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Brazil Through Foreign Eyes
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June 23, 2010
Meet Rod Saunders who recently visited Brazil. Read the following interview in which he tells us about some of his most memorable experiences and gives some useful advice to newcomers.
1. Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do etc.?
I‘m 53. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was laid off from TV Guide three years ago after working for ten years in the IT field and have been playing and teaching music since then - basically waiting around for retirement. I am a classical guitarist. I play for weddings, restaurants, corporate functions... etc. and I run the Tulsa Guitar Society.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
I arrived in late October of 2009 and stayed until the middle of January of 2010. I have wanted to go to Brazil since I was about 20 years old and saw a photo of the skyline of Sao Paulo. Like many Americans I grew up thinking South America was all jungles and third world living conditions. When I saw that photo of Sao Paulo I realized that there were modern, developed areas that rivaled cities in the US. As I got older I became familiar with much of the music of Brazil and started playing some bossa nova in my repertoire. As a result I also started learning a bit of Portuguese and my fascination with all things Brazil grew from there.
3. What were you first impressions of Brazil?
It seemed chaotic. My first night in Brazil I went to a pizzeria with my Brazilian friend Jefferson in Porto Alegre and the traffic was unbelievable. Trains, busses, taxis, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, horses, pedestrians... all going every which way with no apparent rules or organization. I guess you could call it organized chaos but the Brazilian people seem to be able to make sense of everything and function okay.
4. What do you miss most about home?
American food. I love Brazilian food but I missed being able to get Mexican food or a Subway tuna sandwich. The Subways in Brazil are not as good in my opinion.
5. What has been your most frustrating experience in Brazil?
The language, no doubt. This was my first experience at being a foreigner and trying to communicate with people who don‘t speak English. I constantly told people "nao falo portugues muito bem" which I thought meant "I don‘t speak Portuguese very well" but I am now convinced that it means "talk louder and faster, otherwise I might actually be able to understand what you‘re saying." I was on a bus in Rio Grande do Sul and didn‘t understand anything the bus driver said. It was half an hour after I was supposed to arrive so I thought maybe I missed my stop and I tried to ask him about Canoas, my exit. When he responded the only thing I understood was "longe, longe" (far, far). I didn‘t know if it was far behind us or far ahead. Several Brazilians tried to elaborate but the more they talked the more confused I got. It turned out there was a lady from Chicago who was fluent in Portuguese and she explained to me that our bus was very late and she would tell me when to exit. I appreciated her help but was still very frustrated at not being able to understand without an interpreter.
6. What has been your most memorable experience in Brazil (specific incident)?
Foz do Iguacu. No matter how many photos or videos you see nothing can take the place of experiencing it in person.
7. What do you most like about Brazil (in general)?
The people. Some of my best friends are people I got to know in Brazil. Three or four times I took a bus to a different city and it arrived an hour or two late (nothing runs on time in Brazil) and my host was waiting patiently for me when I arrived. In the US you would probably be told "call me when you get there".
8. What is your favorite restaurant/place to hang out here?
In Paranoa, a suburb of Brasilia, my friend Nelson and I ate several times at a place called "Boca Louca" (crazy mouth). Great food and nice people. Nothing fancy but I liked it. Also, Jefferson and I want to Bourbon Country mall in Porto Alegre where they had live entertainment in the food area. Being a guitarist I really enjoyed hearing the singer/guitar player perform there.
9. Do you have any funny stories/incidents to tell about your time in
Brazil?
My friend Jefferson who lives in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul was driving me around his city and said "I‘m going to stop for gas at the Teshockoo" I said "what‘s a Teshockoo?" He pointed at a sign and said "it‘s a gas station". The sign of course said Texaco. I thought he was just mispronouncing it but I later learned that it‘s pronounced that way throughout Brazil.
10. What difference between your homeland and Brazil do you find most striking?
Probably the graffiti. When I returned from Brazil I couldn‘t help but notice all of the buildings and walls without graffitti. It‘s a shame because it‘s such a beautiful country, but this is rampant in Brazil.
11. How is your Portuguese coming along? What words do you find most difficult to pronounce/remember or are there any words that you regularly confuse?
People tell me that my Portugues is good, but I am very frustrated. I can understand more than half of what I read but when people are talking I pick up 10-20 % of what I hear. I have had trouble with the word ‘cachorro‘ for some reason. I keep wanting to say ‘cocharro‘. Once I was trying to say somebody was crying and instead I said "ele estava chovendo" which means "he was raining".
12. What advice do you have for newcomers to Brazil?
Be prepared for culture shock. The crime and poverty rate is much higher in Brazil than in the US and there are many people trying to sell you things or hit you up for money for watching your car for you, carrying your luggage ... etc. Take it all in stride and don‘t criticize or point out the differences between Brazil and your country because regardless of how you mean it people will take it as an insult. I unintentionally offended people by doing just that and I regret it now.
13. What are some things that you would recommend for a visitor to do in São Paulo (or anywhere else in Brazil)?
Go to the interior. See how real Brazilians live. The real beauty in Brazil is the warmth and hospitality of the people. You don‘t see that so much in the tourist areas. Go to a club or restaurant in a city of less than 100,000 people and observe how much fun Brazilians have just hanging out with their friends.
