to be alright on your own and where privatespace is to be respected, the idea of Brazilian friendship may seem quiteinvasive. For a start, there are no off-limit conversations. Moreover, peopleexpress their emotions freely. This means they are not ashamed to admit theyare not doing OK by themselves. So do not use expressions implying embarrassedsympathy and showing a respectful distance, like You will be alright, whichmay sound as though you do not care or are wishing the situation away (ratherthan showing that you have confidence in your friends ability to deal withtheir problem). Real friends face everything together.GettingaroundCarIn Brazil, amongthe middle classes and above, car is king. If you want to walk to places incities, you will be thought odd. Why walk when you can sit in air-conditionedcomfort?Driving isoften fast and it helps if you know the way, since not everywhere is clearly signposted.Traffic is chaotic, little respect is paid to lanes, and drivers switch at willand without warning. Apart from this being a good excuse (sometimes a real one)for being late, it should also inspire you to be careful when crossing thestreet.In majorcities, traffic jams are frequent and using the horn is a routine feature ofdriving. It can take ages to cross town or to get to the beach.Being alertand blending inOn Londons undergroundtrain there is an announcement that says, Please keep your belongings with youat all times. Nowhere is this more appropriate than in Brazil. Peopleoften walk with a daypack in their front it is harder to steal like that. Ina country with one of the most unequal distribution of wealth in the world, thedesperate resort to any means to make a living.Most peoplehave stories of either themselves or of someone close to them being mugged orsometimes worse. The media feeds this paranoia by presenting real crime storiesin lurid detail.It isimportant not to stand out too much as a foreigner. Banks, publictransportation, and even the street are places where you can be vulnerable.Most womenwould not walk in the street by themselves after dark as that could attractattention. They notice who is around them at all times and move to avoidproblems if they can. This may soundstressful, but as with anything it is a question of learning to adapt.Perhaps itis this pressure that causes Brazilians, who are highly materialistic andconsumerist, to have an ambivalent attitude to possessions. They almost expecttheir belongings to disappear. There is also the contrast between people whoare on the one hand incredibly friendly, warm, and hospitable and on the othertotally mistrustful of strangers especially other Brazilians. CommunicationLanguageIn Brazil, peoplespeak Portuguese and not a lot else. In tourist offices and business you mayfind some who speak a bit of English, but generally very few people do andcertainly not in restaurants, shops or other places where a visitor mightinteract with the locals. Neither do Brazilians really speak Spanish, althougha number think they do. Learning to speak Portuguese is useful, both from acommunication and a security point of view. It is important, especially inmajor cities, not to draw attention to yourself. Speaking English in a loudvoice will certainly not help.