go to the supermarket, pick up your groceries, and cook yourself. If you prefer to go to restaurants, then you are going to spend way more than if you were cooking at home. Cost of living can also be tricky. I found the apartment leasing rates way more expensive than I was expecting - I mean, at least compared to Brazil. I feel like if one wants to succeed in the US, than it's mandatory to plan ahead of time and research the city you intend to live in. If you compare different cities, you will find out that there is a huge difference in the cost of living, which should serve as variable to your decision making in moving to a specific city or state - taxes on income can be really different and change your plan of living! Living in the US has been a great experience. I respect the country very much, and I'm particularly impressed with the love that Americans show to their country. This is really different from what I see in Brazil. Thank you for reading!

Getting To Know Atlanta! Hi! Last week I was in Atlanta for the first time, and I had a wonderful time getting to know the city! Atlanta is a beautiful city with many parks and green areas! The traffic jam in Atlanta is terrible, though you can avoid most of that if you plan ahead your commuting. Aside from the traffic jam, there is not a bad thing about Atlanta. The weather is good, even when it's cold. There is no need for wearing snow boots or winter coats! The food is delicious and there are many affordable restaurants, though some restaurants in downtown or Buckhead might be really expensive. If you love sports, Atlanta is also a perfect place for you! You can go to a Hawks' NBA game or you can go to a Falcons' game, if you prefer football. By the way, Hawk's and Falcons' stadiums are just 2 blocks away from each other. Both stadiums worth it to be visited! If you don't feel like watching any sports game, the World of Coca-Cola and the Aquarium are right next the stadiums, in downtown. The Atlanta's metro area is big, but there is not a broad public transportation system in place, so you might need to rent a car to better explore the city. On top of that, most of the public parking spaces in metro area cost up to 10 dollars for a 8 hours period. You should consider the parking fees when you prepare your budget to visit Atlanta. Shopping in Atlanta is a remarkable experience for those who love fancy clothes and fashion accessories. You can find most of the world famous brands in the Atlanta's various malls. I hope to get back in Atlanta soon! The city is my favorite spot in the US already! See you!

Atlanta BeltLine; Youtube video audio transcription Hi! I tried something different! I wrote down the transcript of a Youtube video to test my listening of native speakers talking. I ask your help to correct the transcript. Video's link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=78&v=KxGgC-ivjus Hi, we are the Hodges and this is life on the Atlanta Beltline Right when we were thinking about buying a home, that came to surprise at the exact time we started to look, and when we lived in old Fort Eduard, right next to Erwin Street entrance, that was, they hadn’t touched that yet. And then they started working on it after we left to move to Portland, Oregon, and so we missed all that when we lived over there. We wanted something with walkability, because in Portland we walked everywhere. Everywhere. I never got in the car, except to take the kids to their doctors, then even to go to the grocery shop *inaudible* like a wagon, and go get groceries. So, that, we wanted the possibility of that in the future. We were looking for a place where we can contribute, and try to help to build something. Yeah. And as linked and perhaps as laborious as the process is, it’s incredibly rewarding. There is no way we would have been able to buy that house, or maybe much of any house without it. It’s great. Yeah. it’s very bright and happy inside, and light bounces around, it’s up to the floors and walls. Great yard. Great yard, take the country in the back, got the attached garage, which we have never had. Plus we have awesome neighbors. Yeah, great neighbors. It has been a great learning process, it is nice to just feel like, you know, this is our property, we own this. Well, this is the first time we are being able to really put our thumb print on a place that we lived, and then like this is our place. We can turn it into whatever we want to. So that is really cool. A lot of our friends live in the southeast, right near the trail. On the bus that is like an hour, um, in the car it’s like, you know, fifteen minutes, but with the BeltLine that’s a ten-minute bike ride, probably. Fifteen minute bike, I mean, it’s just a straight shoot. And one of the better way to get around, anyway, you know. I think for one it’s got a conversation started about how much we use cars in this city, and it has made people at least think about taking a bike more or learning how MARTA works. Just those kind of things we didn’t do growing up in Atlanta, and now people are talking about it. And that is more possible, that’s really cool.

