So being South African I thought I’d start with the most “politically correct” way and help those that caught forty winks during their geography classes instead of paying attention to what the teacher was saying.
Now on to the good stuff. Contrary to belief Brazil isn’t a country where naked women run around bonking everything that stands still longer than 5 minutes and where beer flow freely when you open your bathroom tap. Well… it certainly has some aspects of that (especially during Carnival) although not as bad as the media wants us to believe. Life in is Brazil is wonderful with mind-blowing sights, sounds and customs although on the other hand it is the country with some of the most “red tape” that I’ve seen in my life.
When I first got here the things that struck me most was the openness of the people. Almost everybody greets each other with a kiss on the cheek (even if it’s the first time you meet them) and you make new friends almost at the speed of a wild bush fire spreading in the SA lowveld. Lots of things happen through chance meetings and people going out of their way to help you, almost like the Saffas helping each other out in the UK, however here the locals have the same attitude towards foreigners. As an example: A couple of weeks ago I met a friend (Francisco) of my wife while he was walking with a friend (Filipe) of his in Porto Alegre. Francisco introduced me to Filipe and after we talked a while the conversation turned to what I do for a living. I then explained I am an accountant however I haven’t found work in Brazil yet. With this Filipe says he works at and auditing firm and asks me to forward me his CV. Two weeks later and I’m snug in my new job as an auditor with Filipe having put in a couple of good words at the manager on my behalf.
Another interest thing is the culture – they really know how to enjoy life and have fun no matter what they are busy with! If you go out at night you will most probably pass a group of friends in a pub or even just sitting on a bench with a guitar playing merrily and all singing to their hearts content – very similar to the Irish, although the Irish normally first gets totally sloshed before they start singing. Talking about that, the beer in Brazil is normally 600ml or 1L and the custom is that one person per round buys a beer and shares it with the group, each person drinking out of a very small cup. Brazilians drink their beer very, very cold (close to freezing) and with this the beer stays in its own little cooler (they are very serious about keeping their beer cold) on the table while only the beer in the glass gets a couple of degrees warming before it is gulped down.
As a foreigner I’ve been welcomed into many diverse groups and people have been very accommodating – even trying their best to explain something to me in their broken English (which normally becomes more fluent as the beer keeps flowing… as with my Portuguese).
In regards to the “red tape”, well, let’s just say that I’m going bald and it’s not from natural causes – I’ve been pulling my hair out on a weekly basis because of the bureaucracy in this country. As an example: December last year I went to the federal police to apply for my Brazilian ID card. Upon completion of the process (which took two trips and nearly 8 hours of waiting in queues – maybe they learned their customer service from a SA company?) I was told that I will have my temporary number in 15 days. Keep in mind that I need this number to open a bank account and various others of life’s necessities here in Brazil. Fifteen days later I call their offices only to be told “Sorry sir, the person responsible for that is on holiday, please call at the end of January.” Well, it is now almost March and the person still hasn’t returned from holiday, nobody else in the whole of the department can help me and I’m still without half of the things a person needs in order to survive on this side. Luckily I’m South African and as most of you will agree, I think we have become quite accustomed to bad service by now.
All in all though the country is absolutely amazing and it seems to have taken the best of other countries and mixed it together to form a “paradise” on earth… with the addition of some red tape of course.
If you ever plan on visiting a South American country or even thinking about living there, give Brazil a try – trust me, you won’t regret it.
