Social Interactions

Although social interactions are an inherent characteristic of the human being, there are particularly differences between the way that Americans and Brazilians interact. First, the way that Americans greet each other is different than the way that Brazilians do. Americans usually shake hands to say hello, even if the person is not a strange. On the other hand, Brazilians do hugs and kissing on the face both for friends and strangers (or, more usually, a friend of a friend). Another point is about intimacy. Americans commonly preserve their own space. They do not like to be touched if the person has no intimacy with them. Brazilians use a lot of touch in their conversations and build intimacy much more faster than Americans do. Americans value the final product and are straightforward, whereas Brazilians are more likely to enjoy the time spent with the people around them. For instance, if two Americans are in a restaurant to talk about business, they will probably only talk about business, eat their food and leave. Pretty straightforward. In the same scenario, two Brazilians would first talk about their lives to each other, enjoy the meal having a nice conversation and, after the meal is finish, proceed to the business talk. Given that both American and Brazilians have the capacity to make awesome friends, the major difference between them probably lies in the time that it happens and in the degree of intimacy.

Plotkin, Josh. "Why I Live in Brazil". Video. Youtube. Youtube, 21 April 2014. Web. 11 November 2015.

Caption: A video with an American that lives in Brazil