Happy Ação de Graças

Black Friday at Extra, the local version of Walmart

Happy Thanksgiving from Brazil.  Here, of course, its just another day - I had my português class in the morning and its off the the office this afternoon/evening.  There is no reason Brazilians should know about Thanksgiving and, other than the other American in my class, no one has noted it (in my class are or have been students from Italy, Switzerland, England, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and France).

Though it is expected it makes all the more surprising the fact that Brazilian retailers have totally gone for 'Black Friday.'  This seems totally weird and incomprehensible to me, they even use the English 'Black Friday' rather than the Portuguese 'sexta-feira preta' or something like that.  It has become such a big deal both the nightly news and the newspapers cover it, and at least they bother explaining from whence it comes:

Criado nos EUA, o dia da pechincha é tradicionalmente realizado após o feriado de Ação de Graças (comemorado hoje) e costuma lotar as lojas de consumidores.

As for me, my family is planning a second Thanksgiving for when I return.  Tonight I'll probably have pasta again and be thankful to live in such an interesting and diverse world and to have the chance to explore it.