P P P Politics in Brazil

PT, PSDB, PMDB, PSB, PSC, PV, PSOL, PSDC, PSTU, PRTB, PCB, PCO….  Too much P P P Politics!  Watching Jornal Nacional on Globo has been a challenge over the last few months.  Learning Portuguese is challenging at the best of times but during a general election, it enters a new level.  There appear to be a million political parties, all beginning with ‘P’ (for ‘Partido…’) and keeping track of them all appears nigh on impossible, especially when reporters seem to build sentences consisting of no words other than abbreviations and the occasional ‘and’!  How does anyone pick a political party? 

On the simplest level, this is how it works…

Brazil elects a new president every four years by absolute majority – one person, one vote and each vote counts.  If no candidate achieves greater than 50% of the vote, it goes to a second round run-off election between the two candidates with the highest number of votes.  During this second round, the parties of the two candidates attempt to woo supporters of the other candidates, as well as seeking the endorsement of these candidates themselves.

Electronic Voting Machine

Every Brazilian between the ages of 18 and 70 is obliged to vote; 16 and 17 year olds and those over 70 may vote if they wish, but they are not obliged.  Voting is done completely electronically, using voting machines that were first introduced in 1996.  These machines are installed in polling stations around the country and perform three functions: identify the voter, ensure secure voting and tallying the votes.  This means that by the end of the polling day, the results are already known. 

Incumbent, Dilma Rousseff

In 2014, Dilma Rousseff, the incumbent from PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores – Worker’s Party) won the most votes – 41.59% of the electorate – and Aécio Neves from PSDB (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira – Brazilian Social Democracy Party) came second with 33.55% of the votes.  A third candidate, Marina Silva from PSB (Partido Socialista Brasileiro – Brazilian Socialist Party) was eliminated from the election when she came in third place with 21.32% of the votes.  A further

eight candidates were also eliminated, with neither of them winning more than 2% of the votes.

Candidate Aécio Neves

The second round brings comfort to those of us suffering from abbreviation-stress (just me?) as the majority of the discussions centre around the two remaining candidates and their campaigns.  Around this point, the candidates appear to lose their surnames; no more Dilma Rousseff from PT and Aécio Neves from PSDB – it’s just Dilma and Aécio.  As soon as the first round results are in, the new campaigns begin in earnest.  Aécio is pursuing a policy of change and reduction in corruption – after 12 years of PT occupying the highest office of the country – and has successfully gained the endorsement of Marina Silva.  If everyone that votes for her in the previous round votes for Aécio, then he will take office.  Dilma, somewhat perversely, also talks about change and reduction in corruption – an unusual stance considering the amount of corruption scandals that have surfaced during the tenure of PT! 

The second round run-off election takes place on Sunday 26^th October.

Brazilians and Football

Now that the excitement of the world cup is over, I'm going to write a bit about football (no, not soccer.)

For anyone who's been living in a cave for the past 60 or so years, Brazilians tend to really like (love? obsessed by?) football and are usually fairly good at it.  There has to be some talent to win the World Cup five times; more than any other country.  Of course not everyone likes football (I've met two, maybe three people that don't particularly like it) but there are enough fans to support a broad generalisation or two.

Now, if whilst in that cave you have been hiding under a big rock for the past couple of months, you might have missed the 2014 World Cup, which was hosted by Brazil for the second time.  I have already written about the mixed feelings I had to the World Cup and why my wife and I didn't go (http://maried-a-brazilian-support-group.blogspot.com/2014/05/why-were-not-going-to-world-cup.html) so I won't go into that here, but of course we got into the spirit and watched as many games as possible.  I'm going to just gloss over England's performance (AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!) and move onto Brazil.  Some people picked out Argentina as favourites to win, some Spain, some Germany... I fancied Brazil's chances: a young team on home soil, fresh from a Confederations  Cup victory in 2013, it was theirs to lose.  And they managed that spectacularly.

