Important Details

What's in the Details?
My grandma DeLuca was all about the details. When I was little she would always roll up my sleeves and brush my bangs out of my face. She always carried a emery board and lipstick. She would always double check my table setting, fork on the left, knife and spoon on the right. One day at my house she saw me refill the ice-cube tray and gave me praise. From that day forward I never returned an ice-cube tray to the freezer less than half full.

Whether learned or  inherited, details are interesting and important to me. I have warned at least half a dozen of my guy friends that they needed to cut their toenails and fingernails and unless they did so they wouldn't get a decent woman. That's not because the women who notice are shallow, it's because they are perceptive, critical thinkers. If a man doesn't groom his nails, what else doesn't he take care of that I can't see? His body, house, job, friends? If a man can't take care of himself, how could he take care of me or a potential family? And that's all in the fingernails.

I would like to give you a list of details about Brazil. Some of them can be analyzed more that others. Others are not to be analyzed at all. I hope you find them interesting like I do.

Brazil in Detail
hug and kiss greetings
The majority of houses are surrounded by tall walls or fences
Brazil has it own version of The Voice
All pizzas are naturally US version double cheese or more
English Flag and American Flag shirts are all over
Gas stations have attendants that fill up the car
Brazilians don't drink water from the tap
Cockroaches fly
bow tie "gravata borboleta" = butterfly tie
Drying machines are rare
Kiss first talk later mentality
late arrivals
expression for tight-fisted is "hard bread"
Pay to enter college parties
Pay to enter many bars
3 main types of government reservations (Indigenous, Quilombolas, River people) [google]
Glass of fresh squeezed juice in restaurant about $2
daily rice and beans
general dislike of Argentina
Brazilian bikinis [google]
Hourly rate motels
Milk in cupboard
translation of strapless bra - "hope that it falls"

21 Days
Three weeks are all that is left of my time here. I'll be sad to leave my host family and all the lovely Brazilian details. This time will be different though. I know I'll be back. That's the plan. Work between red, white and blue and Brazilla (like Godzilla). Of course the thoughts of most senior college students are upon me. The future is vast and overwhelming but, I'll be fine.

Brazilian Holidays

Brazilian Holidays

I commented to my host father last Thursday that Brazil has many more holidays than the United States. It seems like every month since I have come we've had a day or two off school. This past Friday in Brazil was "Proclamation of Republic Day" and next Tuesday is "African-Brazilian Awareness Day". On these days schools do not function and many other public sector workers have the day off. 

This conversation with my host father Sérgio got us wondering how many, exactly, national holidays Brazil has. Sérgio went to the kitchen and grabbed a small calendar off the fridge. He read off the holidays and I began to count. 

On the following days Brazilians do not work:

1. Jan. 1st "Day of Peace"*

2-4 Feb. 12th this year (always a Tuesday) "Carnaval" -This holiday is marked as only one day, but my host father insists that Carnaval starts on the previous Friday, resulting in a three weekday holiday. The country stops these days, he says. 

5. March 29th  "Passion of Christ"

6. April 21st "Tiradentes Day" 

7. May 1st "Labor Day"

8. May 30 "Corpus Christi"

9. June 13th "Patroness of the City" (holiday in Piracicaba only, not National)

10. July 9th "Constitutional Revolution" **

11. Sept. 7th "Independence Day"

12. Oct. 12 "Our Lady"

13. Nov. 2nd "Day of the Dead"

14. Nov. 15th "Proclamation of Republic"

15. Nov. 20th "African-Brazilian Awareness Day"

16. Dec 8th "Immaculate Conception" **

17. Dec. 25th "Christmas"

*Some of these days can fall on the weekend, but if not they are days off work.

**Holiday specific to São Paulo and only when governor declares it a holiday.

American Holidays

So how many American holidays are there? After two brief counts it looks like Americans, as of the end of this year, will have 10 national holidays. So their is a significant difference! It wasn't my imagination. As for state and city holidays, I am not even sure that exists in the states! Even if it does, we are not topping 17 days off.

My Feriado

This weekend I returned for the first time since New Years 2010, to Ondas Grandes. Ondas Grandes, or Big Waves in a vacation home condominium on the bank of a dammed river about an hour outside of Piracicaba, SP. The location is incredibly beautiful and many of the houses in the condominium are way over the top. There, my host mother's brother owns a chácara, or vacation home. Since my last visit the area has developed quite nicely. 

My emotions got a hold of me while being there. I remembered very clearly my previous time at Ondas Grandes and was struck with the my same emotions from four years earlier. I was a bit lonely:) It seems like in the most beautiful places I always feel the need to share the experience with someone. But, even a bit sad I enjoyed myself. Who can be sad when full of churrasco goodies (grilled meats and cheese, beverages and snacks)?! It felt like the fourth of July! I even got some sun:)

Five Weeks To Go

I am Embarrassed
This passed week I put the name of my blog in Google "Semester Ablog." and about five other blogs that were not mine were listed, and all with the same super clever name. WHY DIDN'T I GOOGLE SEARCH IT BEFORE?! Alas, I may change the name of this blog. I just did. I changed it.

