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Why I love Brazilians (& Br. Portuguese)

| 175 comments | Category: culture, travel

Brazilians

For some of my videos in Portuguese see my Portuguese site, or a Portuguese interview I did in San Francisco. You can also read the Language Hacking Guide in Portuguese under the title A guia para hackear línguas. At the end of my Brazilian mission, I wrote a post about How to speak like a Carioca, and how to learn Portuguese after Spanish.

Brazilian Portuguese

Motivation is extremely important in being able to improve your command over a language. Today I’d like to share my motivation for deciding to make Portuguese the first language that I want to reach the stage of hopefully speaking with extremely little or even no foreign accent, enough that even Brazilians think that I’m Brazilian! If you are learning a language yourself you should try to come up with a similar list (feel free to share your motivations in the comments) and help reinforce your own passion to learn it :)

Brazilian Portuguese itself is a beautiful language, which sounds really pleasant (especially in music). In my opinion it sounds much nicer than French (which many people tend to rate as the nicest sounding language) and I can even go as far as saying right now that it is my favourite language. It has lots of interesting characteristics that make it very unique and interesting to study. Despite its similarity to Spanish (which I’ll admit, did give me quite the head start in learning it), there are a lot of differences which are important to be aware of if you are studying it after Spanish. It is its own beautiful language that evolved in a very different way.

However, I’ll admit that my love for Brazilian Portuguese has a lot less to do with grammar, vocabulary, syntax, pronunciation etc. and a lot more to do with something integrally attached to many languages; the culture of its speakers.

Brazil

After travelling for 8 years, and living in 13 countries (and visiting a few others) I can say that my favourite country in the world (at least so far) is Brazil. This is my third time here and it definitely won’t be the last.

There are lots of great things in Brazil; the tropical climate, the food, the drinks, the Carnaval and parties, the dances, their passion for sport, the vast range of nature, the amazing mix of European/South American/African cultures and skin colour, the beaches, and so much more.

But this isn’t what actually keeps bringing me back, and it isn’t the reason I am so passionate about the language. The reason I like Brazil so much is plain and simple; it has the coolest people on the planet! I am so passionate about this belief, that the purpose of this particular visit is to become Brazilian and see if I can understand them better by emulating them; imitation is, after all, the best form of flattery! As I do this, I hope to be able to communicate even better with them and get to know the culture I love so much even more. Today I want to share some of these reasons that I love them so much with you, so you can understand my passion for this mission!

Brazilians

Don’t get me wrong; every place in the world has arseholes, and there’s no way I can accurately generalize almost 200,000,000 people. But in travelling from Porto Alegre in the very south all the way up to Natal in the north-east, mostly by bus (that’s well over 3,000km), I’ve met a lot of Brazilians on the way, and I rarely meet any that I don’t like. I’ve met lots in Europe too, first by living with several Brazilians in Spain and then through the extremely active communities of Brazilians for almost every major city in the world, in the social networking site Orkut . They always have a spark in them that makes them special and unique compared to us Europeans/North Americans. It’s so hard to actually describe this spark, but I’ll try to list a few points that come to mind!

  • They are really friendly! I travel alone and it can be hard sometimes when in cultures that are closed and fearful of making new friends. Here in Brazil, any place I go, I can guarantee myself several invitations to parties and dinners within hours, whether I know someone already or not. There is less of a barrier to break through to be considered as someone’s friend in a shorter time. They share the Irish philosophy of a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet!
  • They are social. Although Brazilians do love to watch soap operas and football, they are almost always otherwise out of the house in their free time. Brazil has pushed me towards being extrovert where I was not as much before. I’ve met a few Brazilians who claim to be “shy” and I would put them in good competition for the life of the party compared to other Westerners.
  • They are so nice!! Almost everywhere you go, you are greeted with a genuine smile and curiosity. Rather than being xenophobic, which I have unfortunately come across in some other Western countries, they are actually even more curious to get to know you when they find out you are a foreigner!
  • They are healthy. Brazilians don’t have their famous great bodies because of genetics; they work out regularly, eat a much more balanced diet than a lot of Europeans/North Americans and are a lot less stressed out than them too!
  • They are optimists. Brazil definitely has plenty of problems; poverty, floods, corruption, gang wars etc. but on a day-to-day basis they don’t complain about stupid little things as much as we do, and they enjoy life much more because of it!
  • They are very hygienic – surfaces, buildings and services accessed by the public are cleaned very regularly, and Brazilians have more regular showers than any other culture in the world I’ve encountered
  • They are warm people. I personally love greeting people with warm hugs, friendly pecks on the cheek and maintaining closer body-contact during a conversation. Sadly, other countries seem to have invented this horrible concept of a “personal bubble” that nearly all others can’t ever enter.
  • They are smart. People seem to love to simply categorise Brazil as a third world country that is backwards, where everyone still lives in trees etc. They are actually more advanced than we are in several ways! They use way more Biofuels, they tackle the unemployment problem by creating lots of jobs (like 2 people on a city bus; one to drive and the other to take money who you can pester with questions), they do some things just better than we do (any inter-city bus I’ve taken in Brazil includes a baggage receipt, and the “bag guy” only gives you your bag if you have the corresponding receipt number. In Europe, every time the bus stops I have to look out the window to make sure that nobody is stealing my stuff…), rather than create more bad-blood between countries by inventing different visa systems for different people, Brazil simply has a reciprocal visa system. Anything a Brazilian has to do to get into your country, you have to do to get into his! Good news for Europeans where Brazilians are freely given tourist visas on entry, bad news for Americans, who have to pay $100 and send off an application in advance… just like Brazilians have to do!
  • The beautiful girls (or men). In my opinion, Brazil has the most beautiful people on the planet, especially thanks to the melting pot of cultures from all around the world. Sadly, there is a misleading belief that Brazilian girls are “easy” that I really hate to hear abroad. This is a complete misunderstanding of the culture; based on the points I gave above, because Brazilians are friendly you can approach even the prettiest girl and she’ll be nice to you (sorry, but pretty girls in Europe can sometimes be quite full of themselves!!), because they are warm they will give you a greeting of kisses on the cheek, as in most Latin cultures. This is all just being friendly. If I ever hear someone speaking badly of Brazilian girls I’ll go Capoeira on them and kick their ass. If you want to be anything more than a friend, you have to be charming like anywhere else in the world. Rather than being simple sex objects, Brazilian girls are strong women (despite the macho culture) and really fun to spend time with. If you’re lucky you may meet a single one and start something special if you are charming enough. The reasons I like some Brazilian girls so much after that… I won’t get into :P (Oh yes, I’m told that the men are good looking too!)
  • They are relaxed. You learn to love Brazilian time when here. It slows you down to the pace of appreciating life much more than being controlled by the gadget on your wrist will ever allow you to.
  • They are proud. Brazilians love Brazil, and they love the state and the city that they are from. As you can tell, this love is spreading and it has infected me! :P

