Brazil: First Impressions
1) The people of Brazil seem to be of all shapes, sizes, and colors. There is no one ‘Brazil’ body type. It’s like anyone could be Brazilian.
2) Although there is no one ‘Brazil’ body type, the good looking girls in the club definitely have a ‘Brazilian model’ look.
3) And, although there is no one ‘Brazil’ body type, occasionally a giant Brazilian woman will wear heels, which turns her into a super Brazilian giant woman.
3) There are a bunch of fat people in Brazil. Initially, I thought I was back in America.
4) One reason for #3 might be because they eat chocolate cake for breakfast.
5) You can understand a lot of Portuguese, just because you know Spanish.
6) Many Brazilians (at least so far) speak a little bit of Spanish, so you can default to it if you need to communicate without English.
7) One initial thought regarding Spanish vs. Portuguese:
Pronunciation in Portuguese seems more unforgiving than in Spanish. People often do not understand if you say the vowel wrong. #brazil
— Ryan Goes Abroad (@ryangoesabroad) June 16, 2012
8) If you say one word (and only one word) properly, though, people might think you’re Brazilian. This happened to me already.
9) The word that I said was ‘legal,’ which means cool. Say it for instant camaraderie.
10) Some Brazilians will speak a mix of Spanish, Portuguese, and English when they try to communicate with you. I find this hilarious.
11) Buses within the cities are more expensive than Colombia.
12) Buses between cities are a much better traveling experience than in Colombia, with padded, recline-able seats, and clean bathrooms.
13) The Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls has an elevator that goes right next to one set of falls. You see rainbows on sunny days.
14) Porto Alegre has an unattractive shoreline with it’s lake. I wonder if the residents are willing to admit this.
15) Taxis in Brazil are very expensive. A 15 minute drive in Florianopolis is 20-25 reals ($10-12 USD).
16) Speaking of Florianopolis, June is the beginning of winter when hardly anyone is here. As a result, rent is cheap right now. The people come back in November and make everything expensive.
17) Barra Beach Club (Florianopolis) is one of the best value hostels I’ve stayed at in South America.
18) Florianopolis is not one big city… it is an island split into a bunch of towns spread out along the island’s coast. It takes a good bit of time to get from one to the other. The upscale region with the prettier girls and better clubs is in the north.
19) Two months out of the year, certain beaches in Florianopolis are closed to surfers so that fishermen can fish. When motorboats or jetskis come by and make too much noise, the fishermen set off firecrackers as a sort of middle finger gesture.
20) It is better to rent a car or moto to travel around the island. Don’t make the mistake of spending 4 hours of your day on buses.
21) The Brazilian music I’ve heard so far in the south which is popular sounds like a mixture of reggae and chill rock. Like John Mayer or Dave Matthews.
22) I’ve resorted to tweeting pictures of Brazilian mermaids. 
