Is my passport ready? Check! Did I pack enough clothes? Check! Did I notify my bank about my international trip? Check! Does my dog have a nanny while I’m gone? Check!
That’s right, we get you! Traveling abroad means you’ll have to prepare in so many different ways before your trip, from the luggage to leaving your house organized. But do you know what’s missing in your list? Looking up for some cultural tips. Now, that’s an important task to do before leaving.
If you know a little bit of the culture of the country you’re visiting, you’re in for a better experience. Locals will love you and will feel like you care about preparing. Plus, you’ll avoid offending someone, as well as many awkward or embarrassing situations.
Huh, what’s that? Oh, Brazil is your next destiny! Well, then today is your lucky day: We have the best cultural tips when traveling to Brazil. So you can immerse yourself better in their country and traditions.
YouTube Channels to Learn European Portuguese
Greeting it’s one of the most important things to learn when visiting a new country. It shows your education and that you’re kind and care about the people there.
But the truth is that every country and culture has different ways of greeting each other. Though none of them are bad, some cultures’ idea of greeting might shock others. This is because some countries are more outgoing than others with their salutes or welcoming.
You can see now why it’s important that you learn how to welcome others in the culture you’re visiting. So, what about Brazil?
In Brazil it’s common to greet with a kiss on the cheek. This can be between two women or a man and a woman. But it’s not very common between two men; they prefer to stick to just a handshake. This can be done even with people you may not know very well.
But if you’re at work, it’s not that common to kiss people there; after all, it’s a highly formal and serious environment.
The kiss can be just cheek to cheek, while simply making the sound of the kiss. Almost like you throw a kiss to the air while putting your cheek next to the other person’s cheek.
If someone tries to give you more than one cheek, don’t be shocked. In some parts of Brazil, they give two or even three kisses.
Outgoing Culture
You probably already notice this with the greeting with a kiss tip, but Brazilians are very outgoing. They’ll talk to anybody in a very informal, cool and friendly way. Even if they just met someone or if they don’t even know you. It’s like they’re an extrovert society.
You might also find out that they hug a lot. It doesn’t matter where they are, if it’s a park, a restaurant, or a mall. It would take a very formal environment for them to be more serious.
So don’t be afraid to approach them if you need anything, like instructions, or even just to say hi and make friends. They’ll be warm and social and will welcome you like they know you already. They might call you things like “mate” or “friend”, because that’s how they talk and refer to others.
Public Display of Affection
This characteristic can be related to the Brazilian outgoing culture, but this one refers more specifically to romantic love. If you’re not from a culture where people show a lot of love and affection for their significant others in public, you’re in for quite a surprise in Brazil. Because Brazilians tend to show all their love for their partners in public.
They’ll absolutely hold their hands while going for a stroll or, honestly, anywhere. They’ll also hug and kiss each other without shame. They really adore public displays of affection.
So when you go there, don’t be too shocked at this. It’s just how they are and how they show love. We even recommend that if you go with your partner you might want to try to hold their hands, hug, or cuddle more; you won’t be judged.
Sales Taxes
Are you ready to go shopping in Brazil? Cool! Whether you’re going to buy something for yourself or souvenirs for family and friends, you must know about taxes. But don’t worry too much, as in Brazil products already include taxes.
So whatever you’re about to pay it costs exactly what the price tag says it costs. You won’t have to pay more due to the sales taxes when you arrive at the cash register. For example: If you buy a $10 US key chain, you’ll pay exactly $10 US.
Time Management
If you come from a country where everyone always arrives right on time, this characteristic will be a headache for you. Brazilians are not very punctual. In fact, most times than not they’ll arrive late for things.
For example, if you’re meeting a friend at a coffee shop to get up to date with each other’s lives, consider that they’ll probably arrive late. Or if you’re having a party, don’t be sad if your Brazilian friends don’t show up at the time it starts. They’ll get there, but they’ll take their time.
Of course there are exceptions; it all depends on the person. But usually, they’re unpunctual. As you get to know your friends from Brazil, you’ll see how unpunctual everyone is. Some might just arrive a couple minutes late, some others half an hour, and some even more.
This impunctuality doesn’t prevent them from getting in trouble if they arrive late to very important stuff. Such as work or a doctor’s appointment.
Now you know: If you’re planning a very tight schedule to see your friends when you travel to Brazil, maybe give them some minutes of delay. Or simply ask them to please, please, arrive on time. Who knows? Maybe they’ll actually arrive on time just for you.
Tipping Culture
This is a very important topic when you’re traveling abroad. Because some cultures may get offended if you leave a tip and some others on the fact that you didn’t. So, it’s important you know this information.
That being said, in Brazil it’s not common to have tipping culture. Because they have the culture and belief that employers must pay their waiters and waitresses fairly, so at least the minimum wage.
Nonetheless, you must know that the bill comes with a 10% added (sometimes more). But this 10% is usually optional, so you can refuse it.
Now, this extra fee tends to go to all the waiters and waitresses. But sometimes it goes directly to the restaurant and isn’t paid to the waiters, which you might not find very fair. If you’re not sure what’s the case, ask the waiter/waitress.
Don’t Do the OK Sign
You’re probably well familiarized with the “ok” sign, which is a circle with the index finger and the thumb. There’s even an emoji of it! And we use it for a lot of things. When, for some reason, we can’t answer with our voice, we just do the “ok” sign.
Or just to simplify the answer, we do the sign instead of saying the word. Other times we say “okay” out loud, while also doing the sign with our fingers. It’s a basic form of expression or answer for a lot of people. But be careful how you do it in Brazil!
There, the “ok” sign upside down is vulgar and offensive. It’s a resemblance of the anus and it means something like “fuck off”. It’s a lot like when you put up your middle finger.
Though the offensive way of the sign is upside down, in Brazil it’s still not the most common thing to do the normal “ok” sign. So, we recommend you don’t do it. It’s more common there to do a “thumb up” sign as a form of saying “okay”.
Learn Some Portuguese to Truly Immerse in Brazilian Culture
Last but not least: Learn Portuguese! This is probably the best tip we can give you. Learning the language of the country you’re visiting will enrich your experience.
We’re sure Brazilians will adore you when they hear you speaking Portuguese, even if you’re not perfect at it. And since they’re very friendly they’ll probably love to have a conversation with you. This will make you get more immersed in the culture.
Locals can tell you about their traditions and everyday lifestyles. You’ll also understand more about their tv shows, series, music… Plus, they can help you improve your Portuguese by correcting your mistakes.
Let’s not forget about the basics. Even if you just learn a little bit of vocabulary, it’ll allow you to confidently ask for directions, the bathroom, or food. Basic stuff you’ll need to get around easily.
Do you see it? This all leads to you getting to practice your language skills with natives!
Whether you want to learn just a few words and phrases in Portuguese or speak like a professional, we can help you! TruFluency has the best online Portuguese classes with native teachers who will customize the lessons to your language goals and needs.
We base our classes on our Bellieu Method, which consists of making you speak your target language using all you’ve learned. This is the best way you’ll achieve Portuguese fluency! So for your next trip you’ll speak with Brazilians like you’re one of them.
Take two one-hour trial classes now! We know you have a busy agenda, so you can choose between our flexible schedules. Whatever works for you, works for us.
Come see for yourself how committed we are to your language learning journey.
