E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Toothbrushing on the go!

TOOTHBRUSHING while out and about is part of Brazilian culture. Most Brazilians carry a toothbrush to brush their teeth after lunch at work or when on an outing away from home for the day. It is a practice that Americans don't have. 

Americans who see a Brazilian brushing their teeth in a restroom, think it strange, to say the least. Brazilians who travel to the United States and who are seen brushing their teeth in a restroom, have told me they have received strange or puzzled looks from Americans. I admit that I reacted the same way when I began seeing Brazilians brushing their teeth in restrooms here in Brazil.

But, my fellow Americans and Canadians...what's all the fuss?!? When you think about it, how hygienic is brushing your teeth after meals eaten out? Very oral hygienic!! So, I ask my countrymen again: What's the problem? We need to brush our teeth more than just once or twice a day. One thing I can't stand is grungy-feeling teeth, even for a few minutes, let alone several hours! Plus, poppin' a breath mint, is not gonna get your teeth clean! After a few years living in Brazil, I not only started carrying a toothbrush, but also dental floss! Doctors say that a clean mouth helps to keep our bodies healthy!

                                           

Well, it's a question of customs related to culture. I'm American, a dentist's daughter, and I think it's a great idea to carry a toothbrush while away from home. Here's a little tip: You should floss correctly (ask your dentist how) before brushing; you must have a good toothbrush (not hard and not too soft - medium is the best) and a proper brushing technique - little pressure and brush with a small circular motion for at least 3 minutes (ask your dentist who can show you). When your toothbrush's bristles start fraying outwardly like a "Y", it's way overdue for a new one. You should have two of two different colors (three, if you decide to carry one with you), and use them alternately. 

There you have it! Think about how much sense it makes to carry and use a toothbrush while at work, the Brazilian way. Does your country have this custom? Let me know! Send a comment.

Congratulations! You are that much closer to speaking excellent American English!

E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Toilet Paper doesn't belong in the toilet?!?!

TOILET PAPER in Brazil does NOT belong in the toilet, in most places. So, you ask: Where then does it belong after used? Well, there is a logical explanation for why Brazilians put used toilet paper (hereafter referred to as T.P.) somewhere other than the toilet. 

Now, before we continue this conversation, please keep an open mind! Many might be shocked when they hear this. In Brazil, the toilet water pressure when flushing is not strong in many homes nor businesses. So, to keep from clogging the toilet, you will sometimes see a sign on the wall behind the thone (as we often call it in the USA), instructing visitors and reminding Brazilians to please put the toilet paper in the wastebasket (the sign is usually written in Portuguese). 

Americans think that is nasty, to say the least. We are not accustomed to this practice. Those of my homeland are very happy when we are able to live in an apartment building in Brazil, because the water pressure must be stronger to flush everything down the toilet including TP. I have been doing this for years and the toilet has never failed to get rid of TP...and no stopping up the toilet! What can be really nasty is when the toilet gets backed up, meaning it can start to overflow. 

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Well, anyway...enough of talking about toilet life! I think you now understand the reason why TP doesn't belong in the toilet, but in the wastebasket beside the toilet...in Brazil. Now, should you ever visit Brazil and find no wastebasket in the restroom, well, just do the logical thing and put the TP in the toilet, and hope you don't need a plunger, because you won't find that in the restroom, either. You might wanna hold onto the flusher mechanism for a few seconds just to make sure.

Oh! By the way, you may have noticed that there are a couple of phrasal verbs in bold italics in this cultural lesson that have been used. Don't worry! I'll explain them in the next few posts, just in case you didn't quite understand their meaning or when to use them.

Congratulations! You are that much closer to speaking excellent American English!

E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Stop Signs

STOP SIGNS are just decoration in the streets of Brazil, or at least they are in São Paulo and Rio. There is a law that you have to stop, but it is tolerated if you don't! I don't know of anyone who has ever gotten a ticket for going through a stop sign without stopping. On the other hand, you will get a ticket for driving through a red traffic light! 

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If you do decide to stop at a stop sign, you are probably going to get hit from behind, or as we say in the USA, you're going to get rear-ended! This is another cultural difference from the USA, where you must stop at a stop sign, unless you live in California, where you just slow down almost to a stop, while moving slowly through the stop sign with caution. It's actually called "The California Stop"!

Congratulations! You are that much closer to speaking excellent American English!

E-TIDBIT FOR THE DAY: Traffic Lights

TRAFFIC LIGHTS in the United States turn green when the cars can advance and red when the cars must stop. There is  also the  amber  or  "yellow"  light which serves to warn motorists that the light is about  to turn red, but that it is okay to go through it, as long as you are not in the intersection when it turns red. Traffic lights are also called "stop lights".

Brazilians say that the traffic light opens or closes, meaning that the light, when green, allows cars to advance and when red, cars must stop. The amber or yellow light means you must stop. You cannot lawfully go through the amber light.

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On another note, I want to mention that Brazil has posted STOP SIGNS, which are only there for decoration...well at least they are in São Paulo and Rio! Some interior cities do obey stop signs.

