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The US in Brazil, How Much of Us is There?

Hello everyone! I know that many of you thought that my blog has ended now that I am back in the United States, and actually I thought the same thing. But I had so many people either on the internet or in person, people I didn’t necessarily know, tell me how much they loved my blogs and how unfortunate it was that I wouldn’t be writing anymore. I had a few people tell me that they were a little depressed that I had to come back! Well I talked to Head Honcho of GazettExtra.com and he agreed to give me more time with the blog. After all, just because I’m not IN Brazil anymore doesn’t mean that I don’t have anything more to say about it! Having said that, I’ve decided to start back up by showing you how much of America is inside Brazil.

There are many different American things that I discovered were also in Brazil, such as our music, food, TV shows, movies, and even toys. So let me break all that down a bit more for you. With the music aspect, it was actually a bit surprising to get to Brazil and hear the same songs on the radio there that I had been listening to before I left the US. In reality it takes a while for the “Top 10” hits to make it to Brazilian radio stations, so just as I had tired of the Black Eyed Peas’ song “I Gotta Feeling”, I found that I would have to endure another few months of it constantly playing as Brazil’s “newest hit”. So because of all the American music in Brazil, artists like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, U2, and Blink-182 are very well known, but few people, if anyone, had ever heard of Cobra Starship, Jack Johnson, Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen. I’m surprised I’ve waited until now to share this humorous tidbit with you all about the music, but one thing I always found amusing in Brazil was hearing “vulgar” songs with questionable lyrics being played casually in family restaurants, stores, and other public places. At first thought you might find this quite disturbing, but the Brazilian people find it completely normal, mostly because they have no idea what the song is saying. Most folks there don’t take the time to look up the translations of a lot of songs, so they tend to listen more to the beat of music rather than the lyrics. The hip hop genre is very popular there, I figure because Brazilians love to dance, but you know as well as I do how suggestive those songs can be. Hence my shock upon hearing “Smack That” as I ate lunch with my friend one day…

American food is all over Brazil, but the costs were a bit alarming at first. I guess it never occurred to me that Pringles would cost more in a different country because they’re made here and exported. But Pringles, Ruffles, Snickers, Twix and M&M’s; all these products can be found in grocery stores, but expect to pay more for them than you’re used to. Oh, and heads up, the candy bars don’t taste the same there. Another big food enterprise that has swept across the world and has planted its grease-filled seeds in Brazil is McDonalds. Yes, although the closest one to my city was about an hour and a half away, the golden arches are seemingly even more cherished there than here. I think that’s because they don’t have one on every city block like America does, so it’s a luxury for them. I also saw a few Subways, Pizza Huts, and a few burger joints that I hadn’t heard of before Brazil.

TV shows and movies I have already touched on in other blogs, so just to recap, American TV series are subtitled and shown on Brazilian TV channels; shows like Friends, Family Guy, Lost, Supernatural, Spongebob Squarepants, and most other kid’s shows (which are dubbed over for children). Although movies take longer to release there, our movies are just as popular there as they are here. (Much to my dismay, very few people had ever seen ‘Mean Girls’ or ‘She’s the Man’, so movie quotes were slim pickin.)

Just like little American girls obsess over Barbies and all their ridiculous accessories, little Brazilian girls strive to have the same. I didn’t think this was anything out of the ordinary, and really it’s not. But! One day I was discussing Christmas presents with my last host mom and asked her what she would be getting my 6-year old host sister. She said she would save up for a Barbie and a few clothes and other things. I asked why she had to save up for a Barbie; I didn’t see why it would have to cost too much. Apparently, for whatever reason, the themed Barbies (like the Fairies or ones from the movies) are ridiculously expensive, running around R$200 each set. Now that probably comes with a fancy outfit and a few accessories, but that’s still about $110 in US dollars… pretty ridiculous, right? Other US toy brands are also found in Brazilian stores: Hot Wheels, Littlest Pet Shop, video games of all types, and, of course, novelty items from kid’s TV shows like The Backyardigans and Hannah Montana.

But ya know, something American that is found in Brazil most of all is not the material things or the music, but the ideas we give to other countries. I’ll be writing another blog about what Brazilians think of the USA, but I realized something while I was in Brazil that I’m not sure I would have realized had I never left. The phrase “the land of opportunity” has long since been a name for our country, but it never really meant much to me. I had always just figured we were like other countries; we had to work for what we wanted, climb our way to the top, that kind of thing. But it took a few months living away from that “land” before I realized just how many opportunities we have here. From our outstanding healthcare to our incredible education systems, a lot of Americans (especially ones my age) don’t see just how many open doors they’re faced with in their lives. I don’t want to make it sound like Brazilians get nowhere in life, nor do I want to say that all Americans take their lives for granted. From my experience in a country that doesn’t have such great conditions to grow up and live in, I have learned to fully rethink my life in the States. We are truly blessed with so many opportunities for jobs it’s insane. We are so lucky to have a government that catches criminals and enforces laws so that citizens stay safer. The opportunity I wake up to when I can look out my window and see a lawn of beautiful green grass with a smooth sidewalk and paved street in front of it, all within view because I have no fence surrounding my house, nor do I have any need to. Every tiny little piece of our lives is infested with opportunities we can’t even begin to imagine, and I never picked up on most of them until I lived with teenagers who can’t say they wake up with the same safe, beautiful view. Their education is lectured to them and written as notes with little teacher-student interaction, whereas we have the opportunity to easily surf the web or watch an educational video or frequently do fun projects to help us learn. So basically, land of opportunity, I’m very glad I had the opportunity to discover your true meaning.

Before I close, I’d like to respond to a question that a reader asked me in my previous blog. They inquired why I use the American spelling of BraZil, instead of BraSil. Personally I could just as easily use the spelling from South America, but I figure because my audience is used to seeing it spelled a certain way, I would adjust to better suit them. But believe me when I say that I am not ashamed, and actually rather proud, to say “Brasil.”

Until next time!! Tchau, gente!!

Beijos, Haley

Haley Drozdowicz is a Craig High School student who's visiting Turkey. She's studying there as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Haley is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. Her opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.