I was in England for the semi-final against Germany, so I watched the game with beer in hand.  With no Neymar and no Tiago Silva, it was never going to be easy but it takes 11 men to form a team, surely these 11 could do it?  When the first goal went in, I thought "never mind, there's still time."  The second was a shock, but I've seen teams recover from worse.  Once the third went in, I had no idea what I was watching, they were disintegrating.  By five nil, the result was a foregone conclusion.

The media had a field day.  7-1 was everywhere - triumphant Germans, distraught Brazilians, tears streaming down their faces, the entire nation was devastated...

Or were they?

While everyone I spoke to was certainly disappointed (what football fan wouldn't be?) the truth is they had lost a match and exited from the World Cup - never mind, you can't win them all, better to lose to a good team.  Practically every Brit or American I've spoken to has asked how my wife felt about the result and my answer was always the same.  I show them this short video that was sent to me by three different Brazilians halfway through the second half...

No matter how you look at it, that is NOT uncontrollable grief!  That is seeing the funny side and having a laugh about it and that is what I love about Brazil and its people.  The next day, a friend re-tweeted a comment about predictions for the Netherlands vs Argentina match: "somehow, Germany wins!"

Old Brazilian gives his replica
World Cup to some German fans

Then in the final between Germany and Argentina; of course everyone was watching the match.  Were they supporting their South American hermanos of Argentina? Hoping for some revenge and the cup at least remaining in the continent?  Were they hell!  The semi-final was one game, but the footballing rivalry with Argentina runs deep!

So this may have been a post about football, but maybe it was a post about the spirit and sense of humour of the Brazilian people.

Why We're Not Going to the World Cup

If you like football, what could be better than a World Cup in Brazil?  Being there...

Go back a year or so and Sheila and I had a plan, we would go to Brazil for as much of the world cup as possible, enjoy the atmosphere and go to one Brazil match and one England match.  I'd been told about the atmosphere in Brazil during any world cup and with them hosting, we were sure the atmosphere would be electric.  We would watch the games with friends in bars, surrounded by people passionate about the beautiful game, share the celebrations and collectively commiserate the losses (well, I do support England...)  Neither of us had seen our national team playing live and this is something that should surely be put right.  The only doubt in my mind was whether or not England would qualify!  It was not unlikely that they would be left at home.

We visited Brazil in September 2012 for a week or so.  We were surprised to see that Guarulhos (São Paulo's main international airport) was chaotic as ever, this close to the World Cup.  We imagined thousands of football fans flooding into the country through here and Rio de Janeiro and wondered how they would cope.  Finding the hire care office was a challenge and that was being accompanied by a Brazilian; the staff in the immigration line seemed clueless; the signs in the airport were confusing at best.  How would they cope with masses of foreigners, many of whom would not speak a word of Portuguese?  Don't worry, we thought, with all the investment in infrastructure - every major stadium in the country was being renovated, surely they had budget for infrastructure? - it must improve.  By this point, Fantastico was running features on what must improve if Brazil is to play host to the World.

We drove from São Paulo to Curitiba, which was a hair raising experience.  The road is nicknamed Rodovia do morte - motorway of death - for good reason.  The tight turns in the mountains and some psychotic lorry drivers made it a real edge-of-the-seat experience.  Next I'll take the easy option and fly, as I'm sure most fans would do anyway. 

Arriving in Curitiba is always a relief.  This is a city that has been very well organised and has been recognised as one of the world's best examples of urban planning.  The bus network is well thought out with dedicated bus lanes, bendy buses and covered bus shelters (to keep out the constant threat of rain) and a fare collector so that boarding and disembarking is a quick and efficient affair.  If you prefer to drive, you face that same problems as any other city in the world.  It's not the easiest of places to find your way around if you are first time visitor (three letters for you: GPS) but it's no more difficult than any other city I've driven in.  Indeed, I have experienced a lot worse in London, Brussels, San Francisco.... But if you're only visiting for a short time, there is no need to hire a car, the bus network will more than suffice.

Arena da Baixada before it was torn down

As supporters of Atlético Paranaense, Sheila and I were happy that the Arena da Baixada had been chosen as one of the venues.  Dare we hope that England or Brazil would play there?  (Turns out, no.)  The Arena was a great example of a modern stadium; good access in and out of the ground, good seating and a great atmosphere.  All it was lacking was a stand along the South side of the pitch.  Aparently the owner of a school there was Coxa fan and blocked the building of another stand.  I heard this story, but have no idea whether it's true.  With the world cup coming, the club announced plans to upgrade the stadium: finally, they would have that fourth stand.

