November 27th, 2020.
Culture
ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES#8:
THE USA
by Timoteo Freitas
Friends, I can’t believe that we arrived in our last destination among some English-speaking countries. And our destiny is nothing more and nothing less than the United States of America!
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Present in the list of destinations of many people, the United States of America is a very big and important country for the whole world. But for this stop, we will not go to the best-known places in the country like New York, California, or Florida. Today we want to introduce you to some destinations that are equally incredible and that a few people know. And also, as always, we will suggest some films, music, and readings for you to know or see more of this country.
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One thing that the United States has a lot is the national parks. In these places, nature has a prominent place and its preservation is guaranteed. Badlands National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Arches National Park are suggestions to visit with and to get different experiences. The first has a large mountain range of different colors forming cliffs and huge peaks; in the second park, the main protagonists are huge trees, the sequoia, among them the largest sequoia in the world, the General Sherman with 83 meters high and 33 meters in circumference at its base; and finally, the Arches National Park, as its name suggests, has the highest concentration of natural arches in the world.
Canyons are also attractions that make us lose our breath. Certainly, you already have heard something about the Grand Canyon, but here we want to suggest two other places with similar characteristics: The Antelope Canyon that are rocky crevices and canyons with walls that were sculpted by winds and rains along the time; and Bryce Canyon, which has pointed rock formations and colorful pinnacles.
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Now if you are a fan of snow and cold, you need to know the state of Alaska. As a suggestion, we have the Kenai Fjords National Park, with glaciers, snowy mountains, lakes, and forests; in addition to the possibility of seeing the northern lights; and Mendenhall Glacier, with internal caverns formed by ice.
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The United States, like all the other countries we've been to, has places for all types of people, from the most adventurous to those who just want to relax. And there, the official language is, of course, English. As a large country, the language has several varieties, just like in Brazil, with accents very characteristic of each region. For example, we suggest Gavin's videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw4lAc6CJ8w). He is a Portuguese-speaking American and in this video, he features 12 US accents.
And our reading recommendation will be the poet Emily Dickinson. Emily revolutionized the way of writing poems in the United States. In life, she published very little, as she spent reclusive a lot of her life. However, with her death, more than 2000 writings were discovered, which were later published, revealing Dickinson's genius.
In cinema, it is almost impossible to suggest just one film. The largest film production in the world is from there, Hollywood. There are, for example, films from romantic comedy, through dramas with different themes, until we get to the horror ones. But to help you, we suggest some here: Wonder (2017), The Color Purple (1985), The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015). And also a very fun series, Brooklyn Nine-nine.
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In music it is the same, there is for all kinds of tastes. Look for your musical taste and you will surely find something to enjoy. But also getting something that is not your preference to learn new things. Country music is quite famous there, Johnny Cash and Billy Ray Cyrus are good examples.
