One thing that fascinates me and at the same time confuses me is the huge difference between the Canadian and Brazilian cultures. The Brazilian Culture received some major influences from other cultures. Primarily from Portugal due to the fact that we were their colony for more than 3 centuries. They gave us our official language and many other contributions . We also receive influences from the native inhabitants of Brazil in our language (most of our words come from Tupi-Guarani) and food. The Africans that were brought as slaves represent an important addition to our culture with many of it’s religious beliefs, music, food and ideology being an essential part of many of our lives today. These three cultures represent, to me, the backbone of the Brazilian culture.
The Canadian culture is so much different! It received influences primarily from the British and the French. It’s interactions with the native population were relatively peaceful, although not without conflict. It’s late economic development and the climate represent important factors in the modern Canadian society. The usage of the English language (of Germanic origin) contrasts with the French and Portuguese languages (both of Italic origin).
Anyway… What I mean to say is that these different backgrounds and origins are what make our nations so different and at the same time so interesting and unique. And it’s about these differences that I’d like to talk about in my next posts.
Thanks for your time. Catch you later!
Thiago Oliveira
