30 Brazilian Observations

1. None of the maps are very specific

2. There are lots of pregnant women

3. Lots of fabric stores

4. Many stores write down every transaction in a notebook

5. Tons of police officers everywhere

6. There aren't many nice restaurants to eat in

7. For the most part, people are nice and try to help you

8. Men stare at you and some try to stroke your arms and make kissing sounds (It happened to a friend...)

9. Coke comes standard in a glass bottle

10. The Amazon river is like their freeway system

11. They have weird cars and cell phones

12. They sell underwear, bras, thongs, and bathing suits on the streets like hotdog vendors sell lunch in New York

13. Everyone has braces

14. There are no professional office buildings. I've seen 5 people in the past 5 days who have had on professional suits. It seems like no one has normal jobs here.

15. Sprite doesn't taste like Sprite

16. Prostitutes on the corners near the brothels

17. The pace of life is sooooooo slow

18. People walk around lazily and without a purpose

19. Child labor is prevalent on the streets....they're shining shoes and cleaning tables

20. Alcohol is for sale right alongside the Coke

21. Junk food is very expensive

22. Even the locals drink only bottled water

23. They dont speak English, yet listen to American rap songs

24. The taxis are really nice....one of ours had a flat screen TV inside

25. There is a reason why America has regulations for tinted windows....you can never tell if there are people in the cars which makes crossing streets dangerous

26. Cars stop for brazilians....not for americans

27. If the stoplight is red....apparently you really dont have to stop

28. It is the dirtiest city I have ever seen. There are no trash cans and trashbags are piled into the streets

29. Parts of the city smell like feces and urine

30. It's really really really really really really hot