If I wanted to be exhaustive, I could write a whole book about why I love Brazil and Brazilians, but hopefully this gives you a bit of an idea! If you’ve ever been in Brazil, please share your reasons for also liking them in the comments! Is there another culture or language you are passionate about? Share it with us! :D

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Comments: If you liked this post or have anything to say, please leave a comment! I love reading them :) You don’t even have to write in English! I will reply to all comments in any language listed on the right with the flags.
Just keep in mind that I’ll delete any comments that:
1. Are unnecessarily nasty and mean to me or any other commenter or otherwise totally inappropriate.
2. Are irrelevant to the particular post they follow, or leave a link to a site that is totally irrelevant or are clearly spam. If you have a general language learning question, please ask it in the forums.
3. Use a commenter name of a business or brand instead of a human being or a spammy temporary disposable e-mail service, or a clearly fake address.
But that’s not you, so don’t worry! Can’t wait to see what you have to write… don’t be shy!! :)

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  • Bárbara

    Que fofo! Fala sério, você fez isso só para encher a nossa bola :) . Mas que me roubou um sorriso, isso roubou!
    Um beijo e parabéns pelo blog.

  • Bárbara

    Que fofo! Fala sério, você fez isso só para encher a nossa bola :) . Mas que me roubou um sorriso, isso roubou!
    Um beijo e parabéns pelo blog.

  • Pingback: Why I Love Japan | Adventures of the Directionally Challenged

  • JOSÉ HENRIQUE SILVEIRA

    Hi Benny,
    greetings of another “Gremista” fan, you chose the right team in the south and the best of the country :) . Your article is really cool, thanks for your comments about Brazil, as you know we’re really proud about our country.  Come back again some day brother.

  • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

    Hello,

    I’m Brazilian and I’ve started reading your blog today and I must say I really like your posts. However, I must  disagree with you in this post:

    - They are really friendly!/The beautiful girls (or men): Yep, they are friendly (they – ’cause I’m quite reserved and shy and usually people consider me unfriendly because of that). And they are beautiful here in Rio Grande do Sul (especially in the Porto Alegre area, where I live), but I don’t find girls from other states that beautiful. But that’s a matter of taste. Anyways, what I’d like to point out is that exactly what you mentioned – that girls are friendly and that leads people to think they are “easy” – is much more of a problem for us than it is good. The thing is, you almost NEVER know when they are just being friendly or if they are showing signs that they want something more. It is very frustrating. I really would like it better if there was a clearer separation regarding these things.

    - They are so nice!: That depends a lot on where you are. Where have you been here in Rio Grande do Sul? Our state is regarded as the one with the rudest people in the country. In Porto Alegre people are usually nicer, but did you go somewhere near the border with Uruguay, such as Santana do Livramento? People aregenerally rude in those cities.

    - They are optimists: it’s one of the reasons the country is so screwed up. People don’t worry about things and don’t fight for their rights. And by “things” I mean the really bad educational system, the non-working healthcare system, the massive corruption, the utter lack of infrastructure, just to mention a few “things”. Most people have a “that’s not so important, I’m still doing fine, and that’s how things are in life”. We don’t have massive protests here like in many developed countries, so basically the government plays its game alone, and guess who wins? Last year congressmen gave themselves an almost 100% rise in their salaries (which were already pretty high, plus all the extra benefits they get), and MORE than 100% rise to the president, and NO ONE DID A THING except for the extremely criticized middle class (that is, the actual working class which generates wealth for the country), which was soon silenced. Our leftist government has been doing a pretty good job at making the people see the middle class as “the bad guys”. Ask around and will see that many middle class young people don’t have any hope for this country and just want to leave (me being one of those).

    - They are warm people: which is sometimes frightening. People from the start will hug you and treat you as they were your friend all your life, which is quite uncomfortable, because they soon starting asking really personal questions. Getting to know a person should be a process of trust-building.

    - They are smart: I agree with most of what you said on this one, but the “job creation” thing is only a short termed solution. There are too many jobs in this country were people do basically nothing. And those are public jobs, which means we’re all paying for it.

    - They are relaxed: cool for the visitor, bad for the citizen. People here are always late. And the constantly relaxed mood is bad for driving innovation (about which I’m particularly concerned, since I’m a software engineer) and for getting things done.

    - They are proud: this one is really true. I’m quite proud of my state, although not so much of the city were I live. I don’t know if you learned about this, but Rio Grande do Sul was supposed to be a separate country, but we lost the war to Brazil some 200 years ago (and Porto Alegre was on Brazil’s side, not RS’). That’s why it’s common for us to say that we’re first Gauchos, then Brazilians. If you ever go to some kind of solemn event, such as a graduation ceremony, you’ll notice that the Brazilian anthem is barely sang along, while our state’s anthem is sang full of energy. I’m particularly fond of the idea of being separated from that huge mess to the north, but it will probably never happen. Our culture has already gotten quite contaminated by Brazilian things, such as samba, pagode, carnaval, soup operas, etc.

  • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

    Hello,

    I’m Brazilian and I’ve started reading your blog today and I must say I really like your posts. However, I must  disagree with you in this post:

    - They are really friendly!/The beautiful girls (or men): Yep, they are friendly (they – ’cause I’m quite reserved and shy and usually people consider me unfriendly because of that). And they are beautiful here in Rio Grande do Sul (especially in the Porto Alegre area, where I live), but I don’t find girls from other states that beautiful. But that’s a matter of taste. Anyways, what I’d like to point out is that exactly what you mentioned – that girls are friendly and that leads people to think they are “easy” – is much more of a problem for us than it is good. The thing is, you almost NEVER know when they are just being friendly or if they are showing signs that they want something more. It is very frustrating. I really would like it better if there was a clearer separation regarding these things.

    - They are so nice!: That depends a lot on where you are. Where have you been here in Rio Grande do Sul? Our state is regarded as the one with the rudest people in the country. In Porto Alegre people are usually nicer, but did you go somewhere near the border with Uruguay, such as Santana do Livramento? People aregenerally rude in those cities.

    - They are optimists: it’s one of the reasons the country is so screwed up. People don’t worry about things and don’t fight for their rights. And by “things” I mean the really bad educational system, the non-working healthcare system, the massive corruption, the utter lack of infrastructure, just to mention a few “things”. Most people have a “that’s not so important, I’m still doing fine, and that’s how things are in life”. We don’t have massive protests here like in many developed countries, so basically the government plays its game alone, and guess who wins? Last year congressmen gave themselves an almost 100% rise in their salaries (which were already pretty high, plus all the extra benefits they get), and MORE than 100% rise to the president, and NO ONE DID A THING except for the extremely criticized middle class (that is, the actual working class which generates wealth for the country), which was soon silenced. Our leftist government has been doing a pretty good job at making the people see the middle class as “the bad guys”. Ask around and will see that many middle class young people don’t have any hope for this country and just want to leave (me being one of those).

    - They are warm people: which is sometimes frightening. People from the start will hug you and treat you as they were your friend all your life, which is quite uncomfortable, because they soon starting asking really personal questions. Getting to know a person should be a process of trust-building.

    - They are smart: I agree with most of what you said on this one, but the “job creation” thing is only a short termed solution. There are too many jobs in this country were people do basically nothing. And those are public jobs, which means we’re all paying for it.

    - They are relaxed: cool for the visitor, bad for the citizen. People here are always late. And the constantly relaxed mood is bad for driving innovation (about which I’m particularly concerned, since I’m a software engineer) and for getting things done.

    - They are proud: this one is really true. I’m quite proud of my state, although not so much of the city were I live. I don’t know if you learned about this, but Rio Grande do Sul was supposed to be a separate country, but we lost the war to Brazil some 200 years ago (and Porto Alegre was on Brazil’s side, not RS’). That’s why it’s common for us to say that we’re first Gauchos, then Brazilians. If you ever go to some kind of solemn event, such as a graduation ceremony, you’ll notice that the Brazilian anthem is barely sang along, while our state’s anthem is sang full of energy. I’m particularly fond of the idea of being separated from that huge mess to the north, but it will probably never happen. Our culture has already gotten quite contaminated by Brazilian things, such as samba, pagode, carnaval, soup operas, etc.

    • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

      There’s always someone to complain… even about a positive post!
      Your reply just proves my point that not every single person in Brazil is nice – I’m amazed you take the time to go around the Internet telling positive people how wrong they are…

      • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

        As I told you, I like your blog, and I admire your attitude (although I don’t believe in “being positive”). But it really drives me crazy seeing a foreigner say “Brazil is cool” and/or “Brazilians are cool”. This country is SO messed up, to a point it’s probably beyond repair. There are good things here of course (mostly for tourists, which doesn’t improve everyday life), but they definitely don’t outweigh the bad ones, because the bad ones are really, really bad, and the people who try to make a change always seem to fail (and in the Amazon they actually get killed). And regarding Brazilians themselves, you probably heard of the “jeitinho brasileiro”, which is at the very core of this country’s culture… well, that’s what I probably hate the most in a culture I refuse to adapt to (even though I’m Brazilian and have always lived here, I was raised in a very different cultural context). Rules are constantly broken, and no one cares. I’m sorry, but I can’t admire a nation like that.

        • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

          I’ve lived in many countries and know how they work. Unless you have properly lived in other countries for an extended time then you are doing nothing but GUESSING that Brazil is worse. When you move anywhere else you’re in for a rude awakening. You’ll complain no matter where you are, trust me.

          • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

            I’ve spent some time in Austria, and I’ve been to the US, so I have a slight idea about what developed countries are like and how their infrastructure is much better than the one we have in Brazil. Vienna was particularly charming: public transportation just works (a very big plus for me, since most of my stress in Brazil comes from having to deal daily with a really poor public transportation system just to get to work), they have reasonable social policies, their public healthcare system works, and there’s a lot more I can put on that list. I talked to locals and they gave me a very good picture of their political system and how it works, and I can say it is WAY better than the Brazilian one. Those are the things that matter, because those are the things that have the greatest impact on daily life for residents of a nation. As for the people, I found them to be mostly nice and polite, and I actually found it easier to socialize there than here in Brazil, precisely because of the “personal bubble” (which is disregarded by many Brazilians, making reserved/shy people feel very uncomfortable). I’m not saying developed countries are perfect, but things just seem to work there, and I have the feeling their governments treat their citizens with much more dignity than ours (which apparently thinks we’re all a bunch of clowns to be laughed at – by the way, check out this protest image in case no one showed it to you while you were here, it tells a lot about our situation: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fEZcHGTp3Ds/TCnpUQYLaQI/AAAAAAAAAZw/NbLLVNFEIKk/s400/palhaco.jpg). In conclusion, I’m not saying things without having experienced how much better they are in other countries.

          • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

            “so I have a slight idea” <– exactly my point. There will be some Austrian who could whine about their country as much as you do about Brazil. It's always going to happen no matter where you go.

          • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

            This conversation is not really being any productive. I’m astonished someone is able to see so many good things about a place that has so many problems and so much oppression. I’ll probably never share the same view. And I’ll not try to change yours.

            I’ll give in to one thing: it’s easy to connect to Brazilians. I was recently on a flight that had to do an emergency landing in another country. There were mostly Brazilians and Americans aboard. We has to spent an entire day locked in an airport at that country, and what really helped to get through it fine was being able to quickly connect and find people to hang out with. And that happened only among Brazilians. We could see the Americans were mostly by themselves, or only talking to people they knew.

            But that won’t change my stance. That was an exceptional situation. It’s daily life that matters. After a number of years dealing with a load of problems and frustrations related to things that should be irrelevant, I really lost any possible tolerance with those things. And after so many years hearing about political corruption and so much crime going on without getting any punishment, I simply lost hope. As for the daily life problems, here’s just one little example: getting almost thrown out of the bus by the front glass once (or once in a while) because of a bad driver that doesn’t know how to brake properly is an eventual nuisance. Having to deal with that _twice every single day_ is just hard to accept. Now imagine dozens more of other minor nuisances like that being encountered on a daily basis. It becomes a big fat major nuisance. What surprises me is that you, and other foreigners who say they love Brazil, seem not to able to see all that.

            Apart from this post, you blog is pretty cool. I’m very interested in learning new languages. I’m currently studying German, and I have plans to go to Germany and spend some time there to boost my German language skills. I particularly liked your post about Germany. The frankness thing is something I’ll probably enjoy there, since I’m pretty much like that :-) Oh, and I also wait on red traffic lights even when there are no cars coming!

          • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

            EVERY SINGLE Brazilian that I’ve met living abroad is “morrendo de sadaudes” of home. This, as well as my time living there tells me a lot about the country. Yes there are political and social problems, but they are clouding your view about what’s beautiful about the country. It’s sad, and in all my dealings with Brazilians you are the first to be so utterly negative about the country. You are picking at straws with your ridiculously exaggerated example of getting “almost thrown out of the bus” twice a day.

            I got city buses in Brazil and they reminded me of how people drive in MANY countries. Not so much in Europe, but Europe has other issues you are blissfully ignoring. Brazilians are the healthiest nation I know, kicking America’s and Europe’s ass.

            Please don’t argue these points any more with me, it’s getting annoying. You’ve made your point and I’ve made mine.

            You will enjoy Germany, and then after a few months you will start to realise what you had been taking for granted all along in Brazil. Best of luck with your German.

          • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

            You told me not to reply, but you asked for a reply with the things you said.

            Please just tell me what it is that I’m failing to see. Everybody tells me the same thing as you, but no one points me out what are those so good things. Also, what is it that I take for granted here that I’ll miss? Please, give me just one single example and I’ll be satisfied. That’s another thing no one was ever able to tell me.

            I was not exaggerating. People in Brazil actually get hurt in buses. I have a friend who is a lawyer who worked on a case where a person got a permanent neck injury because of a really bad braking by one of those bus drivers. The latest joke is the stickers they put on buses telling people to be careful and pay attention to what’s happening in order not to get hurt. Instead of educating drivers, they put the burden on the people! But yeah, Brazil is not the only place in the world with bad bus drivers. But as you said, it’s not like that in Europe. And that’s why I think Europe should be a model to the whole world. Not only on this point, but on virtually everything. Oh, also please tell me what are the issues in Europe. But the really bad ones, please. I’d just like to know if they are as bad as the issues we have in Brazil (or in the rest of Latin America).

            As for missing home… Maybe I will. Maybe I’m indeed wrong and one day I’ll “come to my senses”. But I can tell you that when I was in Austria, I just didn’t want to come back. Not really. I even tried to stay longer, but it ended up not being possible. I have family and friends here in Brazil, but thankfully we could Skype.

          • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

            This conversation is not really being any productive. I’m astonished someone is able to see so many good things about a place that has so many problems and so much oppression. I’ll probably never share the same view. And I’ll not try to change yours.

            I’ll give in to one thing: it’s easy to connect to Brazilians. I was recently on a flight that had to do an emergency landing in another country. There were mostly Brazilians and Americans aboard. We has to spent an entire day locked in an airport at that country, and what really helped to get through it fine was being able to quickly connect and find people to hang out with. And that happened only among Brazilians. We could see the Americans were mostly by themselves, or only talking to people they knew.

            But that won’t change my stance. That was an exceptional situation. It’s daily life that matters. After a number of years dealing with a load of problems and frustrations related to things that should be irrelevant, I really lost any possible tolerance with those things. And after so many years hearing about political corruption and so much crime going on without getting any punishment, I simply lost hope. As for the daily life problems, here’s just one little example: getting almost thrown out of the bus by the front glass once (or once in a while) because of a bad driver that doesn’t know how to brake properly is an eventual nuisance. Having to deal with that _twice every single day_ is just hard to accept. Now imagine dozens more of other minor nuisances like that being encountered on a daily basis. It becomes a big fat major nuisance. What surprises me is that you, and other foreigners who say they love Brazil, seem not to able to see all that.

            Apart from this post, you blog is pretty cool. I’m very interested in learning new languages. I’m currently studying German, and I have plans to go to Germany and spend some time there to boost my German language skills. I particularly liked your post about Germany. The frankness thing is something I’ll probably enjoy there, since I’m pretty much like that :-) Oh, and I also wait on red traffic lights even when there are no cars coming!

          • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

            This conversation is not really being any productive. I’m astonished someone is able to see so many good things about a place that has so many problems and so much oppression. I’ll probably never share the same view. And I’ll not try to change yours.

            I’ll give in to one thing: it’s easy to connect to Brazilians. I was recently on a flight that had to do an emergency landing in another country. There were mostly Brazilians and Americans aboard. We has to spent an entire day locked in an airport at that country, and what really helped to get through it fine was being able to quickly connect and find people to hang out with. And that happened only among Brazilians. We could see the Americans were mostly by themselves, or only talking to people they knew.

            But that won’t change my stance. That was an exceptional situation. It’s daily life that matters. After a number of years dealing with a load of problems and frustrations related to things that should be irrelevant, I really lost any possible tolerance with those things. And after so many years hearing about political corruption and so much crime going on without getting any punishment, I simply lost hope. As for the daily life problems, here’s just one little example: getting almost thrown out of the bus by the front glass once (or once in a while) because of a bad driver that doesn’t know how to brake properly is an eventual nuisance. Having to deal with that _twice every single day_ is just hard to accept. Now imagine dozens more of other minor nuisances like that being encountered on a daily basis. It becomes a big fat major nuisance. What surprises me is that you, and other foreigners who say they love Brazil, seem not to able to see all that.

            Apart from this post, you blog is pretty cool. I’m very interested in learning new languages. I’m currently studying German, and I have plans to go to Germany and spend some time there to boost my German language skills. I particularly liked your post about Germany. The frankness thing is something I’ll probably enjoy there, since I’m pretty much like that :-) Oh, and I also wait on red traffic lights even when there are no cars coming!

    • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

      There’s always someone to complain… even about a positive post!
      Your reply just proves my point that not every single person in Brazil is nice – I’m amazed you take the time to go around the Internet telling positive people how wrong they are…

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

    Thanks – I hope you are enjoying Ireland :) :)

  • http://twitter.com/higakelly Kelly Higa

    Do caralho!! Benny, muito BOM seu post! Bom, melhor falar em pt q é minha lingua mae doq enrolar na sua, que eu estudei mt tempo mas né.. nao sei tudo que preciso, ainda. 
    E sue blog me inspirou a voltar a estudar japonês (que já tentei mttas vezes mas só fiquei no hiragana). E, por culpa sua, quero aprender mais linguas também! Boa sorte, muleeque! Juízo! ;)  

  • http://twitter.com/higakelly Kelly Higa

    Do caralho!! Benny, muito BOM seu post! Bom, melhor falar em pt q é minha lingua mae doq enrolar na sua, que eu estudei mt tempo mas né.. nao sei tudo que preciso, ainda. 
    E sue blog me inspirou a voltar a estudar japonês (que já tentei mttas vezes mas só fiquei no hiragana). E, por culpa sua, quero aprender mais linguas também! Boa sorte, muleeque! Juízo! ;)  

  • http://twitter.com/higakelly Kelly Higa

    Do caralho!! Benny, muito BOM seu post! Bom, melhor falar em pt q é minha lingua mae doq enrolar na sua, que eu estudei mt tempo mas né.. nao sei tudo que preciso, ainda. 
    E sue blog me inspirou a voltar a estudar japonês (que já tentei mttas vezes mas só fiquei no hiragana). E, por culpa sua, quero aprender mais linguas também! Boa sorte, muleeque! Juízo! ;)  

    • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

      Valeu Kelly! Gosto sempre de ler português ;)

    • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny the Irish polyglot

      Valeu Kelly! Gosto sempre de ler português ;)

  • http://twitter.com/higakelly Kelly Higa

    Do caralho!! Benny, muito BOM seu post! Bom, melhor falar em pt q é minha lingua mae doq enrolar na sua, que eu estudei mt tempo mas né.. nao sei tudo que preciso, ainda. 
    E sue blog me inspirou a voltar a estudar japonês (que já tentei mttas vezes mas só fiquei no hiragana). E, por culpa sua, quero aprender mais linguas também! Boa sorte, muleeque! Juízo! ;)  

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    Pode deixar que vou voltar ;) Não sei quando, mas vou!

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    Passei 2 meses em Floripa!!! Fiz windsurfe na lagoa da conceição quase todos os dias :)

    Vc não viu o que escrevi? Viajei DESDE Porto Alegre até Natal ;) Conheço bastante do Brasil! Mas quero conhecer mais :) É verdade que Santa Catarina é muito lindo mesmo!

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    Hahahaha :P I wouldn’t want Rio Grande so Sul to float away – I really enjoyed my time there, and apart from Cesar I never met any Brazilians complaining so much so illogically. As you say it’s immature to be so negative and not actively trying to change things. As I tell him, if he moves abroad he’ll be happy at first but then he’ll just start complaining again about the new place – he is delusional if he thinks other countries don’t have their own problems.

    Thanks for the comment! I’ll be back in Sampa some day, count on it!

    • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

      I never said other countries don’t have any problems. They all have, and I’m very aware of that. But it’s quite hard to live in a country with such a high crime rate, so much corruption and such an enormous lack of infrastructure. I know there are many countries where those issues have been solved. I believe you know that too. These are just facts. And how do you know I’m not doing anything to try to change the situation? That’s the (wrong) conclusion everyone draws when arguing with me. Surprise, I can do BOTH: try to change the situation and still point out all the bad things about this country and its culture. Those things are definitely not mutually exclusive.

      Just check the facts. Brazil is the 6th most violent country in the world. Our educational system is ever worse. The public health care system doesn’t work (and private health care is terrible too). We are to be ashamed of our Gini index. Our politicians have some of the highest salaries in the world. Corruption goes unpunished (did you hear about the Palocci scandal? It took my shame for being Brazilian to a whole new level).

