Love and Hate
It's been 5 months so far.
In truth I've been thinking about this blog post quite a lot, the differences in culture, what's the same? What's different? What do I like about it? What do I not like about it?
I always have thought Brazil is cool, ever since the 1998 Nike advert where the Brazil team played in the airport with the song 'Mais Que Nada', one of my earliest memories. Since then all media has pointed to Brazil being a cool country. This relaxed place where people dance in the sun and on the beach. Amidst a few instances of crime.
But now I'm here and see the realities, do I feel the same? Is it as cool as I thought? What do I like? What don't I like?
For format I've gained inspiration from three places converging to form a trifecta of blog writing power
- 10 things I Like and Don't Like by sports writer Zach Lowe, a regular on the show the Jump.
- Love and Hate - by Michael Kiwanuka, an unreal song, hate is a very strong word for some of the things I don't like, but to fit with the song, Its gotta be, I get the feels from this song.
- 7 Things - by Miley Cyrus, not as good a song and I don't get the feels but fuck it. Miley, and a good number to stick to.
So there it is the inspiration to help spell the list inside my head. Enjoy
Love
1. Their snacks.
Guarana, Baconzitos and Ovomaltine
I can't even begin to explain the addictiveness of these three things
Guarana
A photo was here; it wasn’t in the backup.
A fizzy fruity drink that trumps any other before it. In fact the Brazilians are selfish for keeping it to themselves and missing a trick in the global sugar drinks market. Although fanta have their guarana drink so I'm sure they would dominate anyway. Actually I've began to overkill this and going off it. But still, the love's there.
Baconzitos.
A photo was here; it wasn’t in the backup.
Big salty, bacony crisps with a great texture. need I say more. Like frazzles bigger brother who everyone loves more than him and frazzles friends make whatsApp groups called 'baconzito's appreciation group' and always talk about how great he is...
anyway, they come in massive packs and if I open one it's usually gone before half-time. Even when I'm not hungry, they are so moorish and I can't stop (more Miley)
Ovomaltine
A photo was here; it wasn’t in the backup.
I know they have this elsewhere but here they embrace it in the right way. It's everywhere, in their supermarkets, their McFlurries, their Milkshakes. Malt is possibly the best flavour in the world. Strong in the best ales, including brewers breakfast, a lil' something which Harry's dad introduced me to in Cornwall, and here the Hersheys Ovomaltine is a staple for me during films. An absolute winner, I spoiled myself with a Christmas Panettone filled with ovomaltine which only lasted about 2 days.
They know how to snack and the streets are lined with sellers offering sugary snacks to passers by.
2. The weather
Ok, one of the kickers for here, was the weather, the sun does make a difference to how people feel and here its pretty much every day, every day's a beach day if you want it. Makes washing easier, a tan is great. Really brightens my day. Gives everything a glow. I also just love feeling warm.
I'm gunna sneak a 2b in here on a technicality that the weather and climate is who to thank for the nature around here. The city sprawls in and around the green mountains almost as if the mountains and forests around are part of it and embracing it. A hybrid civilization of nature and man-made buildings which when viewed from above is quite a spectacle.
A photo was here; it wasn’t in the backup.
3. The Soap Operas
I never thought I'd find myself so enthralled in a soap opera, let alone a Brazilian one. I hear they are particularly famous for their drama and the current one is actually amazing. What began as a tool to help my Portugues is now a nightly ritual. Every night, if I'm in, I'll cook in time to sit down and see whats going on in Serro Azul.
I'll be brief in my description but it's called O Setimo Guardiao (the Seventh Guardian) about a brotherhood of guardians who, terribly I may add, guard a fountain with healing-abilities within a small town without phones or internet. The characters of the town don't know about it, bar a few sneaky ones, but they all have their own dramas going on. The new (seventh) guardian's mother is on a mission to bottle the water and sell it for money and will stop at nothing to achieve this. There's also a man who was turned into a cat for having sex when he wasn't allowed to, because he was meant to be a guardian. Then as a cat he got ran over and died, but thanks to the fountain he's been brought back to life. All sorts of crazy shit going on. After watching for so long I have become engrossed in the intertwining storylines and feel so much love/hatred for the characters that I'm audibly reacting and putting up countless middle fingers. I watch it with my housemate usually but if I'm out in the barzinhos, it's often on the screen anyway.
