20 Stories of Brazilians who went through the ups and downs when they went abroad

Almost always when we tell someone that we have traveled abroad and seen different countries and new cities, the first reaction we usually get is: “Wow, you must have so many fascinating travel stories to tell”. The truth is that most of the best travel stories happen because we experience some funny perrengue or act in a very different way from local people, which can cause strangeness.

Whether it’s a chic perrengue, or a culture shock, there’s always a funny story to tell and, we at awesome.clubwe discovered these 18 Brazilians who went through bad times when they went abroad and decided to share their stories.

I asked for durex at the school stationery in Portugal. The woman looked at me as if I were an ET and I understood that I didn’t have one, and I left. Some time later I found out what I had really asked for. Needless to say, I never went there again. © Nicole Ferreira / Facebook

I lived ten years in Turkey. For the first six months, I didn’t speak a word of Turkish. One day, I went to the market alone and saw some beautiful little bottles, with a children’s theme, each one with a colored liquid inside. I thought it was juice. I got home and, to my surprise, I discovered that the “juice” was a kind of pre-shampoo. © Luciana Castro / Facebook

I was at the bus station in Lisbon and had some questions about buying the ticket and the trip itself, duration, stop and more. Arriving at the ticket window, I asked: “Good morning! May I ask you a question?” And the attendant replied, “Only one!” I just had a doubt. © Luís Carlos Lira / Facebook

I was in Italy with three other friends, we bought tickets to go to Venice by boat, but they didn’t tell us that we had to validate right at the entrance. The inspector, noticing that we were tourists, made a beeline for us. We calmly presented the tickets and he began to pressure us, saying that we had to pay a fine. Result: either we paid 60 euros each or we got off the boat. We ended up going down. © Virley Garcia / Facebook

When I lived in Germany, I didn’t understand a single word in the early days. I went to the supermarket to buy toothpaste. When I used it, I felt a strange taste and my mouth was glued. It was then that I discovered that I had not bought toothpaste, but glue for my dentures. © Flavia Andrade / Facebook

I was in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and I went to eat a kafta. The stall stopped for me, even though there were three women ahead of me in line. Later I found out that the man has preference when it comes to eating or serving himself and the woman must wait. I didn’t agree, but I understood. © Leandro Salem de Oliveira / Facebook

I was tired of just eating at the Hotel de Paris, so I decided to go out at night looking for a restaurant with an affordable price. The cheapest one I found was more expensive than the hotel. I felt completely deceived thinking that it was cheaper out there. © José Almeida / Facebook

In Portugal, once, when I paid the driver for the ticket, he asked where I was going. I replied: “To Joca’s house (my friend)”. He got pissed off and stopped the bus, and said he wasn’t kidding. He asked again and I answered the same thing. The lady who was sitting next to me asked me: “But where does she live?” That’s when I told her where she was and he charged the amount to her house. In Brazil, we pay the driver and he doesn’t ask where you are going. I know I was nervous that day, but I told my friend and she laughed a lot. © Orozina Ferreira / Facebook

In Switzerland, I lost my Iphone X in a car belonging to a foreign customer. I called him to have a look at the car, but he didn’t find anything. Six months later, they called my office and told me the phone was found. His car was taken in for maintenance and the mechanic was the one to meet him. I got it back and ended up giving it to my wife as a gift. © Jean Patrick Magnenat / Facebook

I was at a metro station in Paris, late at night. Just my daughter and me. At that time, the stations were under renovation, but ours was not yet under construction, it was ugly and dark. Suddenly, out of the shadows, a man in an overcoat appeared and walked slowly towards us. I almost had a heart attack! I waited for the worst, but he kept walking, passed us as if we were invisible, and went on his way. It was cold, but we were sweating with fear. © Rose Fávero / Facebook

I moved to Florida, still not knowing English, and on my first purchase I saw some cans that were on the shelf with a large drawing of sardines. I immediately bought four of them. Arriving home, I opened one and it was pate. Then I noticed a very small face on the can and concluded that it was cat food. I went back to the supermarket and they gave me the money back, even with the open can. © Fauzer Castro / Facebook

When I lived in Germany, I always decorated my house with fresh flowers that I bought at the flower shop. Once, riding my bicycle in the countryside, I saw a sunflower plantation and my ex-husband said: “Go there and buy some!” I asked “And pay where?” He replied: “Selbst schneiden, selbst bezahlen”, which in Portuguese means: “You cut it yourself, you pay it yourself”. He had a barrel to put the money in. © Rose Santos / Facebook

I was in Paris and went to a restaurant for lunch. The waiter came with the menu and I asked what his suggestion was. The answer he gave me was: “The lady who will eat and I who will suggest?” © Anna Beatriz Lima Gonçalves / Facebook

I was in Portugal and asked the hotel receptionist if there was internet, as it was the day of the Oscar ceremony and I wanted to watch it. When I got to the room I was trying to get on the internet to access the site. I tried countless times until I gave up. The next day, I went to the front desk to complain that I hadn’t been able to and asked: “Wow, I couldn’t get on the internet”. The receptionist replied: “Well, we do, it’s just not working, but we do!” © Rodrigo Jacques Clark / Facebook

I arrived in Paris very early in the morning and went to a bistro for breakfast. I ordered a croissant with cheese, to which the waiter replied: “Madame, you are in France. Here we don’t eat croissant with cheese. Do you want it plain or with chocolate?” © Malu Lia / Facebook

I was in Chile and had to take a taxi. I saw one, waved, he stopped and I got in. Further on, another person waved, he stopped and that person also entered. So over and over. It turns out that taxis are shared there, just like buses in Brazil. They have routes to follow and stop until they are full. Bizarro 😂 © Marcus Vinícius Rangel Antunes / Facebook

I went to Paris with a friend and, when we went to the Arc de Triomphe, we were looking for a traffic light to cross. We looked and looked and nothing. So we crossed the street with drivers yelling at us. Upon reaching the other side, we saw that there was an underground entrance. We almost died of embarrassment! 🤣 © Eda Simoes / Facebook

Tell us about the most chic perrengue you’ve ever experienced, traveling abroad or even within Brazil.