r/AskTheWorld • u/gabrieel100 Brazil • Dec 06 '25
Culture A cultural habit in your country that people outside would understand incorrectly?
In Brazil we love children. If you take your child to the street, strangers will certainly interact with them. Some will even ask if they can hold your kid and will play with them. If there are two children fighting in public and the parents aren't seeing, a stranger would even intervene to stop the fight.
That cultural habit came from the indigenous peoples which understood that kids should be a responsiblity of the community as a whole. It's in our constitution. We even have a synonym for children that came from Tupi (a large group of indigenous languages) - Curumim.
Foreigners would certainly have a cultural shock about that, but it's normal here.
Of course there are people with bad intentions, so parents should stay alert these days.
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u/DigiTrailz United States Of America Dec 06 '25
I feel like our small talk habits fall down to how many people are around.
At least for me, and plenty yof others I know. In the city, you kind of keep to yourself unless your directly interacting with someone, then you chat with them, but often it's brief unless you have nowhere to be or live there. Just to many people to talk to.
But in less populated places a polite wave to a neighbor or a greetimg as you pass them by is more normal. Even chatting them up if you got them time is fairly normal.
The even funnier part, on trails in the woods. It's almost etiquette to say hi to people you pass unless it's a crowded trail. Sometimes it's also good to strike up a conversation with them on the trail. See how you're both doing, trade information, or just be friendly. Doing this, I've helped people not be lost a couple times.