To our surprise, the renovations went beyond simply building a fourth stand.  Instead, the stadium that was built in 1999 was torn to the ground and rebuilt from the ground up.  I feel I must reiterate this point; the Arena da Baixada which was considered among Brazils most modern and best appointed stadia was torn down to be rebuilt from scratch.  To add insult to injury, the construction project was plagued by delays to the point that it found itself in the spotlight of the world-wide media as an example of how poorly the preparations for the World Cup were being managed.  For the people of Curitiba who are rightly proud of their city's reputation for efficiency, this was a huge embarrassment; there was even suggestions that the games to be held in Curitiba would be moved to another venue.  Thankfully, this appeared to spur on the works and not long ago, the stadium hosted a test friendly with invitations to all the workers that rebuilt the stadium

The Arena da Baixada is by no means the only stadium to suffer setbacks, the story of the crane collapse in São Paulo that resulted in the death of two workers was well reported around the world.  But this pails into significance against the corruption that has overshadowed the preparations.  The country promised massive improvements to infrastructure in order to cope with the influx of visitors.  There was talk of a new high speed train line between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, improvements to public transport, Curitiba would get an underground train network.  None of this has happened, the money seems to evaporate somehow...

Then we come to schools and hospitals.  Or maybe we don't...  Instead of private investment, many of the stadia were upgraded with public money.  When these projects inevitably went over-budget, with whispers about contracts being offered to friends and family or being delayed until the last minute so that the costs increase or maybe even due to money being pocketed (who does it hurt?  what's the harm?) then more money is taken away from schools, roads and hospitals.  After all, the last thing anyone wants is for the stadia to not be ready in time, embarrassing the government. 

Finally, in June 2013, the Brazilian people had enough.  In the midst of the Confederations cup, millions of people went onto the streets to protest against corruption and the high cost of hosting the World Cup.  The protests started in reaction to an increase in bus fares but soon grew to include corruption and police violence.  Social media allowed news to spread faster than traditional media (in fact Rede Globo, the Brazilian telecoms giant, appeared to ignore the protests on the first weekend) with people sharing photos and video of protests (see below) and police reactions under twitter hashtags such as #changebrazil (as well as #mudabrasil) and #semviolência (without violence.)  One such video that I cannot forget shows a gathering of protestors chanting ' sem violência' then being attacking by police with pepper spray, rubber bullets and truncheons. The protests spread to every major city in Brazil with many expats abroad demonstrating and forcing the issues into the global consciousness.

So, in light of all this, how can we go to the World Cup?  I have no doubt that the games will go ahead and they will be as exciting as always.  Indeed, we will be watching every England and Brazil match on TV, as well as many more. I don't want the World Cup to be a fiasco; part of me feels that the best thing is in fact to go, to feed the economy that should be paying for these projects.  But to go would be to justify the excessive expenses that Brazil cannot afford; to justify rebuilding entire stadia to satisfy FIFAs demands and to divert funds away from needy projects; to justify massive diversions while kids in the country's poorer regions go to schools that have broken chairs, no toilets and no electricity - watch video.

Brazil has the potential to be a great country, indeed many people have been raised from poverty into a growing middle class, but the speed of change is hampered but these levels of corruption.  By not going to the World Cup, we are not really protesting, but after our initial enthusiasm we no longer have an appetite for it.

Love It or Hate It

The Marmite Christmas lights in London (2012)
you either love them or hate them

What do you think of Marmite?  You either love it or hate it, or that’s what advertising would have us believe - it's good or bad, right or wrong, black or white.  Indeed, opinions do tend to be polarised – I know some people that would walk to the ends of the Earth for a jar of a yeasty spread, I have also heard it described ‘like licking a cat’s arse!’  I appear to be a marketer’s worst nightmare, as I’m sat firmly on the fence.  It’s ok… I wouldn’t buy it for myself, but if someone put it on my toast, I would eat it anyway.  So much for black or white. 

