Colors illuminate through the open streets as music keeps the tradition alive. Yellow, red, and green consume the people as they walk in the Carnival parade in the sweet era of spring. The air filled with the scent of frittelle and feijoada and glasses of bright, red wine rich in flavor in Canastra Rio de Janeiro make this place one of a kind. The country known most for its beauty and home to supermodel Gisele Bündchen and world famous soccer player, Christiano Ronaldo. It happens to be the biggest in South America; Brazil. For one girl, life continues 4,544 miles from home but she has not forgotten where she has come from. 

“I don’t think I have adjusted completely, and honestly it is not a goal of mine,” junior Luane Pizzo said. “One of my favorite things about Brazil is how friendly and easy-going people are.” 

In America, people live up to stereotypes in which they are perceived to come off as rude and quiet in comparison to the bright and lively culture in which Brazilians live. Although one person cannot account for all, the difference in culture affects the way in which people display their personality.

“Brazil is what made me myself. The people, the smiles, the beaches, the food, the music, and every single part of it makes me happy,” Pizzo said. “I wouldn’t live there again because I also love it here, but Brazil is the place where I formed some of my best memories, so it will always have a huge part of my heart.”    

Brazil, known for its distinct and unique culture found only within the country, remains vastly different from the United States in its mannerisms, and when it comes to political implementations, such as immigration, the differences are emphasized even further.

“There isn’t a single soul that would like to come illegally to a country to suffer from racism, not being able to get a decent paying job, not being able to have health care, knowing that their children will go through the same situation, and losing everything they have ever had,” Pizzo said. “The problem is that immigrating requires a lot of time and a great amount of money. My family [was able to do it] because we had the privilege that most people don’t have, but the fact that we managed to do it, which was also very difficult, doesn’t make it less wrong.”

After years of controversy regarding immigration, it remains a political topic talked about only with certain groups of people. Immigration however, remains as another main difference between the cultures of Brazil and the United States. Even though immigration divides, culture brings us together no matter how far one remains from home. 

“Honestly, I love life the way that it is, but I would want my Brazilian friends, who live in Round Rock, to live closer, or at least have more Brazilians around so I keep in touch with the culture,” Pizzo said. 

Moving from one place to another has a great impact on the way one perceives life and from Pizzo’s experience, the difference in culture has made her recognize the beauty in the world that others fail to notice. 

“Moving so much made me accept that people leave, and things end, and that doesn’t make anything less beautiful or special,” Pizzo said. “ I didn’t lose anything, but I started to value my connections more, and my loyalty to myself.”   

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By Sofia Portillo, Staff Writer

Featured photo by sergio souza on Unsplash