It’s 3 am in Brazil and birds are singing outside my bedroom window. As I recall, in the US don’t most birds sleep at night like the rest of us? However, I adore these nighttime songbirds as a symbol of the unique pleasure of Brazil.
I’m so content living in Brazil that sometimes I start singing, too. I can do this when I’m sober, by the way, and my Brazilian wife takes no notice of my behavior. Other times, my expatriate exuberance manifests itself in sleeplessness. During the night I’ll awaken to the songbirds, stirred from my dreamy slumber with thoughts of the upcoming day. I don’t want to sleep for fear of missing anything.
Could it be that, like me, the birds can’t control their exuberance and are forced to sing instead of sleep? Are they are so filled with wonderment at the joy of living in Brazil that they need to express themselves continually?
It seems everyone in Brazil is having too much fun to sleep. Brazilians are singing all the time. Like other Latin American cultures, Brazil personifies the living customs of an ancient oral tradition. Simply stated for my tired brain: Brazilians love to communicate — in words, songs, or gestures.
Brazilians will strike up conversations anywhere at any time with anyone: clerks, strangers, cashiers. In fact, it’s considered rude for a Brazilian to enter a room without speaking. For example, the waiting room in a doctor’s office or an occupied elevator requires at least a hello to the strangers. In the US, it’s considered impolite to speak to anyone you don’t know.
Learning to wait on long lines is an acknowledged rite of passage in Brazil. I’m not saying there aren’t lines in the US. Even there, teenagers will spend seven hours waiting for AC/DC concert tickets. However, while standing on line at the post office in the US, it’s not common to begin a conversation with a stranger. Brazilians who visit the US return home and describe to their astonished friends how they’d seen Americans on lines reading, rather than talking to those nearby. When I mentioned this custom of silence to a Brazilian woman, she replied, “Why wouldn’t you talk to people in line? It helps to pass the time.” What an excellent technique for adapting to adversity, I realized — talk your way through it.
Talking is so ingrained in Brazilian culture that it’s not considered rude to repeat yourself. Even talking (or singing) to oneself is acceptable. And not only do Brazilians love to talk, they enjoy listening. Thus the popularity of telenovelas. Visit any store or office in Brazil, and you will hear the employees talking about last night’s episode of the soap opera. (more…)
On Saturday the 18th of September 2010 there was a small get-together of friends at Scorpions Paintball in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, arranged by www.paraibaparadise.com
It seems that a great day was had by all and even before the event was over people were asking to do it again.
We will try to arrange it again for Saturday the 30th October and will let you know via the Paraiba email list.
Below are the pictures of the event.