Which football team do you support?  If you know me, you know it's Aston Villa.  If you really know me, you'll probably add Atlético Paranaense.  With the exception of a minority of idiots, most people will accept that fact, maybe making a few jokes about Villa's current form, or maybe a friendly rivalry from fans of another team. 

Which is better, American Football or Rugby?  Rugby, obviously!

Ok, it's my opinion.  Personally I think it's more physically demanding and a more interesting game to watch.  You like American Football?  Fair enough, each to their own...

Do you like Brazil?  It's a simple enough question, one hypothetical person seeking the opinion of another.  But the opinion can stir up such feelings of anger, annoyance and spite, even when the answer is positive.  I have had many conversations with Brazilians when I have mentioned that I would like to live in Brazil, only to spark a long list of all the problems in Brazil.  They beg and plead, for the good of my soul, not to go to that hellish place. 

Scene from Cidade de Deus: does this
represent all of Brazilian life?

Of course this is a matter of perspective, if you have had a tough life, you probably won't look at your home with rose-tinted glasses, especially if leaving has led to improvements in your life.  If anything, good for you taking that big step to try to improve your life.  But consider, just for a second, that maybe there are better places.  Maybe it's not safe to walk the streets at night in your home town; but I can think of parts of San Francisco, San Jose, London, Birmingham, you name it that I wouldn't walk down.  But I can also think of parts of San Francisco, San Jose, London, Birmingham, you name it again, that I would walk down.  Maybe Rio de Janeiro is riddled with gun crime, but maybe there are other cities in Brazil.  If you have experienced violence in any of these places, you will probably have a poor opinion of them.  But really, I don't need to be convinced.  Every city has its safe areas and not-so-safe areas and you should always be vigilant.

Then we have the people.  I wrote an earlier post where I said that the Brazilian people are one of the best things about the country.  But then I hear Brazilians complaining that Brazilians are rude!  That's news to me!  Don't get me wrong, I have come across arseholes in Brazil, as I have in many countries around the world; I've said it before, nowhere is perfect.  But I have found Brazilians on the whole to be friendly, caring people who accept new people into their lives and welcome them as family.  So who exactly are these rude people?  Maybe, just maybe, this issue isn't black or white either.  Maybe there are shades of grey and you have encountered rude people.  But let me ask you; do you consider your family to be all rude?  Or your friends? Colleagues? Yourself?  Or maybe you should consider the implications of statements that "all Brazilians are rude."  Because I can tell you, with 100% certainty that not all Brazilians are rude.

A few days ago, I saw this video:

where Josh (the Brazilian Gringo) explains why he personally likes living in Brazil and why he prefers it to living in the USA.  He is careful to explain that they are his personal opinions on Brazil and America and he certainly does not over-praise one  or over-criticise the other.  But the anger expressed in comments and in replies to shares on other social media is shocking.  "You didn't say anything about..." or "you just talk about..." or "you clearly haven't experienced....", it goes on and on.  You are entitled to your opinion, but he is entitled to his.  He likes Brazil and likes to live there, what's wrong with that?  (I recommend people to watch the video, in which he answers a question that he is often asked "what are you doing in Brazil?")

While we're on the subject, I've noticed many of the people that heavily criticise Brazil and say "I'll never go back, even if you pay me" still decorate their houses in green and yellow and cheer for Brazil in the World Cup.  I guess the world isn't so black and white.

I love Brazil, I think I mentioned that, and I would like to live there one day too.  Not there; the violent country where nothing works, where the government is corrupt (and always will be), where everyone is rude and I would end up in poverty, but there: the Brazil were many people are helpful and friendly and outnumber the rude ones, where the government is corrupt (but people are protesting; they're realising that the government should work FOR them, not against them), where there is poverty, but the improving economy is bringing more and more people out of poverty and intop the middle classes, where beaurocracy will tie you up in knots (but I have lived in the UK and the USA; show me a country without needless beaurocracy and I'll show you a dreamland.) As one final point, I will say that I also love Britain.  It's my home and always will be, the people can be cold, but not everyone.  It rains all the time.  But not ALL the time.   The Government is weak and inefficient, the house prices are too high... It's not perfect, but nowhere is.  My point is I'm not comparing Brazil to anywhere else, I'm not transferring negative or positive feelings for my own country.  It's not black or white.

