Remembering my Initial Culture Shock
The following is a post from my blog in 2009, almost exactly four years ago. For me, it's interesting to look back on my initial observations and reactions. I like seeing that I still have the same opinions about things like cake. My romanticized vision of Brazil is very apparent in this post, and all my early posts really. Everything was magical.
The following is a post from my blog in 2009, almost exactly four years ago. For me, it's interesting to look back on my initial observations and reactions. I like seeing that I still have the same opinions about things like cake. My romanticized vision of Brazil is very apparent in this post, and all my early posts really. Everything was magical.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Another Year Older
Lets start this off with a random fact: Today in Brazil is
the beginning of Day Light Savings Time...this is funny to me..just last year
around this time I asked my friend if day light savings time existed in other
countries...
As of Sunday October 11, I am another year older. I spent my
birthday weekend in the city of Guarujá..a place famous for its beaches. I
spent four nights and two complete days there with my second family and their
friends. Friday I went to a sushi restaurant for the first time. I was assured
by a man named Chico that there was a very good hospital near by, so it was
alright to try everything. :) Saturday I was given a tour by car of the town
and its scenic locations. I was taken to a very nice restaurant (Food is very
very significant here and everything is good. Not everything...but 9 out of 10
new foods I try I love. I have never had an unsatisfying meal and I am starting
to show signs of that) After food there was shopping and birthday presents.
Much later my friends Lucas(Brazilian) and Aleck (Taiwanese) called me
up...they just happened to be in the same city located at least four hours away
from where we all live...and invited me to hang out with them. I got dressed
with the help of the two daughters in the household...borrowing their clothes and
jewelry..and then before Lucas and Aleck arrived I spent some time with the two
daughters and their friends while a very handsome Brazilian guy played guitar.
My birthday started very early with the singing of
Parabens...at 12:00 am on OCT 11...in a car full of people I didn't know and
didn't speak English. It was cool. Beyond that, the night was uneventful...and
I returned to the house where I was staying and stayed up late talking with the
daughters and their friend.
MY BIRTHDAY DAY!!! I went to the beach. The beaches here are
different. This beach stretched at least a mile and a quarter and all along the
beach were venders and cantinas and ...There were tons of people...but not in
the water. Practically the only people in the water (Atlantic) were the surfers
because it was a bit chilly. The thing to do on the beaches here when you are
not drinking, playing some sport or in the water, is parade up and down the
beach...and at some point everyone does it. There are so many people..it
reminded me of traffic. All you do is walk. It is nice.. Another nice thing
about beaches here is that really no one cares. I was the whitest person on
the beach (no one even came close to my transparent color) but no one cared. No one cares! No one judges! And no one looks anyone else up and down. The
Brazilians really seemed to be content with themselves at the beach and nothing
else mattered, nothing else phased them...
After my beaching, there was time for relaxation and then a
little later a BBQ birthday party. The daughters invited their boys and their
friends and Lucas, Alick and family came and of course my second family was
there, so it was a nice party with good people. Later there was a huge,
beautiful chocolate cake..(however..I think they over do cakes here with
multiple fillings and different flavors...I prefer cake in the states I think)
My birthday did not stop there however, just yesterday was
the third singing of Parabens (Congratulations..Brazilian version of
"Happy Birthday" and "For Hes a Jolly Good Fellow" all
wrapped into one) with candles set in ice cream.. ohh Ice cream...I found my
favorite type of ice cream here..Milho...or corn. Seriously, it is amazing.
Things I have noticed:
-Girls do not shave above their knees
-Homes do not have basements
-Almost all young girls have long hair
-People of all ages are wearing braces
-Brazilians love the TV series "House"and
"Friends"
-Futbol..Soccer...is practically a religion
From:
http://katielynninbrazil.blogspot.com.br/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=15
Guarujá October 2009
Guarujá October 2013
What a gorgeous place to spend a birthday-twice! What does it feel like to be in the same spot so far from home again a few years later? I did actually get the expensive and not-so-simple Brazil visa in late 2009, but then realized it was too ambitious to get to you there from where I was in Peru (more expensive to fly from Peru than the states at the time and it would've take two weeks to bus from coast-to-coast). I know what you mean about having people from home to share your new environment with you. It is special that Rob got to be the first. But also, I would love to share Brazil with you in the future.
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