Orienting Beyond Blueprints

Fresh out of orientation in Brasilia, I have arrived in Viçosa with a blueprint of how Brazilians work and a list of some general cultural norms to be aware of. The orientation prepared us for the good, the bad, and the ugly, and covered the large country of Brazil in the most general terms. Compare it to the continental United States and you will get the picture. Think East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, South and you will understand the diversity that exists within Brazil in a similar way.

Brazil versus the United States in size

That being said, I was having a hard time digesting the generalizations presented, as they came off as a review of the stereotypes we as English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) may have had prior to our flight overseas. How can I consciously fight a given stereotype so I may instead learn what someone really is like? How can I differentiate every new interaction? Of course not all Brazilians can be put in a box. No person can be put in a box, we would go crazy. But as it turns out, our natural tendency as humans is to generalize so as to begin to understand a people, a person.

Not 24 hours into my stay in Viçosa, I was already handed back a generalization about the people of the United States. My host professor and adviser, Ana, had taken Krystal (my fellow ETA) and I to lanchonete. (Lanchonete can best be translated as snack time in the mid-afternoon.) As we planned the next step of the day, I suggested Krystal and I could just walk back ourselves from a potential apartment so that Ana could make her next appointment.

Our warm welcome to Viçosa

After a day of so kindly taking care of us every step of the way, Ana's reaction startled me at first. "Oh yes, yes, yes, that would be good, and then you can have your independent adventure for the day. Americans love that." First thought in my head is astonishment. How does she know that about me, about us! Then, I laughed realizing how true of a statement it was, oh so brilliantly true! This is coming from someone who has spent plenty of time in the States and has a good friend who visits Brazil frequently. In that moment, I understood the blueprint that the Fulbright orientation gave us ETAs. Krystal and I enjoyed our independent walk back, winding the streets after some very detailed instructions from Ana. She knew the walk was something we needed from what she knows of our culture in the United States. She knew that before I knew it myself, and I completely appreciate her acknowledgement of that innate Americanism* that I apparently carry within me.


As we continue to learn about one another, we learn more about ourselves. Turns out, this is a very selfish trip as I become more Maggie everyday. Hopefully I can help someone else do the same in return. For now, I try to keep an open heart for each interaction so as to respectfully discover what that person has to offer. A feat of a lifetime if I can get that one down!

*Yes, Americanism is a new word invented by yours truly.