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| "What we learn in time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise." -Albert Camus, The Plague, Part 5 |
Unofficially, I have been living in Brazil for four months now. Yeah. I know. I cannot believe it either. Somedays I wonder how I have lasted this long. To say that the beginning was rough would be an understatement. By no means has this experience been peaches and cream. Though, it has been an experience that does not compare with my other times living abroad. By no means is Brazil for those weak of character or those who get frustrated easily. Do I miss home? Umm... Not entirely. When I reach out to my family and friends back in the States I realise that not much has changed. Daily routine dictates their lives, per the norm. Home - work - home - social gathering, and repeat. There are minor things I miss about the States. As my colleague put it so graciously "it is the minor things like customer service" and I would add peanut butter and ethnic food like Indian or Thai to what I miss most. Outside of that Brazil has been one hell of a ride. Now mind you Brazil is an excellent case-study for any type of study (social, cultural, economic, political) the list can go on and on. I say this because two weeks ago I was on holiday in the south of the country. From the moment I landed the only reason I knew I was in Brazil was because they were speaking Portuguese. Everything from the architecture, engineering, and EVEN the way people looked.
Allow me to elaborate on the former statement. It is the first time I travel to a country and the people physically look different depending on the region I am in. Similarly, to the United States, Brazil experience diasporas either voluntary or involuntary (slaves from the African continent did not voluntary leave their homeland to pick cotton or grow coffee in order to develop the modern economies of the world). Though, I am sure you know that already :-) No need for a history lesson or one on word choice. With that being said, when these diasporas occurred in Brazil it physically seems that they concentrated in several key areas. Fast forward I go to Florianópolis and Porto Alegre, two different states both received heavy migration from Italy, Germany, and Poland. I physically felt I was morphed to a smaller version of Europe while down there. It is so "European" that residents obtain the nationality of their heritage in order to have access to their ancestral lands even if they do not speak the language. In typical western european migration patterns the migrants assimilated instead of acculturated. Overall, the holiday was a relaxing and much need to refocus myself.
Now, this past weekend I helped my colleague celebrate her birthday. Saturday night we went to a festa junina (June festival) mind you it was in an upscale suburb of Goiânia. I thought I would have an idea on what to expect. WRONG, sort of. I was flabbergasted though. I was not shocked so much by the fact that the wealthy of Goiânia does not have diversity but much more on how these individuals looked, what they wore and how they wore it, how easy money was spent, and just the overall atmosphere of the event. Allow me to backtrack and cover some things I may have failed to mention beforehand. Brazil according to the United States is level 5 when it comes to security. What does that even mean? It means Brazil is super dangerous and everything bad imagined will occur. Umm... If you fancy knowing what the U.S. has to officially say about Brazil click here. While in Chicago I would not think twice about pulling out my iPhone 6 to snap several photos, hold it in my hand while I walk, put on my headphones so I can listen to Julio Iglesias as I walk. Here I just don't do that. I already call attention to myself when I open my mouth why give another reason to stick out more. It is best to not walk out of the flat with valuable possessions. Why take a chance? Now back to Saturday, when I see women wearing pearls or fine metals carrying genuine precious stones that go with clothes that were clearly not made by forced labour in southeast Asia and in their hands is the latest Android or iPhone you can imagine the shock I was in to see this new world. I wonder if this is how Pedro Álvares Cabral felt when he arrived to what he called Ilha de Vera Cruz (Island of the true cross) aka Brazil? Probs not but I can dream right?
abraços gente (hugs peeps)
