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Good  morning. 

Al though I am not currently living every day in Brazil ( outside of vacation) I always do wonder how “day to day “ life would be if NOT on vacation.    This is an interesting topic.   

Mickey

As a wise man (@abthree) once said to me "you must adapt to Brazil, because Brazil will never adapt to you...!

@Peter Itamaraca So Sorry, I can only give that 1 like. It is SO true. I am the only one in my village of 2,500 as well as the much larger city of Granja (55k) that speaks English. No one even seems to try to speak to me or learn English. Fortunately, I can communicate very well in Portuguese.

Roddie in Retirement 🕵

@Cheryl, I always have to say first that I live in a very small village of 2,500 in Northeastern Brazil and my experiences may not be and are probably not the same as those who live in Sao Paulo, Rio etc.

Did you find any local habits or customs particularly surprising?

1. Babies, Toddlers and Young Children can often be seen riding on the front or back of a motorcycle operated by an adult. Many times, holding onto groceries or school backpacks etc. The only person (the motorcycle operator) that wears a helmet or protective gear. 
2. Trash is often burnt in the yard, or in front of the house.
3. We have a lot of animals (Bulls, Horses, Pigs etc.) roaming around the Neiborhood's or streets. I have heard the "Why did the chicken cross the road" joke but seeing them actually do it is a fun Suprise.
4. In our local Supermercados, they stock the shelves right in the middle of shopping hours and often in your way, blocking entire aisles. (in my former home in the USA, they did it afterhours).

This one is neither a habit nor custom, however after 3 years I am finally getting the scope of it.

1. Our rainy season lasts longer than i thought (January - June). The other six months are SUMMER where the temperature is ALWAYS 84 and sunny.
2. No horror movie does justice to the first 3 days of rainy season. The bugs come out ALL OVER. 100's on the ceiling, floor, wall etc. Any bug spray is almost useless since you can go thru a whole can without any noticeable effect. These are not normal bugs either. Often they have 6 legs, some can fly and they are definitely larger than USA bugs. We also get frogs and lizards. Fortunately this does not last too long.

Roddie in Retiremetn🕵

Only my perspective coming from a small country (Mauritius) and having lived in Europe and North America.

What aspects of daily life were the most challenging for you at first?

I was really surprised how many people in Brazil only speak Portuguese.  In order to meet non-Portuguese speakers, you most likely need to go to tourist frequented areas.

How did you overcome these difficulties?

I saw the language issue more of an opportunity rather than a difficulty.  It was a great way for me to listen and practice this new language.

Did you find any local habits or customs particularly surprising?

Throwing used toilet paper in a bin next to the toilet bowl.  I understand the rationale - but it is not something that I am used to.

Trash is everywhere.  Lots of issues with that.  Not sure what is the best way to fix that....

Cleaning by throwing water everywhere in the house.... This is the difference between wooden built vs brick built houses....

Few houses with bathtubs and dishwashwers.... It's almost the norm in North America but this is not common in Brazil.

2 or more showers per day.  I actually like this practice.

The main meal of the day is lunch rather than dinner.  I think that this is healthier.

What has helped you in feeling more at ease in your new environment?

"when in Rome do as the romans do"

Any funny or unexpected experiences you would like to share?

At the Sao Paulo airport, there was a young family waiting to board and the father was saying to the son - "this is a Japanese" - which I am obviously not.  I let the family conversation continue unimpeded until the consensus changed to "this is a Chinese from China."  I just could not hold my laughter and finally had to break the news that I was kinda far from what they were thinking....  I think that we all had a good laugh...