Portuguese is the national language, but it is important to note that Brazilian Portuguese is very different from the Portuguese spoken in Portugal. Depending on the region of Brazil that you are in, people have very different accents and use unique slang.
Brazilians use a currency called reais (pronouced hey-eish). In the singular from, it is called real (hey-ow). One real is equivalant to about 17 U.S. cents.
Normally, one bottle of water costs about three reais, or about 50 U.S. cents. Water costs depend on your location. Touristy areas charge higher rates for water, up to nine or ten reais. Brazil has a much lower cost of living that the United States, but the hourly wage is much lower than the U.S. as well, at around one U.S.D. an hour.
Interestingly enough, Brazil is famous for its Japanese food. In the early 1900's, there was a large emigration from Japan to Brazil as immigrants sought work in the country's growing coffee industry. This week, I enjoyed a tuna roll that was paired with passionfruit seeds and coconut that completely blew my mind.
