Well, since this is a
NOMADlife community, and we are supossed to share our
NOMADic experiences, I will talk about Brazil again. I think lately I have been focusing more on the
LIFE side (of Nomadlife) in my blog, which in my case can go way too random. [But who cares! the life part is the one that gives meaning and sense to any
NOMAD stuff you do: no
life no
nomad.]In less than one month my Brazilian experience will be over and although I definitively feel very exited of coming back home to Colombia (at least for some weeks), I wish I could have more time to enjoy Brazil, this is for sure a country that deserves much more time.
Ready?
Coming back to the postings I wrote at the beginning of my stay here ...
... today reading them back I feel sort of strange. Why?
Because what amazed me by that time, now makes completely part of my life (except the kissing rules!!) - and this is very easy to happen being a Latin girl, coming from Colombia, there are moments where you here in Brazil would say "you are experiencing cero cultural shock". Is that good? Is that bad? Does it make it less exiting? Is that true? Actually not, cause in the end you know that there are still differences (must be) and you keep searching every day for them. It makes you go deeper.
Another thing is that when you arrive to a country you start like hell writing about your experiences (you know the first weeks exitement!) and you mad mistakes around the things you describe and how you describe. I just think back of me when I lived in Austria ... man I lived in a 365 days Cultural schock, and "liked" to reinforce paradigms and write about it.
In the following posts I will exactly talk about this. About my own Brazilian paradigms.
PARADIGM 1: In BRAZIL races and cultures are fully integrated, anyone can be brazilian
Afrobrazil finds each day its way to be part of the country
Disclaimer: The following I discovered in a museum (Afro-Brazilian Museum) tour with guidance provided by a professional sociologist of the state of Sao Paulo
Brazil is still fighting to get rid of social and racial apartheid. It still exists.
In the past "Branqueamiento" (whitening), was a law
The kings of the Atlantic slave trade were the portuguese
Story of Brazil started in the state of BAHIA
Mulatos, Mestizos still are searching for their own identity as brazilians
In shops, commercial centers any of the workers is afro-brazilian
In some shops/places afro-brazilians are not welcomed
Less than 1 % of top executives of brazilian companies are afro - brazilians
Cool articles about all this are:
The Other 500 Years: Brazil and 500 Years of Indigenous, Black and Popular Resistance and
Social Apartheid in Brazil
PARADIGM 2: BRAZIL, the country of carnival, fun, beaches, enjoying the moment ...
Business Mindset in Brazil - one of the strongest I have seen
Brazil is still the country of carnival, and fun. But at the same time I have never seen a country with such a strong business mindset, specially in young people. People here strive as hell for career, career planing, for productivity and for doing bunchs of money. They take it serious. They are very organized and workoholic. Even in unemployeement is an issue, in comparison with other Latin countries, it is not here - specially for recent graduates. It is relatively easy to get a placement in a company, at least at trainee as a starting point, as well it is easy to do your practice semester of university in "very good" companies. It al sounds so corporate, but believe me, at the same time, SOCIAL and in general CSR agendas are ON. Well this is just the reflect of the emerging economy they are. Brazil has a lot to teach to the rest of Latin America.
PARADIGM 3: BRAZIL government - as any other latin government- is a nightmare
President Lula
Many people, young ones also, are "Lulistas" (from president Lula). With this I do not affirm that government here is perfect, but at least you feel the difference with other latin States where citizens BITCH the whole day about the government. There is a decent amount of advertisement around the "good things" the government is doing. This - in my opinio - really creates a good atmosphere: people see what is changing, people know more about the own country and "trust the process" (as we say in AIESEC). Lately I was having a conversation with a brazilian friend, and she told me that Lula was seen as a "bad president" by some people since they shamed him of "just doing what his consultants said", that he was not intelligent at all - what a stupid comment I thought! Is not this the role of a president, to get surrounded by the best people?
PARADIGM 4: If you do not have a car in Sao Paulo, you can´t live there
There are bus conections to everywhere, you just need to get informed
Please of course you can live without a car, but of course a car makes your life easier. Sao paulo is a monster, but from own experience, I have reached places by bus (or omnibus as they call them there) and by metro, of course, that I never thought I could. Call 156 - there you just say where you are, where you want to go, and in seconds they give you the conections you have to take, and how much it takes. And they are friendly - something that does not happen in this kind of phone services (in Colombia, at least). Well, in general may people have a car, cars are cheaper in comparison with other countries - and specially credit conditions (interest rates) here are so low, that you easily can buy a car.
Now that I am talking about "buses" I also can say that buses here are very nice, very comfortable, NO MUSIC in the buses (as in Colombia that all buses have a LOUD Vallenato!), No RANDOM stickers, furnitures and lights in the buses (as in Colombia) - buses here are very corporate. Bus driver wears a suit, or at least uniform and the bus driver does not collect the money, there is a second person, sitting in themiddle of the bus, that collect the payment from people - this in the cases where you do not have a card or a ticket in advance. Usually when you work, the company gives this cards to you. Similar as in Europe (that I love), buses stop only in the bus stops and you kindly ask for it by pressing a buttom. Hehehe I miss the "PROXIMAAAAA!!!!" that we scream in Colombia to get out of the bus, and the "bitching" to the bus driver cause even if we scream, he leaves you wherever he feels like.
PARADIGM 5: Brazilians = Latinos
Brazil - latinos or not?
It is so funny when I hear brazilians calling "latinos" to the rest of people of Latin America. They DO NOT do it in a bad way, not at all, but it´s just funny since when they talk, it seems like they would not fall into the "latino branch". But atthe same time, SO MANY PEOPLE here speak spanish! many! and the funny thing is also that they d it with a strong "argentinean acent"- many of them learnt there, in official courses, or just during any of their holidays. It´s very sweet hearing brazilians talking spanish, sounds "like little kids". Brazilians like "latinos", a lot!, but as said, they see us as a different branch. Maybe we also see Brazilians different? well I do, I see them as a exotic, different but still very american part of us!
