Introductions and First Impressions.
Note: I wrote this towards the end of 2020, but published it on my old site. I wanted to include it on my new site, so… here it is!
Just in case anyone other than friends and family stumble upon this stupid little blog, I thought I’d write a very thorough background.
I was recently married in my home, Canada, to a pretty cool Brazilian woman. We met while living in Dublin, Ireland. Shortly after being married, we jumped on a plane to her home town of Santo André, Brazil, to spend some time with her family, and so she could show me around.
There, you’re all caught up.
Disclaimer
I’d never been to Brazil before last week. In fact, I’d never been to South America at all. Please note that I’m aware Brazil is a very large and diverse country. My experiences are specific to the areas I visit and the people I meet. Go to the north, and you’ll have a very different experience. Hell, go to another area of one city and you’ll have very different experiences.
What will follow in this post, and subsequent posts, will be my attempt at describing our adventures, while also making some observations on Brazilian culture, as well as the country and landscape itself.
First Impressions
Let’s start by saying that I’m very lucky to have my wife with me to translate. Were I to be alone on this trip, the language barrier would have hit me in the face like the sun hitting me in the face as my new wife abruptly opens the curtains the morning after a few pints of the black stuff.
We landed in São Paulo before heading to Santo André – which is closer to landing in Toronto and heading to Scarborough, than an entirely different city. São Paulo is a massive urban sprawl of over 12 million people that has been swallowing nearby cities for a while now, as far as I can tell.
My new in-laws are some of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. In my limited adventures outside the family home so far, all Brazilians I’ve met have been patient, kind, and curious. It has been very clear to me, with each interaction, that I am very welcome in their country. Even when I’m not with my wife/translator, they are quite patient as I fumble with my limited Portuguese.
To my gringo (foreigner) ears, Brazilians speak very fast and with passion. It’s a wonderful language and a very expressive culture – I love it and I can’t wait to learn more. In the meantime, my translation app is my best friend.
Now, on to the stuff I noticed right away.
The roads are insane. One can only assume there is some kind of bravery test before they issue a Brazilian license. I thought driving in Dublin city centre was crazy – that was a leisurely walk in the park, on a sunny day, alone, shoeless, on the grass, with signs clearly guiding you on your way, as gentle piano soothes your nerves, compared to Brazil. What’s awesome is I’ve been told it’s even more nuts in Rio. I have no doubt, that’s where I’ll find religion.
I’ll add a photo, once I can take one that properly captures the insanity. Update: It is proving impossible to capture pure chaos in one picture. I’ll keep trying, while I grasp to the ‘holy shit bar‘ like a vice…
People asking for money at intersections don’t typically just ask for money – they try to earn it. One man stood on a plastic stool, in front of the rows of cars waiting at the red light, and balanced a ball on his head while juggling bowling pins. There are others who put plastic bags of sweets on your mirror; if you want it, you pay, if not, they run back and collect them all before the light turns green.
The paper in the bag says “I’m trying”.
The toilets don’t have water tanks – they’re connected to the water supply directly. This means you can hold down the flush button indefinitely, as your deposit is washed away. No longer must I wait for the tank to fill up, should the initial flush not do the trick. It’s a small thing, but I think it’s pretty damn cool.
Note: After showing my wife a draft of this post, I’ve been told that many toilets do have tanks. I’ve yet to see one, so I can only assume my new wife is a liar.
Next, the light switches. In each room, there is a switch next to those that control the room’s lights. This switch controls the lights in the hallway! Get up in the night to use the washroom? Turn on the hallway light rather than feeling your way along the wall for the switch like a blind ant trying to read human-size braille. When you’re done your business, you’re able to turn off the hallway light from inside your room. The ancient Greeks had nothing on modern Brazilians.
The last thing I wanted to mention was that the houses are all quite cool, despite it being a very hot country – with air conditioning being fairly uncommon (in my experience, so far). I believe this is due to the buildings being constructed of brick, stone, and tile; with little wood, insulation, and drywall, as is common in Canada. It’s a very practical – and economical – way to escape the intense heat.
I had no idea how to show the comment above in a picture, and wanted to keep the pattern of content+image, so there’s a photo of a scrappy little dog that’s been staying with us. His name is Pirulito and he never stands still for a photo – this is the best I could do. If only photos could capture smells… but he’s a sweetheart.
That’s it, for now. Next, I’ll post some more observations, as well as some adventures we’ve had so far. I want to keep these short – nobody wants War and Peace.
I’ll bookend this with a photo of some cool lamps I saw in a shop window on one of our morning walks. I may go back and buy some…
Sadly, I never did end up going back to buy any of these lamps.
If you enjoyed this post, and would like to buy me a coffee, you can do so here.