Meet Leon (the cat) and Gabriel (the seventh guardian)
4. Style
I love the dress sense of the people, it's so relaxed. The streets are filled with people in flip flops, shorts and vests or casual t-shirts. The flip flops are a sign of a Carioca, as in Sao Paolo I'm told its not as common, but here, feet are liberated. I only ever wear shoes to play football.
The street vendors have a gallery of fake baggy sports shorts, and I see them everywhere, including in my wardrobe. If not sports shorts, its board shorts. Unless you head down to the beach and then it is particularly skimpy tight shorts that leave very little to the imagination. I very nearly treated myself to some snakeskin ones but have since decided otherwise. Luckily for everyone.
It's usually topped off with either a sports shirt, a open light shirt or a t-shirt with some, sometimes questionable, life advice. There are so many basketball shirts around, including a guy who spends his evenings and weekends in the barzinho round the corner and only ever dons jerseys of different teams. My hero. Unfortunately I have a Curry stained one that sits in house. To fit in though, I have now got a Flamengo shirt, the other staple as you walk the streets of Rio. The red and black stripes of their number 1 football team are everywhere.
If not a sports shirt, an open shirt which quite often will sport a funky design in light colours. Branches or birds are commonly found on these, as well as pineapples amongst other quirky things. I'm currently donning a white and beige one with blue and gold animal print. The coconut doesn't fall too far from the tree.
Which brings me to my only gripe with the style. The shirts are great but not easy to source, whereas the assortment of beautiful dresses or women's clothing is immense. I know it's 2019 now and I could wear a dress, but I don't feel or look great in them despite what the camera might say. The patterns are twice as exotic and 3 times as colourful. Maybe its the women underneath pulling them off but I don't think so. I must confess the leopardy shirt I have on is actually a woman's so who knows. Maybe 2020.
5. The language
I always have wanted to learn a language but I always thought it would be Italian and I do still wish to. But learning this language and speaking with people has been an absolute joy. I love the sound of it, I love the system of it and I love the phrases they use. With English having half a Latin base there are a lot of similarities which helps immensely with remembering and a lot of words require just a different ending, although that is a dangerous game to play. But once you get some of the system down, the guessing game becomes easier. I love to watch the TV, to listen to the music and to read it. I still have a long way to go but I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of the learning process and being able to communicate with the people is an great feeling. Even the smallest interactions.
Many times I straight up translate in my head, but sometimes there isn't a word that matches and in these occurrences it really is a feeling that I have that is translated. I can understand the word not through an English equivalent but a feeling inside and I love it when I can describe this feeling with one word.
Each language has a bunch of these that cannot be translated directly but convey a feeling and likewise we will have them in English, all very cultural things. I hear from friends that German is a language where they have a word for everything, its a shame it just sounds so harsh to me. Whereas the Latin languages just sound so beautiful. I very fittingly don't have a word to describe how communicating in their language makes me feel. Maybe I'll find one in Portuguese.
I guess actually the closest work I have is 'dank', a word only really popular in our hometown and friendship group, unless you head down to where Bainbridge or Harry have spent some time. It's definitely overused, but in certain times all you have to say is 'it's so dank' and people within the group will perfectly understand the feeling you mean, although it also has about 20 other meanings which can be a source of confusion to untrained ears.
I have a load of thoughts on this and am really loving the different perspective learning another language gives.
5. Dance
Any night you choose there will be an event on somewhere. Somewhere here people will gather at tables or just standing around listening to the music and dancing, but there is always a band playing music around. The music of Samba has grown on me immensely, in large due to the atmosphere of the events. With other genres such as Forro and Bossa Nova brings new sounds and moves and a new crowd of people nailing it. Sometimes I love to join in, other times I enjoy more to sit at a table and just watch them. And this is isn't even carnaval.
I really should have taken more dance lessons because they were great fun, possibly I will revisit them in the future.
6. The Bar Culture
This one is due to the many factors, some in this list. The drinking outside.
Drinking on the street, from bars or buying drinks from cheap vendors, of which many times you can take inside to events. People sit at tables spilling onto the pavements and many times pedestrians spilling onto the roads as well. Nobody appears to abuse it, I don't see many people getting too drunk or causing trouble and with people coming to collect cans for me the streets are generally tinnie free around the bars.
They don't seem to have a word for a roady though, which is a shame. 'A road beer' for those confused. And 'a beer to take with you while you walk to your next destination' for those still confused.
