Brazilians are optimistic. They put everything into living in the now: when a problem arises, they think tomorrow will surely be a better day than today. Even with the World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022, everyone was downcast on the day Brazil lost their game, but they still said, “We are definitely going to win in 4 years’ time” and then went back to life as usual.
When IPSOS (a global marketing research company) asked survey participants in 36 countries, “Do you think 2023 will be a better year than 2022?” Brazil was the most positive ranking number one. Mexico came second and China third. Some 85% of the Brazilians surveyed said they were looking forward to 2023. One of the Brazilian people’s good points is that they are positive, despite facing various problems.
They say the phrase “Jeitinho brasileiro” sums up Brazilians well. “Jeito” means “way” or “method.” Adding “-inho” to “jeito” makes it littler. So, it means “the neat little ways of the Brazilians.”
When something goes wrong, it is typically Brazilian to somehow try to resolve it effectively or efficiently, even when there is no way to resolve it under the rules or the law. Brazilians do somehow think of ways to solve problems.
For example, let’s say you’ve arrived at school late on the day of an exam. Even though the rule is that you cannot go into the classroom once the exam has started, you just knock on the classroom door, explain in detail the reason why you are late, and try to convince the teacher to let you sit the exam. Of course, late arrivals are not accepted at the time of the entrance exams, but in some cases, you may be forgiven when it’s an intermediate or final exam in elementary or junior high school.
Yet, a lot of people say that a phrase like this is connected with corruption, falsification of documents, and so on, so it is not always used in a positive sense.
Most Brazilians are soccer fans. Lots of people support the Brazilian team during matches by dressing up in the soccer uniform. And people support their other soccer teams as well. Men in particular buy and wear the uniform of the team they support. And they don’t just wear it on the day of a match. They wear it as casual clothes. And preschoolers and schoolchildren will change into their soccer uniform when they get home from school and on the weekends.
I think you know about the famous flip-flops. People wear them on the beach, of course, but lots of people wear them as casual footwear. For example, they wear them at home, when they go shopping, when they go to a cafe or park, and when they go for a walk with their dog. It’s very hot in the central and northern regions of Brazil, so lots of people wear flip-flops.
And then Brazilians are very particular about a certain thing. That is, beer must be very cold. Lots of people use an insulated can holder when they drink beer from a can, even at home.
I hope Brazilians continue to be the cheerful and kind people that they are forever. And if you ever have the chance to meet a Brazilian, by all means try saying hello to them. I’m sure the conversation will be lively.