Love it or hate it, that's my opinion and you're welcome to agree or disagree with me.

The Wedding - part II

Sheila’s mum Cleonice arrived with her aunt, Cleusa and brother, Rafael, shortly before the wedding.  I prepared a cd with the Beatles (for Cleonice and Cleusa) and Oasis (for Rafael, my new brother-in-law.)  The rest of Sheila’s family would arrive a few days before the wedding, but for the time being we had 5 in the flat.  We took one air bed, Rafael another in the living room and the sisters took the bed.  I was working in until a few days before the wedding, but I was able to take my guests to London and Brighton during the weekend.  I can’t tell you how happy they were to experience all the new sights and sounds!

We drove to Forres a few days before the wedding to finalise the last minute plans.  Cleonice and Cleusa accompanied us on the 10-hour journey, while Rafael stayed in London to meet their cousins in London.  

They would fly to Forres on Thursday 15^th April, arriving in time for the stag night.  We had recommended hiring a people car and driving earlier, but they preferred to spend more time in London.

Everything was going well until Thursday morning...

My phone woke me up, a text message, my brother, something about a volcano...  ‘I can’t deal with this,’ I thought, and went back to sleep.  When I awoke (again), I remembered a dream where my brother texted me about a volcano.  Laughing, I reached for my phone: “Have you heard about the volcano?  Is anyone flying up?”  Bloody hell!  Volcano?  All I could think of was the extinct volcano on which Edinburgh castle is built, but if that’s gone up...  I eloquently replied “what volcano?”  Luckily, someone was clearly awake, he replied “there’s a volcano that’s erupted in Iceland.  It’s thrown a lot of ash into the air and the planes can’t fly.”  Expecting to see some kind of apocalyptic dark scene, I opened the curtains and was met by a sight even more unusual than that: sunshine and blue sky! In North East Scotland!

Northern Europe showing the high altitude ash on 16th April

Then my phone rang, Rafael, from London.   I can’t remember his exact words, mainly because they were Portuguese and I was very much a beginner at that time, but one word does stick in my mind: “cancelado.”  You don’t need to be a linguist to understand the meaning of that word.  I repeated, “cancelado?”  At which point Sheila woke up, wondering what was cancelled?  The wedding?  I passed her the phone and Rafael explained that they had arrived at the airport and all flights were cancelled.

We spent the morning trying to find a car hire company that had cars available, no mean feat as everyone on a UK domestic flight was now making alternative arrangements. We eventually found something and made a provisional booking, but the guys had second thoughts.  They had never driven on the left hand side of the road, let alone through London and along British motorways.  With the stress of last-minute arrangements, that was fair enough, so they went for plan B.  Or was it plan C? 

They found a train and piled on board.  Given the transport chaos and a line that is busy at the best of times, there were no seats available so they were left standing and sitting on the floor all the way to Edinburgh.  The changed trains in Edinburgh and were finally able to sit, but the train would only go as far as Inverness, 25 miles from Forres.  I spent my stage night sober, waiting until 11pm, at which time my dad and I each drove to Inverness, filled our cars with excited Brazilians and delivered them to Forres.  In spite of it all, they enjoyed the train journey and seeing much more of the country than they would have otherwise seen, had they flown.

Of course there were several other disruptions and changes to travel plans.  My Gran made the 8-hour train journey from Leeds with my cousin while others drove.  The friends and colleagues that could only fly up for the wedding, spend a couple of nights and return spent the Thursday and Friday on the phone and watching the news, hoping the ban on flying would be lifted so they would be able to attend.  The only one of my colleagues had driven to Glasgow for work then drove up the A9 to make the wedding.

