Hello everyone, welcome to today's episode of the podcast Pat Clear. We want to talk today about Brazil. We want to go beyond stereotypes and dig into the stories that make this particular country in South America fascinating. Yes, we're gonna talk about Brazil. I'm your host, Galicio, and this is your podcast, Baj Clear. Now, if you're an American, there is a good chance that when someone says Brazil, your brains fires off images of carnaval and soccer. It may be a giant statue on the hill. But today we are taking a different route. Because Brazil is full of surprises, the kind of that make Brazilians proud, an American says, wait, what? Seriously? Yes. Strap in, we're about to wander into a Brazil you never met before. Let's kick off with the simple statement Brazil is big, but not kind of big. It's continental level big. Bigger than continental United States minus Alaska, of course. Home to 20% of warm fresh water, borders every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador. And this shocks most people. Brazil has more wildlife species than any other country on earth. Not just the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Pantana, the Atlantic Forest. Each of these biomes alone contains more species than many other countries in the world. And his afflex Brazilians don't brag about enough. Brazil is one of the mega diverse countries on the planet, alongside places like Indonesia and Australia. Let's head to the capital, Brazilian. It's not real, it's not real de janeiro. Maybe Rio is the most beautiful. Sorry Minas, sorry Sao Paulo. If you never saw pictures of Brazilian, picture this. Someone in nineteen fifty said, Hey, what if we build a brand new capital from scratch? In the shape of an airplane that looks like it came from the future, and Brazil just said, hey, why not? Let's do it. The curves, the symmetry, the wide open space, all designed by architect Oscar Nemaya. What about Amazon? But not the way documentaries usually do. Do you know the Amazon River has more volume water than the next seven largest river combined? This is insane. Now imagine this a river so massive, so full of life giving power that it doesn't flow on the ground. But above your head, wait a minute, a river in the sky? Yes, a river in the sky. A river you can't see, a river that floats, and this is not poetry, it's science. A Rio Vado, the flying river, the sky river. Let me explain. Deep inside the Amazon, every single tree works like a natural pump, a giant one. Across billions of trees, this becomes a massive invisible river of vapor rising into the atmosphere. The Sky River is one of Brazil's greatest gifts to the world. It feeds millions of people. It holds the power to cool or warm regions, and the most incredible part is the threes that keeps the river flowing. It's so powerful that scientists say it carries more water than the Amazon River itself. It doesn't stay only in the Amazon. It travels south, helps Argentina, Paraguay, and even parts of the Andes. So next time you buy it into a juice Argentine stake, remember, Brazil helped irrigate the grass for decal. Let's talk about inventions. Yeah, Brazil is about science as well. Because Brazil has created more things than you think. Alberto Santos Dumont, often credited in Brazil and parts of Europe as the true inventor of the airplane. I believe this is the only beef between Brazil and United States, since America credited the Wright brothers for that. Hard bypass techniques, refined by Dr. Euclidus Zerbini, making global surgery safer. And take this, Brazil helped invented the automatically transmission use in cars today. Yep, next time your car shifts gears movely on the highway, there is a little Brazilian engineering under the hood. Did you know Portuguese in Brazil is so different from Portugal that many linguistics consider them two separate standard languages? Brazilian Portuguese has a musical open vowel system, a more intuitive grammar structure, words like abacaxi, pineapple, and puchadinho, a small housing extension. They speak with expressiveness. A single nossa can mean wow, are you serious? I can't believe my eyes. Calm down, you're so jumpy. Americans love how Brazilian sounds, and Brazilia takes pride in how expressive their language is. To understand them better, you need to know some of the expressions. Some of this won't make any sense, I promise. But Brazilians use them all the time, such as chutar o balde, kick the bucket, yes, kick the bucket means I'm done. I had enough. Viajar na Mayonnaise. Travel into the mayonnaise. What do you say doesn't make any sense at all? Custar o olho da cara, cast the eyes of my face means very expensive. Non vi nemu. I didn't see nor even the smell. Means I miss completely. You non falo and nada. I don't say is nothing. Means I'll stay quiet. Fiquei preso do lado de fora. Means I left my case inside. Trocar seis por meadoza didn't make any difference what he did. Let me say where Brazil shines brightest. Not in landscapes. Not in wildlife. Not building a new capital on music. But in people. Americans who visit Brazil often come home