To read previous interviews in the Brazil Through Foreign Eyes series click below:
Don Fenstermaker - USA
Ken Van Zyl - South Africa
Angus Graham - UK
Anne Morddel - USA
Jessica Mullins - Switzerland
Evan Soroka - USA
Mary de Camargo - USA
Brendan Fryer - UK
Aaron Sundquist - USA
Jay Bauman - USA
Alan Williams - USA
Derek Booth - UK
Jim Shattuck - USA
Ruby Souza - Hawaii
Stephan Hughes - Trinidad and Tobago
Louis van der Wiele - Holland
Drew Glaser - USA
Barry Elliott - Canada
Joel Barsky - USA
David Drummond - Canada
Liam Porisse - France
Jim Kelley - USA
Max Ray - USA
Jeremy Clark - Canada
Don Fredrick - USA
Jase Ramsey - USA
Ben Pearce - UK
Nitai Panchmatia - India
Johnnie Kashat - USA
Jeni Bonorino - USA
Eric Jones - USA
Bill Martin - UK
Bernard Morris - USA
John Graves - USA
Deepak Sapra - India
Alison McGowan - UK
Brent Gregory - USA
R Dub - USA
Tara Bianca - USA
Jack Hurley - USA
James Woodward - Canada
Tony O'Sullivan - Ireland
Anna Belavina - Russia
Jim Kirby - USA
Linda Halverstadt - USA
Michelle Monteiro - USA
Chris Mensah - UK
David Sundin - USA
Stephanie Glennon - USA
Julien Porisse - France
Hans Keeling - USA
Jim Adams - USA
Richard Murison - USA
Will Periam - UK
Jan Sandbert - Sweden
Jim Jones - USA
Mike Stricklin - USA
Edward Gowing - Australia
Adrian Woods - USA
Kevin Raub - USA
Pierpaolo Ciarcianelli - Italy
Zachary Heilman - USA
David Johnson - Bermuda
Cipriana Leme - Argentina
Timothy Bell - USA
Patti Beckert - USA
Timothy Bell - USA
Paul James - USA
David McLoughlin - Ireland
Pat Moraes - USA
Richard Dougherty - USA
James Weeds - USA
Tom Sluberski - USA
Peter Kefalas - USA
Sylvie Campbell - UK
Kathleen Haynes - USA
Matt Bowlby - USA
Alan Longbottom - UK
Eric Karukin - USA
Eddie Soto - USA
Kieran Gartlan - Ireland
Bryan Thomas Scmidt - USA
Emile Myburgh - South Africa
Bob Chapman - USA
David Barnes - USA
John Milan - USA
Chris Coates - UK
Matthew Ward - UK
Allison Glick - USA
Drake Smith - USA
Jim Jones - USA
Philip Wigan - UK
Atlanta Foresyth - USA
Lee Gordon - USA
Carmen Naidoo - South Africa
Lee Safian - USA
Laurie Carneiro - USA
Dana De Lise - USA
Richard Gant - USA
Robin Hoffman - USA
Wayne Wright - UK
Walt Kirspel - USA
Priya Guyadeen - Guyana
Caitlin McQuilling - USA
Nicole Rombach - Holland
Steven Engler - Canada
Richard Conti - USA
Zak Burkons - USA
Ann White - USA
Monde Ngqumeya - South Africa
Johnny Sweeney - USA
David Harty - Canada
Bill McCrossen - USA
Peter Berner - Switzerland/Brazil
Ethan Munson - USA
Solveig Skadhauge - Denmark
Sean McGown - USA
Condrad Downes - UK
Jennifer Silva - Australian
Justin Mounts - USA
Elliott Zussman - USA
Jonathan Abernathy - USA
Steve Koenig - USA
Kyron Gibbs - USA
Stephanie Early - USA
Martin Raw - UK
Sean Coady - UK
Hugo Delgado - Mexico
Sean Terrillon - Canada
Jessie Simon - USA
Michael Meehan - USA
Thales Panagides - Cyprus
Tammy Montagna - USA
Samantha Tennant - England
Ron Finely - United States
Bob Duprez - United States
Peter Baines - England
Youssef Bouguerra - Tunisia
Van Wallach - USA
Lesley Cushing - England
Alexander von Brincken - Germany
Hank Avellar - USA
Ed Catchpole - England
Penny Freeland - England
Yasemin de Pinto - Turkey
Amy Williams Lima - USA
John Naumann - England
Marsye Schouella - Eygpt
Rita Shannon Koeser - USA
John Fitzpatrick - Scotland
Liam Gallagher - Northern Ireland
Lorelei Jones - England
Adam Glensy - England
Tommie C.B. DeAssis - Japan
Aaron Day - Canada
Graham Debney - New Zealand
Silke Tina Tischendorf - Germany
Tanya Keshavjee Macedo - Canada
Frank de Meijer - Holland
Carl Emberson - Australia
Kim Buarque - Wales
Damiano Pak - South Korea
Jonas Helding - Denmark
Pari Seeber - Iran
John Milton - England
Ken Marshall - Australia
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6/23/2010
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