By Megan Middleton

Unlike Americans who live life under the slogan Time is Money … Brazilians follow the slogan of Time is Love.

For me, Brazil was like visiting a whole new world. A world with a rich history, great passion, and spectacular food! My journey throughout Brazil began with its passion….

Futbol Fanatics

First stop, a futbol game. Game day starts early for die-hard fans. The people of Sao Paulo, called Paulistos, dress in all their gear early in the morning to get ready for the Palmeiros game. Once you get to the game, you can feel the energy in the stadium. The die-hard fans are jumping and screaming the entire game, while others shout and yell during fouls and bad calls. This high-energy game illustrates Brazilian passion for futbol.

You can also see the passion of Brazilians in everyday life. As you walk to streets of Sao Paulo or the beaches in Rio, men and women are constantly showing affection for one another. Holding hands, kissing, hugging, dancing in the streets. The people of Brazil help to define its slogan of “Time is love!” Relationships and love are the most important part of life.

History Runs Deep

Brazil’s history runs deep in their culture. On our first tour through Sao Paulo, we stopped at the exquisite the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral, which was built in 1919, though its history dates back to 1589. Our tour through Rio de Janeiro took us to the Metropolitan church of Rio, called Catedral de Sao Sebastio, as well as Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain).  Although the Cathedral was finished as recently as 1979, its history dates back to 1767. The new cathedral was built to replace many other cathedrals that held Rio de Janeiro’s history.  It was built in a cone-shape, or circular shape, to illustrate its openness to all denominations. It was the first statement of Brazil’s openness to other types of people, other than Roman Catholic. Sugarloaf Mountain has been made famous by tourists who want to visit one of the highest points in Rio. The view from Sugarloaf allows you to see all parts of the city. The name Sugarloaf has its own history; when Portugal was exporting sugarcane from Brazil, they would pack the sugar in small cone-shapes to travel across the Atlantic. These cones were called “Sugar Loafs.”

An Appetite for Life … and Steak

The best part of my trip had to be the food and drinks. Brazil is known for its amazing steakhouses, a bean dish called feijoada, and its signature drink, Caipirinha. As you walk into a steakhouse, you are overwhelmed with the choices or sides and salads at the salad bar, as you sit down to begin chowing down on some hearts of palm and black beans and rice, several servers bring you a variety of meats. As they slice these different meats, from lamb to chicken to the infamous picanha (signature beef), you sit and converse with friends. Some restaurants offer a Brazilian specialty called feijoada, which is a combination of rice and black beans that are cooked with different parts of the cow and pig. It was one of the most flavorful dishes I had in Brazil. Every meal and every night out ends with a caipirinha or two! This signature drink includes muddled lime and sugar and filled with cachaca, a Brazilian rum. Two of these and it is time to party!

Business Buddies

If you want to do business is Brazil, you must understand the passion, history, and food & drink of Brazil. Unlike Americans who live life under the slogan “Time is Money,” as mentioned previously Brazilians follow the slogan of “Time is Love.”

Professor Roger Volkema of PUC Rio spoke to us about the cultural differences between the Western world and Latin America. One point he explained to us was when given a choice between Trabajo or Vita? (Work or Life?), Brazilians always choose life. Living life is more important to Brazilians that conducting work, so it makes sense that relationships are the most important part of doing business in Brazil. If you do not have some sort of relationship with a future business partner, you probably will not do business together.

Be prepared to conduct business over food or drinks rather in a traditional American business setting of an office or boardroom. My advice for doing business in Brazil involves three things.

• First, take your future business partner out to a nice steakhouse and partake in a caipirinha.
• Second, be sure to understand the importance of futbol to the country.
• And third, be sure to not warrant an immediate response from the future Brazilian business partner.

Knowing and understanding that Brazilians make decisions on their own time is very important. A decision may not be made at the end of the meeting or dinner. Overall, everything that is important to Brazil as a country is also important when doing business in Brazil. So be sure to always keep three things in mind: Passion, history, food and drinks!

Related posts:

1. The Brazilian Paradox: No Right Way to Do Business