Amigos

Whenever I'm living abroad I remember the words my father told me years ago before traveling to the middle-east," If you ever get into any trouble, remember you're anything but American." 

Even then I didn't question the validity of the statement. It made sense to me that Americans would be unpopular given my  understanding of history and current events. And now I understand that the American tendency to presume our culture is superior and expect everyone to speak our language can't win us many friends...

So because I move around so much that's always my concern: making friends. Fortunately, despite my somewhat apologetically American status it hasn't been difficult for me to win over the hearts of the kind, open Brazilian people.
But I've made notes for anyone hoping to gain the friendship of some of the coolest people alive. 


1. Bake them Cookies. While there's a huge debate in Brazil whether they're called "Biscoitos" or "Bolachas" (Bolachas of course;) ) what everyone can agree on is that they're really, really good. However no one knows how to make them, so they're a real treat ! 

Making them with friends is fun too. 

Everyone Loves Cookies 

2. Music. Well this is especially true for me as I attend lessons at the conservatory, it's truly a universal language. Whether or not you speak Portuguese everyone can enjoy good music.     

I had the opportunity to watch my good friend play jazz  in the beautiful "Sala São Paulo," performances are often offered here for free or very cheap. 

3. BBQ. One of the most fundamental aspects of Brazilian culture. They're a lot of fun, and there's a lot of meat. If you get invited to one, just go. There's no excuses. I'm a vegetarian and have attended four.

--> Some people claim that sharing beer is the key to a Brazilian's heart, but it's not necessary, they also love coffee.  

4. Lunch! It's the "big" meal here and can last a couple hours. Something that's really common here are the restaurants that are "self service." What that means is they're buffet-style and how much your food weighs is how much it costs. The only confusing part for me was then still paying at the end of the meal, but I really like them because you get and pay for what and how much you wan

This Dog is in no way shape or form relevant to this post, but he's too beautiful not to share with the world.