      Now, I’m the illogical one here, right? Then please counter my arguments. Please show me that I’m wrong; that I live in a developed, civilized country were there is at least a little sense of justice. Quit the “you’re immature and negative” argument (I’m sorry, but I can’t see the correlation) and counter my arguments with facts. I’m trying to have a discussion here, but all you keep doing is accusing me of being negative (and now immature and illogical as well).

      If you need proof there are people who’ve left Brazil and don’t have any plans to come back, there’s a whole blog dedicated to it:

      http://brasilcomz.wordpress.com/

      • Matt Horne

        Wow you’re incredibly annoying.

        The grass is always greener on the other side.
        You view other countries as being better because of your ideals.
        However those from other countries and cultures won’t see things the same way.

        - The UK has a terrible rate for teen pregnancy.
        - Binge-drinking has become a national past-time.
        - The weather is terrible, and the lack of daylight in Winter is unbearable.
        - The national health service and the police are so bogged down with paper work that even simple tasks seem to take them forever to process.
        - Food, especially meat, is expensive.
        - The people (though not rude) are generally fairly cold/distant.
        - In my experience many of the people that claim benefits from the government don’t genuinely deserve it.
        etc

        You may not have a problem with the points I brought up.  Similarly, I don’t really have issues with some of the points you brought up.

        Your insistence that your opinions are fact is incredibly arrogant, and your attempt to piss on a guy’s positive experience just makes you look like a complete dick.
        Good enough reasons to call you immature.

  • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

    When did I deny any responsibility on things? Everyone has their share of responsibility. But you know what? I try to do my part to make this a more civilized place. I abide by our laws. I pay my taxes. I don’t trash our streets and sidewalks. I denounce what is wrong to the authorities (which is surprisingly seen sometimes as me being an “FDP”, something I just can’t understand). Heck, I even take the time to contact public transport companies to give suggestions for improving our systems.

    And yeah, it is possible not to adapt to the culture. I don’t like the whole hugging and kissing strangers stuff. I don’t like our informality. I don’t like our music. I hate our world famous soup operas with a passion. I don’t like soccer.

    And thanks for calling me an “idiot”. This was a somewhat heated but still polite discussion until you came along. You just brought the discussion to a lower level. I’m trying to raise it again.

  • Cesar Leonardo Blum Silveira

    When did I deny any responsibility on things? Everyone has their share of responsibility. But you know what? I try to do my part to make this a more civilized place. I abide by our laws. I pay my taxes. I don’t trash our streets and sidewalks. I denounce what is wrong to the authorities (which is surprisingly seen sometimes as me being an “FDP”, something I just can’t understand). Heck, I even take the time to contact public transport companies to give suggestions for improving our systems.

    And yeah, it is possible not to adapt to the culture. I don’t like the whole hugging and kissing strangers stuff. I don’t like our informality. I don’t like our music. I hate our world famous soup operas with a passion. I don’t like soccer.

    And thanks for calling me an “idiot”. This was a somewhat heated but still polite discussion until you came along. You just brought the discussion to a lower level. I’m trying to raise it again.

    • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

      You are an idiot. You claimed to be helping – paying taxes and not littering is not helping, it’s just not being an asshole. You have no idea what positively contributing means. You only know how to complain. As I said, you’ll never be happy anywhere.

      • César Silveira

        I’m back. Don’t worry, it’s my last comment. I never said that I was helping by paying taxes, not littering, etc. Those are just my duties as a citizen. So I do all that stuff: I voluntarily help, I respect our laws AND after all that I’m still able to see everything that’s wrong and shameful about Brazil.

        I’m sorry man, but you need to learn how to deal better with criticism. I criticized your post and pointed out a number of things that are really bad in Brazil. You could have countered my arguments, but instead you chose to call me negative (not a problem, really), immature (as if you knew me) and idiot (but I forgive you).

        I really wish things hadn’t gone that way. You seem to be an interesting person, although you weren’t able to handle criticism to a place that you like.

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    I lived in Urca for 3 out of 9 months in Brazil and yes, I did spend time in Zona Norte!!

    One of the other months in the 9 I spent in Brazil, I lived in a dangerous part of Recife, where being white was a much greater attention caller than it was in the South. I wasn’t blind to the poverty in Brazil. It’s arrogant of you to say that I was very sheltered for my entire time. “Remember that”

    Also, this article is about how “awesome” Brazil the entire country is, not Rio. Rio is very dangerous in many ways and does not represent many other parts of the country well, despite how beautiful it is. In fact, Rio’s favela wars give the entire country a bad reputation, which I’m trying to counter with posts like this.

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    I lived in Urca for 3 out of 9 months in Brazil and yes, I did spend time in Zona Norte!!

    One of the other months in the 9 I spent in Brazil, I lived in a dangerous part of Recife, where being white was a much greater attention caller than it was in the South. I wasn’t blind to the poverty in Brazil. It’s arrogant of you to say that I was very sheltered for my entire time. “Remember that”

    Also, this article is about how “awesome” Brazil the entire country is, not Rio. Rio is very dangerous in many ways and does not represent many other parts of the country well, despite how beautiful it is. In fact, Rio’s favela wars give the entire country a bad reputation, which I’m trying to counter with posts like this.

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    I lived in Urca for 3 out of 9 months in Brazil and yes, I did spend time in Zona Norte!!

    One of the other months in the 9 I spent in Brazil, I lived in a dangerous part of Recife, where being white was a much greater attention caller than it was in the South. I wasn’t blind to the poverty in Brazil. It’s arrogant of you to say that I was very sheltered for my entire time. “Remember that”

    Also, this article is about how “awesome” Brazil the entire country is, not Rio. Rio is very dangerous in many ways and does not represent many other parts of the country well, despite how beautiful it is. In fact, Rio’s favela wars give the entire country a bad reputation, which I’m trying to counter with posts like this.

