Diversity

I want to thank my good friend Ricardo for pointing out something to me that I was oblivious to. Being a gringa living in Brazil, I am chock full of amusing stories involving culture shock.
I have lived for over ten years in Rio de Janeiro. I must point out to my loyal blog readers that Brazil is not just Rio de Janeiro. It is a diverse country with all sizes and shapes of people that you can imagine. To the south, there is a strong German and Italian influence. The town of Blumenau in the state of Santa Catarina is home to the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany. Sao Paulo is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. The Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500. The Dutch came to the North of Brazil and tried to oust the Portuguese, but were defeated. They left behind architecture in Sao Luiz de Maranhao which is absolutely stunning. My children's paternal grandfather is of Dutch descent, mixed with Brazilian Indian.Their paternal grandmother is Portuguese. My father is German and my mother is of Irish and English descent.Multi ethnicity is what makes Brazil such a diverse and interesting country, and I urge everyone to come and discover this wonderful country.......