This encounter happened in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was a Sunday afternoon, I had just arrived in Sao Paulo. I checked into the hotel and decided to go for a walk around the property.  I went outside and was almost blinded by the sunlight. So, I went back to my room to get my sunglasses. To my dismay, they were not in my suitcase or my bag. Brazil can be very sunny, so I decided to take a trip to the nearby mall and purchase a pair of sunglasses. I boarded the hotel shuttle, which was free, and headed to the mall. The majority of Brazilians in Brazil do not speak fluent English and many do not speak or understand English at all. Finding an eyeglass store was not difficult once I got to the mall. I took the escalator up one level and there in front of me was an eyeglass store. I looked in the window at the glasses, but the prices were very high. A lady came out the store and approached me, beaconing me to come in. I understood a little of what she was staying, however, I let her know that I didn’t speak Portuguese. She chuckled and tried to do sign language. I tried to explain to her that the prices were very high and I just wanted a simple pair of sunglasses to use while in Brazil. Of course this short explanation turned into several minutes of misinterpretations. But she was excited to meet someone who spoke English so she could try out the little that she knew.

She took my hand and brought me into the store to show me her whole collection of sunglasses. She had me try on several glasses and showed me pictures of other women wearing them. After about an hour, we settled on a pair that was within my price range and likeness. I purchased the glasses with a credit card. She muttered something in Portuguese and gave me a little gift for stopping by. I didn’t intend to spend this much time at the mall, so I proceeded to leave. She saluted me with the traditional Brazilian good bye- kiss on each cheek.

I visited one more store, and then decided it was time to head back to the hotel. I went outside to where the shuttle had dropped me off only to find out the shuttle had stopped running for the day. The driver failed to tell me this information. I started looking for a taxi. Of course no one spoke English. Then I realized that I didn’t have any Brazilian dollars in my purse, and the taxi only takes Brazilian dollars. I went back into the mall to find an ATM. I saw a money machine and inserted my ATM card. The information was coming up in Portuguese and I did not understand what it was telling me. I asked someone behind me and they did not understand what I wanted. It became very frustrating. I tried several times to find the English component on the ATM machine, but had no success. I was at a lost and didn’t know what to do. 

I remembered by “new friend” in the eyeglass store, so I went back to find her in hopes that she would be able to help me with the ATM machine and to assist me with getting a taxi. I found her and tried to explain to her my problem. She didn’t understand me right away, however after several tries, I beaconed her to come with me to the ATM. She agreed. When I took her to the machine, she discovered the problem. Read More…