Cariocas

Draft
Cariocas (are what Brazilians are called in Rio de Janiero)

A few things that I observed about Cariocas and people’s perceptions of Americans

*People in Rio and maybe in Brasil in general do not contribute to the extent of ageism and generational abandonment that Americans do. On so many occasions we would see people hanging out with their grandparents. Literally, hanging out. At the beach, at Carnaval, on the street. What is it about American society that makes us embarrassed of our families? Of not being able to relate or want to spend time in public with our families?

*I always knew that Americans get a bad rap, some rightfully so, but when I tell people I’m American a very interesting thing occurs. First of all I have to assert that I say I’m American and I live in New York, but my family is Indian. because they want to place me in a nation state. I can’t get into the conversation of global citizenship with everyone I meet, especially when we don’t speak the same languages. I sometimes see an immediate reaction on people’s faces. Sometimes it is positive, sometimes it almost looks disappointed.