"The Brazil Experience!" Brazil by klarson

I made my very first trip to Brazil in the summer of 2004 (Brazil's summer, that is! It was *my* winter!) I spent most of my time in Campinas, a city about 90 km north of Sao Paulo. I also traveled to several nearby cities and towns during the three weeks I was there. During my entire time there, I only ran into a few Americans. I was mainly with Brazilians who spoke little or no English. I was amazed how much Portuguese I picked up in this short time!

The Brazilian people are very hospitable and relationships are very important to them. When greeting someone, they usually say "Tudo bem?" ("Are you fine?") to each other, and, unless it is two men, they will kiss each other on the cheek. When I was at my friend's house, if a relative dropped by, it was important for us to go greet them right away.

I returned to Brazil a second time in August and September of 2005. See my Belo Horizonte page for details.

Family Dinner

At almost every meal, I was served "Guaraná", a soda made from a fruit grown in the Amazon. (See the green bottle at the far end of the table here?) Oh my, I think I got addicted to the stuff!

People in town sqaure

In a Latin American culture like Brazil, the men usually wear long pants, although some wore shorts. In this sense there was a bit more emphasis put on style, although the clothes themselves tended to be more plain then what Americans (especially tourists) wear.

Please also visit my pages on the various cities I visited: Poços de Caldas, Atibaia, Campinas, Holambra , Paulínia, Santos, São Paulo, Serra Negra, and
Belo Horizonte.