i am new to this country. I am 17 and i am here for forgein exchange. this town is like my town in brazil. but it is diffenert. i dont understand the people here in your county. it is too divided. like at school boys and girls r seperate. that is very weird for me. then in this county its all about being black white mexican chinese. in brazil it doesnt matter your color of skin your brazilian either way. and there is too many problems here like all gurls wnt to be very skinny. that is also weird. that is y i come to this site because i was hopeing maybe some one can help me under stand this county alittle bit more people wise. im not saying i dont like it here but it will help me alot. thanx
bruna:)
American racial attitudes are very different from Brazilian ones. This is true.
Nevertheless, there is nothing stopping you from having friends in each group. Doing so will also help you understand America better.
As an aside, you’re a foreign exchange student (FES) who likes candy a lot. You’re not dating Mandy Moore, are you?
Where are you from in Brazil? You’ll find that the social mores in this country are very different from what you are used to back home. I’ve spent a good deal of time in Brazil and I can say that people dress differently and act differently. I’m not saying that it is good or bad, just different. You’ll find that you can be happy here as well.
Some things I miss about Brazil, casquinha de siri, moqueca capixaba, and last but not least, farofa.
Hello Bruna:
A few things:
-you have many freedoms in America, including the freedom to screw up
-be careful when accepting rides from people
-you will find yourself very popular with American boys-just start wearing your “fio dental” at the local beach/pool
I am from sao paulo it is very big thanx for the advice it helps me lot. and also i dont know who mandy moore is. yeah i noticed that everyone has theyre own race. like black white mexican how come your not jut all american. that is what i cant get my black friends tell me that black and white people dont mix my ehite friends say that all the bkack kids seperate them self from everyone is that true? an d plus this ton is very small there is a university herebut that is it with out it this towm would be nothing i guess.
Originally posted by Brujo
Ah, the joy of farofa. Do you know that I have heard people here in Europe compare it to sawdust? But to me there is nothing better than a plate heaping full of rice, feijoada, and farofa.
I also miss Açai com farinha de tapioca, goiabada, pato no tucupi, manhiçoba, and my all-time favorite tacaca.
As those knowledgeable in Brazilian cuisine can probably see, I have been to Northern Brazil, specifically Belem at the mouth of the Amazon, since my wife is from there. The Amazon is so large at this point, that there is an island in the river called Ilha do Marajo which is the size of Switzerland!!!
They also have lovely names for some of the fruits you can only find there, like: açai, copoaçu, bacuri, and açerola.
Geting back to the topic though, in my visits to Brazil, I have also noticed that there is almost no blatant racism, and all the ‘races’ mix and socialize freely.
However, there is a certain degree of ‘social’ racism. This means that people with a lighter skin color are usually thought to be of a ‘higher’ social class than those of darker pigmentation. And I, as an obvious ‘gringo’ (being about a foot taller than most inhabitants of Northern Brazil, and also being much lighter-skinned), was obvoiously treated differently (but not at all in a bad way).
Although sometimes the stares did start to feel strange. I had a ten year old kid in a supermarket ask me for an autograph, because he thought I must have been from some basketball team touring the country. I kid you not! Plus, most people just naturally thought I was loaded in money, even though I had my wife handle all things monetary, because there is a popular sport in Brazil called ‘Let’s Fleece the Gringo’. (Not that I can blame those doing this, and 90% of the gringo’s who are fleeced deserve it.)
Anyway, if you want to see really blatant racism, forget the US of A. Come to Germany, specifically Eastern Germany, where up to a few years ago, immigrants were sometimes chased through the streets by mobs of locals, and sometimes even beaten to death. (I am not exaggerating!)
Mycroft,
I actually found some farofa this weekend. I was in a Portuguese store looking around and asked the shop owner if they had any farofa. She said yes, check the end of that aisle and they did. Life just got a little better for Brujo. I can now eat rice and beans. and have it taste properly.
My main experience with Brazilian food is Carioca and Capixaba since half of my family lives in Rio and the other half in Vitoria.
there is almost no blatant racism, and all the ‘races’ mix and socialize freely.
However, there is a certain degree of ‘social’ racism. This means that people with a lighter skin color are usually thought to be of a ‘higher’ social class than those of darker pigmentation.-Mycroft
yes i do agree. Like my mom is light and my dad is kinda darker than she is. and they are wealthy. But i think that it is just the theyre educationm level. even thought In some place social status is a problem.
I’ve noticed that as well. I remember thinking it was odd that even though the majority of the population is black or mulatto, most of the bars and clubs I would go to with friends would inevitably be mostly white and lighter skinned mulatto.
I just wanted to add that the people I met in Brazil were probably
the most beautiful, inside and out, that I have ever known. Even the “fleece the gringo” kids were OK.
brujo:
I’ll add macaxiara. It tastes kind of like potatoes when cooked a certain way. And it also can be used to make some kind of delicious, tangy, pudding-like dessert. I know this goes by a different name in the Rio-Sao Paulo areas. But I became familiar with it in the Northeast.
And do I ever miss guaraná.
I also miss long, flowing, black hair, honey-colored eyes, light-olive skin, women’s clothing and the bikinis, too. (Though not on me.) 
**
Amen to that. Show me somebody who can’t make friends in Brazil, and I’ll show you a seriously messed up person.
Okay, I know absolutely zip about Brazil other than someday I want to attend Carnival and a 1984 Straight Dope column about population pigmentation in Brazil. What is the correlation between skin color and social status or wealth? Does it stem from early colonization days?
Milossarian: I’m not even sure what the macaxiara is, but you might be able to find the guarana here in the states. I have no trouble finding in the Northern VA area.
Hell, we’re lucky to get Coke up here in the woods.
What is the correlation between skin color and social status or wealth? Does it stem from early colonization days?-horseplace
Well one there is hardly any racism like in america. Now it depend on where you at in brazil when it comes to skin color and social status.like iiin the older smaller towns it is more so the lighter skin the more you have but not so much in big cities. yeah it kinda stems from earlier because like in america you have those town i guess that you have alot of rich families if that makes since.
I just wanted to add that the people I met in Brazil were probably the most beautiful, inside and out, that I have ever known.
Amen to that. Show me somebody who can’t make friends in Brazil, and I’ll show you a seriously messed up person.-Milossarian
Thanx it is very easy to make friends in my home. i wont say the same abouyt here. every one thinks that i live in the jungle and that im dumb. they ask me questions like do u go to school. yes i do in fact the school here is far behind the one i o too. i speak fluent german french italian, spanish adn im wrking on english.Plus i study latin.
the teachers ask me dumb questions like to u were clothes. yes!!!i we dont run around like putas. I told her to look around at the gurls in the class. They dont understand.
And the gurls here said that i was fat. htey have no shape they r like size 0 that is not a size.and they r rude that is why i cant wait to go back to brazil were i am safe.I writed my mother she was very surprised because i knew U S had problemas but every one does no effeince but you guys here have to many problemas.
bruna