Rio Gringa

Conversa Fiada

One of things that most impresses  me about Brazilians is their incredible ability to make conversation: bater papo, puxar conversa, falar--no matter how you say it, conversation is practically a Brazilian art form.

As a reader once wrote, Brazilians love an invitation to converse, be it with a friend, a vague acquaintance, or a total stranger. On the bus, I've sat next to people talking like old friends, only to find out they had just met. People constantly try to talk to me: on the elevator, in line, or in transit. When I'm with Eli, he'll start up conversations with waiters, taxi drivers, store attendants--you name it. Part of it, I believe, has to do with the cordial man culture, but another part, I think, is a part of the culture of leisure, by taking advantage of spare moments to spend with others, instead of being alone. It seems to me that Brazilians hate nothing more than solitude.

Besides making new friends and finding a social outlet to occupy one's time, conversation seems to fulfill other functions. One place you can observe this is on TV shows, especially talk shows or interviews. I'm always surprised by how much they let people talk before cutting them off, or how little the editors seem to cut from the original conversation before it airs. I think that in cases like this, the content of the conversation is less important than the function the conversation serves, which is to socialize, find common ground, and to establish a bond of mutual affection.

In Rio, I've come across three conversational types, which may be inaccurate due to the whole gringa angle, but this is what I've personally experienced:

1. The conversationalist: this is the absolute conversational expert, who has really perfected the art of conversation and has managed to find a balance between talking and listening, and is able to exchange information equally and amicably. He won't offer more information than he asks for, and will reciprocate questions to ensure an egalitarian conversation. He is patient and friendly, and relishes the conversation like one might in a cup of coffee or a good movie. I've encountered this type more frequently amongst men.

2. The listener: Though this person will offer up information about himself, he'll allow you to do most of the talking and will ask most of the questions. If you don't ask him the same questions in return, he won't offer up the answers. He's modest and humble, and will keep his answers shorter so he can get back to hearing what you have to say. I've encountered this type the least, but most commonly amongst younger women.

3. The talker: This person likes to talk. A lot. He may ask you questions about yourself, but is less interested in the actual answers than in trying to be polite and let you get in a word edgewise. In fact, he will likely ignore half of what you say and continue on with his discourse. He'll revel in the sound of his own voice and will expect you to nod and show you're paying attention. He will stop to listen to you talk occasionally, though it seems more to catch his breath or to take a drink rather than caring about what you think. The best thing is to nod and mumble "Mmhm" every so often and to let him talk, because there's not much you can do to stop him. I've encountered this type more frequently amongst  older women.

I still find it a little odd when people try to have a real conversation with me in an unlikely location, but I think it's sweet. It makes me feel like I'm a part of the world, especially in a big city, rather than wandering alone in my own little bubble, which I can easily do in New York.

E você, que acha?

The Difference: Speaking the language

Brazilians consume an enormous amount of American culture, including TV shows, movies, and music, but many of them rely on subtitles and dubbing to understand it.  English has become the fashionable language to learn and use, but only a minority speak it completely fluently. Brazilians accept the fact (or at least realize) that Americans do not speak Portuguese and anything they get from the States will be relatively Greek to them before it gets translated.

So when I was sitting in my living room and first heard Donald Trump start barking in Portuguese, I sat up in my chair and my jaw dropped.

As a reality show junkie, I watch a lot of People & Arts, a channel with mostly American TV shows. What I've noticed about this channel that sets it apart from other channels that broadcast foreign shows, or foreign-based channels, is that the internal advertising has begun using Portuguese by asking the American stars to speak directly to Brazilians. In a commercial for Celebrity Apprentice, Donald Trump  refers to the show using its Portuguese name (O Aprendiz), and says "you're fired" in English, Spanish in Portuguese [Voh say ess ta deh meh tido!]. In another, the male trainer from "The Biggest Loser" introduces the show in Portuguese (Perder para ganhar), and starts out by saying "Oi Brasil!"

To me, it makes all the difference in the world.

Take this in contrast with channels like HBO, which despite the fact that it has Brazilian shows, in Portuguese, often does most of its internal advertising entirely in Spanish, which pisses me off to no end. Clearly, channels like this have a Latin America division, rather than totally separate Spanish Latin America and Portuguese Latin America divisions. They try to save money by creating a single set of ads to distribute throughout the continent, instead of making separate ads for Brazil. This, to me, is extremely insulting, since Brazilians obviously do not speak Spanish and frequently get miffed if they are expected to understand it. It is also typical of Americans to lump all Latin Americans together into a single ethnic and language group, a concept which Brazilians don't exactly look kindly upon. As such, I think HBO-style advertising is lazy and in my opinion, counterintuitive.

