14 Things That are Normal in Brazil but Shock Foreigners!

Comments · 510

• TH

  @TheWanderlover · 1 month ago · pinned

  What shocks you about Brazil culture? Let me know if I missed anything 👇🏽

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• NC

  @NCarreira · 2 weeks ago

  As a Brazilian, I think this video is surprisingly accurate.

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• CH

  @chrypko · 1 month ago

  The most important thing about pix is: if you buy R$ 100 (or any value), the vendor get the same value. No credit card or bank or any other fees. Imagine if each time the money pass through people there's a 4% charge fee. So basically if you have enough money, you can say goodbye to any credit or debt card.

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• MG

  @mglenadel · 1 month ago

  The 'little shocks' while using the electric showerhead are due to improperly installed grounding. Easy to solve with a trustworthy electrician.

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• WI

  @williampawson5476 · 1 month ago

  I married a Brazilian in the USA. When we were making the invitations, she told me to make two sets ... one for the gringos that gave the real time and another for our Brazilian guests that gave an earlier time, so they would show up "late" and actually be on time. Even then, a few arrived after the ceremony.

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• DI

  @diegojuridico · 4 weeks ago

  Hahahahaha 'WhatsApp is infrastructure'—I'm laughing because I never thought about it that way, but you are so right!

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• MA

  @mariaaliceduarte2496 · 4 weeks ago

  As a Brazilian who has been living in Australia for nine years, these are some of the things people who have visited Brazil most often tell me they found surprising:<br><br>It is REALLY easy to make friends. You can meet someone once at a bar and suddenly be invited to spend the weekend at their family’s beach house. 😂 Brazilians tend to take care of you. They’ll take you out, show you around, tell you where to go, what to eat, what is safe and what isn’t. They genuinely want to know about you, and conversations can become much deeper very quickly.<br><br>If Brazilians have the opportunity to help you, they usually will. We love to share: our lives, our food, our homes, our friends and, especially, our families.<br><br>And the parties are AMAZING. We have monthly birthday celebrations for babies, huge parties for things that other cultures might barely celebrate, and sometimes parties for absolutely no reason other than wanting to be together. 😂<br><br>Also, being 30 minutes late to a social event is practically polite. 😅 Brazilians value time to rest, relax and enjoy life. If something isn’t terribly serious, we tend to take it lightly, and yes, that includes arrival times.<br><br>We are also “enemies of the end” (inimigos do fim). One casual date on a weekday can somehow become three bars, a restaurant and one or two clubs. The party ends when the sun comes up. 😂<br><br>Brazilians will usually try very hard to communicate with you. Even if someone speaks absolutely no English, they’ll try gestures, Google Translate, five random English words and pure determination until you understand each other.<br><br>“Mean girl” energy is also not something that is generally admired or easily accepted. Brazilian women can be extremely warm, friendly and affectionate, and foreigners sometimes misunderstand that attention as flirting or romantic interest. Please don’t. 😅<br><br>Touch is a normal part of Brazilian social life. Hugs, kisses, touching someone’s arm while talking, sitting close together... these things can be completely normal between friends.<br><br>Brazilians can also be much more open about sex and relationships than people from some other cultures. That does NOT mean people are promiscuous. Having several relationships throughout your life isn’t particularly scandalous, and sex does not automatically mean a relationship.<br><br>But if you are visiting Brazil, please do not mistake openness or friendliness for sexual availability, and absolutely do not behave as though you are entitled to anyone’s attention or body. That will not go down well.<br><br>Racism is also taken very seriously in Brazil. Freedom of speech does not give someone a free pass to racially abuse or discriminate against other people, and some racist conduct can have serious legal consequences. The same broader culture of respect extends strongly to things such as sexuality, family background and cultural identity.<br><br>Another important one: if you visit someone’s house and they offer you food, PLEASE EAT SOMETHING. 😂 Refusing everything can feel surprisingly disrespectful, because feeding people is one of the ways Brazilians show affection and hospitality.<br><br>And Brazilians are generally very family-oriented. Relationships with parents, grandparents and extended family can be incredibly close. Elders are often deeply loved and respected, parents remain involved in their children’s lives well into adulthood... and boundaries, in many Brazilian families, are more of an abstract philosophical concept than an actual practice. 😂<br><br>Basically, Brazilians are usually warm, affectionate and easygoing. Don’t mistake friendliness for romantic interest, don’t assume you are uniquely special because everyone is treating you like family (we do that with everyone 😂), and don’t take advantage of that generosity.<br><br>Just enjoy it, reciprocate it, and be respectful.<br><br>Brazil will probably love you back. 🇧🇷❤️

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• MA

  @MarcioHuser · 4 weeks ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X_fSlFJ31M&amp;t=179">2:59</a> olha o Iberê 😁

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• DE

  @deborahr9188 · 1 month ago (edited)

  Some explanations: Electric shocks taking shower are not common! If it happens, is because the electric installation of your shower apparatus are not well done. Ask for a good technical electrician to check that in your home. I’m a Brazilian taking showers for decades since I was born and never - neither everybody in my family that I rem ember - took a shock showing . About CPF: you don’t need it to buy groceries; the cashier ask for it, but you can just say “ I don’t want to inform”; with CPF &nbsp;number informed at the end of the year you can have some money back, but is just a few. About PIX: the most important thing about is there isn’t any cost for using PIX. Tou wrote (8’:45”): Brazilians are late for everything, and this is not true, as you said: depends where you live and <s>mostly</s> what kind of compromise you have: classes, formal professional appointments… time is respected; so, &nbsp;change the “everything”.

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• JO

  @joseadrianobaltieri4773 · 1 month ago (edited)

  Hi ! Brazilian here !<br><br>Three things you forgot to mention or didn&apos;t notice yet while living here :<br><br>1) Restaurantes POR QUILO. How different, convenient and AFFORDABLE they are. How I missed them when I traveled abroad (as a Brazilian) ...<br>2) Carros FLEX. Cars are &quot;dual-fuel&quot; : you either can fill them with gasoline and/or ethanol. Almost all passenger cars are like that. I&apos;ts very unusual a car to be gas only, except when it&apos;s pretty old or imported from elsewhere. Of course another huge difference are gas stations...<br>3) Fruits : how we love fruits, how affordable they are , &nbsp;the huge variety and so forth. Also, of course, natural juices.<br><br>Best wishes !<br><br>By the way , maybe a supermarket video is another good topic. A classic one for foreigners..

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• HA

  @haffa777 · 1 month ago

  I am 44 and I’ve never got shocked taking a shower.

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• KR

  @kronop8884 · 1 month ago (edited)

  Cashiers in Brazil ask for your CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas) at the supermarket because the number is used to attach the purchase to your name in the electronic tax system, enable state-level benefits, and activate store loyalty discounts, register recipts etc. It is not for charging extra tax, and you can always refuse.<br><br>In teh state of Sao Paulo &nbsp;for example the Nota Fiscal Paulista gives you cash credits, lottery prizes, and tax advantages when you put your CPF on receipts.<br><br>What you get or not varies by state &nbsp;so in Santa Catarina for example the &nbsp;program is informational only it gives you access to all receipts issued with your CPF, but no financial benefits.<br><br>Honestly this was one of the first things I learned when I moved to Brazil

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