Some Random Brasil Facts and Stories

In the video rental store here, the dvds are not sorted by genre and then alphabet, but (and I am totally serious, I was just there today) by genre and then by COLOR!

I spent 3 times as much money for groceries on Monday than I spent the same day to fill my car's tank.

(Some) cellphone providers charge you for roaming when you change states within Brazil.

If you want to buy something big, or rent a dvd, you need to register in the store. In order to do so, you need to give two phone numbers of friends or colleagues for reference. (So, if you thought of stealing a 15 Reais DVD, they will hunt you down, may it cost whatever...)

Nobody has dishwashers. And as most people clean their dishes with cold water, the soap here is so aggressive it cleans everything. Burnt in, dried out, who cares!?

As it hardly ever rains in this city, streets turn into raging rivers when it finally does.

You think you can skip cleaning dust this week? I don't think so. The earth here is red as I would only expect it in Africa... and you can see red on EVERYTHING.

Bills have barcodes, so you can pay them easily on the ATM Machine. Yet there is no such thing is automatic debit (only for water and gas) or "Bankeinzug".

Brasil has no Ikea.

Things in Brasil sell out easily, as stores do not stock much. If you see something you like, buy it.

Your CPF number shows people if you are paying your bills, if you have a valid identity, and (through noticing if you know it by heart or not) how long you have lived in Brasil (in that order, by the way ;))

You need your CPF Number for purchases of all kinds, to use your credit card, to open bank accounts, to rent appartments, to register a car, to register your signature, to get Internet Access, and the list goes on and on. You even need it to be allowed to enter clubs and bars sometimes.

You need to register your signature. In Brasil it is not necessarily enough to sign things (twice or three times). Your signature also needs to get a little sticker, another signature of a state worker, and a couple of stamps before its valid and proven that it really is your own signature.

If Brazilians call anything "Alemao" (=German) you can translate it as "Bavarian". Dirndl and Lederhosen are typical German cloths, Sauerkraut and Eisbein are typical German food (and sausages), the Oktoberfest is what every German attends once a year and Franziskaner is a typical German Beer. And beer is drunken warm in Germany, cause it is so cold over there... Mmmh, lots of work left for me.

Brazilians love fireworks. There is a big rocket sent off after every GOOOOOOOOOOL here at the stadium.

The lines that show you lanes on the street are there, but they are useless and thus ignored. And you better ignore them too, if you dont want to cause an accident. Who honks first, goes first and there is ALWAYS space to change (imaginary) lanes 5 to 7 times on 100 meters in rush hour.

... thats it for now, but I am sure there will be more to come...