Doesn't it kind of make you wonder sometimes?

Hi all,

























I've been living in Brazil for eleven years now so I have become very accustomed to the fact that here in Brazil there aren't many of the little luxuries of day-to-day life that we most often take for granted in North America, Europe and many other countries. More confusing still is trying to understand why, when they do exist here and aren't very expensive people just don't use them.

As newcomers to Brazil it must make you wonder sometimes about the following little things that you never really noticed so much back home. If you have any questions about a certain situation feel free to ask here.

Gas valves with gauges - In a country where the vast majority of homes use compressed natural gas (CNG) bottles for cooking I used to really find it strange that Brazilian housewives everywhere traditionally wait for that unpleasant surprise of the gas bottle running out right in the middle of preparing a meal. Nobody here, at least none that I've seen since I arrived, has a gas gauge. You can bet that no matter when the last time you switched gas bottles Brazil has it's own version of Murphy's Law and it clearly states that your gas bottle will run out right in the middle of preparing Christmas Dinner. Oddly enough the gauges do exist here even if they're hard to find and they are cheap, on average around R$25.

Window screens, bug zappers and fly strips - Here in the tropics where flys and mosquitos are so omnipresent and carry several serious diseases, Dengue, Malaria and Yellow Fever just to mention a few. I used to find it incredible that no matter where you go in this country you will almost never see a home or commercial building with fly screens on the windows and screen doors so common in North America. I found it very ironic too since it's so cheap here. Bug zappers are almost unheard of here and you won't even see those old fashioned sticky flypaper strips here either. The closest you will see are the insect coils you light up that make an insecticide smoke, but even they aren't used a lot. The electric models are sometimes seen, but not a lot either.

Fireplaces - While most of Brazil is tropical and sub-tropical and central heating is really not necessary, São Paulo and the southern states get quite cold in the winter. Santa Catarina regularly dips below zero and even has had snow during winter, yet you will find very few houses in Brazil that have fireplaces. Generally the ones you do find are either very old, non-functional ones or purely decorative gas fireplaces, sometimes in hotels strictly for esthetic effect. Many rural homes do have fire burning cookstoves (fogão a lenha) which are quite traditional so at least they help provide heat for the colder months.

Charcoal briquettes - In a country renowned worldwide for barbecue it's funny that you don't see charcoal briquettes which are much easier and cleaner to handle and light, they burn more evenly than the unprocessed charcoal commonly found here.

Rapid biodegradable toilet paper - This is the biggy for me. I know that the reason Brazilians don't flush toilet paper is that the infrastructure simply doesn't allow for that luxury. The sanitary systems all over Brazil are antiquated and in disrepair; there are also very few sewage treatment facilities anywhere in Brazil and even fewer that can break up and emulsify toilet paper so you just can't flush it. Having owned a travel trailer at home I'm well aware of the same problem with the blackwater holding tanks, quick biodegrading toilet paper has been around for decades and it's cheap. You will simply not find it here. Plastic manufacturing companies love it, they sell numerous models of wastebaskets for toilet use.

Biodegradable plastic bags - Brazilians who use plastic supermarket bags exclusively for garbage disposal will go to war when they think they aren't going to be able to get them anymore. Recent attempts in São Paulo to ban them are proof of this. Ironic that they aren't concerned enough about the environment to insist that supermarkets use only biodegradable plastic bags as most other countries now mandate. The plastic industry is really strong here and politically active, they approved the government's outright ban since that would force consumers to buy plastic garbage bags and plastic garbage cans which don't sell well because of supermarket bags.

Deposit and refund softdrink bottles and cans - While refundable bottles are finally starting to be seen in Brazil they are extremely rare. The beverage industry resists this at all costs because they believe it will cut their profit margins using more durable bottling materials principally glass or be forced to recycle PET bottles. So we see pollution everywhere, major floods caused by accumulation of garbage and PET bottles in the streets during heavy rains.

Bathtubs - In the distant past bathtubs were quite fashionable and common in Brazil, many old houses still can be found that have the old fashioned cast iron porcelain coated "claw foot" bathtubs. In upscale neighborhoods you will now begin to see new homes that also have fiberglass whirlpool tubs which are becoming much more popular. The main impediment to bathtubs is the fact that you won't find many houses that have high capacity water heaters and piped hot water to sinks and tubs. These are most often found only in hotels, large condominium apartment buildings with a central boilers. Most homes use either electricly heated shower heads (more efficient here) or small capacity individual gas water heaters.

Kind of makes you wonder doesn't it? In a country famous for the "Jeitinho Brasileiro" creativity and inventiveness why the average Brazilian doesn't extend that into some aspects of their day-to-day life?

What do you wonder about?

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog