Visited 27 countries, lived in 3. · Author has 120 answers and 3.8M answer views · 7y ·
My choice is probably Brazil. This are my major points after living there for an extended period.
- Everything paid by cash: Coming from a card country like Sweden to pay everything in cash was extremely foreign. The fact that I also had to pay the rent by cash was the most weird thing. You know in Sweden you never pay bills in cash and especially not rent. Everything is done online. If your landlord asks for rent in cash, it means he is involved in some fishy business. So I used to joke with my friends that I am gonna live with the Brazilian mafia.
- Brazilians can behave like you are best friends the first time you meet but they may treat you completely different the next time: Brazilians are friendly and hospital people. But I must admit they are quite confusing haha. You meet at a party, you talk all night, you exchange Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp whatever and then you hear nothing. You meet spontanous again somewhere else and they are not that interested in investing in you or talking to you as much. They are friendly but still keep you at a distance.
- They throw the toilet paper in a bin: Yes. Brazilian toilets are quite bad so if you throw toilet paper inside the toilet you will clog the toilet. The solution? To throw it in a bin. The smell? Not so nice haha.
- They eat fries with toothpicks: Brazilians are very clean (despite the toilet thing) so they eat fries with too toothpicks to not get dirty hands. Very unfamiliar concept although I can understand the reason why.
- Brazilians love their rice and beans: So much they can eat this every day but change the meat that comes with it off course. I was sick of rice and beans in the end, but now I miss it.
- Kissing culture: Oh yes! I must say I became a brazilian in the end when it comes to this aspect. But brazilian men or women kiss you right away. At parties all you need is to give him eye contact and he will come to you. Maybe he asks for your name first but the conversation will not last long before he kisses you. Brazilians have a motto that claims you have to test the kissing chemistry before anything else. And it is not highly unlikely that Brazilians can kiss 10 people in one night. But this off course always happens at parties and not other venues.
- Public display affection: The friend with benefit relationships works a bit different over there. You know in Sweden everything occurs between 4 walls and if you are out in public you will act like friends. With Brazilian men as far as I noticed, they kind of treat you like a girlfriend. They will hold your hand and kiss you in public. You will act as a couple when in fact you are not. I did like this though.
- The way you greet: The kiss on the cheek was extremely foreign to me. One thing to do it with friends but you do it with everyone, even though it is the first time you meet. The most weirdest part was to kiss the landlord or the doctor. Especially when you are used to a regular handshake. Haha.
Btw I miss the caipirinhas!
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