I am back to Brazil since June 13th and it has been exciting to meet again my country and my people. My way of looking to things has changed and, sometimes, I catch myself analyzing my own culture as if I weren’t a part of that. It’s kind of weird… Some actions, mainly those concerning to behavior – like ways of greeting, talking, the way we relate to others – have been investigated.
I still remember from the very first days some scenes which called my attention and worked as an inverted “cultural-shock”: being “shocked” by your own culture in comparison to the one you have lived for some considerable time. The scenes were:
•Brazilians greet everyone and are so polite – even if it is the first time you meet them.
•In Brazil, people will talk to you on bus-stations, they will sit with you on the bus and it is possible that they will tell you their life story in a glimpse (sharing sorrows and joys).
•Many will come to your home to visit you without calling before – and we don’t consider that impolite. Many will invite you to come over and make them a brief visit.
•At home, you don’t remove your shoes to come in.
•When it comes to punctuality, it depends: mostly it’s relative.
•Brazilian people work hard: many hours/day and, sometimes, in more than one place; but it doesn’t mean they are well paid.
•Brazilian football team is not the same.
I keep observing what is going on in this country which, once, was known and now I start to rediscover. After living abroad, sharing new cultural perspectives, we incorporate a trans-cultural pattern to use. I feel like putting on my Brazilian cultural suits again but, definitely, in a new and unexpected way. There’s a popular song here which says “Brazil, my Brazilian Brazil…” and it illustrates the way I feel being back.
I still remember from the very first days some scenes which called my attention and worked as an inverted “cultural-shock”: being “shocked” by your own culture in comparison to the one you have lived for some considerable time. The scenes were:
•Brazilians greet everyone and are so polite – even if it is the first time you meet them.
•In Brazil, people will talk to you on bus-stations, they will sit with you on the bus and it is possible that they will tell you their life story in a glimpse (sharing sorrows and joys).
•Many will come to your home to visit you without calling before – and we don’t consider that impolite. Many will invite you to come over and make them a brief visit.
•At home, you don’t remove your shoes to come in.
•When it comes to punctuality, it depends: mostly it’s relative.
•Brazilian people work hard: many hours/day and, sometimes, in more than one place; but it doesn’t mean they are well paid.
•Brazilian football team is not the same.
I keep observing what is going on in this country which, once, was known and now I start to rediscover. After living abroad, sharing new cultural perspectives, we incorporate a trans-cultural pattern to use. I feel like putting on my Brazilian cultural suits again but, definitely, in a new and unexpected way. There’s a popular song here which says “Brazil, my Brazilian Brazil…” and it illustrates the way I feel being back.
Um comentário:
Muito legal essas tuas reflexões... são tão parecidas com as que eu tive... Não se deixe dominar pela "roupa brasileira"... o tempo passa, parece que ela domina... mas vença!!!
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