I love reading expat blogs and their daily discoveries. Maybe because I like to share my own experiences as well.
Whenever I go to some new place, I almost immediately get that feeling I'm not in Kansas anymore... It's inevitable to compare the new surroundings with the places I was before. For each new experience, I wonder if it is a typical local one or not.
But what makes a typical local experience? Being locally developed? Taking place just locally? Being free of foreign influence?
Born Again Brazilian has been writing an extensive list of Brazilian experiences. Over 100 for now! One can find many other Brazilian experiences in other expat blogs. Nevertheless, I've noticed some experiences are not so "Brazilian"...
So I decided to make a list of things perceived as Brazilians by expats, but not not found only in Brazil or not native from Brazil.
THE LIST (PART I)!
1. Not refrigerated eggs in supermarkets. Yes, eggs are sold not refrigerated in Brazil, but not only here! Eggs are sold not refrigerated in Italy too, for example...
2. Passion fruit mousse. Passion fruit, or maracujá, is very Brazilian, but mousse is French. Yet I think passion fruit mousse is a Brazilian creation, you can find it in France (mousse aux fruits de la passion)!
3. Pavê. Very popular in Brazil, it's a French dessert with a French name (pavé).
4. Hot dogs for breakfast. Commonly found in Brazilian hotels' buffets, and nowhere else! Brazilians think Americans have hot dogs for breakfast, so they serve them at hotels...
5. Sweetened condensed milk. It's a Swiss invention by Nestlé. In 1893 Nestlé opened the first factory in Cham, Switzerland, to market the first condensed milk, MILKMAID. Brazil has the highest consumption of sweetened condensed milk worldwide, however. It seems the Brazilians have been the most creative people worldwide in developing condensed milk recipes!
6. UHT milk. Ultra High Temperature processed milk. It's very popular all over the world. The only exception is the US. It can last up to 6 months with no refrigeration, until opened.
Ok, I'm going to really need to think on this. Kissing upon greeting is one - even though that is very European. Super sweet yogurt. Jeito. Futebol. (The name actually originated in the U.S.A. according to the Museu de Lingua Portuguesa). Hmmm... give me some time...
ReplyDeleteFYI - your link back to your blog is incomplete when you click from mine - I tried a couple times before I realized the "com" was missing...
It's a shame, but nowadays there is no good yogurt in Brazil. The producers think only children eat yogurt, and they try to attract the little consumers through sugar...
ReplyDeleteThe jeito surfaces wherever bureaucracy is overwhelming. I have lived in Italy for a while and it's almost like southern Brazil over there.
And they are just as crazy as Brazilians when it comes to soccer...
And thanks for the information. I'm used to type from a Galaxy SII Android smartphone and sometimes the small screen deceives me.
Every country and nationality has their own lifestyle and way of living which males them different from others. Due to globalization lifestyles have merged and people have adopted and accepted different thingsm
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