Now that I've been here a few months I thought I'd list out the things I've observed that are different from what I'm used to in the states, in no particular order:
- Everybody is very friendly and excited to talk to a real American (I tell them I'm Canadian once the excitement wears down).
- If there's a pot hole in the road it's often stuffed with something lying around that someone sees, like a cone, a tree branch, or a refrigerator.
- Tips aren't common and aren't expected unless you're in a nice restaurant, then they're included in the bill.
- The garbage man comes three times a week.
- The garbage is put in a little bin above the ground (probably to keep dogs from getting it).
- Helicopters are used by the uber rich to avoid traffic. They are quite common to see.
- You'd better like rice and beans. They're served with almost every meal.
- Entertainment generally consists of going to the mall. If it's a three day weekend it's a trip to the beach, despite being stuck in traffic for eight hours.
- Some pretty cool, unique birds can be seen and heard regularly.
- Ovens and washing machines are too small (especially when you have five children).
- The value of the currency is very volatile. It was 2.65 Reals to 1 USD last year. Now it is 3.89 BRL to 1 USD.
- The Brazilian President's approval rating is 8% which is the worst approval rating since numbers started being tracked in 1990.
- Rain storms are common in the summer and are often accompanied by lighting and thunder and power outages.
- Unprocessed foods are very inexpensive. The haul below cost about $12.50 USD.
- Everybody is very friendly and excited to talk to a real American (I tell them I'm Canadian once the excitement wears down).
- If there's a pot hole in the road it's often stuffed with something lying around that someone sees, like a cone, a tree branch, or a refrigerator.
- Public schools are bad.
- Private schools are good, but expensive (especially if you're paying for five children to attend).
- Uniforms are worn to school.
- Dogs are everywhere and should be avoided if seen outside a home's fence because they can be vicious.
- Public transit is widely used and is relatively simple to navigate as all the train lines and metro lines are interconnected.
- Liter is common, but littering is frowned upon.
- People look for any excuse they can to wear winter clothes.
- The government shuts off water on occasion to conserve water.
- Toilet paper is thrown in the garbage, not in the toilet.
- Power lines are everywhere.
- Cutting people off in traffic is common and perfectly acceptable to the people being cut off.
- Graffiti is on almost every flat surface visible, but some of it looks very good and seems to be generally respected by the other graffiti "artists" in that they don't paint over each others "art."
- The garbage man comes three times a week.
- The garbage is put in a little bin above the ground (probably to keep dogs from getting it).
- Helicopters are used by the uber rich to avoid traffic. They are quite common to see.
- You'd better like rice and beans. They're served with almost every meal.
- Entertainment generally consists of going to the mall. If it's a three day weekend it's a trip to the beach, despite being stuck in traffic for eight hours.
- Some pretty cool, unique birds can be seen and heard regularly.
- The value of the currency is very volatile. It was 2.65 Reals to 1 USD last year. Now it is 3.89 BRL to 1 USD.
- The Brazilian President's approval rating is 8% which is the worst approval rating since numbers started being tracked in 1990.
- Rain storms are common in the summer and are often accompanied by lighting and thunder and power outages.
- Unprocessed foods are very inexpensive. The haul below cost about $12.50 USD.
- Mangoes are the best tasting fruit ever if they come from Brazil.
- Apples are better if they're from Washington.
- Fresh fruit can be found on public trees.
- Large cement walls are the norm for house fencings. Generally there is barbed wire, or cut glass at the top to stop people from climbing over.
- Roundabouts are very common, but the driver coming into it generally gets the right of way, rather than the person already in.
- There is no end to the variety of outlets used. Most of the below are found around the house we're living in.
- Most windows have bars over them to stop people from breaking in I suppose.
- Paying for parking is the standard everywhere including malls, grocery stores, and most main streets.
- The city never ends...it goes on forever.
And probably a bunch more things that I can't think of right now...
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