I'd like to offer People & Arts' advertising as a lesson to all foreign investors and businesses in Brazil. Brazilians may have an odd obsession with English, and some of them may very well understand it, but they will sit up and listen if you make an effort to speak their language (even if you don't do it very well). It makes a huge difference.

The 28 year-old infant?

A talk show out of Ceara, in the north of Brazil, claims it has found a 28 year-old female that never developed beyond infancy:

According to a doctor on the show, the girl suffered from a medical condition that could have been treated when she was first born, but since it wasn't, she never developed physically or mentally. After showing how dirt poor the girl's family was and discussing the girl's rare condition, they measured her to see if she qualified for the Guinness Book of World's Records. Classy.

It seems to me like the poor kid is just an unfortunately homely toddler. What do you think - real or fake?

Via O Buteco da Net.

Sem Fronteiras

I love this commercial for TIM, a telecom company. It's simple and uplifting, and the music makes me feel hopeful every time I hear it.

Deu mole, Lula

Oh Lula. Why must go and act like Bush sometimes? It pains me so, because I actually respect you as a leader.

The big news this week is that Lula blamed "white, blue-eyed bankers" for the global economic crisis and complained that developing countries shouldn't have to suffer because of the mistakes of developed nations. He also mentioned that he doesn't know any black bankers. [Video in English]

Talk about calling the kettle black (or white?). Lula, when your white politicians stop stealing billions of reais at the expense of Brazil's lower and middle classes, and when blacks are able to enter the ranks of corporate Brazil, then maybe you can talk.

Until then, you should take your lesson from George Bush: improvisation is an exceedingly terrible idea.

Here's Lula during one of his better public appearances:

American Expats Poll

Today's poll is for Americans living abroad. I'm posing the same question as last week, except this time for expat American gringos. The question is: what do you miss most about home? That is, excluding the obvious of family and friends.

Feel free to add your own answers in the "other" option.

Guest Post: Brazilians in Britain

Today's guest post is written by Anna, a Brazilian who splits her time between Sao Paulo, Brazil and Norwich, England (imagina!). She writes Mistral Gagnant and was kind enough to write the following post for me.

Ten things that will happen to a Brazilian ex-pat in Britain

1. No matter how many layers of clothes you decide to wear, no matter if you are from the coldest region of Rio Grande do Sul: you will always feel cold. And you will always be the odd one out: you'll be the one with a snow coat in the middle of March (when the weather is supposedly getting warmer).
2. You will miss your pressure cooker very much.
3. You will be infuriated by the fact that limes and bananas are worth their weight in gold in Britain, while they are extra cheap back home. Also: you will miss pão de queijo. Even if you didn't like it back home.
4. You will try to make sense of the soap operas. Give up: they go for twenty years or more and nobody - not even the British - can tell the story from the start. 
5. You will be able to discover the age of the person talking to you depending of which Brazilian football player he/she remembers (the youngest talk about Robinho and Ronaldinho;  mid-twenties, Ronaldo; thirties, Romário and Bebeto; forties, Falcão and Socrates... and those who remember Pelé playing in 1958 will probably not want to disclose their age!)
6. You will discover that the difference between a gentlemen and a hooligan is two pints. That, or when you try to disrupt a line. Lines are sacred to the British, as sacred as tea time.
7. Tea time is not at five o'clock; the trains and buses are late more often than not and a drunken Brit can talk more than an ordinary, sober Brazilian. Be aware.
8. You will almost be killed when trying to cross the road. That's very typical. But don't try to argue that they are the ones driving at the "wrong" side of the road, unless you want to see a gentleman becoming a hooligan. 
9. You will take six months to discover where your neighbour works, but six minutes to discover if he is a football person or a cricket person. And you may die without knowing his wife's name. They are not "cold" - rather, we are too "warm." Be prepared to be known as the local chatterbox, even if you believe you don't talk all that much.
10. When on a beach (supposing the weather is nice), you will draw attention to yourself. Blame the Brazilian swimsuits - even the modest ones will look like they've shrunk compared to the British counterparts.

And a few extra tips: don't bother about trying to figure out the cricket rules, the electoral process and the tabloids' headlines. Those are for locals only...even if you live there for thirty years!