• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
A Brazilian Bank's Guide to Etiquette

A Brazilian Bank's Guide to Etiquette

posted on January 17, 2013

The Brazilian bank Caixa Econômica (Federal) released an etiquette guide for Brazilians living in the US explaining how one should behave when dealing with Americans. Once the Folha de São Paulo newspaper caught wind of it and wrote about the manual, Caixa promptly removed it from their own site. No matter, though, as the image survived (as you can see above).

A Folha reader left a comment adding to the list, saying “don’t greet someone with hugs and kisses, if you accidentally bump into someone say “excuse me” or “sorry”, never forget to add a tip when you dine out, and always ask someone how they prefer to be addressed.” With all but the last of the reader’s suggestions, I agree. Personally, I’ve never asked anyone in the US how they would like to be called. To each their own, I guess. 

Paraphrasing, Caixa’s guide lists things like, “don’t speak in other languages around Americans”, “keep your clothes and shoes always clean and looking nice”, “stand at least 33 cm from someone when talking to them”, “don’t come late to parties and dinners”, and “don’t use rude gestures or speech when signaling an employee.”

As for why Caixa saw it fit to offer such a hand-out, I’m not sure, but I find it funny that banks are telling people how to behave. The manual, by the way, was found on their international page next to information on sending remittances to Brazil. Money transfers make up the second largest financial inflow to developing nations, behind international aid, according to Wikipedia. It’s big business, accounting for over 66 billion dollars entering Latin American countries from abroad, based on 2007 numbers.  

I’m not one for guides and manuals on behavior, though I do find cultural differences in manners to be an interesting subject. I’m sure we’ve all heard that in one culture or another, there’s some sort of custom where burping after a meal is considered a sign of being pleased (or was it a way to say thanks? I digress). As long as one acts in good will, I see no reason to find offence when observing a foreigner acting differently.

—————-

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Share ... Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email

Related Posts:

  • Shopping vocabulary in Portuguese
  • Verb Tirar: 4 Common and Useful Uses – Portuguese Lesson
  • 5 Brazilian Rock Bands that You Need to Know

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Started my first Portuguese class tonight with Street Smart Brazil! Foi ótimo. Now I’m even more excited for the second! It turns out group classes online actually work pretty well. Congratulations to… Read more
Steve
Especially if you are in Rio de Janeiro, I highly recommend this class! You don´t have to fight traffic to get to class, your teacher will show up on time, you can make your own schedule, and the ma… Read more
Sarah
Street Smart Brazil has impressed me. Not only will your Brazilian Portuguese improve under their instruction but you will learn a lot about Brazilian culture.
Naomi
Choosing to take classes at Street Smart Brazil was the best decision that I’ve made since deciding to learn Portuguese.  My classes are going very well. Every week my instructor gives me more challe… Read more
Michael

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • War Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • Valentine’s Day in Brazil – Dia dos Namorados

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/Q8ONwVoTG9M

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2022 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved | Website by Web Savvy Marketing