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    I’ve hosted Portuguese Couchsurfers and get along with them great too! I don’t have any major problems understanding them. Oddly enough, it’s easier for me (since I’m thinking of it as a foreign language anyway) than it is for Brazilians!

  • http://www.facebook.com/rafaella.goldenbaum Rafaella Pitanga Fabris

    Orgulho de ser brasileira ;-)
    I loved your article about my country and have just become a big fan of your blog, since I also love learning languages! Thanks for sharing your experiences! And thank you for the words about the brazilian girls ;-)

  • http://www.facebook.com/rafaella.goldenbaum Rafaella Pitanga Fabris

    Orgulho de ser brasileira ;-)
    I loved your article about my country and have just become a big fan of your blog, since I also love learning languages! Thanks for sharing your experiences! And thank you for the words about the brazilian girls ;-)

  • Livia Amaral

    Yeah, we are all of that! Haha! It’s always soooo good when I see people having a good time here! Seriously. I am proud of my nationality and country, despite the bad stuff you mentioned. Every country has it, right? 

    When you come back drop by Brasília… If, you haven’t been yet. It’s beautiful! =]

  • Claudia R

    In english so not only my fellow brazilians can understand me without goofle ;)

    I have to repeat once again the comments on how much you seem to have captured our country and spirit in your post, I love seeing how people form other countries see us, though sometimes it is not a flatering or nice view. I especially liked the aside on brazilian girls, being one I have had some trouble when traveling abroad of people thinking friendly means easy even though in some of the countries I have lived in I was kinda shocked by how some girls behave.

    I guess some of that is the influence of how much friendliness counts here, since behaviors which we find to be normal amongst friends are considered a prelude to something more elsewhere.

    Great post, I hope you enjoy your visit and get to visit both of Sao Paulo and Iguassu Falls.

  • http://twitter.com/Pamviber Pamela Viber

    How cute *_____* I liked the part that u r learning portuguese (my first language).Any thing call me on facebook  (Friendly one here #lol)

  • http://twitter.com/feemarcelle - – - – - – -

    this is cute, I’m brazilian and I’m happy to read this :D   (@mooschenker)

  • Ian Nascimento

    Hey Benny! I just found your blog today while looking for resources for learning Czech, and I’ve been telling myself “ok, last post you’ll read!” for the past 3hs! You write very well and I almost don’t see the time go by. I’m a language aficionado myself (though nowhere the polyglot you are), and was glad to find some similar thinking here. I totally get the thrill of being taken for a local! :D
    It happens to me often in English and now a few times in Spanish, and I always love to hear them go “Oh wow, I totally thought you were from here!” But it’s a pleasure I usually feel guilty in admitting to other people! 
    So, when I saw you actually setting up a pretty elaborate plan to do just that, and out of every country in the world you chose my own homeland, I was pretty surprised.  And your account of brazilians is brilliant, spot-on! I’m surprised a foreigner could grasp it so well. I’ve been living in Spain for a year now, and living with excahnge students from all over the world. And I realized how hard it is to “explain” Brazil to them when they ask (I assume it’s true for most countries, but I can see it clearly for my own). One of the main differences I noticed is the heterogeneity of our society when it comes to anything. It’s so big, and so mixed, and it varies so much, it’s hard to generalize anything. And paradoxically, it’s also very homogeneous. One language, one underlying culture, one huge country, thousands of ethnicities. 
    So I found that whenever someones asks me something like “Oh, and how do you guys do this in Brazil?”, I now find it hard to give an honest direct answer. It would always have to be somehting like “Well, in my region, within the kind of people I hang out with, we do it like this, but I  know people in the Northeast have some other way, etc”.
    What I’m saying is, I find it hard to make generalizations in general about brazilian society, but seeing you make them felt just right. Ok, I wouldn’t feel justified in saying that “brazilians are nice”, but I can see where that’s coming from when you say it. And in other cases I just have to right away agree, such as the hygiene thing.
    Sorry, I didn’t mean to write a book! :D
    I just got carried away with your article! 
    Parabéns pelo artigo e pelo blog! Certamente um exemplo inspirador!
    Um abraço,
    Ian

  • roberta marinho

    Eu realmente amei esse texto,obrigada por todos os elogios. você já é uma brasileiro,nós do Brasil já te amamos,volte sempre,o Brasil também é seu! 

    • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

      Adorei!! :) Obrigado Roberta! Pode deixar que vou voltar!!

  • roberta marinho

    Eu realmente amei esse texto,obrigada por todos os elogios. você já é uma brasileiro,nós do Brasil já te amamos,volte sempre,o Brasil também é seu! 

  • roberta marinho

    Eu realmente amei esse texto,obrigada por todos os elogios. você já é uma brasileiro,nós do Brasil já te amamos,volte sempre,o Brasil também é seu! 

  • roberta marinho

    Gremista you? Flamengo and looks the best, why not be part of the world’s largest tocida?

  • roberta marinho

    Gremista you? Flamengo and looks the best, why not be part of the world’s largest tocida?

  • roberta marinho

    Gremista you? Flamengo and looks the best, why not be part of the world’s largest tocida?

  • Matt Horne

    I’ve been dating a Brazilian girl for two years (long distance), and spent a total of 3 months there.

    (But unfortunately before I found your site, and so I didn’t make enough of an effort to speak the language).

    I relate completely to your experience there. I felt more at home in Brazil than I do in the UK!
    Their churrasco alone is enough to make me want to visit again, and back at home I need my occasional beans and rice fix.

    As for learning the language, I’ve been attempting to speak more (not a whole lot, but at least something) and I’ve progressed so much faster than before.  I’m gradually learning to put my vocabulary from reading books, to practical use.
    Learning by having a go really is the best way to learn to speak a language.

