A strange thing happened yesterday.
Well, first a good thing. A really good thing. My asshole roommate left, and I, hopefully, will never have to lay eyes on that jerk ever again. And, in his place, he has 2 renters for Carnaval. They're a great couple from Canada, and we're having a great time spending time together.
That brings me to my latest story. I ran downstairs with Myles (one of the new guets) to take care of something, and on the way back up he started asking me some basic questions about Portuguese. He doesn't speak a lick of Portuguese, so I was explaining basic greetings and please and thank you. Our conversation carried over into the elevator where there were a few other people. We were speaking in normal tones -- but nothing loud or remotely obnoxious.
As we reached the final floor, the last person in the elevator exclaimed "Puh-lease!" -- in English (heavily accented) -- and Myles and I just sat stunned for a moment because we didn't know what the problem was. Soon, I responded to her in Portuguese and asked what the problem was. She ignored me.
Then, I started getting a sense that she was a bitch.
So, I started pushing and said, "So, you didn't know I speak Portuguese. So, what was the problem? Explain it to me." She walked out of the elevator and continued walking away and ignoring me. I continued saying, "My friend is a guest here, and I was explaining your language to him."
And, that was that. I haven't seen her since. But, she lives on my floor. I imagine I'll run into her again soon.
This was the worst I've seen. But, frankly, I don't feel people are that friendly here. Travelers all talk about how friendly Brazilians are, and I just don't see this. I get a lot of rude remarks, selfish behavior, and nastiness such as this -- and Rio's been the worst.
I don't write a lot about Brazil because I've had a lot of frustrating experiences, and I'm very sensitive to generalizing and making poor judgments -- or judgments at all, but I've had enough. This experience really pissed me off, and I'm quite happy that my Portuguese skills have reached a level where I was able to fight back and hopefully shame her a bit.
One can only hope.
-nick
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- nickdag
- Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
- From Boulder, Colorado, USA. Had enough. Moved to Brazil.
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4 comments:
I just have to say that I saw the movie "Up in the Air," and while I didn't love it, there's a quote in there that I like where Clooney says, "I'm like my mother, I stereotype. It's faster." The context is which security line to pick at the airport. While I recognized we cannot let stereotypes take over, there is some truth to it and your post reminds me of that.
I'm pumped that you have mastered the language!!! Congratulations!!
I am from Rio and i can say that politeness is hard to be found around there. People are more concerned about themselves and not the people around them. I think people are way more civilized in the south.
Thanks Katie & Anonymous for the comments.
Anon, I especially appreciate yours b/c you're Carioca and from here. I'm sure I could find a good group of friends here -- if I were willing to exert a LOT of time and effort -- but I'm not. I'm going to try things out in Belo Horizonte.
After Carnaval I'm gonna head up to BH for a couple weeks to scope it out. (I've already lived in the south, and it's too cold for me!!!) Any other tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks much.
-nick
I'm a brazilian myself, and you know what? I totaly agree with you... I've also been an expat, and I thank god I could have this experience to understand what it means to be polite,and respectful. Beeing an expat is a life changing experience, and I'm really glad I went through this.
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