Broken Tree
My host sister and host parents are building kitchenette for Juliana my host sister on the side property. The construction has been going on since before I arrived and was scheduled to be finished in early October. Anyway, for the construction there was a dumpster placed in front of the side property. The dumpster people came around to the collect the dumpster which had expired, and while picking it up with a large truck machine the dumpster men snapped off a huge portion of my host father's tree. At the time I was the only one home and was in the living room watching the tree bend and crack. I heard a loud snap and grabbed my iPhone. I opened the front door and took pictures of the men who carelessly broke Sérgio's tree. The men did not like that. They asked me if the photo would be in tomorrow's paper. I shrugged my shoulders turned around and closed the door behind me.

When my host family found out what happened, all of them just sighed. They are all too accustomed to silly unprofessional mistakes in every aspect of Brazilian culture.

Inside Joke
The construction of my host sister's kitchenette has brought up a lot of situations like the one previously mentioned. More than once the materials ordered were not the ones delivered. The window installers actually installed the glass on her front door backwards, and it was the wrong glass. Now every time I, or someone in the family has a complaint about Brazilian efficiency, I like to sing "Aquarela do Brasil". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mQHr8bAojU  You'll like it. Have a listen.

Broken Tree

Winding Down

As of tomorrow, I have five weeks left in Brazil. School is really my only focus here, which has been different and challenging. Before I left for here, my boyfriend questioned my intentions for coming. He referred to my study abroad as a vacation. I guess I understand why he thought that. Is that what most study abroads are for others? But vacation was never my intention or even a thought. In fact it's really quite the opposite for me. I have always seen Brazil as a challenge. The scholarship that allowed me to come here was a challenge, the language is challenge, the classes and the culture in general are all difficult. None of it is native to me and in my quest to conquer and understand these things I am torturing myself, and it's because I believe it will make me a better person. It's an inner struggle that I believe will make me stronger. Ya know? :)

A Brazilian Business Man

Business Culture

My host father owns his own electronic assistance and automation business. The name of his small company is Soft Eletron, Informatica e Serviços Ltda. He started his business in February of 1998, almost 17 years ago. He decided to start his own business after 22 years of working as an employee for others. He says that he went as far as he could go career-wise with the two other companies he worked for. "Companies limit your financial progress. They limit how far you can go" he said.

The following is an interview with Sérgio Igreja, my host father, about aspects of Brazilian business culture.

An Interview

Was it difficult to start your own business?
For me it wasn't difficult. Know why? As an employee, I made a name for myself. The clients I worked for remembered me and so I had a client base ready for me when I started Soft Eletron.

What is the hardest part about being the owner of a business?
I think I work more than an employee. I work with everything. I do everything. I work with the administrative part and the technical part. I don't have employees. I only have one partner.

Also, when you own your own business you feel more sensitive to market variation. When you are an employee, often times your company can stay open during a market crisis. Bigger companies can more easily absorb market variation and employees don't often lose their jobs. As a business owner that level of job security isn't there.

Also you have to be careful with your image. If I make a mistake, that could ruin my entire image and affect my clientele.

Have you achieved the financial progress you were looking for?
Yes, it has definitely been worth it.

What's the best part of your work?
I really like what I do. That's the most important part about starting your own company. When you have this aspect, it shows. You work more precisely, you look for perfection. The client sees how you do your work, they appreciate that you like what you do. They are more confident with you.

Do you feel that the government impedes the progress of your business?
No. There are the taxes, but other than that not really. For me I don't feel it. But you know, the majority of micro-business don't last longer than five years here in Brazil. But that really has to do with the owners and creators. I don't think that reflects the government.

Have you worked in other business cultures?
Yes. In a few ways. I have always had to worked with all levels of the workforce, from the bottom to the top.

And in terms of different nationalities?
I worked with Argentinians. The Argentinians think that everything they do is better (he says smiling). They can be a little arrogant.  I have also worked with Americans. When Americans have a better idea they are more strategic with getting your on their page.  I remember fondly an American named Nick Nolt. He would propose his ideas without offending your ideas. And in the end you would happily end up on his side.

Now when I went to the Dominican Republic and Paraguay the disorganization was even worse than here in Brazil (he says smiling knowing that I complain a lot about Brazilian disorganization). It was hard for me.

What do you want my country do know about your country?
Brazil is really creative. There is so much potential here. My country is capable of doing so many different things. The Brazilian man/women is versatile, he just lacks discipline.