Sheila and I

Finally, Sheila’s best woman, Taisa (she didn’t want to be a maid, but knowing about the tradition of the best man decided to create a role!) was due to arrive later with her sister, mum and friend, but it was beginning to look as though she wouldn’t be able to make it.  Sheila’s friend Pati, who had travelled up by train with the cousins, agreed to be the best woman in her place.  It wasn’t until the day of the wedding, that we heard that Taisa was on a train, heading to Forres.  With this incredible news, we continued the last minute preparations (I honestly can’t remember what I was doing, except that it involved driving backwards and forwards across Forres all morning) hoping that she would make it in time.

In the end, she didn’t make it to the wedding and we were unable to postpone the ceremony.  I have to admit to a tear when Sheila entered the room, and my mother-in-law was crying her eyes out.  The ceremony itself was simple, but beautiful.  It was a bit difficult for Sheila to understand the registrar’s Scottish accent and I seemed to forget how to speak English!

Left to right: me, Sheila, Pati, Taisa, Chris

After the photographs, we returned the function room for the speeches and then dinner when there was a commotion at the reception.  Taisa and her family had arrived, just in time for the wedding breakfast!  The hotel staff set the extra places at the table and they went to get changed while Rafael and I discovered the joys of bilingual speeches.  We appear to have survived intact!  My youngest brother Chris delivered his best man speech along with the obligatory embarrassing story from my youth.

We had planned a “mini-moon” instead of a honeymoon, a few nights in the Lake District before returning home.  With the Brazilian family being unable to continue with their plans of exploring Europe, we decided to return early and only spent one night in the Lake District.  In anticipation of a few extra house guests, our first job on returning home was bed shopping.  My old bed was miraculously still standing, but no one knew for how long and besides, all air beds would soon be put to use.  At one point, there were 8 people in our not-as-spacious-as-I-thought two-bedroom flat.  Pre-workday breakfast consisted of a careful tiptoe balancing act between sleeping bodies to reach the kitchen, quietly make a cup of tea and sneak out.  I hadn’t just married Sheila, I’d married the family!

The Wedding

As it’s a few days from our anniversary, I’m going to write a bit about the wedding.  Between volcanoes, castles and super-human feats of travel, it’s not something that anyone present will easily forget!

To set the scene, Sheila had returned to Brazil in November 2008 after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.  I went to visit a few times over the course of 2009 resulting with us getting engaged in the latter half of the year.  I’d like to tell you that I made a grand sweeping gesture; I whisked her away to a beautiful deserted beach, got down on one knee and proposed.  The clouds parted and sunlight fell upon us as Sheila fell into my arms...

But I’d be lying.  The truth is less dramatic, but it’s part of our story together.  We hadn't really thought about marriage: we loved each other, who needs a piece of paper and bit of metal to remind them of that?  It’s not so simple when you live on separate continents though – we wanted to be together and if immigration policies stipulate that we must be married to do so then we would get married.  At this point, it’s starting to sound like a cold, heartless business deal, which was certainly not the case – we just realised that it was the right thing to do, without someone needing to get on one knee.  I eventually got on one knee (Brazilians love a show) but I’ll get to that later.

The Claddagh Ring

We have never been an overly traditional couple and once we had decided to marry, there came the question of The Ring.  Sheila quite liked the style of Celtic jewellery and happened upon a picture of a Claddagh ring – an Irish ring with two hands around a heart with a crown.  She sent me a picture (and a piece of knotted string to get the size) and my aunt had a ring made in exactly the same design.  I got a bit carried away when I eventually gave Sheila the ring in Brazil.  It was the most expensive restaurant overlooking Copacabana at sunset, the soft, warm light casting a gentle glow on Sheila’s face as I gave her the ring... 

The 'proposal'

But that’s not true either.  Sheila and her brother, Rafael, met me from Curitiba airport.  I was so happy to see her that I forgot to mention that the Atlético Paranaense football team were on the plane (that and I didn’t actually know any of the players or speak enough Portuguese to ask.  I thought they were just very committed fans.)  It was only when Rafael returned from paying for parking and saw the team bus that we found out.  (They had just beaten Corinthians 3-1 in São Paulo (hehe), but my comments of “I saw him” when watching the tv highlights were not well received...)  Anyway, back to the story.  We stopped at Habib’s, which is a kind of Arabic fast food chain in Brazil for a bite to eat.  As I said, I was a bit excited and wanted to give Sheila the ring.  Rafael jumped out of his seat, ran to the car and reappeared with a camera and I took out the ring. 

