Friday, June 15, 2012

The popularity of the Farmer blow in Brazil??

One of the many "perks" of our current apartment is that we get to hear our neighbors.  We hear them talking on the phone.  We hear them arguing (and they hear us).  And, we hear them clearing their nasal passages.  Not just one neighbor.  But many neighbors.  Loudly. 

I wouldn't post about this, except that I've had other conversations/experiences/observations recently that lead me to believe that the Farmer Blow is an acceptable the method of blowing one's nose for Mineiro men (and perhaps women too).

1.  Someone confided in me that their significant other would clear his nose in the shower.  Every day.  And if I understood the Portuguese correctly, it was perhaps even while she was in the shower with him.  Ew.

2.  At my son's 8th birthday party, we had several boys spend the night.  In the morning, one of the boys was all stuffed up.  He went into the bathroom and proceeded to blow all the crap in his nose into the sink.  With the door open. 

3.  Total lack of Kleenex.  Okay expats:  when was the last time that you saw a box of Kleenex in Brazil?  I know they sell it at Araujo for like R$10 a box, but seriously.  All the places you would normally find it in the states (a waiting room, your mother's bathroom, schools, doctor's office) are TOTALLY vacant of Kleenex.  Is everyone out there blowing their snot on the sidewalk?  Along with leaving their dog poop? 

Anyone want to speak to this?


7 comments:

  1. Shelley,


    Belo Horizonte must be a world a part from Sao Paulo.
    Gil and I were just in Sao Paulo recently and we noticed Kleenex boxes of tissue all over the place.
    The most exotic place we saw was at Men's public bathrooms, they have installed tissue dispensers so men can dry their genitals after urinating, we thought it was very fancy and we have never seen that anywhere other than Brazil. Very cool.
    The big trend in the US now are the "Neti Pot" craze, where everyone is washing their sinuses in the sinks with the help of this milenar Indian tradition.
    And there are warnings on TV for people to avoid using tap water for Neti Pot because a woman in Louisiana contracted a "flesh eating bacteria" that ate her brain and she died...
    So if you are disgusted with the habit, get used to the idea, the US is changing fast... ;)


    Abracos

    Ray

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  2. Shelley,


    R$10,00 !!! You are paying too much for Klennex.
    Here, it's only R$3,95 :

    http://www.paodeacucar.com.br/produto/68791/lenco-de-papel-kleenex-eucafresh-com-50-unidades

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    Replies
    1. Oh, I was just being sarcastic about the Kleenex. It was one of the things that I noticed within a few trips to the grocery store, and I never would pay more than USD $.50 a box back in the states (I was one of those crazy coupon ladies). Like I said, I think the farmer blow is a Mineiro thing, kind of a "country" thing that still lingers. I've heard about the Neti pots, and people dying--gross!

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  3. Yes, awful, we are now buying Distilled water to do our Neti Pot...we also have "Water Boiling Warnings" in Rhode Island often, so we don't trust tap water here...
    Hell, I don't trust tap water anywhere...
    I wish I could find Kleenex at 50 cents a box.
    Try 3,50!! Just bought some at Target today...
    Inflation is moving prices up and some companies are keeping the same prices and shrinking the products...

    ;)

    Ray

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  4. Many Brazilian men like to go to a sink, fill their cupped hands with cold water, and then snort it up the nose to clean out their sinuses. I tried it once, and it was a very painful experience. The Neti Pot is so much better. Warm salty water is completely painless, and if you boil it first, there is no risk of contracting a brain-eating parasite.

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  5. I never heard of any "Neti pot" craze here in the US. In fact I have never even heard of the stuff. People use tissues here. I have to agree with the above poster, tvindy. I have seen people in Brazil cup their hands at a sink and snort it. It's not only in Minas. I saw people in Rio doing the snot rocket thing, too. Ew.

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  6. I did yogi and I heard of the neti pot. I tried it and almost choked to death. Now, because Paulinia has a lot of chemical companies my doctor wants me to clean my nose with salt water when I get a reaction. I tried that and ended up drinking it followed by mr. burns like movement for a couple minutes. agh no more.

    My husband does this (the farmer blow), and my father who was a big belgium hick. My father literally came from little belgium. Yeah, that's the name of his city. I still have trauma. And every time my husband does this in the shower, I have horrible flashbacks of my father doing the farmer blow during slumber parties at my house when I was 12. I just bought ricardo a four pack of kleenex from sam's club. HINT HINT ricardo. It's been about two months, he hasn't opened one yet.

    So yeah, mineiros are hicks. Many of them are, I mean. And the farmer blow is acceptable. Some times, I cry to myself... I promised I wouldn't marry my father. Some how I married a version of him from another country.

    Withstanding, I love him very much.

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