HAVING been in Brazil for almost three weeks, and as we get ready to move onto the next country, there are a few things I have observed about Brazilians.
- They call all tourists Gringos (foreigners)
- They have no rules of the road. They undertake, overtake, pull out at the last minute and swerve in and out of other vehicles and pretty much make every mental manoeuvre they can to get to their destination extra fast.
- Bus and taxi drivers drive like maniacs and don’t wait for anyone to cross the road so you better run if you want to survive.
- Motorists love beeping their horns. Often for no reason at all.
- Men are not shy and have no shame. If they see someone they like they will just go for it. No chat up lines, no playing it cool – they go straight in for the kill. If they get a rejection, they move onto the next, without any trouble at all. Some might call it passionate, others may call it damn right desperation.
- Women wear the tightest and smallest clothes, the highest heels and walk in a strange way to accentuate the size of their behinds.
- Older women dress like Nora Batty did 20 years ago. They love their baggy flowered blouses.
- Men love their mullets. Some are shaved at the sides with tons of gel to style the top and others opt for the rat tail like ponytail.
- They seem to have a real dislike of black pepper here. The food can sometimes be bland and it is nowhere to be found at restaurants. I have only found pepper at one hotel so far. I should have taken it!
- Nobody understands what vegetarian means. You ask if they have anything on their menu without meat, they point to chicken. “No chicken” I say, they point to something with ham. “No ham” I say. They look blank and I end up with a cheese sandwich. I never thought I’d say it, but ‘m slowly becoming sick of cheese!