Also, in the big cities, when the power goes out and you come to intersections (with four-way approaching traffic), they do not respect the 4-way stop rule. It's every man for himself at that time, guys! Oh, in case you don't know what the 4-way stop rule is, I'll explain:

If a car to your right gets to the intersection first, that car must first stop and you allow them to go first through the intersection because they have the right-of-way, since the power is out and the traffic light is not working. Even at a four-way intersection with stop signs, the same rules apply. Every car that approaches the intersection must allow the car to the right to go first, IF that car reaches the intersection ahead of them. All cars approaching the intersection must stop before proceeding. That gives ORDER to the sequence of cars crossing the intersection. If you don't follow this rule, then the potential for taking advantage of others increases and so does the possibility of collisions in the intersection! 

In the USA, 4-way stops during power outages, work well and are strictly enforced by law.

Hope you enjoyed this piece of information! You are that much closer to speaking excellent American English!

E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Phrasal verb "add up"

"Add up" is a phrasal verb that means "to make sense", "reasonable" or "plausible". Let's define what a phrasal verb is: verb + preposition or verb + adverb, when put together does not have the original meaning of the verb. 

Outside of being a phrasal verb, the verb add, literally means:

• to combine, put together, join to result in a final value. For example: Adding 2 and 2 results in 4. Adding 3 and 6 and 1 results in 10, etc.
• to unite or join together to increase in quantity, size or quality: My Mom added more food to my plate (quantity); the boy added more air to his balloon making it bigger (size); the two-toned red and light brown shoes added elegance and glamor (quality) to them.

Up outside of a phrasal verb and as an adverb, means: 

• a higher position
• above a surface
• something going in the opposite direction against gravity
• etc. 

* For more clarity and meaning, read the definitions in an English dictionary.

When the preposition up is joined to the verb add - add up - the meaning changes, creating a phrasal verb. The English language is full of thousands of phrasal verbs, which when used in speech, make a person sound more fluent, whose native language is not English. 

However, phrasal verbs can be confusing to non-native English speakers, because the meaning is different than the original meaning of both the verb and the preposition or adverb. The phrasal verb takes on a new meaning. 

Examples of the phrasal verb, ADD UP, in sentences:

• Hey, Bill! The figures in the new budget don't add up.
• Something just doesn't add up, because Norman's bed hasn't been slept in for days.
• The witness's testimony adds up with the facts.
• The math student added up the numbers in the equation.

The best thing to do is listen to how a phrasal verb is used in different contexts and then start using it. Or for some, googling "phrasal verbs in English", to find lists with the meanings of phrasal verbs, memorize them, and then use them, can be of help.

Hearing, associating the meaning in their context and speaking, is the best way to learn how to use phrasal verbs.

In the next few weeks, we will talk more about phrasal verbs.

You are that much closer to speaking effective American English!

E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Offering others a lick

Offering others a lick of your ice cream is interesting to contemplate. Do they really want me to take a lick or are they just trying to be polite eating delicious ice cream in front of me, while I stand by them "food-less"? It is a Brazilian custom to offer what one is eating when with others who are not. They even offer you a bite of their lunch! Even when they know you are about to eat, they still offer you theirs!

Photo from www.fas.harvard.edu

When I came to Brazil, my new friends, who were enjoying some scrumptious morsels, would always ask me if I wanted some. If it did not involve exchanging saliva, I would sometimes say, "Yes, I'll have some, thanks". But, if they were offering a bite of a candy bar that they had already bitten, or a portion of something that would have been impossible to taste if not by just biting off a chunk, I would usually decline the offer. If they hadn't yet eaten any of what they were offering, I would sometimes venture a bite, not wanting to possibly offend them by refusing.

Photo from www.gettyimages.com

Now, there is the context of talking about good friends with whom you don't mind exchanging saliva, since they ARE FRIENDS AFTER ALL. Somehow when it's a good friend, someone you would be willing to trust your life with, suddenly changes the rational to two likely scenarios: 

1. "Well, they are my friend, my buddy, so they can't have some horrible disease that could pass onto me. They take care of themselves, don't they? They have good hygiene, so they surely cannot pass on something unhealthy to me, right? I mean, I even sit on their toilet seat, not bothering to put TP down for protection when visiting their house! So, taking a bite won't hurt!"

OR...

2. "Hum...", you think for a split second. "My buddy, my chum, my friend is my friend! I don't care if I take in some of their germ-filled saliva while tasting their snack! It's no big deal!"

Photo from www.dreamstime.com

On a more personal note, I grew up with a dentist, my father. He is now a retired oral surgeon. Once in a while, he would give us kids a surprising fact about the human mouth which, frankly, we would have rather not known about. One of these facts was that dog's mouths are bacterially cleaner than the human mouth. He told us that gangrene can even be present in our mouths just waiting to infect some vulnerable part of our bodies! Immediately, we thought about where dogs' mouths have been, and how they could possibly have CLEANER mouths than us?!? Yuk!! (One time my dog licked me right on my

"Keep on your side, Fluffy!"
Photo from www.buzzerg.com

tongue and I'm still alive!). And then, we all thought of the many germs that must be exchanged during the act of kissing! But, the fact is that my father was right. Just check the net! You will find studies showing that many diseases have been traced back to that puckered up oral cavity called the human mouth!