The other 'proposal'

Skipping a few days, we’re in Pato Branco for the engagement party.  We had decided to get married in Britain as that was where we were going to live, so we agreed that the engagement part should be in Brazil.  A lot of planning had gone into making the night memorable; there were savoury snacks (salgadinhos), tempting sweets (docinhos), wine and a good single malt whisky with good friends and Sheila’s family.  During the course of the evening I was gently encouraged to give a speech in broken Portuguese; got down on one knee to ‘propose’, Sheila threw the bouquet (erm, pot plant) to an emotional gathering of, err, men, I had my mug-shots taken and ultimately got approval from Sheila’s grandparents.  It was all slightly surreal!

There is always a great deal of planning that goes into a wedding and ours was certainly no exception.  Indeed, throw in marriage visas, bringing Sheila to live in the UK again and planning how to get the Brazilian contingency to the wedding and it became exponentially more complicated.  In a break from tradition (shock, horror) we split the planning between us.  My brother got married at the Ramnee Hotel (plug!  www.ramneehotel.com) and it seemed like the ideal place for us, so I got the ball rolling.  We settled on 17^th April as it was after Easter, but the 10^th was already booked.  A fiancée visa only allows for 6 months before getting married and applying for the next one, which ruled out waiting for summer.  We crossed our fingers and hoped it wouldn’t rain...

I don’t want to dwell on the visa, but it was a large part of the planning.  For anyone going through the processes, there are many blogs that will help you with the paperwork (of which there is a mountain) the details of which has slipped my mind (repressed memories?) but it involved a lot of online form filling, saving, msn conversations to fill in the gaps, printing, signing, scanning, e-mailing and posting.  The British Embassy website is singularly unhelpful when it comes to these forms, which is why I strongly advise that anyone going through it seeks help from someone who’s already done it.  The advice I can offer is to send EVERYTHING.  The immigration authorities want to see that you are a genuine couple and it will make your life much easier if you have all the e-mails and messages tucked away, the good photos, the bad photos – out of focus, half the head chopped off, eyes closed... and send it all – it tells a lot more about your relationship than a few carefully posed and smiling snapshots.  I remember sending a packet of e-mails and photos on A4 paper over an inch thick to Brazil. 

With the first step of the visa process complete and Sheila having recovered from her treatment, she moved back to England in December 2009 and our first trip was to spend Christmas in Forres.  It’s usually very rare to have a white Christmas in Britain, but that year it hardly stopped and of course it started halfway through the journey.  As we drove through the highlands, it was so cold that the windscreen washers were constantly freezing leading to frustrating cycles of wipers smearing dirty water across the windscreen and pumping the washer until the pressure finally released the washer fluid for a few minutes of clarity before the cycle started again.  The weather led to two instances of the car getting stuck in the snow and one of a very snow sideways skid across a road.  Great fun.  (A few months later, I was in Tromsø, Norway, where driving on the snow was a much more pleasant experience – Britain is never really prepared for snow and snow tyres or chains would be unfeasible anyway.)

Between Christmas, New Year and fun and games in the snow, we continued preparing for the wedding.  We visited the Ramnee to plan the day, visited the registrar and found a promising-looking photographer (maybe I’m too much of a perfectionist, but in the end, I wasn't impressed with his efforts).  We paid another visit to Forres in February (would you believe it snowed AGAIN?) to finish the plans (cake, flowers etc.)

