Welcome back! So,
this time I will be updating the cultural observations that I made back in
October during my "Time Passes" post. If you haven't read that
one yet, click on this link: http://avidagringo.blogspot.com.br/2017/10/time-passes-one-month-later.html
I'm also going to
discuss visiting Rio Grande do Sul/Santa Catarina's amazing "Green Canyons".
*DISCLAIMER:
When I discuss Brazilian (Rio Grande do Sul) culture, this is based on MY
observations, experiences and discussions with people I meet in Brazil*
* When discussing work culture, this is based on observations at
my company, so your experiences may be different*
*Also, when
discussing culture, keep in mind these will be generalizations and won't be
true for every person*
Food Culture:
During my last
cultural post, I described Churrasco and what it means in this reason.
After attending a few of these gatherings I can confirm a few things. The
meat is usually prepared during the gathering, with a healthy portion of salt
covering the meat as it roasts over the open flame. The meats used can be
pretty much anything; beef, chicken, pork, etc., but occasionally you will see
things like cheese and pineapple used. At the gatherings I have been to,
beef is usually the meat of choice. The two common cuts I saw were
something that was similar to roast beef, and whatever you would call the rib
cuts of meat.
Once the meat is done,
it is usually cut into small pieces or portions, and can be accompanied by a
dish called farofa, which is usually made from a fried mandioca
flour. If you don't know what mandioca is, then another name for it is
cassava. Cassava is a type of root that you will also see in some West
African dishes. The root itself is usually flavorless, though the greens
can be fairly bitter. When it comes to farofa though, it is used to
accompany meat. You pick up a piece of meat and roll it in the farofa
before eating it. And this is how the meal portion goes. Depending
on what the people around you are doing, it can be fine to use your hands, but
be sure of what others are doing. When in doubt just use a fork and knife.
Drinking Culture:
Since Brazilians seem
to be fairly social people, it can be important to be present in social
situations in order to make friends with people here. There seems to be a
few different types of places that people in Porto Alegre seem to
frequent. The first are called boteco(s). These are
pretty much normal bars that will have cheap food and good happy hours where
you can get choppe, which are smaller glasses of beer served here
in Brazil. Another is a typical club. You will find these to
be pretty similar to clubs that you will find in the US. The third is one
that doesn't seem as common here in Porto Alegre, and it is an informal spot
where you stand outside and mingle with friends and strangers.
So, there are a few
"must-do's" when it comes to drinking in Porto Alegre. The
biggest is that the beer must ALWAYS be cold. You cannot drink or serve
beer that is warm and most people will request bottles that are so cold that
there is frost on the outside of the bottle. Another is that it is
typical to buy larger, 1-liter bottles when you're drinking in a group.
The major beer brands in Porto Alegre (Bohemia, Polar, Skol, Antarctica, etc.)
all make these larger bottles and it is normal to split it between the members
of your group, or the people around you. When doing this, it is typical
to rotates who buys the bottle, which will normally be between 13 and 20 reais
depending on the brand and location.
Craft beer isn't very
big in Brazil yet. It is getting more popular, but it isn't close to the
US's culture surrounding it. Because of this, it can be hard to find
craft beer outside restaurants and breweries (at least here in RS). In
RS, the best place I have found to try craft beer is in Gramado. Santa
Catarina (the state to the North of RS) seems to have the most out of the
states I have been to so far, so Florianopolis or Blumenau will be good spots
to see craft brewing culture here. Also, don't expect to find a lot of
high alcohol content beer. It is typical to see beer anywhere from 4-9%,
and anything over 10% seems to be hard to find.
When it comes to
spirits, I haven't really noticed anything different I have noticed with
these. The main thing is that Brazil has a special type of alcohol called
cachaça (pronounced caw-sha-sa). This is a spirit that is distilled from
sugar cane and is used in the "national" drink, caipirinha (cachaça
mixed with sugar and lime). There are two types of cachaça that you will
find; one that is good for mixing and one for drinking straight. Depending
on your tastes it is easy to find both, though if you decide to buy bottles,
you might want to ask for recommendations. Cachaça’s strength is usually
on the same level as vodka and tequila, so if you don't have a high tolerance,
maybe stick with the caipirinha.
Working Culture:
Now this is the area
that I have struggled with trying to understand. Since I have only been
to my company, it is incredibly difficult to say whether what I am seeing is
GKN's overall culture or if it is truly representative of the working culture here
in Brazil. Since I still have some more time here to observe this, I will
be providing a simple overview and update this in my final post for Brazil.
One thing that I have
noticed is that despite the stereotype of Latino's and Latina's being late to
everything, here in Brazil the business world seems to run similar to the
US. Meetings will usually start on time, and people accomplish tasks on
time. These meetings also tend to focus solely on the required
business. It doesn't seem like people spend a lot of time making small
talk before-hand.
Another element is
that people here can become emotional during meetings or conversations.
