Bridging cultural differences to develop friendship

Gustavo Tavares sports silver studs in his right ear, and a yellow phone charger peeks out of his black pants. He looks stylish, perhaps owing to his year working in Rio's fashion industry just out of college.

Now, he's a mid-level staffer at State Grid Brazil Holding in Rio, working at the intersection of Brazilian and Chinese business cultures.

Tavares, 31, was born and raised in Paracambi, a town about 70 kilometers from the center of Rio de Janeiro. After working in fashion for a year, he returned to his hometown in 2017.