The service in bars I cannot fault, they bring you beers in a cooler and you share a large beer between company. When you are ready for another, simply place the bottle outside the cooler and a barman will come and replace it, after checking. A perfect system.
It works, largely because of the year round weather. One of the great things I love back home is the beer garden, which is a similar vibe, so drinking outside in constant heat all year round here is a dream.
7. the People
When I first came I guess I already had this pre-judgement ready that they would be very relaxed in many things but showing immense passion and overall much happier. I built a lot of this idea on the Italian or other Latin cultures I've interacted with. Overall though it can be easy to stick to this but as with anywhere there is just a great mix and many different types of people.
On the outside though it appears in general when on the metro or on around areas with a lot of people, they are comfortable, probably because in these situations they are all on the beaches or heading to the beaches, in the bars or usually dancing, having a good time. In the day on the metro it doesn't appear quite as glum as London does but its not vibezin either. I don't work with them so don't see them in the offices but one thing is for sure, outside of work they do have a lot of fun. The beaches, the samba and the bars facilitated by the weather allowing for many activities to continue outside. They hide from the rain when it happens so it's a good job it's not a common occurrence.
Maybe it's this balance of fun and work that they have right, who really knows, they definitely seem a bit more relaxed; walk slower, have no rush and I discussed the workers taking long breaks for football.
This is mainly in Rio though. I hear the Paulistas are workhorses and more serious, as Sao Paolo is more of a business city and has a different climate, many people comparing it more to London or other European cities. Doesn't seem my kind of scene and I've sided with the loose living Cariocas in their rivalries with the Paulistas.
Though it may appear this way, the more I've got to know people, there are those who get nervous, even though you might not expect. There are those who don't know what the word nervous means. There are those who are incredibly relaxed but also get very stressed at certain things and there are those who think to much and find it makes them sad. Those I can discuss deep topics with and those that don't care. They are just the same as everywhere when you get to know them individually.
Just here on the surface they appear to enjoy themselves. More sun = more fun.
Interlude
Now those are the things I love but of course, you cannot have the good without the bad. Yin without the Yang.
So here is a list of things that I don't enjoy as much, find annoying or just don't get it. As I said before hate is a strong word (for some of these) but for the good of the song and contrast, its necessary. So here we go.
Hate
1. Mosquitos
These little fuckers definitely warrant the hate. I like to think of the words of the Dalai Lama or eastern philosophies to not hurt living creatures, be compassionate to all living things. With most creatures (I encounter, at least) I like to live and let live, but these guys... They want a war, they don't want to just let me live. Not only are they known to carry diseases, they make you itch like a bitch. They want my blood and I don't want to itch just so they can live and continue to steal my blood. At times when I'm feeling particularly hot or annoyed or I've just had enough it's a full on battle as I chase them around the house with my strongest pair of flip flops. They are a bit slower than flies so they are at least killable, my room stained with the blood they stole from me before being splattered, without remorse.
At times I sleep with a top on to avoid too much skin showing to them but with the heat at the moment it's a lose lose. Which brings me to my next point.
2. the Heat
The yang to the yin of the weather, whilst the sun may brighten the world, its too close to Rio and at times can become unbearable. Thankfully it hasn't been quite as bad as I feared. My fan is on full blast and I'm just about all right.
At night though there's no relenting, no cool evenings at the moment and I find myself waking up sweating or with visual patches of sweat on the sheets. I also cheaped out on the suncream and bought some that I now think is made for bronzing, (many times I can buy things I don't really understand what I'm buying) and that makes me feel hotter, but hey, gotta wear sunscreen, as Baz Luhrmann says. If I like his life advice in the song, then I should really trust him on the sunscreen part too.
3. the Cashiers
Meu Deus, here is a downside of the relaxed nature of the Cariocas. They are too relaxed when it comes to service. Not so much in restaurants and bars as stated above, but in supermarkets, post offices, shops and banks. There is always a queue, and the shop assistants give no fucks. There is no sense of urgency I guess is the right way to say it and waiting behind one person can feel like waiting behind 5. When I first arrived, a friend warned me it will drive me nuts. I thought it was great to begin with, whats the rush. But after a bit longer, it's more whats the wait! I find myself walking straight out of shops if the queues are too long and have a beef with the speed of the postal office workers. Explains why my parcel was almost a month late. And this week I had a lady just chilling on whatsApp mid sale whilst I waited for her to finish her messaging before she continued to give me my change. I'm not the most patient but here is another level.