Leader's Responsibility Have you ever had a bad boss? Who has never had one? Why 8 in 10 people say they have a bad boss? What does it mean being a bad boss? Is being a boss different from being a leader? If you don't run your own company you probably have a boss, unless you are unemployed or you don't want to work. Any boss is supposed to be a leader as well, but you will most likely not find a boss who is also a good leader. Actually, the leaders that inspire us are usually people that not necessarily are a boss of us. It doesn't mean that bosses have no responsibility in being leaders, instead, I believe the responsibility of being a leader grows when you are managing people. It's not only about managing the tasks, what was or wasn't accomplished, but it's about understanding your team's needs, instead. They "say happy wife, happy life". You can apply the same concept when you manage a team: happy team, happy team. It's unlikely that a demotivated team will perform well. We see it in sports every day. Sometimes, by only changing the coach a team starts getting much better results. Why is that? Same team, same players, how can the coach have such influence on the results? It's not difference in any business. If you manage people, you are their coach, they are your players. You should be able to understand each individual's strengths and weaknesses. The book "The Monk And The Executive", by James C. Hunter, gives us valuable lessons about leadership. If you never read the book, you should do it now. Despite managing people or not, the leadership responsibility surround us everywhere. Maybe with your family, maybe with you friends, we are challenged to serve as an example of a good person. Walk the talk. Take care with your words. Be fair. Being a good leader is any different from being a good person. If you care about people, you can certainly be a good leader. See you!

Challenging situation - part 1 of 2 Challenges are great. They make us grow as human beings because they force us ti accomplish things that we never thought that could be done. I'm sure that learning a new language is one of the biggest challenges that you might face during your life. It's not only about learning, but it's about adapting you way of thinking. It's not only about vocabulary, but it's about how fast can you access the information that is inside your brain's library. What if you don't have a clue about some specific term or sentence? How do you figure out what the speaker is talking to you about? Would you stick to the context? Would panic at all? Let's say you are giving a presentation. You know the whole subject, you have reviewed the presentation thousand of times. The presentation is doing good, but hen someone asks you a very challenging question. You know the answer, but you know it only in your native language. How could that be? If you know something, you know the concept no matter the language is, right? Wrong. How much is worth a concept if you can't express it? No matter how much have you reviewed the presentation's subject, you will sound like an stupid if you can answer that question. You know that you know the answer, but you don't know how to express yourself. What would you do? Would you keep the confidence to find a way out and figure out another way to express yourself? Would you panic? Speaking of challenges in learning a new language, I believe I'm fluent in English. I mean, sometimes, during a conversation, I miss 80% of what was said, but I try to focus on understanding the context. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't work I'm usually afraid to ask "could you repeat?" or "sorry, I didn't get what you said", especially depending on whom I'm talking to, but in general I believe I do ok. Not a great job, but a good job. When I'm speaking in English, I can make myself understood even if I use some awkward phrasing or poor vocabulary selection, but I don't feel like this is enough. I want to take it to next level, I mean, I want to be able to construct an idea the exact way a native speaker would construct. That's what I do in my native language, why can't I do the same in English? Next notebook I'll write about the experience of interviewing two american candidates for a job posting in the company I work for. That was toughest challenge I have ever had in regards to using the English language. I'll tell more about it soon! See you!

