Culture shock

After four years of studying Brazilian culture, I thought I was pretty clued up on how my life would be out here. I already spoke good Portuguese (albeit with a strong European accent), I already adored Brazilian food and I was more than familiar with the history, literature and music. I thought I was the epitome of open mindedness, heading somewhere where I´d take to the everyday life like a duck to water. But nothing can prepare you for the day to day challenges when you find yourself over 4,000 miles from home.

Funnily enough, it´s the little things that you don´t think twice about at home that prove to be the most exasperating. Why must you buy a card to use a payphone here? Why can´t I take money out of any ATM? And why don´t supermarkets stock tampons?  I suddenly found myself in a very different environment – one that I couldn´t control.

Control is the key word here; I´m a bit of a freak for it, ask any of my friends! I like order, organization, punctuality and efficiency. But what I´ve always considered to be a virtue in England, has become the most frustrating vice in Brazil. Here, there are no plans, and if there are, they will be changed at least twice. If a meeting is scheduled for 6pm, it is perfectly acceptable to arrive at 7pm, if at all. You can spend an age wandering around without actually going anywhere; hours can be spent talking without any conclusion being reached.

Time and time again I found myself angrily asserting how much easier life was in England. That´s when I realised that I was being the exact opposite of open minded. I was being thoroughly ignorant. Ethnocentric, if you will. I was getting worked up because I considered this behaviour to be wrong. But it isn´t, it´s just different. Culturally different. Isn´t that what I´d come here to experience? Would things be any fun if everything operated like it does in Europe?

With lack of organization comes great spontenaeity. The most wonderful experiences I´ve had so far have happened by simply strolling into the right place at the right time. I´ve seen a traditional forró band play in a tiny bar crammed with locals sipping Skol.

I´ve seen a band of dancing cangaceiros, turning and stamping and brandishing their rifles.

I´ve seen the local samba school rehearsing in a park...

 ...and taken an impromptu ride on a jangada at Cumbuco beach.

These serendipitous moments are all the more exciting as they´ve not been planned. No wonder the people here lead such stress free lives, they´re not slaves to timetables or changing seasons. Here, they live by the motto that ´vai dar tudo certo´- it will all work out. There is always tomorrow, and the sun will undoubtedly be shining. So I´m trying to unlearn my inflexible ways and just go with the Brazilian flow.