Another meeting with Ricardo

                 Ricardo and I met again at Market Square this past Thursday. It had been a while since we last met, so we caught up for a bit. Ricardo had been busy the past few weeks with classes, and then he traveled to Austin with his brother. His brother traveled to Austin from Brazil for business, and decided to stay in Texas until Ricardo returns to Brazil in November.

                While his brother is here, Ricardo has some big plans. In a few weeks, they’re going to Vegas for the national rodeo. Ricardo has traveled all across the United States for rodeos. He actually listed off about 15 or more major cities in the country that he has visited. Ricardo’s cousin is a professional calf roper, so he often travels with him to the major rodeos around the country. It surprised me that he’s been to more exciting cities in the United States than me, and I’ve lived here all my life. He’s definitely not a stranger to the culture.

                The conversation about all the places Ricardo has visited brought up the topic about major cultural differences between Brazil and the United States. Ricardo said that the most confusing thing in the US is the federalist government. The different between state and national government definitely confused him because he’s traveled to so many different states in the country. To him, it’s so odd that specific laws vary in different parts of the country. In Brazil, no matter where he is, there is only one set of laws. This intrigued me a lot because I never had really thought about laws changing across state borders.

                Ricardo brought up some other big cultural differences between Brazil and the United States. In Brazil, soccer is the only really popular sport that everything else takes a back seat to. This is obviously different compared to all the variety we have here. Law wise, Ricardo liked that most people can get a driver’s license at age 16 here. In Brazil, one must be 18 to drive. Another major difference exists between laws regarding alcohol. Ricardo told me how he could go to a night club in Brazil and see tiny 14 and 15 year old boys and girls intoxicated, but here it is a lot stricter. Before speaking to Ricardo, I never realized how many small laws and things could make a country seem so foreign.