Life vs Travel: Part II - The Prospects

I often feel like I communicate many of the negative aspects of Brazil without sharing my enthusiasm for its merits. I think this is primarily because the greatest contrasts and ‘new’ experiences come from the challenging moments. They’re also the most interesting for us ‘gringoes’ to read about. I also think that is because many of the perceivably negative aspects I discuss are general observations of larger issues, and the more positive aspects are generally more personal. I don’t really like to discuss personal matters on the internet, but I’ve had a really lovely week and have really enjoyed experiencing what Brazil is most renowned for: its people! I met Diogenes parents this week, and we had a delicious Australian meal at a famous Australian restaurant in Curitiba ‘Outback Steakhouse’ on our first meeting. It was definitely a relief to enjoy some familiar flavours. We drove back to Diogenes’ home town Pato Branco out in the Parana countryside, near the Argentinean border. It was my favourite place we’ve visited in Brazil so far. The air was clean, it was surrounded by glorious nature. The town was a mere 60,000 person population (although the high density living makes it look like a 5,000 person size city in Australia). The city was the most developed of any city I’ve seen in Brazil, and I could see it would have been a beautiful place for Di to grow up.

It was Brazilian Fathers Day on Sunday and we enjoyed a delicious traditional Brazilian BBQ. Pig is on the menu EVERYWHERE here, it’s impossible to escape, and much to my demise I am trying to learn to like it to make life easier. It was such a nice sensation being part of Di’s family, sitting in the sun drinking Caipirinhas, enjoying having a garden (I miss that so much!), and most of all enjoying family interactions. The jokes, the love, the commitment, the happiness, and all the things that define ‘family’ were present on Sunday, and I felt so content and so blessed. It was a funny sensation being in Di’s house. I feel like I’ve known him my whole life, and feel so comfortable with him that I feel as if his house is my house. However it was my first day there, and despite my comfort I realised I needed to not make myself too much at home, too quickly. The Brazilian people are very open and slightly boisterous, yet they are opposingly very traditional in many ways (parents are called with prefixes, for example). I’m still learning how to ‘fit in’ to a Brazilian family (having incredibly broken Portuguese doesn’t help, mind you), but it’s important for me to have a close and open relationship with them, so I know everything will develop in time. I felt very welcomed and very comfortable with the situation. For a few days it was nice to feel what it’s going to be like when Di and I finally start building our own life here, and stop living in this Life vs. Travel limbo-scenario.

We are currently in Leme again, as Di made it to the top 10 of a 5,000 applicant job position. Unfortunately he didn’t get the job, and now we’re starting to consider what to do next... again. We’re both learning so much, day by day, and despite the challenges, it’s definitely making us closer and stronger. They way he supports me, and of course the way I try to support him, is invaluable in this experience. Tomorrow we’re going to Ubatuba (THE BEACH!!! YAY!!!) with Debora, my work colleague from Australia, for a little while. It will be a good opportunity for us to relax a little and refresh. There are many interesting things I like about Brazil, for example, the food here is really interesting. Aside from all the amazing fruits and vegetables at incredibly cheap prices, the excesses of different types of meat, and the underlying healthiness of most meals there are some other cool perks. Buffet style is really common here. It’s almost impossible to find al a carte. Tonight we went to an Italian restaurant where for roughly $11AUD men walked around to all the tables with 40 different kinds of delicious wood-fired pizzas and we could choose (unlimited) which ones we wanted. This style is common with meat at buffets as well. They bring around different cuts of barbequed meet and cut it off from a large stick and put it on your plate. We had Quince, Caramalised Banana with Cinamon and Brigadeiro Chocolate pizzas for dessert. I love this country!

Diogenes’ father made a great joke on our way to Pato Branco which has stuck with me. He said, when God created the Earth he gave Brazil everything; beautiful beaches, mountains, forests, land, animals, everything was perfect, and when the rest of the World complained ‘It’s not fair you gave it all to Brazil!’ God replied, ‘Wait until you see the population I’m going to give it’. I really liked this joke, because Brazil is inherently a beautiful country with a beautiful culture, but the huge population here creates enormous problems for the country. Once I am really settled here and am more fluent in the language, I can see so many programs and initiatives I’d like to get involved in and develop here. There are so many opportunities to make a difference in this country, and really restore its beauty. Despite the challenges, I feel like I’m in the right place. I feel really happy here, and I feel the prospects of what I am going to learn and achieve when everything settles down are going to be enormous.

Day by day, I feel more capable and competent to face the harsh realities and the beautiful prospects of life in Brazil. I’ve been an advocate for seeing the beauty in all situations my whole life, learning to accept and appreciate what is, so now I’m really being given an opportunity to practice my compassion and openness to the gloriousness in all life. At the end of the day, all I can say is – how lucky am I? Very, indeed.