My friend Chris is a German students who works with Brazilian and his description of trying to get group work done had me howling. It appears a common notice of gringos here. Or anyone outside of Rio.
4. Their Food. Farofa.
I've moaned about the food before, excluding the barbecues, it's just rather uninspiring. I don't go to fancy places often but apart from the Stroganoff they do here or the chicken hearts, not much excites me when I look at the menu. But it's alright, I guess. it's just not the same as when you go to Italy or even Vietnam, where there, the dishes are more satisfying and saliva inspiring.
And farofa, what the hell. With every meal comes a fried type of flour that I never eat. As a fellow gringo said...
"the normal gringo reaction to farofa is, 'why have they put sawdust on my food' "
that is essentially what it is. Some dry ass shit.
I'm not in love with tapiocas, a kind of a flour again fried with a filling in the middle either sweet or savoury, almost like a thick sticky tortilla wrap, with less taste.
But at least the snacks are dece.
5. The Roads
Always breaking. Always. Mini sink holes or cracks in the roads, Telephone poles falling in them, no road lines or order. Unless it's a serious mess, like last week in which the road near me just cracked and water was spilling everywhere, this will be left for a while with little change.
Thankfully I don't drive but when I ride the buses, the drivers have no concerns for these bumps and its more of a rollercoaster ride than a leisurely lift. The roads are all one way and no roundabouts leading to long waits at traffic lights of which again late at night, red lights are optional. This isn't too much of a problem for me, merely a comment. Like America though, the one way system and multiple number of red lights makes me nostalgic for roundabouts.
The pavements are also pretty shit and breaking, I've stubbed my toe many a time on the loose bricks and there are many wobbly drains that seem to always be so. There are wires hanging everywhere. I get tempted at times like a cat to play with a dangling wire before I remind myself it may not be the best idea.
6. the Word 'Puxe'
Its means pull but sounds like 'pusha', still getting used to it and have had many push attempts at pull doors. Always in the bank with the glass doors.
7. their President
The things he says about those more vulnerable, the things he believes about people being gay and that his moment of weakness brought him a girl. He's validated many people in their homophobic or racist thoughts and he's a danger to the Amazon. There's many a thing I've said before but he's just not a nice man.
He's came in to thwart the corruption of previous politicians and has made some, I'm told, questionable choices for the people around him. His son who has been elected as a senator is currently in the middle of a corruption scandal, and delaying the investigation, pushing it back as daddy backs him up as an honest guy. We will see. It's still early days.
Conclusion
So there's my thoughts on the place. The things I like, the things I dislike, Overall I think you can see that the positives outweigh the negatives, or many of the negatives are just parts of the positives that come with it. Or just small things.
I really am enjoying this place and still feel that Brazil is as cool as I had always thought. But now there are add on's that have enhanced it. I dig the relaxed nature that surrounds the place until the music begin when the atmosphere lifts. It's a good way of life.
A common theme I've noticed is the feeling I get from all the things I love. They make me feel warm, they make me feel comfortable, they make me feel dank. I have a weird image in my head sometimes of when I feel this, its difficult to explain, it's not even really in my head. It's an warm, orangey brown tinted feeling, almost as if a drop into a peaceful lake of orange that is spreading out along an x axis inside me. It feels consistent, like it will maintain, in contrast to the pleasure feeling of certain things of which I don't really feel colours or at times, feel all of the colours.
When feeling low it turns from this peaceful low lying orangey colour with a blur/glow into a harsh grey almost playdo that is twisted up in the middle of me along the y axis. A lot of my nightmares when I was younger I cannot explain but everything was grey, lots of rocks were out of place, a lighter grey smoke was around. It just felt horrible.
I really would love to animate it, I know it may sound mental but its a feeling. The feeling of warmness. It's 'dank' and something I've been feeling a lot recently and that I'm mellowing out.
I've been having some great Saturdays sat at Parque Lage reading and having a coffee before moving onto beer, feeling just incredibly warm, in part to the sun, in part to the situation and of course in part to the beer.
It's a feeling that can be found in a song, a good book, a conversation, a kiss, a cuddle, a win, a cheers, a deep 3 point splash, a smile, anywhere.
It's comfort, contentment, mellow, jammin',
Dank.
