9 Differences

Brazil and the U.K. are worlds apart, both geographically and culturally. Here are some of their biggest differences....

1. Kissing is polite

Whereas in the U.K. we greet with a hand-shake, or more informally a distant-hug, here you greet with a kiss on the left cheek.

2. You eat rice ever-day

Every-day is a rice day in Brazil. Literally. Producing over 11,308,900 metric tones of rice in 2010, Brazil is one of the world leading consumers of this protein providing food.

3. Commuting for an hour and half to work is common
Some people travel over 2-3 hours every-day, each way to and back to work.

4. 11pm = dinner-time

You eat late and sleep even later. It’s more than common to find restaurants at their peak at 11pm at night. This late culture follows into nightclub, with clubs opening their doors at 12:00am at earliest.

5. Women pay less

Going clubbing in Sao Paulo can be pricey, with entrance into some of the main clubs starting at very least R$40 and going up-to R$180. Interestingly, however, women pay less. Most venues offer VIP entrance for women, with men paying up-to 3 times more.

6. Travelling 6-10 hours for a bank holiday is normally

Hoping you don’t spend your bank holiday stuck in a traffic jam, embarking on a journey that will take 10 hours for a weekend is considered do-able and common.

7. Red light means Go

After midnight, that is. As a result of the high threat of crime and theft, after 12:00am and into the early hours of the morning, a red light at the traffic lights is more of an indication to ‘stop and look’ rather than ‘stop and wait’.

8. The city stops with rain 

Sao Paulo is prone to flooding and with the tropical climate, heavy rainfall is frequent. Consequently, the city suffers from blackouts and floods on a weekly basis. 

9. Trains? What Trains?

Unlike the U.K. and the majority of Europe, Brazil is still developing their railway. As such, no one travels by train. 

6 months later...

It’s now over 6 months since I’ve been living in Brazil. It’s a crazy thought and feeling that the streets which I once walked down feeling hopelessly lost are now what I consider home.

These six months have been a combination of a joy-ride with a horror roller-coaster. What’s terrifying when you’re abroad is that you have the exact same insecurities (and securities) that you had before, except you now you don’t really have someone to hold your hand and call you beautiful. You don’t have your best-friend around the corner to remind you of that hilariously embarrassing incident that happened when you were 11 when you’re feeling low. You remind yourself of that.

Like with everything in life, you can choose to take a deeper reading into things – such is my case. For me Brazil hasn’t just been about ‘la vida louca’ (in-fact, it has probably been everything but since I live the life of a Brazilian, not a tourist!), but it has been a path and road of self-discovery.

Being abroad gives you a crystal-clear perspective and outlook on things since you are taken out of the every-day perspective. Life kindly - and forcefully - gives you an alternative perspective. One that you may not necessarily desire.

I know that these eyes which now look at Brazil are very different to the ones which first saw these grey and simultaneously colourful streets. Every-day in these six months have been a beautiful challenge, both professionally and emotionally/psychologically. 

Living abroad wouldn’t be nearly as amazing and exciting without these challenges because it is at these times – your highest and lowest – that you really have the opportunity to discover who you are, what you stand for and what you value.