A Glimpse of Brazilian Culture

Unfortunately since I am still recovering from knee surgery, I have been limited as to the amount of activity I can do here in Rio; however, that limitation has also given me the opportunity to observe Brazilian culture within someones home. Since the woman with whom I am staying often has visitors, I have had the opportunity to meet people of various backgrounds including a lawyer, professor, composer, and police officer.

An important aspect of Brazilian culture is called "jeitinho," which means way or manner. Brazilian jeitinho is essentially how Brazilians get things done. For reasons such as bureaucracy or lack of money it is often more difficult to complete a task here in Brazil. In Brazil, who you know is more important than what you know. Having a friend who can move you to the front of the line so that you do not have to wait five hours is an example of jeitinho. And Brazil does have LONG lines. I have even seen lines coming out of buildings when people return from lunch and need to take the elevator to their office.

I am benefiting from jeitinho because of the very kind woman, Dona Cellcy, with whom I am staying. For example, in order to submit paperwork to the police concerning my student visa, I had to go the the airport, a 30 minute taxi ride away. She called in a favor from a friend of hers to have a woman who provides a car service pick me up and drive me to the airport. The only thing she charged was the cost of parking. Before she arrived Dona Cellcy told me that I was "a friend of her niece." Now as I mentioned, EVERYTHING takes longer here. I, of course, found out that there are several additional things I need to do and then return to the police station 30 minutes away. That may not be the end of the process either.

Dona Cellcy is 70 years old but has quite a bit of energy. She always seems to be cooking, cleaning, or entertaining a visit from one of her many friends. It is apparent that Dona Cellcy often does things for her friends and vice versa. For example, when her friends visit they might fix something in the apartment or bring something for her. It is interesting to see how jeitinho supports older people here in Brazil. Dona Cellcy lives alone and her children are in other cities so these visits are very important.

I have also seen the formality, originating from slavery, that remains in the country. One of the doormen at the apartment building often comes to our apartment. Cellcy provides him with meals and he does small tasks like washing the dishes or taking out the trash. The interesting thing is that he rarely enters into the common area of the apartment. There are two entrances to the apartment, one to the family room and another into the kitchen. When the doorman comes, Dona Cellcy usually tosses him her keys, he unlocks the gate himself, and then enters through the kitchen. He eats at a small table in the kitchen, not the formal dining table, and leaves through the kitchen door. This separation of the worker is not uncommon here.

Something that I find extremely interesting as someone studying the language is the recent changes that were made to the official Portuguese language. At the beginning of this year, changes were made to create consistancy in the Portuguese language across the globe. For example, the ü was eliminated and now is just u. In Portugal they did not use the ü but in Brazil they did. Accent marks were eliminated from a large number of words. Think about the impacts of changing a language overnight on teachers or someone has been spelling a word a certain way for 30 years. Think about the impact on school books.

First week in Rio

Today I completed my first week of classes here in Brazil.

I live in a neighborhood called Flemengo with a woman who rents out three rooms in her apartment. The apartment is on the 12th floor and I can see Cristobal Redentor, the statue of Jesus, from my window...when it isn´t cloudy. The other two rooms are rented by other students of the language school. Right now a girl from Venezuela and a girl from France are also staying there. Living with students from other parts of the world gives me the opportunity to practice speaking Portuguese, as well as, learn about other countries. I especially enjoyed speaking to my friend from Venezuela about politics.

I was rather nervous about the route to school the first day because I knew to take a certain bus until a certain church and then turn right when I got to the street the school is on. Since I arrived on Sunday and it is better to avoid downtown on the weekends, I did not practice going to school. Fortunately, the girl from Venezuela went to school with me so we could figure it out together. To return home from school I usually take the metro. Learning how to get around town is always one of the more challenging aspects of moving to a new city, especially when directions are delivered in a foreign language.

I have had the opportunity to try numerous Brazilian foods already. When I arrived on Sunday, I had Mandioca (yucca) fried like potatoes. It looks just like french fries but is less soggy. Fresh fruit juice is also very common here in Brazil. I enjoy that it is often made without added sugar. Yesterday I bought acai. I have seen it in the health stores in the US but here in Brazil it is better. I think they put quite a bit of sugar in it. A common way to eat it is with granola and banana.

I usually have lunch with other students at what is similar to a buffet; however, here the weight of your food determines the amount of money you pay. Its not the all you can eat American style. They are very common in Brazil.

Although the continuous use of another language is exhausting and can be frustrating, I am enjoying the challenge.