Now, I cannot speak to the content of these conversations since they are in
Portuguese and I don't understand a lot of the language (that and I try to
avoid eavesdropping). I have heard a few where the tone definitely turns
a little aggressive or hostile. This is short lived though, and within a
short time after this happening, people go back to normal.
Probably the easiest
thing to observe is how people greet each other here. It is considered
good form to tell everyone in the room you enter "bom dia, boa tarde, boa
noite" based on the time of day. It is also considered polite to ask
"tudo bem?" (which is basically "how are you"). This
is usually accompanied by handshakes between men and sometimes a kiss on the
cheek between men and women.
Brazilians are also
"touchy" people. The handshakes/cheek kissing is one example,
but don't be alarmed when someone pats you on the back, grabs your shoulder, or
sometimes, patting you on the stomach. This is pretty normal where I
work, so if you have personal space issues, you might want to mentally prepare
yourself.
That pretty much
covers everything I have noticed since my last post. Next up is tackling
the canyons.
Green Canyons:
Rio Grande has a lot
of beautiful green mountains throughout the state, but once you get closer to
the north-eastern border with Santa Catarina, you will find what is usually
called the "Green Canyons" in English. These canyons are split
between the two national parks: Aparados da Serra and Serra Geral, which are
also split between the two states. There are some small towns nearby, but
this is a trip that requires a little bit of planning.
I was able to visit
the Aparados National Park yesterday with my coworker from GRAD Mexico,
Mario. We stayed in Santa Catarina in a small town called Praia
Grande. It took about 2 and a half hours to get there from Porto Alegre,
and is a good base of operations for exploring the Aparados side of the
canyons. There is another town on the RS side called Cambara do
Sul. This is another small town, but this one gives access to both
Aparados and Serra Geral.
Inside the parks,
there are two main areas to see the canyons: Itaimbezinho (Aparados) and
Fortaleza (Serra Geral). I only visited the former, so I will only be
covering that one.
With Praia Grande,
there isn't much to say about the town itself. It is a typical small city
in the South of the country. There are a decent number of pousadas and
hotels, with the central square containing most of the restaurants and shops in
the town. Praia Grande is unique in that its tap water IS safe to
drink. One recommendation for staying the night here though, bring bug
spray. Mario booked us an Air B&B in the city, which was a really
nice place to spend the night, but I got devoured by the gnats and
mosquitoes. While yellow fever and other mosquito born illnesses aren't
generally an issue for the South of Brazil, you don't want to have to deal with
the insanity that comes from the itchiness of 10 bites scattered over your
body.
I would also recommend
using a car/SUV with AWD, since the only road that connects Cambara and Praia
(which runs through the national parks) is a dirt road with some asphalt
sections scattered around the entrance and exits of the road. The road is very, very bumpy, so be prepared for that.
If you are visiting
Aparados, Praia Grande is the better place to stay. While Cambara is
technically closer, Praia gives you an amazing view as you drive to the top of
the canyons. Mario and I wanted to see the sunrise from the top, so we
got up at 4:30 A.M and were able to find a good spot near the top to watch the
sunrise over the valley.
 |
| Sunrise from Itaimbezinho |
After appreciating the sunrise, we continued on
the road, heading to the entrance of Aparados, which took about an hour.
The park opens at 8am, and it’s worth it to be one of the first people
in. Inside the park there are three trails to observe Itaimbezinho.
The first is fairly short (1-2 km) and gives you views of the few waterfalls
that dot the canyons. The second trail is longer (around 3 km), but gives
you a much better view of Itaimbezinho. We weren’t able to do the third
trail, as you need to have a guide arranged (which I am not sure how to do),
but it lasts 8 hours and takes you into the canyon.
 |
| Entrance to the main trail |
 |
| Itaimbezinho Canyons |
 |
| Itaimbezinho from the shorter trail. |
After spending about 4
hours in the park, Mario and I decided to pack up and head back to Porto
Alegre, and I think visiting these parks is something that you have to do if
you're in the area. If you don't I think you are really missing out.
Now since I didn't
visit the Serra Geral park and see the Fortaleza canyon, I can't tell you how
to get there (besides a small road that goes from Cambara), but the following
is what I recommend you bring with you for a trip to the canyons:
-Water (the afternoon
can heat up very quickly and there isn't really an option to buy things inside
the Aparados park)
-Sun-screen
-Bug-spray (seriously,
don't skip this)
-Snacks
-Good walking shoes
-Small bills/coins to
donate after your visit
-Good weather (yeah
you can't bring this, but I would try to only visit when there won't be rain,
thanks to the dirt road possibly being dangerous to use in the rain)
-AWD SUV or other
large cars
That will do it for
this update. Thank you all so much for reading, and if you have any questions
or comments, be sure to leave one down below. In the next post, I will go
over my process on planning trips like what I have written about already, as
well as my tips for being a solo traveler.
Until then, boa noite!
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