"Oooo, Mommy, that's cold!"
Photo from www.pinterest.com

Anyway, back to offering snacks to others...Just today someone offered me a sip of their juice, which I declined. Once I saw a documentary which showed us how much saliva goes back into the glass of water we drink from. It is an astonishing amount! Much more than we realize! So, you might want to think again next time someone offers you a sip of their beverage.

"Oooo, baby, that's good!"
Photo from www.dailykitten.com

Well, Brazilian friends tell me that offering someone a bite, sip or even a lick is just to be polite. They don't necessarily want the person to actually take a lick, sip or bite! But, then again, when close friends practice this, they usually are ready for you to accept their offer! So...I guess the moral of this story is that you just enjoy life and conclude that what harm could there be doing this among friends. And if the person offering you a lick, sip or bite, is NOT one of your close friends or even a stranger, just ask yourself if you want to take the chance offending them because they are just being polite and DON'T want you to accept, or if you will be so bold as to SIP, BITE OR LICK!

It's FOOD for thought!

E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Making North American friends & acculturation

Making North American friends can be a challenging and gradual undertaking, especially for Latin Americans and perhaps for citizens of other parts of the world, as well. First, let me say that Latin Americans are a very hospitable people. Once you are introduced to them by a mutual friend, they usually embrace you as their friend immediately. They trust you because their friend is also your friend. 

After meeting, there may be certain unspoken expectations placed upon the North American by his or her new Latin American friends. These expectations are a product of the host culture in which the newcomer finds himself as a guest and foreigner. If these expectations are not met by the foreigner within a certain span of time, he or she may be misunderstood. People act and react according to the social customs, habits and practices of their own culture. When the relationship involves people of different cultures, misunderstandings can occur. Please allow me to give an example that will help you better understand what I am talking about. 

                                                  

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After arriving in Brazil, I and another North American friend attended a Brazilian church. We made friends quickly with the young women of the church, from our point of view. I was considered a leader because of the purpose with which I came to Brazil: to train and equip church leadership. This factor, coupled with just being a North American, helped in making friends quickly. But, my friend and I began to communicate an attitude by our action of habitually leaving the church just minutes after the service (meeting) was over.

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During our first year at the church, my friend and I invited the young women of the church to our home to have a leisure time of talking about whatever subjects they desired. The idea was to get to know one another better. A question was asked that was puzzling the young women - Why were we not staying for a time after the meeting (service) to talk with them? They explained to us that they were enjoying so much the time that afternoon in our home, but that we seemed not to care enough about them at church to stay and talk. They said that they felt very special to us having been invited to our home, but that our behavior of leaving right after the service at church on Sundays sent them a different message. We were communicating to them that they were not special to us because we were not staying after the meeting for 30-60 minutes to chat with them. 

                                                                                                         

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You see, this is the custom in many Brazilian churches - to stay after the worship meeting to talk with friends. This time is considered very important to many Brazilians. The fact that we were not entering into this practice, communicated to our friends that we did not like them and that we were socially distant and unapproachable. Having heard this, we apologized and asked them to forgive us for this behavior and promised to spend time after the church meeting to talk with them and pray with them.

Often executives who have posts in other countries return home within a short time for lack of knowledge about the host country where they were to continue their corporate careers. Organizations which send workers overseas can avoid losing time, money and even business relationships by investing in training seminars which help to prepare their employees for such overseas visits and long-term posts.

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North Americans can be too objective when it comes to relationships, time and purpose, while in countries where relationship is valued more highly than time and even money. Where we consider time wasted when failing to reach the day's business objectives, other cultures consider it priority getting acquainted over a game of golf as time well spent. We like to have a purpose for doing everything, even when spending leisure time with friends. We can be overly protective of our personal and especially our business time. We cherish our alone times, especially after a long week of work, and that may be misunderstood by our hosts.

                                            

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The lesson in my experience shared above is that when you go to another country to live and work with and among the people, you should first be a studious observer, learn from the actions of the people and make every effort to find out what is important to them. Then, it is a good idea to do as they do, if it does not put you in any kind of danger or go against a local law, moral or spiritual standard you may live by. If you do this, you can increase your chances of being successful in every aspect of your life and work as a guest in that culture, especially in relationships. It is the attitude of being what is called culturally sensitive and being willing to go through the process of acculturation*. 

The knowledge you gain in being a humble observer and learner will help you in the workplace with colleagues and in personal relationships. The key is to say to yourself that they are different, rather than thinking of your own culture as superior. This thinking can help you to become part of the new culture.

*Acculturation 

1. The modification of the culture of a group or individual as a result of contact with a different culture.

2. The process by which the culture of a particular society is instilled in a human from infancy onward. 
Source: The Free Dictionary by Farlex, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/acculturation