Weird Things About South America

It occurred to me that while I think about, and adjust to all of the weird things I've run into every day, I may not have mentioned any of them here.

No matter what city you’re in, when you walk on the sidewalks in South America, water is going to drip down onto your head because none of the high-rise buildings have central air conditioning. They all have AC units crammed into the windows, hanging out over the street and dripping down for everyone’s benefit.

Another crazy thing is the driving, and if I can help it, I’ll never drive on this continent. Lane markings mean nothing, pedestrians have no rights whatsoever, and buses and taxis actually speed up to run you down when you cross the street. In Rio, at night, the cabbies cruise through every red light as if it were nothing, and it is nearly impossible to stand your ground while riding a herky-jerky local bus, even when you hold on with two hands.

Brazil had a couple of oddities of it’s own. For one thing, in all of the cheap places that I stayed in, Brazilian bathrooms were identical. They were closet-sized rooms with a stand-alone sink (no counter), a toilet, and a waterfall-style showerhead, basically hanging over the top of the other two. The floor was only an undivided square of sloped tile and a single drain, meaning the ground almost always covered in a slick mess… needless to say, taking a shower or using the bathroom when I stayed at the hostel there was pretty gross, and I tried to avoid doing either for as long as I could.

Also unique to Brazil, was a lack of worry about what Americans would usually consider revealing beachwear. It’s true that nearly everyone there wears a thong to the beach, and if they are not, they make it one! That went for guys too, and people had no qualms about walking 5, 6 or 7 blocks up from the beach in those skimpy clothes, without the need to cover up with a towel. And when it came to stores and restaurants, those businesses would find no use for the saying “no shirt, no shoes, no service,” I don’t think I ever saw anyone turned away, much less, given a sidways look.

Buenos Aires, however, has quite a bit more of the conservative Victorianism that I’m used to, and most of the amenities of a city in Europe. So, for now at least, my time of living on the edge is over. However, weird has not meant bad, and if you can’t deal with differences, traveling isn’t for you. I’ve been having a great time, enjoying every strange little bit.