Travelogue: Work. Travel. Write. Repeat.: Top 10 things I Learned (and Loved) About Brazil

1. Trivia - Brazil is such a big country. One of the largest (by land area) in the world. Travel from Manila to BR is more than 24 hours.

If in the Philippines, there are Tsinoys (Chinese Pinoy). In Brazil, there are Brapanese (Brazilian Japanese). In my flight to SP, my seat mate just came from a vacation from Japan.

The fact that it's on the other side of the world and time difference to the Philippines is 13 hours and when Daylight saving time changes, it becomes 14 hours difference.

2. Language - they love their local language. Only a small percentage of their population is “inclined" to learn English ( I think). Portuguese Language is quite similar to Spanish Language. In fact, most of the people I met there know how to speak Spanish. And because Philippines used to be under Spain colonization decades ago, we have a common language like the uno dos tres, kalye, senior, quirida, etc.

Basic Portuguese(which I can also confidently speak):

Bom Dia is Good Morning
  Boa Tarde is Good Afternoon
  Boa Noite is Good Evening
  De Nada is No Problem
  Ola is Hello

3. They are very friendly. If Filipinos are said to be the Smiling Pinoys. They are the Overly Friendly Brazilians. They have this very warm and accomodating aura in general.

At the office, even if they don't know you, they will greet you with a smile. Very warm and contagious.

Also, a cheek to cheek greeting is very normal when you are being introduced for the first time! I really thank the Portuguese 101 that I attended before. Otherwise, I will be shocked by this a guy to a girl cheek to cheek first time introductions greeting.

4. They Love FOOTBALL. They are crazy about football.

One time, at an Adidas shop at Oscar Freire, we were only looking at the football jerseys when a guy approached us. He asked where we're from and later we are at the middle of like a sales talk. He is telling stories about Football, how serious the Football series are and how he wants us to buy the jersey of his team. The thing is, he is not an actual salesman in the store or like he's being paid for endorsing it. It's just how much their loyalty and support is to their favorite football teams.

Estadio Municipal

5. Rio De Janeiro - Check out our trip to Rio here.

6. Sunday is FAMILY DAY. Or probably just rest day for some. It's like the zombie apocalypse every Sunday. Parks are jam-packed but no traffic even at places nearby malls and parks. Everyone is at home and I like that.

During our first Sunday

7. Their MRT Line. Parks. Churches. Malls

They have so many malls. They have huge parks and churches and they have, I would estimate, 5 times the number of MRT lines in Sao Paulo compared to Manila.

Plaza De Se, Sao Paulo

8. Brazilian BBQ

9. Havainas, Melissa, Ipanema and Oscar Freire

Oh it's the hometown of Havaianas, Melissa and Ipanema. If there's one thing Filipino's will not forget when they go to Brazil, I'd bet it's these very famous shoe makers.