Brazil

If you’re lucky, your chuveiro looks something like this in Brazil. I say lucky because you see little wiring, but in most situations I’ve encountered the wiring is showing. I’ve had chuveiros explode on me (think sparks and smoke) more than once and what that means is no more hot water until it’s fixed. There’s a work-around for that, though, and it’s called taking a bath with a pot of warm water from the stove. Surprisingly, I really don’t mind this method and it uses much less water. To be clear, in the year and a half (over the years) in total that I’ve been in Brazil, I only had the shower head at one location explode repeatedly and I blame the older building’s wiring. On the other hand, sometimes it explodes (or simply stops giving you hot water) because the breaker in the breaker box doesn’t have sufficient voltage to power the shower head to give you hot water.

Shower head’s here also have a switch with three settings on them (winter, off, summer) which I believe means, for example, that you choose ‘winter’ if you are in the winter season and therefore want hot water. I’ve been places where this was reversed (read: confusing) or, due to unfamiliarity, where you think you should switch it to the season you are in. Where I live now, both winter and summer means really hot water and off, well, that means really cold water. I sometimes alternate in order to catch a few moments of lukewarm water for rinsing off shampoo. Important to note that when you switch from one setting to the other, you have to turn off the shower first, then switch it, then turn it back on…otherwise you run the risk of getting shocked.

US

This is a normal shower head in the US. Nothin’ special. Knobs lower down allow for deciding the combination of hot water vs. cold water needed. There’s a little wait involved to get it just right but other than that, it’s pretty straight forward. The only time you’ll have to take a cold shower is if the pilot light in the furnace went out and you don’t know how to light it again.

Brazil

This post was inspired by recent outings of mine. I’m going to focus on high-traffic areas where there’s a fair amount of retail shops. In such a situation, how a customer is treated depends on the number of other customers in the store. If there are many customers when you walk in, it’s likely the place will be a madhouse. There, you’ll have the rule followers (who actually wait where they are supposed to) and two types of rule breakers.

The first type of rule breaker just floats around the store and you’re never really sure what they are doing, when they came in and who is helping them. It’s possible they will get on their cell phone at some point, pacing around, and it’s also possible they’ll watch the store’s TV for several minutes. The second type is the cutter. They walk in, ignore the line and go straight to the counter or an employee. The place is such a madhouse that neither the customer nor the employee knows what’s really going on.

If you find yourself in the store at the busy time, you need to be really firm and hold your ground. Speak up if someone cuts or if your turn was skipped. Brazil is a land of action and if you lack it, you’ll be left behind.

In the case of a slow period in the day (in a usually high traffic area), you might walk in and be helped within a few minutes or you may be followed around the store (like you’re a known thief). During slow periods, managers don’t cut staff. They actually just keep them on, meaning you can walk into a store, for example, and see 20 employees just standing around. Actually the many-employees-per-one-customer thing is quite normal to see in Brazil. But hey, millions of Brazilians need to put food on their plate and pay the bills.

All that being said, you won’t find all of these things at every place. I’ve taken a mixture of experiences at different kinds of shops (bookstores, copy stores, sporting goods stores). To finish, I’d like to give special mention to Lojas Americanas which employs the single serpentine line, thereby enforcing fairness and a “first come, first serve” attitude.

US

I’ll keep it short and sweet. Sure, craziness can ensue in US retail but it’s an orderly kind of crazy. Lines are generally respected, both by employees and customers. Worst situation? A clothing store before Christmas…good luck being helped in a reasonable amount of time.

Brazil

I’ve said it before, but I’ll mention it again. It’s kind of difficult to get a woman’s attention here, in a non-verbal way. The hardest part is when you’re out on the street and walk by a woman that steals your attention. Go ahead, have fun with it and try to just stare at her the whole time. In most cases, her gaze won’t meet yours. Why? In few words, Brazilian men (not all of them) have screwed it up for the rest of us. They make cat calls and say suggestive things to just about any woman that passes. In the least, they just sit there and stare. What do women learn to do? Ignore it!

When I get a woman’s gaze on the street, I’ll be sure to report back to you…

US

Actually quite easy to get a woman to look at you. I’m not sure what to say. Men look at women and women look at men. Of course, if we’re talking about an interested gaze, then that’s a bit rarer, but an interested gaze can’t happen if there isn’t an initial gaze. And this is the difference between the US and Brazil: the initial gaze is easy-peasy back home.

For another take on things, check out Eat Rio

Brazil

I live near a semi-main street in my neighborhood which is also near the foot of a favela. The corner where these two facts meet up is the most active street corner I’ve ever seen. Going out at any time of day, there are at least 40 people on the corner and an estimated 150 in the near vicinity. The only time this isn’t so is after midnight when the local dealers come out to sell their wares (“blow”) to their prefered customers (taxi drivers and “playboys”). What’s crazy to me is I’ve left the house at 6AM on a weekday and 7AM on a Sunday and there are still 40-or-so people chatting up a storm. Not to make a socio-economic judgement, but the corner is effectively their Facebook. The drunks, the dealers, the vendors and the passersby spend hours there “shooting the breeze”.

There’s the corner bar, the next-to-the-corner corner bar, the bakery/overpriced market, the supermarket, the pharmacy, the pet shop, the barber, the salon, the movie rental place, the other salon, and a few other things. When considering what businesses surround the oh-so-famous corner, it’s little surprise that people would pass by there (…I just never thought so many would stay and hang out!).

