1. Nolan Byrnes
Observational Research: Brazil July 17th 2010-December 23rd 2010
I want to answer the question “why” – why do these lifestyle/cultural differences exist. Is
it simply related to the culture and that is just the way it has been done for hundreds of
years (e.g., the evening meal is small? Or, is it related to financial issues (e.g., reason
people walk so much)? Or, could their policies or laws that restrict or even promote
certain activities? Select a minimum 10 lifestyle/cultural differences that you would like
to understand more about. Then, begin trying to determine why this occurs in Brazil. A
good place to start is to interview a wide range of individuals (e.g., male vs. female, old
vs. younger, across socioeconomic classes, various education levels, etc). Also, it
would be good to determine if there are any laws or regulations that might account for
the lifestyle/cultural differences (e.g., no vending machines).
Beach life and pressure
Living in Floripa, you are surrounded by beaches. In the summer, that is the thing
to do. A lot of things to do here are related to the beach, lake, hiking, and bathing suits.
This puts a lot of pressure on men and women in this island. Since everything is related
to physical activity and bathing suits, there is pressure to watch your weight. If you are
sub-conscious about your body it is tough to go out to the beach, or keep up with friends
going hiking. Being physically fit is very important.
Living in Kennesaw, you are not surrounded by beaches, and to get to the beach,
you must drive at least 6 hours. There is a little pressure to get to the gym but gyms
seem to be more active in coastal cities. There are only two lakes, Allatoona, and Lake

2. Acworth. "The beach life mentality is not in Kennesaw as much it is in Floripa, Brazil.
There is pressure to be physically fit in Kennesaw, but it’s not as much as a degree it is
in Brazil.
Amount of people with cars
Not everybody here has cars. In fact, a lot of people don't have cars. Lots of
people get around by walking or taking a bus. Not having a car puts a lot of steps on
your pedometer. Walking up and down hills, standing on the bus is a workout in itself!
The citizens who live in the favelas have to conquer a massive hill just to get to their
house every day. Lots of the activities you do with your friends usually includes the
outdoors.
Sports
Brazilians have sports tied into their lives. They talk about it every day. Jerseys
can be seen every day of the week, more frequently on certain days, indicating on who
is playing and who won the last night’s game. On beaches, I see little 3 year olds, where
the ball is half the size of them, playing soccer with their parents on the beach. Playing
soccer is a big thing in the Brazilian culture and everybody can play it. Many try to make
it into the soccer leagues. When a sport is so important to a culture, that everyone plays
it, it encourages a healthy lifestyle. Poverty also influences a lot of people to play
soccer. It is every Brazilians dream to make it into a soccer league. It is a way for
people to get out of poverty. Although it is very hard to do so, since everyone wants to
be a soccer player, but they play their entire lives in dreams of being pro one day. It is
also a very cheap sport to play. All you really need is a ball, and a place to play.

3. Views on Alcohol
In the USA, you are forbidden to consume alcohol until you are 21 years old.
When the age limit is put so high like that, young college students, and high school
students treat alcohol as a forbidden fruit. When they get a hold of this forbidden fruit,
they are more likely to binge drink. This causes issues with health and safety for the
general well being of the consumers and the people around them. People gain
addictions to alcohol, which is bad for the general health and wellness of the citizens.
The views of alcohol are very different from people in the states and in Brazil.
Brazil has a law that says you cannot drink under 18; however this only seems to be a
suggestion, because it is not strictly enforced. The United States of America has the law
that forbids consumption until 21. Just these laws here make different trends in the two
cultures, resulting in different weights and health issues.
The law in the states change the perspective the citizens have on alcohol. Since
it is a 21 drinking age country, the youth view alcohol as a forbidden fruit, and have
more of a chance to binge drink.
Video games
Video games are not popular in Brazil. Lots of kids in the United States are
spending hours upon hours playing video games. Video games are expensive to own,
and not everyone has enough money to spend 1000 Real on a video game system. The
lesser amount of video game systems in the culture probably has an effect on the
general public’s obesity rate in Brazil. Especially in Florianopolis, nobody really wants to
hang out and play video games all the time.

