Your interest in reading this booklet may be due to your involvement with the HOST Program, where you will have the opportunity to meet people from Brazil and introduce them to life in Canada. You may be an employer who is prepared to offer a job to a person who is new to Canada. You could also find this booklet helpful if it is your job to provide assistance to people from other countries. Whatever your interest, this booklet will help you learn some important facts about your new friends' culture and their country. It will introduce you to Brazil and Brazilians and may help you to understand a little about what life was like for them before they came to Canada.

Brazil is a country rich in its diversity of peoples. Traditionally Brazil has been a country in which people from all over the world come to live. In the last 15 years however, an increasing number of Brazilian people have left the country for a variety of reasons to establish themselves in places like Canada. While our culture will seem curious and strange to them in many ways, there will also be many similarities between the two cultures. Brazilians will have many of the same questions that you might have if you moved to a new town or city. For instance, they will wonder where they will find a job, which schools their children will attend and what their new community will be like. It is important to understand some elements of the Brazilian culture that your new friends bring with them, but what will be valuable is your offer of time, friendship and concern for them. While this cultural profile provides insight into some customs, it does not cover all facets of life. The customs described here may not apply in equal measure to all newcomers from Brazil.