If you watch 'My Name Is Earl' you'll know that the character Earl and his brother Randy live in a motel suite together. The word 'Motel' is short for "motorway hotel". The concept was begun in America in the 1920's, hitting it's peak in the 1950's & 60's, and then went into decline with the increase in popularity of chain hotels.
The original idea was simply to supply cheap accommodation to motorists travelling along highways on long journeys. Motels appear frequently in American movies as cheap, sleazy, dirty, trashy places to stay. They don't have a good rep.
Motels in Brazil, on the other hand, are a very VERY different kettle of fish. Their primary purpose is not for sleep.
I shall explain in context. In Brazil (and most of Latin America), it is very common for children to live with their parents until they are married. In the past, this meant leaving home in your late teens to early 20's at the latest. These days, a lot of people stay with their parents until their mid to late 20's. I've even heard of a couple of people still with their parents into their 30's. I find the latter weird.
This all means that if you get yourself a boyfriend/girlfriend before you're married (which is everyone), it is quite common that neither party will have somewhere private to 'consummate' the relationship. Most Brazilians will not have sex in their parents home. And before you say "well neither would Europeans/North Americans": YES they WOULD. I've done it.
So, Brazilians are quite accustomed to using Motels. I suppose in English we would normally refer to these as 'adult motels' or 'love hotels'. I don't exactly know the history of the Motel in Brazil, but I'm assuming it started with demand for somewhere nice to carry out an extra-marital affair.
These days, it is a perfectly socially acceptable and totally un-embarassing way to add spice to a normal marriage or a relationship (you don't have to be cheating on someone). Some motels have suites that are so large and fully-featured with things like pool tables, flat screen televisions, games consoles, DJ decks, disco floors, jacuzzis, swimming pools, saunas, etc that people just rent them out to have a party.
The experience of going to a motel is so incredibly relaxing (no noise, no interruptions) that people often go just to escape everyday life for a few hours. You can rent a motel room/suite for a period of a few hours or as long as overnight.
The suite I went to (don't worry, I won't go into graphic detail) had it's own garage, two floors, round four-poster bed, huge bathroom, two flatscreen televisions (one on each floor), home cinema sound system, CD player, radio, fridge, dining area, deck with lounge chairs, massive jacuzzi and sauna. We actually spent most of our time in the jacuzzi chatting. The decor was a bit corny in places but the jacuzzi made me completely forget about it. There aren't words to describe how incredibly relaxed I felt after 4 hours. The only thing that would have a similar effect would be Valium.
Motels are common throughout Latin America: it's not a particularly Brazilian phenomenon.
Personally, I absolutely loved the experience. Next time I'm taking a suite for 12 hours... 4 hours wasn't enough!
I shall explain in context. In Brazil (and most of Latin America), it is very common for children to live with their parents until they are married. In the past, this meant leaving home in your late teens to early 20's at the latest. These days, a lot of people stay with their parents until their mid to late 20's. I've even heard of a couple of people still with their parents into their 30's. I find the latter weird.
This all means that if you get yourself a boyfriend/girlfriend before you're married (which is everyone), it is quite common that neither party will have somewhere private to 'consummate' the relationship. Most Brazilians will not have sex in their parents home. And before you say "well neither would Europeans/North Americans": YES they WOULD. I've done it.
So, Brazilians are quite accustomed to using Motels. I suppose in English we would normally refer to these as 'adult motels' or 'love hotels'. I don't exactly know the history of the Motel in Brazil, but I'm assuming it started with demand for somewhere nice to carry out an extra-marital affair.
These days, it is a perfectly socially acceptable and totally un-embarassing way to add spice to a normal marriage or a relationship (you don't have to be cheating on someone). Some motels have suites that are so large and fully-featured with things like pool tables, flat screen televisions, games consoles, DJ decks, disco floors, jacuzzis, swimming pools, saunas, etc that people just rent them out to have a party.
The experience of going to a motel is so incredibly relaxing (no noise, no interruptions) that people often go just to escape everyday life for a few hours. You can rent a motel room/suite for a period of a few hours or as long as overnight.
The suite I went to (don't worry, I won't go into graphic detail) had it's own garage, two floors, round four-poster bed, huge bathroom, two flatscreen televisions (one on each floor), home cinema sound system, CD player, radio, fridge, dining area, deck with lounge chairs, massive jacuzzi and sauna. We actually spent most of our time in the jacuzzi chatting. The decor was a bit corny in places but the jacuzzi made me completely forget about it. There aren't words to describe how incredibly relaxed I felt after 4 hours. The only thing that would have a similar effect would be Valium.
Motels are common throughout Latin America: it's not a particularly Brazilian phenomenon.
Personally, I absolutely loved the experience. Next time I'm taking a suite for 12 hours... 4 hours wasn't enough!
Isn't it where you drive in with your car, pay like R$50 (or more), and they pray for you?
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