4. Adult Playgrounds
There are miniature “playgrounds” for adults around the cities. They look like
playgrounds, but they are all exercise/stretching equipment. They are public, and
anyone can use them. They are very simple; to make sure pieces don't get stolen or
broken. They even have a huge sign, resembling a billboard with bright colors, giving
tips and suggesting that people stretch before they exercise. These miniature
gymnasiums are very beneficial to the general public because people with lower
incomes can still use exercise equipment without a membership. These are typically
located in high foot traffic areas, like roads that go down the beaches, and avenues that
have lots of people walk down every day. Every time I passed one, I typically saw
someone use them. I think the bright colors on the equipment were also very useful to
the amount of people using them, because they stuck out like a sore thumb.
In the States, we do not have these miniature gymnasiums, and the closest thing
I have seen was a pull up bar or, planks of wood which allows you to do sit-ups on, but
they are dark colored, hard to find, and in the woods of Oregon Park.
We do not have these in the states. If we did, it would promote physical activity
and would have more people using them, and allowing people with lower incomes to
exercise without having to worry about having a budget for a gym membership.
Diet
All the food around me is fresh. I even went to a subway, and all the ingredients
were a lot fresher than the typical condiments I get in the states from a subway. Lots of
things are organic too. They don't inject their cows with steroids and antibiotics. It is
harder to find an unhealthy meal. Typically eat a lot of rice and beans. Fruits are a very

5. common snack, as well as juice. Two families I have known in Brazil typically ate
breakfast lunch and dinner, with snacks in between. Dinner not being as big as the
portions we get in the states. Eating throughout the day helps your metabolism stay
high. There are typically no free refills at restaurants. You have to pay for every drink.
Lots of buffets you go to, you have to weight your food, and pay by the kilogram. I
noticed when I was eating at the pay by the kilo, I was more careful on how much and
what I got on my plate, also to be careful not to put so much food I overeat, because
wasted food is wasted money. The Universities Cafeteria, which costs 1.50 real, has the
same food every day like rice, beans, vegetables, fruit dessert, a selection of juices, and
a meat or fish. Basically all of the food groups, except fat. Not to mention, the cheapest
place to eat at, has all of their juices, meats, rice, and beans all fresh. You can tell what
each ingredient is, where in the cafeterias I have eaten in grade school; I typically
wondered what was in the food I was eating, due to all of the preservatives, and other
ingredients that don't seem natural. Although the Cafeteria in UFSC basically has the
same food every day, they cover all of the food groups you need, and the ingredients
are fresh. The cafeterias in the states that I have been to have had lesser quality food.
Favelas
The people that live in the favelas are people of low income, and the favelas are
very steep hills, some look almost vertical. Living in the hills forces you to climb up and
down this hill every day. It adds up on the amount of calories burned daily. Not only that,
but not everybody in the favelas can afford a car. Lots of people
Nature
I was talking to my roommate, Cadu, which happens to be a Physical Education

6. graduate from UFSC. We were discussing on how in Floripa, and many places in Brazil,
we are surrounded with things to do. There are beaches everywhere, nature trails, and
skate parks. All of these places have activities to do that cost a small amount of money,
if any. If there are more things to do in a city, people are more apt to participate in these
activities. Not only that, but the scenery in the outdoors is so beautiful, you do not mind
being in the outdoors at all!
Smoking
In Floripa, we do have smokers, but I do not see them as often as I do in
Kennesaw. I have noticed a few differences and may be an effect on why. When you
live in a place where you have to move around a lot, you do not really have a craving for
them, the more you smoke, the harder it will be on your lungs when you move around.
Also, there are very grotesque photos inked onto the back of the cigarette packages
below are a few examples of the many different photos they have. The photos are really
shocking. Gangrene, dead fetus’s in ashtrays, and photos of cigarette butts in the cut
open heart remind you on how unhealthy this habit is. In the states, they have warnings
on them, but they just stopped calling cigarettes “light” They are no longer called “light”
because it advertises itself as healthier than the normal cigarette.
My mother is addicted to smoking, and has been since she was a teenager. She
has tried many different ways to quit. Different medications, patches, even hypnosis.
She still smokes to this day, however she had a very good idea. Before I left for Brazil,
she imagined how cool it would be for a person to go to a bar, and buy ONE cigarette,
for let’s say a dollar. Yes, my mother is a smoker, but she came to realize that when she
was getting close to quitting, when she went to the bar, she would see others smoking

7. and have the sudden urge to do the same. However, she felt that if she just had one
cigarette, she would be happy and would get the nicotine in her system and everyone
would be happy. However, US government will not allow for resale, because they want
more money. So if you want a cigarette, you must buy 20, at least. When you buy
cigarettes by the pack, you are more obliged to smoke all of them. When you can go to
a bar and buy cigarettes one by one, you only smoke the ones you paid for, not all 20.
Although it is still a nasty habit, you don't smoke as much. Here in Brazil, they DO let
you buy cigarettes one at a time, typically 50 centavos for each one. Allows you to plan
how many you are going to have that night, rationing them out throughout the night
rather than having a full back and chain smoking the whole pack. You can buy them by
the pack, but people that are social smokers or people who are quitting typically will buy
only 2 or 3 a night, rather than 20. I believe that selling cigarettes by the single will help
influence the smoking habits in the United States as well.