Polite, Happy Yankees

All last winter the "beautiful she-pupils" of Vassar enjoyed the teachings of an exchange professor, Dr. Jorge Costa Neves, of the University of Brazil. So stimulating were his courses in the Portuguese language and Brazilian civilization that Vassar's president, tart Sarah Blanding, seldom missed a lecture herself. Now back in Rio for a year before returning to Vassar, able Jorge Costa loves to expound on how the U.S. looks to a Brazilian:*

Arrival in Babylon. "Never once did I feel like a stranger. Most New Yorkers speak as bad English as I do. They all understood me perfectly well. I tell the customs man I am a Brazilian professor proceeding to Vassar. One said to me: 'O.K., Prof. Got any Brazilian stamps?' I gave him some. He did not look at my baggage. They have a high opinion of professors in America."

Cashing a Check. "The man asked me for identification. 'I require to return to the hotel,' I told him. 'I have not papers with me.' But the man said, 'Oh, never mind; here is the money.' Imagine--$200 without identification! Without signing papers! ... So friendly! So trusting!"

Winter. "It is a very sad time. There are no leaves; there are no birds; there is no sun. And the snow makes everything so silent. I felt very well, but I did not like it."

Education. "I agree with Nicholas Butler that America is the best half-educated country in the world. But happily, the American people are fond of learning. Their curiosity and interest compel them to study beyond their time of childhood. These polite, happy people--almost infantile in their simplicity and sincerity--are assimilating little by little the whole of European civilization."

Honor. "This is my finest impression of America. Why, in schools they even have examinations with professors out of the room . . . Incredible!"

*For observations on U.S. life and customs by other visitors, see EDUCATION.

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