BRAZIL

Brazilians are warm, open, happy-go-lucky people. Cariocas live by the Three S's: Samba, Sand, and Soccer. The beach is their playground, where they sunbathe, swim, surf, and play volleyball or  soccer. It is a relaxed meeting place for family and friends to get together to bater um papo (talk). People in bathing suits and pareos walk or jog on the mosaic sidewalks and, most importantly, gather with their friends and "are seen." After a day at the beach, what better day to end it but to sit at a café in Ipanema or Copacabana and have a chopinho (beer) and nibble on bife aperitif (small cubed pieces of beef with sauce), prato verão (a cheese and fruit platter), or simply some peanuts. It's not uncommon to see men in their bathing suits and women wearing their fio dental tangas (dental floss bikinis) sitting at one of these outdoor restaurants.