Brazil

by Volker Poelzl

Book Overview

Whether you travel for business, pleasure, or a combination of the two, the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series belongs in your backpack or briefcase. Get the nuts-and-bolts information you need to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558686371
• ISBN13: 9781558686373
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Culture Shock! Brazil: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

I am Brazilian. This book describes Brazil very well, and the author did a very good job in all the topics he included. It has a good overview of religions, history of the country, Brazilian way of living, and so on. The only thing I would improve is the Portuguese language. There are several mistakes. Here are some corrections: Carro = car (and not carriage), Wine = vinho (not vino), Easter = páscoa (and not pascua), on top of = em cima de (and not encima de); because = porque, why = por que. Boa noite = can be either good evening or good night. The numbers 16, 17, 18 and 19 in Portuguese are dezesseis, dezessete, dezoito e dezenove. The expression "ter dor de cotovelo" (to have elbow pain) is applied to the following situation: A person (A) who is very envious or jealous of the person (B) for something that A wants, but does not have, and B has. It could be anything: a girlfriend, a house, a car, etc. In this case A is said to have "dor de cotovelo" related to the person B. Well, I hope this helped. Dr. Virginia Pearson Cross-Cultural facilitator Ph.D. in Cross-Cultural Psychology and International Management GlobalAllianceUS@aol.com

Hit the nail on the head!

I recently visited Brazil with my wife who is originally from there. I am just a Gringoe, born and raised in New Jersey, USA. Throughout our stay I would constantly refer to the book to better understand the culture. I have to say that everything I had experienced was mentioned to the detail in this book. My Father-In-Law grew up there and even he was impressed. In fact, I think he even learned a thing or two about Brazil!!! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone traveling to Brazil who is not familiar. Tchau!!!

An essential read for those that are going to live in, or seek to understand Brazil.

I have read and reread this excellent ethonography. I read Culture Shock! Brazil before coming to Brazil, then again while traveling in Brazil. Volker Poelzl has done his homework. He has given readers brilliant profile of Brazil. This is no easy task, as Brazil is as large as the continental United States and equally as diverse. Culture Shock! will give you everything that you need for a primer education on Brazil. It will specially be valuable to those who are coming to live for a while and for along with a travel guide like Frommer's (Strongly Recommended - see my review) will open the country up to you. I especially appreciated his sections on synergistic religions: Candomble, Kardecism, Umbanda, Shamanism, Feticaria (witchcraft) etc. Excellent. Brazil is as dynamic as its Carnivals. It is also contradictory and contrasting, as seen in its wealth and poverty. The towering new high-rise buildings, that look down on the sprawling slums point to a country with the world's 12th largest economy, yet 1/3 of the people live in abject poverty. Volker is not Pollyannaish in his writing about Brazil. He is critical of the antiquated social elitism, cronyism, corruption, police violence, gross injustice and dysfunctional socials systems that continues to foster the widespread poverty - "Brazil is a democracy. But what I see here is a wretched, sad situation where there is no justice." Yet, he also shows how the people of Brazil, in spite of poverty, have their family, friends, love, sexuality, music and dance. NOTE: Volker Poelzl's guide should get a five star rating, BUT there is a serious flaw: the binding gives out after one use and the pages fall out. This shoddy workmanship is the responsibility of the publisher (Marshall Cavendish - Singapore). However, if you can hold it together with rubber bands, this is a valuable and 'Strongly Recommended' guide.

Good so far

I have not finished reading this book entirely, but what I have read is very good. It is easy to read, and from what I already know about Brazil, an accurate description so far. I also like the fact that the book definitely tells about Brazil from the perspective of an outsider that is not familiar with the culture. It will prepare travelers to not be shocked, and rather, to appreciate what they experience.

Well worth the money!

This book was very informative. When I found out that I was going to Brazil I went out and bought about 6 different books about the country. All lot of the books showed the "touristy" side of Brazil without really informing you about what to expect. I flew through this book quickly because it was really interesting and informative. It really got me prepared for what I needed to have a nice trip while not putting me to sleep! Its worth the ten bucks!