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.