Culture Club

Now imagine trying to drive through this mess

Let's be honest, most of the world is pretty much Americanized. You can thank (or blame) American movies, rock & roll and the internet - but it seems that American culture has managed to sneak its way into just about every country on this planet.

Brazil is no exception.

Excluding the obvious language differences, Brazil (and São Paulo, especially) has been very heavily influenced by the United States. Lord knows how many times I've crawled into a São Paulo taxi only to have some terrible Katy Perry song blasting back at me. With such a strong influence, it's easy to forget that I'm in a different country all the way on the other side of the planet. So when uniquely Brazilian cultural differences manage to bubble their way to the surface - I tend to take notice.

Here are some of the more recent observations:

Hygiene

Brazilians are extremely hygienic. I'm not saying Americans are smelly and Brazilians aren't (because I've met some smelly Brazilians as well), but I've noticed that Brazilians definitely place a larger emphasis on their personal hygiene than Americans do.

(I should mention that this is aside from the Brazilian proclivity for removing "unsightly" hairs.)

Five Things I Hate About America

Authentic Brazilian cooking!

I don't hate America. Far from it. But having lived in Brazil for over two months now, I’m starting to get to the point where I’m a little homesick and little sick of home. And recently, I've been reflecting on my experiences here and thinking a lot about the United States.

So I decided to make a list:

Five Things I Hate About America

1) Chain restaurants

When I walk down the streets of São Paulo and pass a McDonald's, a Pizza Hut and a Hooters -  it makes me want to punch Uncle Sam right in the nutsack. I have no problem with shitty chain restaurants completely homogenizing the Midwestern United States (let's be honest - it had nothing going for it anyway), but when I see this shameful part of Americana invading other countries - it makes me livid. Brazil has such a rich and wonderful culture that it kills me to see it being watered down with such bland, reheated dreck. If this trend continues, the entire world is going to look like a Cleveland strip mall by the year 2018.