Ok the lap dance bit was just to spark people’s attention, chuckle.
I’m wondering about anyone and every one’s; impressions, feeling about, stories, etc. Pretty much anything you know, or have heard about Brazil. Any information that any one has and could share about moving, living and travelling there would be of great interest to me. Any Brazilians who could share there experience and feeling as a Brazilian local. I’m currently very interested in everything I can find about Brazil. Also, anyone who might be interested in going for coffee and discussing Brazilian culture (aka, telling me about it), or anyone who has a smattering of Portuguese and wouldn’t mind sharing, Please pm me .
I hope for some interesting responses, I (currently) don't know much about Brazil but what I have heard has been very interesting. :sunglasses: Let the wealth of stories and sharing begin :smiley:
IMHO the most important fact about Brazil is that it’s a country of extreme differences:
Regional differences: development, climate, mentality, etc. Are you thinking of a specific place or region?
Income gap between rich and poor: economists call it the “Brazilian disease” and it’s indeed sickening.
Diverging opinions on Brazil: ask some expats and they’ll usually say something like “I love this country and never want to leave” or “I can’t wait to get out of here” with very little in between. I usually oscillate between these opinions (but then again, I’m not living in Brazil).
Brazil does have some advantages over Taiwan, like… uh… the beaches, yes, there are some fantastic beaches… and… give me a second… of course Brazilian Portuguese is far easier to learn and master than Chinese… and… no hordes of scooters on the streets 'cause their tiny wheels would get stuck in a pothole every 2 meters. Also, in the opinion of my girlfriend (born in Taiwan), São Paulo is a wonderful city because there are “so many great restaurants”.
I know nothing about lapdances and I’ve never been to Brazil, but I know a bit about Brazilian music from the 1900s to the 1980s, and a little bit about African religion in Brazil. Not sure if that’s really the kind of information you’re after!
IMO, Brazilian Portuguese is the most beautiful sounding language in the world. And, as hypermegaglobal says, I don’t think it’s too hard to learn, either.
[quote=“Highway Star”]Went out with a woman who had a Brazilian wax, which was nice.[/quote]…
are you sure…? was it a ‘landing strip’ or bare as can be…? Chuckle… little know girly fact brazilian means teansy bit left, Hawian wax is nuttin
I spent 4 years there as a kid. I still go back regularly (at least every two years) as I have family members, friends and also business partners living in Brazil.
I could move to Brazil anytime I wanted, but for now I really appreciate living in a place where violent crime is pretty much non-existant.
See this talk of violent crime, is it really that bad? I mena no matter where you are it’s alot of violence and scariness? or is it mostly contained to the big cities and the poor districts? That’s mostly what I would expect, poverty generally breeds crime and violence. Is is any worse than large centers elsewhere? (such as north america, europe).
"Homicide is currently the major cause (58%) of early death for Brazilians. A report from the United Nations has revealed that while the country has only 2.8% of the world’s population, it is responsible for more than 11% of registered homicides.
According to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), around 600,000 people were killed in Brazil between 1980 and 2000, an average of 30,000 a year. In comparison, the thirty-year civil war that devastated Angola killed “only” 350,000 people. According to Timothy Cahill, an investigating leader for the Amnesty International, the number of deaths in Brazil falls easily within the U.N. parameters for a situation of civil war."
AFAIK, São Paulo has the largest private helicopter and private armored car fleet in the world and those who can afford it live in gated communities. If you can’t… well, that’s your problem.
I don’t think there’s a “small towns are safe, big cities are bad” rule, it rather depends on the region. However, it’s better to start with the assumption that Brazil is generally a violent country and then try to find the exceptions to this rule (or be prepared to spend a lot of money for your safety, have your shrink tell you twice a week that you’ll be fine or use cocaine to combat your fears - I heard it works quite well for a while).
I’ll try to have a look at Florianópolis (in the south) or Natal (in the north) the next time I go to Brazil. I heard good things about both places recently.
[quote=“hypermegaglobal”]Here’s a list of the most dangerous cities and one of the safest cities. Here’s a comparison of the state capitals. Keep in mind that the situation can change pretty fast. Furthermore, you risk getting bored to death outside the big cities. [/quote]Thanks for the links. I’d love to visit Salvador sometime, so it’s nice to see that the risk there is comparatively low (emphasis on the comparatively, though!)
I’d also like to visit Olinda and Recife, but I see that they’re among the most dangerous cities.
I’m sure Florianopolis and other places down there would be nice enough, but if I ever visit Brazil it will be for a kind of “musical roots” holiday so the north-east is where it’s at.
My Mum lives in Portugal and is studying Portuguese. She has done quite well but really struggles listening to people (I have the same issue in Chinese). I don’t think it is as easy as people here are suggesting…maybe if you already have a similar language such as Spanish?
eh-seh-lehn-tchee in Brazilian Portuguese (4 syllables)
shlent in Continental Portuguese (1 syllable)
boys:
written: MENINOS
is sounds like
meeNEEnoos in Brazilian Portuguese (3 syllables)
mninsh in normal Lisboan Portuguese (1 syllable)[/quote]
Now imagine an entire sentence of words which have been shrunk to only one syllable. No doubt that Brazilian Portuguese is far easier to understand! Furthermore, colloquial Brazilian grammar is also very simple (and constantly being simplified).
On the other hand, you might experience some problems when trying to communicate with Brazilians with a low level of education and little exposure to foreigners. I believe that, being (almost) illiterate, they can’t think “what would this word sound like if pronounced differently” and you’ll have to pronounce everything exactly like they would to be understood. This can be frustrating, too.
To listen to Brazilian Portuguese (and see some scary news ), check out Globo News (click on the “play”-icon below “Globo News ao vivo” for a live stream).
Wow, thanks for the links. I was really surprised to see Olinda so high on the lsit! Has anyone heard anything about a city called Curitibia ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curitiba
.
[/quote]Thanks for the links. I’d love to visit Salvador sometime, so it’s nice to see that the risk there is comparatively low (emphasis on the comparatively, though!)