Did you know that in Brazil there are like a zillion ways to have fun and to spend your leisure time? Well, when people have free time and are having fun, the majority of the time it’s with material things. For example, driving cars can be a kind of leisure, and cars are material things. Cooking, playing sports and many other things can be leisure. For me, I love to play soccer and ping-pong. I’ll actually tell you what leisure really is. Leisure is like, when you are just having something for fun; when you have free time and you’re not working. Well, you may be still wondering some things about leisure. I’m sure you are, but you won’t anymore! Now, some reasons you can think of leisure is so the people who work can have fun sometimes and can also be what you do in passing time. And maybe you can call it a “not in work time” or “free time”. 

Are you needing to do something fun, energy wasting, and exciting? Well, soccer is what you need. Well, one really big thing in Brazil is soccer. Soccer can be leisure, but some people like it so much that they are professionals! CBF (Brazilian Confederation of Football), Brazil’s team, is the number one in the world ranking. They have won 5 World Cups; more than any other soccer team in the world! Brazil has hosted already one cup, 1950, and intends to host the 2014 World Cup. This national obsession is so huge that people have even made variations of the sport. They are: Beach Soccer (the name says what it is); Futsal, that is a kind of indoor soccer; and finally the futvolley a very creative variation, that you “play volley with your feet”. Every Brazilian loves it, and you could also try it!

One thing I can guarantee you is: Brazilians just LOOOOVE leisure! So, can watching TV be leisure? Yes. Can it be reading a book? Yes. Can it be anything? OF COURSE! Brazilians just have a natural passion for having fun, and especially dancing! Carnaval… the one time in the year that Brazil completely stops. Some people travel, some kids play soccer, and others dance in the parade until their last drop of sweat. But if you noticed, all of those things are leisure! Like I said, Brazil just loves having fun like anybody else! There are many parties that happen in Carnaval, many types of them. Discos, country music, family parties, and especially samba. Samba is one of the main types of music that Brazil has in Carnaval. It has a special way to move your feet, and sometimes even a choreography! So, I guess you noticed that Brazil just likes so much dancing and especially having leisure time!

Wait a second… we’re not even done with our sports, yet! In Brazil, we like many different sports. It’s not just soccer! In Brazil, we like to watch Formula 1, that is a race in a track that has about 65 laps. It involves a series of fast, and prepared cars. Brazil already has or already had many different famous and good racers. Ayrton Senna is one of them. If there was a man, who really dedicated himself for what he did. He was a Triple World Champion of F1, but unfortunately, he died in a very bad crash in the San Marino Grand Prix, in Italy, 1994. Another one is Rubens Barichello, that already had his moments of glory, but now, he isn’t doing very well in the races. Now, Volleyball is another thing that Brazilians also like. They like playing Beach Volley, and of course, they also play the original indoor Volleyball. Basketball isn’t one of the strongest sports in Brazil, but, we also have some extremely good players. For example, Nenê is a very good Brazilian basketball player who right now is playing in the Denver Nuggets. There are many more sports in Brazil, but if I told you about all of them, this paragraph would never end! Now that you know all about leisure, you can tell all your friends about it!

--PT