Homesick

Yesterday I had a taste of what pizza should really be like. We went to a Brazilian Grill that had a Pizza Rodizio night and it was fabulous.  No wonder we have the saying there that "everything ends in a pizza party."

The toppings, piled high, are different than what we have here in America, and are combined in a way that makes Americans question our taste. But once they try it, it's a sure winner. 

One thing very strange for us there was the language we spoke.

We walked in and automatically said Hi instead of Oi, just because that's what is natural now. Then they look at Alex, with his Army t-shirt, assumed that we are not Brazilians, and kept talking to us in English. Half way thru we said something in Portuguese and that we are Brazilians, but throughout the night, we all kept going back and forth between both languages. It feels so unnatural to me talk in Portuguese with people that are not close friends or family. 

By now I have spent more time of my life here in the US than I had in Brasil, and that seems to take its toll sometimes.  

Semantics

Here are two examples of seemingly nice acts that are actually hiding prejudice in its essence.

• Perform an act of kindness every day
• A nice man helps with house chores

If you perform an act of kindness every day, are you being kind all day long? Are you only doing one act a day, checking it off your to-do list and resuming a selfish normalcy?

Each time we promote the message to do one kind act, we are also limiting the need to express kindness constantly, regardless the recipient, regardless the circumstance. Just be kind, if you have the kindness to give. 

Nice men don't ever help with chores. A nice man recognizes that the chores are not a woman's job. A nice person, being a man or a woman, recognize that their "feminine" partner is not automatically entitled to take care of house/chores/kids. A nice person recognizes that in any partnership, each person should take on the tasks they have a natural inclination to, and divide or take turns on the tasks that make you both feel like it's a "task". 

If you don't have a team mentality in a romantic relationship, sooner or later the partners will feel used, abused and unappreciated. 

I suggest replacing both statements with only one:

• Be kind.