US

I’ve lived in and/or near poor areas in the States and while such corners do attract locals, the most I’ve ever seen together might be 5 people at one time. Considering the fact that 95% of the people on this particular corner here in Brazil aren’t drinking alcohol, I can’t really compare it to a US bar scene…so I’ll return to the Facebook analogy. The only place I see people wasting so much time twiddling their thumbs in the US is on Facebook. One difference being there’s no vanity on the corner while FB is full of people trying to compete to be the most interesting. While we navel-gaze, the corner-dwellers are actually socializing. Frankly, I don’t understand either but perhaps that’s just because I’m not normal.

As you can see, both places have their market cornered. And yes, I realize my comparison could be considered apples and oranges but it’s what I came up with on the spot.

Brazil

I find that Brazilians don’t think twice about having a “pissing contest” noisily enough for their neighbors to hear. In the 5 months I’ve lived in my apartment complex, I’ve heard quite a few arguments loud and clear. It’s almost like a live soap-opera taking place before me and, I must admit, getting some popcorn has crossed my mind (kidding, I’m not really into Schadenfreude). One must be weary of what hour they schedule their yelling matches because, officially-speaking (and as Danielle recently stated), Brazil does have noise laws. Apartment complexes have their own noise rules also, by the way. Luckily, arguments are almost always quick to finish…I should know, I’ve been *that* neighbor a few times as well.

US

I’ve had my fair share of apartment living experiences in the States and I can’t recall ever hearing anyone else within earshot arguing. Could it be that, for some reason, walls are more soundproof in the US? Meaning everyone argues just the same, no matter where they are in the world (except, perhaps, the Japanese with their polite nature and rice paper-thin walls). Personally-speaking, while living in houses throughout the US, I can readily recall many an argument that took place in my presence so I’m definitely not saying that Americans are civilized and Brazilians aren’t. It could very well be that Brazilians let loose while Americans keep it all pent-up.

Brazil

(“Guarantee the employment of a street cleaner. Throw trash on the ground.”)

The street cleaner (called a gari here) above is most likely happy he is employed, though I’m pretty sure he’s not too happy about having to pick up lazy people’s trash. Almost daily, I see Brazilians throwing their trash on the street (and no, I’m not talking about when they put their trash in plastic bags and leave them next to the nearest light post on the sidewalk while waiting for dogs to rummage through them garis to pick them up).

I won’t say that Brazilians do this maliciously, but is it any better that they do it purely because they are accostumed to it? I don’t throw my trash on the streets because either I’d be dirtying my own city or I’d be contributing to the dirtiness of someone elses. Sure, this custom of acting as I do is an American thing, but it is also a common sense thing.

US

Try to litter in the US, and you’ll see what happens. If you aren’t caught by the police and fined (sometimes up to US$1,000), you’ll surely be given the evil eye and there may very well be words exchanged with someone who sees you.

Brazil

In the same way a bombril (think: circular, grey, steel mesh sponges) has 1,001 uses, many small stores here do, too! That’s right, I often come across small businesses whose owners seem unsure of what direction they wish to go in. A prime example is the local locadora, or movie rental place. Aside from renting out dvds, they are a cyber cafe and a barbershop. They also sell ice cream, popsicles, candy and children’s dolls. Truth be told, I go there mostly to buy popsicles, so yeah, go figure…

The other day, I came across a paper stationary store that doubles as a makeshift cafe. It had a third function but I wasn’t paying attention. Many multi-function stores fall within the “loja de conserto” (repair shop) category since they often repair unrelated items (ie, hard drives and guitars). Once, I had a neighbor who fixed computers and did macumba, though not exactly in that order.

US

I’m fairly sure having a single identity and a clear business plan are high up on the list of business people in the States. I’m not saying stores with multiple personalities are necessarily bad, though. They are just more prevelant here in South America.

Brazil

If you find yourself waiting in a random line here, and you wish to blend in with the locals, do make a random comment on the situation (ie, the long wait or the slowness of the employees) while not specifically looking at the person next to you. At the local supermarket and bakery, this happens often. When a comment is said in my general direction, my responses vary. Sometimes I return with a small comment of my own (or at least a nod) while other times I basically ignore the person. Of course, there are times you actually converse but it happens less often.

US

In the States, I find random comments to happen less often. People generally talk on their cell phones or to other people they are in the line with (friends, family). More and more often, no one talks at all since they are looking down at their smartphone.

Brazil

It seems that whenever there’s a soccer game on TV, the sound eminating from nearby apartments and houses is like that which might come from such a scene as one can see in the picture above. This is followed by the shooting off of fireworks, post-game, and the next day, by the wearing of the jersey of the team you support and “playful” street corner discussions on whose team is better. I find that one need not tune in to the actual game since every play by play is screamed from every direction.

US

In the States, sports enthusiasts generally get “rowdy” during Finals Week (NBA) or the Superbowl (NFL) which are the culminations of sporting seasons. By rowdy, I mean they might shout at the TV once in a while during a game.

Brazil

Doormen (porteiros) are omnipresent in urban Brazil. Everyone and their momma has one. I liken it to how some people like to close the door to their bedroom at night because they feel safer. Doormen are kind of like that. Depending on your place of residence, your doorman might be suited up or dressed down. Where I live, one of the porteiros is also a handyman (and in case they aren’t, they surely know someone who is).

As of 3 years ago, there were 414,000 porteiros in Brazil and June 9th has even been declared Doorman Day. Two side notes, I’ve never seen a doorwoman and I’m not sure if not hiring a woman for the job is illegal in Brazil. Also, I’ve never seen an armed doorman.

US

Generally, doormen are called security guards in the States and having one (or many) usually means you live in a rich area/place. One needs a Guard Card to apply for such a job and being armed requires further training and licensing. Depending on where one lives, the guards might ‘moonlight’ as concierges as well.