Misconceptions. . .

Last Tuesday night, I substitute taught an English class for Brazilians. There were only four students in the class so it wasn't as intimidating as I had envisioned. All four men work at John Deere and speak English very well.
I asked them several questions and let them talk as I corrected their English. Other than the accents, I was incredibly impressed with their level of English. Very few mistakes. Made it easy for me! We spent the class talking back and forth. I asked them questions; they asked me questions. It was actually kind of fun, after I got over the nervousness of being there in the first place!
Because I was personally interested, I asked the men what misconceptions they think people have about Brazil. The first student said, "That we live in threes." The other guys laughed and I was laughing but thinking, "Threes? I've never heard that they live in threes (as in threesomes)." So I tried to clarify, "Threes?", I said. "Yes, threes." I held up 3 fingers. "Threes?" Another guy laughed out loud and said, "No, trees." (Oh, trees.) After spending the last year learning another language, and failing miserably at times, the last thing I wanted to do was make fun of his pronunciation!! OK, trees. Got it. So he went on to say that many Americans think Brazil is covered in rainforests and that most of the people live in huts or in trees. He had traveled to the Quad Cities and an American had asked him if he had a car and if the wheels were made of wood (from the trees, I imagine).
The next student said an American had asked him if the women walk down the streets naked. (I almost argued on that one. OK, they aren't naked, but the lack of clothing at times puts some of them in a category that is close to it!)
So we talked about misconceptions and stereotypes of Brazilians. Unfortunately, some of what they had to say were misconceptions that I had prior to moving here. I had no idea southern Brazil has such incredible farmland! Most of the people in our town have a light complexion. Many have blond hair because of their German background. Half the population here speaks fluent German along with Portuguese. While there are quite a few trees, our state is way south of the Amazon. . . meaning, I don't live in the jungles of Brazil.
Then I told them, "I've only lived here a year, but I have learned a lot. I do know that I don't live in a tree and I don't walk down the street naked." I wasn't really sure how to interpret the looks on their faces when I said that. Still not sure. There was some nervous laughter and then I looked at my watch, grateful our class was over! Overall, it was a good night and another new thing I did here in Brazil. Fairly easy, but new!