Notes On Culture, Part Two

Hello all! I have a few minutes, so it is time for a quick update and more notes on Brazilian culture. First things first - an update! Monday was normal. We had our readers. We did our thing. Today was a bit different. Today our missionary, Rick, encouraged us to join him and the group from Alabama for a trip to Ouro Preto! You may remember that we went there a few weeks ago. We were excited to go again! This trip was a little bit different - we went to a couple of different churches and we also went to an old gold mine! It was really interesting. Later we went back to the market area where you could barter for and buy lots of souvenirs and such. It was a great time.

This evening, once we got back, we had a truly Brazilian experience. We all went to our first churrascario. A churrascario is a truly amazing experience. It is a restaurant. You get your table, grab a plate, and head off to the salad bar immediately. As soon as you get back to your seat, they start bringing giant slabs of meat on skewers to your table. They cut it off for you and you eat . . . and eat . . . and eat . . . They basically do not stop until you are beyond full. They had chicken breast, filet mignon, pork, roast beef, steak, ham, and so much more. It was amazing. It was a great way to say goodbye to the Alabama group. They are leaving tomorrow. They were such a joy for us and helped to energize us at a key time in our mission. We can see they truly had joy in the Spirit and they shared so much of that with us!

That leaves us with just two more days of reading! It is strange that we are starting our goodbyes. Tonight on the drive home we were commenting on all the people we have met, the relationships we have made, and the difficulty we will have in saying goodbye. We have met some truly amazing people that have just shown us so much about the joy and love of Christ.

Anyways, like I said, we have two more days of reading on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday evening, we are going to the Hard Rock Cafe with some friends/readers for a dinner with them. On Thursday, our last day, we are finishing our reading sessions a bit early to have a massive (hopefully) potluck dinner/goodbye party. It should be a good time to say goodbye. After that, we may head to a movie with some friends. On Friday and Saturday, we are planning a weekend getaway to some national park with Rick, followed by a gathering at the Zerlotini household, the family we watched World Cup games with. It will all be a whirlwind, and it is ending fast. We will do our best to keep you updated on how it all wraps up.

Anyways, time for some quick notes on culture. (This is the educational component.) Random Brazilian fact: Brazilians generally take two showers a day. They shower in the morning and in the evening, sometimes right before bed. It has seemed somewhat strange to us at times, but at other times, we have indulged in the two-shower Brazilian norm. Chase has become fond of it as of late.

More driving observations: horn honking is about as indecipherable a language to us as Portuguese is. Sometimes a honk means that you are in the way. Sometimes it is a greeting. Sometimes it is used to acknowledge the wayward hitchhiker before driving on by. Sometimes a honk expresses anger, and sometimes it expresses affection. It is rather difficult to discern. In addition, intersections have these weird rules that seem to govern it. Eight cars can approach an intersection, all going on different yet converging paths, and they all continue moving, and nobody stops, yet nobody gets in an accident. It is as if they are telepathically linked to some sort of air traffic control, but for the ground. It borders on being a dance.

Next item: time is a guideline, not a rule. Brazilians are very lax on time. Little runs according to the clock, which has its plusses and minuses. On the one hand, it makes it very difficult to follow a schedule. On the other, Brazilians are very forgiving and rarely consider it offensive if things are off schedule. It certainly tests the patience from time to time.

Final note: Brazilians seem to use less space. Granted, that may not be a cultural thing - this may be more of a urban/suburban/rural commentary. It may just be a city thing that is similar in America. In a big city, you get less space. Regardless, it is different from what we are used to. Do we really need to take up so much land to live happily? Probably not. It is something to consider.

That is about all we have for now. Stay tuned for details as we wrap things up. Tchau!