My favorite childhood memory! I was born and raised in Sao Paulo, one of the biggest cities in the world! Sao Paulo is very nice place for business, studying... but not so good for living, specially when you are a young kid. Sao Paulo has some serious problems related to violence and lack of security, which means that kids can't no longer play on the streets with their neighbors and friends. I remember that when I was a kid I loved the child's play with the neighbors from the street I used to live on. Almost every day by the time I got home from school I used to leave my school bag on the living room, run to my room, change my clothes and run back to the street. I could spend hours playing soccer, or hide seek! I loved that! On summer vacations myself and my family usually went to a city where we still have a beach house, 150 miles far from Sao Paulo. The fun started on our way out from Sao Paulo! The trip was like an adventure for me and for my sisters! Sometimes my cousin went with us! We usually staid the whole summer vacation there! That was very pleasant to wake up early, go to the beach, bring some snacks with us and stay all the day long at the beach! We also loved to explore the rocks and the small forest that was next to the beach! At night we always had the ice cream time! Delicious ice cream at the city downtown! When it was raining we never felt depressed! That was the soccer on the mud time! There was a small soccer field near to our house, then every time that started raining we ran immediately to the soccer field! My mother always got nervous because we came back muddy from the mud soccer! I am glad to have all of these memories from my childhood! Unfortunately nowadays kids seem to be more interested in internet, video games, iphones and ipads. It's sad that don't appreciate child's play no more! I believe that most of the kids don't even know their neighbors! I hope you also had the opportunity to enjoy your childhood and have fun! If you did, you certainly have good childhood memories too!

Dream recorder! Hi guys! In an English course I'm taking I was requested to prepare a speech/presentation of a proposed new product that I would need to convince some investor to buy the idea! It's an idea similar to the TV show "Shark Tank". Check it out and tell me what you think! My project is about a Dream Recorder. Have you ever had a dream that you wanted to remember but your hardly remembered fractions of it? What if you could record your dreams and watch them when you wake up? Did you know that, according to academic researches, our brain gets much more creative when we are asleep? Then, what if we could catch this creativity that usually we can barely remember? By connecting some wireless sensors to you head before you go to sleep, those sensors will read the activity in your brain while you are sleeping and convert it to signals that will be sent to your computer or to your smartphone. A program installed on your computer or smartphone will convert the signals into images that will help you remembering your dreams. We have the basic project already, but we need some financing to help us developing a more accurate imagine conversion. So far, our software can identify precise information of which part of the brain had been activated during the sleep. By understanding which part of the brain is associated with happiness, satisfaction, sadness, fear, angry, etc., we can tell if you had a good or a bad dream. But we still can’t convert it to images. We offer our expertise in neurological analysis, but we need engineering support to work with the collected data. We believe this is a billion dollars’ idea. This is why we are here today, to offer the opportunity to join us in this fantastic opportunity!

My favorite trip My favorite trip ever was to Africa! When I fist landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, I recognized immediately that that place was totally different from anything I've ever met. Everything fells different there! The people, the culture, the colors, the vibration! Even though I visited some real poor communities, people looked happy inside! It's like African people are happy only by being alive, as this was a gift given to them. Besides South Africa, I've been in Mozambique and Zambia, both amazing countries. I got really impressed by the organization in Zambia. By the way, I had the opportunity to go on a Safari in Zambia, at the South Luwanga National Park. That was a real Safari with free animals, no borders and wild life! I even saw a Leopard hunting a Zebra! Maybe the negative side are the roads... terrible ones! If you are renting a car in Africa, pick up a 4x4 truck! Regarding to security, if you pay attention you gonna be safe. But if you left any of your belongs unattended, they will be likely stolen. I wish I have the opportunity to go back to Africa again! It would be really nice to visit the same places to see how people are now. Did they change? How are the cities now?

Learning objectives Hi! I'm Armando, from Brazil. I'm an Engineer working for an american company, so learning English is actually part of my job. Each an every day I have to write emails in English, attend conference calls in English and sometimes even make some presentations in English. My main objective in learning English is to be able to clear delivery my message without making anyone confused about what I'm talking about. I mean, sometimes because of thinking in my mother language (Portuguese, by the way) I make sentences that makes no sense. That's exactly what I'm trying to get rid of. I hope you guys help learning! Please help me seeing the mistakes I'm making so that I can fix it! Thank you!