    Thanks for the inspiration to get over my fear of talking in a foreign language :D

    Also, a quick question.
    Do you know of a good way for typing accented characters using a UK keyboard?

    • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

      Depends on your OS, but the easiest way by far is to just set your keyboard to Spanish or Portuguese and you’ll have those accents. It’s not like you’ll NOT be able to write a character for English.

      Best of luck with Portuguese!

  • Matt Horne

    I’ve been dating a Brazilian girl for two years (long distance), and spent a total of 3 months there.

    (But unfortunately before I found your site, and so I didn’t make enough of an effort to speak the language).

    I relate completely to your experience there. I felt more at home in Brazil than I do in the UK!
    Their churrasco alone is enough to make me want to visit again, and back at home I need my occasional beans and rice fix.

    As for learning the language, I’ve been attempting to speak more (not a whole lot, but at least something) and I’ve progressed so much faster than before.  I’m gradually learning to put my vocabulary from reading books, to practical use.
    Learning by having a go really is the best way to learn to speak a language.

    Thanks for the inspiration to get over my fear of talking in a foreign language :D

    Also, a quick question.
    Do you know of a good way for typing accented characters using a UK keyboard?

  • C Van Munster

    Tks for your discription about Brazil and natives. Very true and kind of you.

  • brad

    I recently fell in love with Brazil and know exactly what you are talking about. Thank you for putting my sentiments into words. Great article and points!

  • Pri

    Awwwnn you are so nice!!! I think that we Brazilians just try to live our lifes the best way we can! We do have problems yes, but I rather face them with a smile face!! a frowny face it only get you wrinkles!! 
    I wish you all the best, and when you come back to Brazil, make sure to stop by Curitiba – PR hehe 

    Beijos

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUB2cMpcM2I Bahia

    Cara, realmente o seu site me comoveu. Ja lí em outros sites pessoas que falam bem do Brasil, mas voce passou da conta. Isto é muito bom. Sou brasileiro e passei a amar ainda mais o meu país, pela visão dos estrangeiros. Tenho um amigo alemão, Karlos, que é louco pelo Brasil, tanto que no curso de medicina, resolveu fazer residencia medica aqui no Brasil, na Bahia.
    Outro amigo meu alemão rodou o mundo  e parou na Ilha de Itaparica e nao saiu mais. Tenho um amigo Americano que veio para o Brasil, criticou e depois nao largou mais o osso. Tenho dois amigos italianos que vieram passar ferias e ainda nao voltaram para Italia.  Até hoje lá fora na Europa só vejo os Portugueses falarem mal do Brasil com muita convicção. Criticam em sites e blogs e tentam a todo custo nos inferiorizar. Aí conheci seu site e voce fez até agora os melhores elogios ao Brasil. Talvez voce não saiba, mas voce já é um pouco brasileiro também.

  • Karina

    Hey, I’m a Brazilian girl and I loved your post!!!
    I agree, Brazil is amazing and I love there!!!! The people is friendly and you’ll never be alone!!! Hahaha

    Beijos lol

  • Beatriz Morgado

    Adorei :) Obrigada pelas lindas palavras e seja sempre muito bem-vindo no nosso país!
    Loved it! Thanks for these beautiful words and you will be always more than welcome in our country!

  • http://twitter.com/Lilly_Oliveira Aline Oliveira

    Hey!!!! So nice to hear something good about us, and above all someone who respects our culture and love so much our language. 
    Nowadays, I’m living in USA but I do miss my country…I miss my every sunday soccer match, my friends hugs, my food…
    I appreciated so much what you said about the brazilian girls, it’s something I really hate to be through here in USA. Everytime I say I’m brazilian, people change the way they look at you, and people here I mean men. As you just wrote, we’re friendly and warm people. Unfortunately we’re misunderstood when when smile, give a hug or kiss the cheeks.
    And we don’t live in trees…I loved it!!!
    Hope you can learn brazilian portuguese the way you expect to, I just want to know what’s the accent you want to speak br portuguese: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul ( my favourite, though I’m from São Paulo), Bahia?
     Muito obrigada pelo artigo e por apreciar tanto assim nossa cultura!!! 

  • http://twitter.com/Lilly_Oliveira Aline Oliveira

    P.S Why a picture with a bunch of Gremistas? Don’t you know Corinthians won the Brazilian Soccer League this year???  hahaha

  • maggie flinn

    I actually live in a Brazilian community in the Seattle area. I have focused more on helping the Brazilians speak and understand English rather than learning the language but have picked up quite a bit from listening for familiar words to get the idea of a conversation. What surprised me is the similarities to English in the written language but different pronunciation.  They are beautiful, strong, hardworking people. I would say about 80% are in the category of HOT!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/ZumbawithD Dolores Mitchell

    Excellent write up on Brazil!

  • Rachel Nishioka

    Desejo muito sucesso a você e, como brasileira, fico muito feliz em saber desse seu carinho por nós. Estou fazendo um intercâmbio cultural e, atualmente, moro nos EUA (aperfeiçoando o inglês!)…estou morrendo de saudades do meu país. Ler seu texto acalmou um pouco meu coração!

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    Here’s some Irish culture ;) fi3m.com/fleadh
    Glad you enjoyed the post!

  • http://www.fluentin3months.com/ Benny Lewis

    Não consegui ir pra Parana… e gosto de tantas cidades – não tenho favorita! :)

  • http://twitter.com/Mariangelapas Mariangela Proença

    Oi Benny,
    Amei, sou brasileira e fico muito feliz em saber que você gosta do meu país. Adoro viajar também e conhecer outras culturas, é realmente incrível.Parabéns pelo texto.beijos
    Mari

  • Sr. Lipeh Gustavo

    I’m Brazilian ( from Curityba, South ) and I love read about the my country, good job!Just a tip : The most pop football teams: São Paulo, Flamengo, Santos Corinthians.

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