READERS REPORT: www.stuff.com.nz
Kiwi never alone in Brazil
GERARD O'NEIL 28/03/2014
When
I first arrived in Brazil in 1992, it was never my intention to stay.
I
had been short-listed for a job as a fishing inspector on foreign trawlers
working out of New Zealand, but just missed the cut due to the fact I did not
have a cross-cultural living experience. I was told that if I applied the
following year and had such experience, then almost certainly I would be
contracted.
I
ended up in Brazil as my brother was living there and was able arrange for me
to live with a Brazilian family.
My
first months in Brazil were extremely difficult. Everything was different.
Probably the thing that shocked me the most was the poverty, I lived in a rich
neighbourhood surround by favelas.
The
owner of the house where I lived instructed me shortly after I arrived that
when someone clapped their hands outside the fence to get attention and then
asked for food, I was to ignore them. The first day I was alone I broke the
rule. Who was I to deny a hungry person a cup of water and a slice of bread?
On
the second day, more people arrived asking for food. By the third day, lines
had begun to form outside our gate. That night my host took me aside and wanted
me to explain why I had disobeyed his instructions. The maid had informed him
that there was a rumour circulating round the favela that a foreigner was
living in his house giving away free food.
Twenty
years ago the communications system in Brazil was extremely bad. When a
telegram arrived from New Zealand informing me that applications for the
fishing inspectors position I was seeking had opened, it was already past the
date of inscription. I was very irritated, but things soon changed when I met a
girl. After five years of commuting between Brazil and New Zealand we married.
When
you marry a Brazilian, you do not just marry your spouse you marry the whole
extended family. In some respects, this can be cool because you become a part
of a large group, but at times it can be a little frustrating. You just need to
sneeze and you can be sure that within a few hours some third cousin of my
wife's will be on the phone asking me if it is true that I am dying of
pneumonia.
It
is extremely difficult to be alone here. The moment you stop, someone begins
talking to you.
Once
at the beach I decided to get up early and watch the sunrise. I was sitting
alone on the sand contemplating the last fading stars when all of a sudden
someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"Are
you alright?" the person asked.
"Yes
I am just waiting for the sun to rise," I responded.
The
man told me that he and his wife were walking on the footpath when they spotted
me sitting on the sand alone and had just wanted to make sure I was OK.
I
had just managed to get back into my reflective mood and the sun was about to
appear over the horizon, when there was another tap on my shoulder.
A
couple was standing beside me wanting to know if I was all right. When I
explained that I was just waiting for the sun to rise, they said "what a
great idea," and without an invitation, sat down beside me.
They
began to tell me the story of their lives. The sun was well over the horizon by
the time they had finished and wandered off, leaving me to contemplate the
opportunity of aloneness I had just missed.
As
in most parts of Brazil, security is a major concern. In the southern city of
Curitiba where I live, it is no different.
Everywhere
you go you see armed guards and police officers. When my brother visited us a
couple of years ago he was amazed at the firepower he saw in the streets. I
must admit I no longer bat an eyelid when some security guard passes carrying a
machine or shotgun.
Brazil
is a country of modern and well-written laws, which no one obeys. A good
example of this is the way people behave on the roads. For most, traffic lights
and signs are indications of what you could do, rather than what you should do.
Running
red lights is normal and speed limits are ignored. One particular oddity are
judder bars on the open highway. They can usually be found at the entrance to
some small hamlet the road passes through, however, they can also be found in
the middle of nowhere. These are the worst as sometimes someone has stolen the
sign indicating their existence.
After
a difficult start, today we are doing OK here. I teach English to company
executives and work as a translator, while my wife works for the city council (she
is a psychologist).
In
New Zealand, we would be classed as your average middle class couple raising
two children. In the 20 years I have lived in Brazil, I have witnessed huge
changes. The economy has been remade, millions of poor have become middle class,
and now the population has begun to question the cost of the endemic corruption
the country suffers from.
I
enjoy living here. Even though the Portuguese colonised the place 500 years
ago, you have a real sense that this is still a pioneering country. There are
still so many things for me to do and so many opportunities to explore.
I
never try to imagine what would have happened to me if I had stayed in New
Zealand; the only thing I can say is that my life would have been different.
Will I return there to live one day? I have no idea. Here is my home for the
present.
I
do miss some things. Being able to camp without having to worry about snakes
and dangerous animals, being able to drive on roads where large trucks do not
outnumber cars, being able sit somewhere alone without someone interrupting
your thoughts, being warm in winter (our houses have no insulation or heating)
- but the thing I miss most of all is fish and chips!
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