Brazil in a nutshell

I’m writing this first entry from Ribeirao Preto, a city I’m almost positive no one outside of Brazil has ever heard of. It’s the tiniest little university town, about 200 miles away from Sao Paulo. I’ve spent the past two weeks here, working with a professor at the university here. It’s actually been a pretty good experience. Not only did I get the kick start I needed for research, I also got my first South American experience. I’m currently sitting at the Ribeirao Preto airport, waiting for my flight to Rio de Janeiro to arrive. It was supposed to leave at 8:15 am, then 8:40, then 9:00 then 9:30, then 10:30 and then…you get the point. It’s 11:45 am and I’m still here. So, I figured I’ll pen down some thoughts.

My first thought when I arrived in Brazil was that it’s a lot like India. It’s difficult to explain in words but the behavior and demeanor of people is a lot less formal than in the US. It’s a lot more…”raw” (that’s the best adjective I can think of to describe it). Here’s an example of what I mean. When flights land in the US, people usually wait for the seat belt sign to turn off before they start to get up and move around. If you’ve ever been to India, you know that’s not the case there at all. As soon as the wheels come into any form of contact with the ground, the seat belts are yanked off as fast as those fingers can move. The overhead cabins are flung open and people are lined up in the aisle before the plane even comes to a stop. Usually this is occurring while the flight attendant is helpfully making an announcement for people to remain seated. I would always get increasingly embarrassed and annoyed by this but I realize now that this isn’t just an Indian trait. As soon as my domestic flight from Sao Paulo to Ribeirao Preto touched base, people started walking around all over the place while the poor flight attendant was making her announcement for everyone to remain seated. I felt like I was back in the motherland.

Oh, and good luck trying to get out into the aisle if you’re not already in line. People don’t just let you go in front of them simply because you’re sitting (or standing) in a row in front of them. It’s each man for himself and I got another good dose of this mentality just a little later, while waiting for my suitcase at baggage claim. I was standing at a pretty good spot where I could see all the baggage rolling in. I noticed another woman peering through, trying to see what was coming on the belt. Politely (and naively), I moved aside a little bit to give her space. Big mistake. Before I knew it, I had been shoved behind and now I was the one peering over her shoulder trying to identify my bags. Welcome to Brazil.

But don’t get me wrong. I actually have a great impression of Brazilians after my two weeks here. They seem to be a group of pretty friendly and easy-going people (when they’re not traveling). Not to mention patient. My lack of Portuguese knowledge could have been received in a very hostile manner but by and large, everyone went out of their way to help me. Not one person got irritated at me and, on the contrary, it seemed that when someone realized I didn’t speak Portuguese, they took it upon themselves to make sure I was okay. I can’t even express how much I appreciated these gestures. Whether it was ordering food at the food court or randomly interacting with other locals, I was always greeted with a warm smile and what I can only assume were kind words.

Case in point: I was picking out toothpaste at Carrefour (a giant supermarket in the mall next to my hotel) one day, when a Portuguese woman suddenly started making conversation with me. I think she soon realized that I didn’t understand a word of Portuguese so she moved on to making animated hand gestures. After a lot of blank stares, I finally got an idea of what she was trying to say. The sweet, gentle soul was trying to tell me that the toothpaste I was buying (good ole cheap Colgate) was “not good” and that I should go for the one with the mint flavor (or some variety of that). I didn’t know how to tell her that I was really just going for the cheapest brand so I just thanked her (using a variety of hand gestures myself) and walked off smiling. I imagine if I tried giving toothpaste advice to anyone back home, I’d be met with some pretty awkward glares.

I think this essay is probably long enough for my first entry. Until next time, adeus!