4 Steps to not fail in Brazil

Hey guys, what’s up?

Finally, here’s my first „real” blog. Today I’m going to tell about some differences between German custom and Brazilian culture.

If you grow up in a town where everybody knows everybody and everything, you will be impressed when arriving in Belo Horizonte. And with impressed I mean „Holy SH*t!“. So many lights, so much travel, so many people of different kinds. So…You know the series „How I Met Your Mother“? When Marshall, as a kind person, is walking through the streets greeting everybody? Yep, that’s me. Pardon, that WAS me.

I have learned a lot since I moved here, whether it is to be much more patient or just to relax. None of this is easy for a German (my German fellows, you know I’m just kidding ;-) )! So here, I’m going to share some experiences with you. If you’re going to visit Brazil, it sure will help you!

1. Get used to nicknames like „Querida“ (=darling) ou „flor“ (=flower). No, normally they don’t want to hook you up, it’s just their way to be nice. What started with weeks of confusion (honestly, until today I don’t have the courage to respond equally), is nowadays completely normal and I don’t want to miss it!

1. If you have a dinner with friends, PLEASE do eat at home first! Dinnertime in Germany is about 7 PM, but in Brazil you don’t eat before 10 PM. Guys, do me a favour and grab a snickers for your GF ou she will be mad because of hunger. Believe me, I was hungry. Very, very hungry.

1. When you want to buy a snack from Bahia, a city in the north-east of Brazil, „quente“ (=hot) doesn’t‘ mean hot. It rather means very spicy. Like Hot sauce.

1. When you’re in Minas Gerais, the state where I live, don’t order food just for yourself. Mineiros usually share their food, for example: You order meat. Probably it already will be cutted for everybody to take a bit. Seems cool, but remember when I told you that dinnertime is at 22 pm? I already was dying of hunger and then my meal came. Cutted in slices and everybody in our group ate MY meal! Until today I really don’t know how I made it that I didn’t kill anybody that night for „stealing“ my food when I was hungry!

So you see, there are some things to know when you visit Brazil. Of course there‘s much more to watch out. But I think that’s enough for today

Wish you all a nice Sunday. See You!