Culture Shock

9 April, 2026

Walking in the streets of Brazil, one cultural confusion I experienced was how people greeted each other with friendly hugs and cheek kisses. Growing up with Japanese culture, I always find myself bowing to others from a small distance away without any physical touch. This new type of social greeting opened doors of feeling surprised and a bit uneasy. However, it reminded me of Hottola (2004) mentioning that to positively approach intercultural connections, it is beneficial to slowly adapt and embrace new traditions rather than avoiding them. Thus, I reflected on my views on social greetings and recognised that numerous forms of cultural greetings exist to communicate affinity. Further, I considered that not all Brazilians greet each other in the same way; but physical greetings are common in Brazilian culture.

A common style of greeting in Brazil
(Trade, 2018)

Another cultural confusion was when I learnt that fast foods are often eaten with cutlery, which was mentioned by another blogger on Brazil's dining etiquette (Rachel, 2009). Here is the link if you are interested!

Personally, I've only eaten burgers and pizzas by hand, and although this new method of eating fast-food was shocking at first, I actually felt attached to this way of eating. This style of dining not only shed light to a hygienic way to enjoy meals, but a way to also express respect towards the food eaten. In this way, many people in Brazil may connect themselves with the food as well as others through respectful eating habits. Through intercultural adaptation, I might also try eating fast-foods with silverware!

(Debat, 2019)

References:

Debat, A. (2019, April 10). American fast food served with silver cutlery and glass of Champagne. Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/fast-food-deluxe-with-hamburger-and-french-fries-royalty-free-image/1141692299?adppopup=true

Hottola, P. (2004). Culture Confusion. Annals of Tourism Research, 31(2), 447–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2004.01.003

Massey, D. (1995). Places and Their Pasts. History Workshop Journal, (39), 182-192. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4289361

Rachel. (2009, March 13). Brazilian Etiquette: Table Manners. Transparent.com. https://blogs.transparent.com/portuguese/brazilian-etiquette-table-manners/

Trade, FG. (2018, May 23). Friendship. Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/business-woman-students-embracing-royalty-free-image/959697468?adppopup=true

 

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