Como somos vistos lá fora...

Vanessa Marcos

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What do Portuguese people think about Brazilians?

Personally, I’ve met a few Brazillian folks here in Algarve, and this is my take on the question. Many Portuguese people may not agree with what I say, and I’ve met enough people from Brasil that they were all different in their personalities, with a few shared traits:

They usually are go-getters. Even though some people think they’re lazy, I think the opposite applies. They try to seize every opportunity and most of them will only stop when they can no longer fight.

I’ve met people from big cities, and people from inner small towns. I see a tendency towards studying for less years and starting to work earlier than me and my Portuguese peers of the same ages. However, I had a colleague at work who came from a favela and managed to get her degree working every day and studying at night, reading in her daily commute to manage a good average in her grades. She started working at 16 years old. Now she’s 24 and living in London. Like I said, most seem to be stubborn in a good way, go-getters with “sangue bom” (good blood), which means they will overcome anything life throws at them no matter what.

They love partying and are very social. That doesn’t mean they’ll become friends with you easily enough to trust you, but they are great friends once you earn their trust. In most parties and shows you’ll find Brazillian people love to mingle and do small talk, but they seem so enthusiastic that you’ll want to go where the party’s going.

They are optimistic. They try to see the good side in everything, and they try their best to smile even when their life is a wreck. They also have a wicked sense of humour that I love.

That’s all I can remember now. I am still friends with that Brazilian colleague of mine. She’s awesome, so I might be a little partial on this matter ;)

Edit: I was wrong about the roach blood expression, turns out it means the opposite! Thanks for those who pointed out my mistake. I use a lot of Brazilian Portuguese expressions wrong, guess that will never change haha