Study Abroad: Porno?

When I planned my trip to Portugal, I didn't know what to expect. Even though it was my first time there, it was my second time in a Lusophone country. I was animated to speak Portuguese in a different continent and to immerse myself in Portuguese culture. I imagined that there would be similarities and contrasts between Brazil and Portugal and I was interested in seeing the connection between the two. Comparing both experiences now I perceive that it is not merely the language that the two countries have in common, but the porno.

Allow me to explain. While in Lisbon I stayed at a prison-like youth hostel in the center of the city. At the pousada there was a bar with space for guests to sip caipirinhas and watch television. One night I accompanied a few friends to relax at the hostel bar before heading out for live music at a Fado club. When we entered the place, I saw 20 Europeans and Americans hanging out on the couches, playing pool and drinking various brews. Quin, the Angolan hotel manager, invited my friends and I for a free round. United Statesian rap music was blasting from the stereo so I did not hear the television, but rather saw that it was on when I reached the counter. On the 19" Magnavox the crowd was watching a freakishly muscular man penetrate a moaning woman from behind. In the time it took my jaw to drop and turn my head to see if my friends had noticed the program, I realized that I had seen that couple somewhere before...

It didn't take but a minute for this situation to bring me back to Brazil. It was during my stay in Bahia that I had a rather curious experience with a host family. I had been studying abroad with a group from the UC's and it was during our last week of intensive language training in Salvador where this story unfolds.

Before leaving Bahia to study in Rio de Janeiro, my good friend Marcela invited me to share a meal with her host family. It was still early in the afternoon when I went over to hang out at their house. I was under the impression that we would be dining at her place, although Marcela's host mother informed me that we would in fact be going over to her sister's apartment. This sister, Guilce, was also hosting a student from Santa Cruz.

Marcela's host mom drove us over to Guilce's house. They were well-off single women who lived in nicely styled apartments in the middleclass section of Salvador. When we entered the house, Guilce invited us for drinks in the living room. She was extremely friendly, as most Brazilians are. We talked about politics, our not wanting to leave Bahia and our upcoming stay in Rio. As we consumed cocktails, Guilce mentioned that she had recently rented a video and wanted to show us a clip. I asked her what the video was and she said it was a surprise. She took the VHS, popped it into the VCR and looked at Marcela and I while the machine began to load the film. Then all of a sudden, without introduction of dialogue there was a man and woman having energetic sex. I did not have time to think and all I could mutter was, "Oh meu deus!" I turned my head and both Marcela and I were attempting to steer our vision away from the TV although the sounds of the woman groaning were loader than Bahian drumming. Guilce then grabbed our faces and said, "Look! Look! They're not using a condom." She proceeded to turn off the television and say, "Who's ready for dinner?"

Although I still do not quite understand the purpose of that little show-and-tell, I suppose she wanted to shock us. My classmates in Portugal told me that at the dorms at the University of Porto it was a common practice to spend the post-studying hours watching pornography together in the student lounge. I though I was liberal, but I guess I was behind on the times?

These experiences abroad always illuminate my own reality at home. Our society is very "undercover freak". We pretend to be puritanical when in fact, we are not. Then we think we are progressive, although we could learn a bit from other cultures. This is not to say that I am dying to enter Starbucks and catch the latest pornographic effort while drinking my morning coffee. However, it is interesting to note what one considers to be normal, because for others, there will always exist a certain level of strangeness.

But foreign pornography can be educational. I mean, how else are we gonna know what to say in a similar situation since there are certain words a professor won't teach your grammar class...