7 Things I Will Miss About Brazil

Last week I ranted about some things I am not going to miss about Brazil. On a more positive note, here are 7 things I will definitely be missing after my four months in there.

1. The People

I’ve found Brazilian people to be very warm and friendly, if a little overly curious about the “American girl.” Roberto has a great group of friends here who’ve welcomed me as one of them. There are always parties and get-togethers at friends’ houses and festivals every weekend. It’s been really fun to have a big group of friends to hang out with.

People are also more friendly in general, striking up conversation with strangers much more often than I’ve found in the US. Strangers share their life stories on the bus. Asking for directions is big (I have yet to find a map for sale anywhere), and people on the street will gladly stop and give you detailed directions. Several times in the car we’ve even had people take us part way as we followed them.

2. Free Time

Ah, sleeping in, staying up late, taking afternoon naps if I care to. I am going to miss being a lady of leisure when I have to go back to work. I did have plenty of free time in Brazil (when we weren’t going crazy with our immigration case, at least). It’s been nice not having too many demands on my time or places I need to be.

3. New Culture

While challenging at times, it’s been fun to be immersed in a new culture as more than a visitor. I got to see all kinds of Brazilian quirks. It’s been fun to see different fashion trends and popular hairstyles. For example, most salons offer treatments we call Brazilian blowouts (popular in the US now), but Brazilian bikini waxes are not common. Men tend to dress in what I’ve come to describe as a Aussie/European hybrid: Billabong shorts and flip flops by day and dark jeans and tight shirts by night. It’s been fun to observe cultural differences like the kiss greetings, going nuts over a baby or toddler one encounters and never ever touching food with one’s bare hands.

4. Unique Plants and Animals

Sometimes it’s like Alice in Wonderland here with plants I recognize from home but gigantic. The above photo is of poinsettias taller than I am. There are philodendrons here as big as trees and typical North American houseplants grow like bushes. No matter what time of year something is always blooming and I’m always seeing (and photographing) beautiful flowers. There are also fun birds around all the time – lot’s of colorful hummingbirds, majestic wading birds and its a special treat when noisy flocks of green parakeets fly over. We’ve seen some unique animals too like coatis, a species of wild dog and capivaras.

5. The Ocean

I grew up in Pittsburgh. We have plenty of rivers but are nowhere near the shore. I’ve always enjoyed being around the ocean and it’s been great living minutes from the beach in Brazil. Even though it’s wintertime there are plenty of beautiful sunny days to enjoy walking on the beach, or a new favorite activity of driving or riding a motorcycle on the sand. Fresh fish are plentiful and there are lots of beautiful coastal areas nearby to visit. There’s also a fun surfing culture enjoying the coast here. I will miss being close to the ocean for sure.

6. The Challenge

While I complained about having difficulty with Portuguese in my other post, I do like the challenge of learning a new language and doing things independently in a foreign country with different customs. Every day was kind of an adventure and I could feel proud about accomplishing something. Despite the frustration sometimes, I think this challenge helped me grow as a person.

7. Roberto

It probably goes without saying, but I won’t miss anything in Brazil as much as Roberto. We were really hoping we would be able to return to the US together, but instead we had another tearful goodbye in an airport (CUN this time). We’ve gotten used to being together every day again, kissing each other goodnight every night, and I fear this time will be more difficult to stay apart.

But, our relationship needed significant time together that wasn’t just vacation. We both think we’ve grown much closer and happier together after my extended visit to Brazil. Even though it’s harder now to part after getting used to living together again, it’s been totally worth it and we feel so great about our relationship together. We needed that!