saying I never felt so welcome anyone else. Let me tell a story that I read in the article another day. It's about Michael. He is thirty four years old software engineer from Portland, Oregon. Introvert in the typical American way, friendly, but with a comfortable bubble of personal space around him. He visited Brazil and received it. He didn't know much Portuguese beyond Obrigado and Pelé. He arrived prepared for bitches, heat, and maybe some dancing he'll probably avoid. What he didn't expect was the moment that would stay with him for years. On his second evening, he wandered out of his hotel looking for something simple to eat. He found a small pastel stall on a busy corner. Nothing fancy, just a cart, a man, a fryer, and the smell of fried dough drifting into the warm air. He hesitated approaching. Maybe language barrier, unfamiliar setting, but before he could decide, the vendor shouted with a big smile, Wami, Gener. Hey friend, come closer. The tone was so warm, so generally inviting that Michael stepped forward without thinking. He pointed awkwardly at the pastel on the menu, and the vendor noticed his wordness. His name was Sir Clavis. He laughed kindly and said Helacha Gringo, I catu de boa. Relax, Gringo, it's all good here. Then something magical happened. A group of local students nearby noticed his accent. One of them said What's John? USA? Kimassa, where we come from? USA, that's awesome. Within minutes they bring the chairs close to him. They start asking many questions about America. Yeah, Brazilians love American culture. This is fact and no cap. One of them said I want to ride on this yellow bus is the kids going to school. It's so cool. At some point they asked him what he thought about Brazil so far. And he answered little shy, simply say It's beautiful. One of the girls replied say No, Bonita Podeti recebi aqui. What's beautiful is having you here. He felt his face get warm. He said later on that he almost cried when she said that. People he never met, people with no reason to care, with treating him like an old friend only in Brazil. And something inside Michael cracked open a little. From the pastel vendor to the students, he felt himself wrapped in a kind of worm he wasn't used to. When he was about to leave, the vendor placed an extra pastel in his hand and said Essequimiaqua Chef, Fuiko Tuacara. Hey, this one is on me. Don't worry, I like you. Michael didn't know why, but he almost cried, not because of the food, not because of the free pastel, but because the moment, sweaty, flustered, surrounded by people laughing and helping. He felt something he never felt before in a foreign country belonging. In his walk back, the night breeze cooling his face. He felt an familiar tightness in his chest, not sadness, no homesickness, something new. He wanted to stay. He connected with strangers. He felt love. Later he told a friend, Brazil isn't a place you just visit. It's a place that visits you. We Brazilians, we're not perfect nation. We have challenges, contradictions, and struggles, like every country does. But there's one thing we hold like a treasure, one thing we know, the way we embrace people. When it comes to welcoming a tourist, open our homes, our tables, our smiles, there's no place like Brazil. Warmth isn't a habit for us. It's part of who we are. Someone could ask me if Brazil is that good, why you don't live there? Well, I say this with all my heart, because my story is tied to two countries I love. I came to America twenty-seven years ago. Almost three decades living, working, raising a family, running a business, going to church, making friends, growing roots here. And after all this time, I can say with absolutely certainty, America is the greatest country in the world. Not because it's perfect, no place is, but because America offers me something rare, opportunity, social justice, compassion, and belief that you can build the life you dream of if you're willing to put in the work. It welcomed my effort and protects my wife and my son. And for that, I carry a gratitude that will last my entire life. Long time ago, I was talking to a mom of one of my students, and in some point of the conversation I apologized for my accent. She got very mad at me and she said, Don't you never apologize for your accent again. That touched my heart. I can say on behalf of all Brazilians living here as immigrants, dreamers, workers, we want nothing more than to give back. We bring our hard work, our honesty, our love, sense of community. We want to contribute. We want to help build. We want to add to the greatness of this country. Brazil taught us how to welcome. America taught us how to rise. I was born in Brazil, but my heart is American. And to be here, it's like a dream which came true. America is my home. Brazil, well, always will be part of my life. In this episode, I highlight Brazil because we should be proud of this great country and show gratefulness of where we came from. Thank you for listening. God bless Brazil. God bless the greatest country in the whole world, America, USA. Forever. This was your podcast, Baj Clear.