És belo, és forte, impávido colosso, (Thou are beautiful, thou art strong, fearless colossus)
E o teu futuro espelha essa grandeza. (And thy future mirrors that greatness)
Terra adorada (Adored land)
Entre outras mil (Among a thousand others)
Es tu, Brasil (It's thee, Brazil)
Ó Pátria amada! (O beloved homeland!)
Dos filhos deste solo (Of the sons of this ground)
És mãe gentil, (Thou art gentle mother)
Pátria amada, (O beloved homeland!)
Brasil! (Brazil!)
That is part of Brazil's magnificent and extremely-difficult-to-both-play-and-sing anthem!
So I feel like a total dweeb for not updating my experiences while I lived in Brazil for a year and a half. But I did absolutely adore it there! The people are probably some of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life and the barbecue there will make the BBQ here look like crap!
Though I was working as a service volunteer and can't really vouch for quality of hotels and rental cars and whatnot, I can tell you how to get by being dirt poor in a foreign country as well as some of the little gems that many people aren't aware of.
So, without further ado, here are a few of the things I've learned traveling and working in Brazil!
First off: Very few people down there speak English, though you will more than likely run into people who do and who are excited to try their English out on you. If that happens, talk to them in English because they love speaking English. However, plan on studying some portuguese before going down there & be sure to bring a dictionary with little phrases you can memorize. I speak it fluently, but it's because I lived there for a year and a half and forced myself to think, speak and even dream in Portuguese.
There are some great websites that can help you speak it pretty well. The one I use mostly is called duolingo.com. It's absolutely free! You can find the link here. This website also has many other languages you can learn like Spanish, French, German and even Welsh! There's also Benny the Irish polyglot who has great language hacking tips on how to be fluent in a language in 3 months! You can find the link to his website here.
Second: I would definitely recommend public transportation. Pretty much every where I was in the south of Brazil (so this may not apply to central or northern Brazil) had buses and they were pretty doggon cheap. Only thing is, be prepared for some cray cray drivers. And I mean crazy drivers! There have been many a time when I was standing and holding onto the handles on the bus that I ended up falling into someone's lap or banging my head against a window.
You will also need to know where you're going, since the bus drivers won't announce it. Make sure your activities are in areas where it's easy to be accessed from your hotel or lodgings. I always used maps (since I didn't have a smart phone down there) and the people I lived with knew the bus route fairly well. There should be a route list at every bus stop but if there's not, look for someone honest looking to ask which bus goes where (again this will require a bit of portuguese). And you will more than likely have a lot of hit and misses, so when you do miss your stop, don't worry! Get off at the next stop and enjoy the walk back :)
Third: The exchange rate between US dollars and Brazilian reais (pronounced Hay-aye-s) is VERY reasonable. 10 Brazilian R$ is the equivalent to $2.83 USD. So you can get around for pretty cheap anywhere. And it's even cheaper in the north of Brazil, like Recife. Definitely do your exchanges in the airport to avoid any thieves or scams.
Fourth: Be mindful of the weather. Northern Brazil is hot year round. So if you're traveling to Recife, Fortaleza or Bahia, it's gonna be pretty hot so pack some shorts & sunblock! Southern Brazil is pretty temperate, places like Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina and Porto Alegre. And of course, the seasons are swapped down there. June & July is their winter, while December & January are their summer.
Fifth: The food there is to die for. Their barbecue is amazing! And pretty much every city has it's own amazing restaurant with Brazilian churrasco or barbecue. Memorize the term "Aonde esta a churrascaria?" (pronounced: A-on-jee es-TA a chew-has-ka-ree-a) and you're set! They will more than likely point you in the proper direction, unless they're not from that area. The best churrasco is located in Porto Alegre or really any place in Rio Grande do Sul, which is the southern most state in Brazil, and also the coldest. Though, any area you will have a great experience. If you're not totally convinced about whether or not the churrasco is worth trying, just check this out:
They basically take entire chickens and cows and put them on a skewer! It's AMAZING! Seriously, I'm salivating right now just thinking about it... mmmmmmmmmm
Another thing that's great (and cheap) are street vendors selling pasteis which is basically as it sounds. "Pastels." They are crust pies filled with meat or cheese or veggies deep fried and they're awesome!
Another favorite is pão de queijo (pronounced pow-jee-kay-shoo) or cheesy bread. This you can also find with street vendors or restaurants and they're amazing! Now, in regards to street vendors, they are hit and miss, so just make sure that you observe it and see if many people are coming to them for business and it's probably safe. I've never had any issues eating from street vendors, as long as you're smart about it, you shouldn't get sick. Here's a pic of the delicious pão de queijo!
And lastly, since this post is getting long, you have to try Brazilian sucos (pronounced sue-koo-s or sue-koo) which is juice! They have amazing mango (mango haha, ironic right?) juice (suco), strawberry (morango), guava (goiaba) and two amazing ones called açaí which is a Brazilian berry and maracuja which is Brazilian passionfruit. Here's a pic of açaí and maracuja!
***Currently, I'm not sure what travel conditions are like this year since the Zika virus is still running pretty rampant. I was lucky enough to be out of the country the month before the Zika virus broke out, so ladies, if you're pregnant or think there's even the slightest chance you may be preggers, DON'T travel to Brazil yet. Wait it out a bit. And when you do go, be sure you bring as much bug repellent as you can. They do have them down there, but it's always good to be prepared.
If you have any specific questions feel free to message me on twitter @megara_seitz or email me at megamega1989@gmail.com!