The Invitations, when they (finally) arrived

We had our invitations made in Brazil by a graphic designer in Pato Branco.  The invitations were sent to our Brazilian friends and family and the rest were posted to us in England.  As has so often happened, they were delayed in the post between the two countries; when we checked, the Brazilian Correios showed that they had left Brazil, but the Royal Mail claimed to have not received them.  Time passed, we had excited messages from Brazilians that loved the invitations, yet still nothing in England.  It was getting closer to the big day and we were starting to worry; after all the work that had gone into the invitations, we didn't want to have to waste it and buy boring, generic invitations (never mind the fact that I couldn't remember the exact wording for the menu options!)  Eventually, after 8 weeks and several angry yet polite phone calls, we received them.  It turns out that the package left Brazil after 7 days, and then sat lying around in customs for weeks waiting for someone to register it on the computer.  All this time the Royal Mail had been making snide remarks about how it was the Brazilian post and it hadn't come into the country.  When the package finally arrived, we were so happy to see the postman, he got scared!  I finally got to see the invitations that we had been waiting for and we sent them off to our friends and family in the UK. 

The only part of the plans that we found hard to agree upon was the issue of presents.  As we had been living together for some time, we already had the essentials and what we really needed was furniture. Someone suggested a wedding wishing well, where if a guest wished to give a present, they could post a card money.  I have to admit that I didn't really like the idea; I have never been comfortable asking for presents, or even answering when asked what I would like!  But it made sense – it took away the obligation of potentially buying presents we already had or would not use – so I was convinced.  We scoured the internet for ideas, but everything we saw looked either cheeky or vulgar – we didn't want to milk our loved ones for money.  We eventually agreed on the wording for the cards that went inside the invitations:

In English -

The best gift we could ask for is your attendance at our wedding.

You may wish to follow with tradition and bring a gift,

Or alternatively you may prefer to make a contribution towards our new home.

For this reason we have chosen a wedding wishing well, which will be at the reception

where we can receive your best wishes and contribution. Best Regards

Sheila and Daniel

In Portuguese -

Sinta-se a vontade em seguir a tradicao e nos trazer um presente, porem, se preferir contribuir para a nossa nova casa, havera um poco dos desejos na recepcao do nosso casamento onde voce podera depositar este envelope, e nao se esqueca de fazer um pedido!

Espero que ajude!

Sheila’s great uncle made us a beautiful white wishing well, which was posted to us in England and arrived much quicker than the invitations!

In case the preparations were too easy, we moved house!  We had been temporarily sharing a flat with a friend in Horsham and then we moved to Basingstoke while he moved to Hove.  We found a spacious two-bedroom flat near the town centre, in anticipation of receiving guests from Brazil.  As we had been sharing, our furniture was somewhat limited; a few cabinets, bookshelves and a dubious old bed that had been hastily repaired after disintegrating in the process of moving into Horsham.  It was held together with angle brackets, screws and an insane amount of luck.  We bought a small tv and used an air-mattress as a temporary sofa.  We bought a small fold up table and chairs and we were ready to receive guests.  Well... sort of...

10 Reasons I Love Brazil

Before I start, I’ll qualify this post by saying that I have never lived in Brazil, I haven’t spent more than four weeks at a time there, this is simply about what I have observed being around Brazilians (whether in Brazil, the UK or the USA), what I have experienced in my trips to Brazil (admittedly trips to the Southeast and Southern regions) and watching Brazilian tv.  These are generalisations and I know that not everyone is friendly, not everyone is helpful, not everywhere is beautiful, but the same can be said about anywhere; nowhere is perfect.  So here’s my list:

1.     The People

No, my wife didn’t tell me to write this and no, that isn’t a gun pressed against my head... really...  On the whole, Brazilians are very friendly, curious and helpful.  Obviously there are exceptions to every rule, but Brazilians have really impressed me. 

Brazilian Football Fans

Brazilians can never have too many friends and once you are friends with someone, it won’t be long before you are friends with their friends, their family, their neighbours...  And it’s genuine too; they’re usually not trying to network or thinking about what you can do for them, but showing an interest in you as a person.  They will invite you round to their house where you will be treated like family, you will be fed and watered (sometimes to the point of insisting that you should eat more, you look hungry!) and invite you to parties and events.  Even if you don’t know anyone else, you will soon end up chatting with everyone, with language barriers being the only potential obstacle.

Which brings me on nicely to...

2.     The Language

The first time I heard Brazilian Portuguese, I found it perplexing.  Very similar to Spanish, but also very different, I never thought I would learn the language!  As I started to learn Portuguese, I have grown very fond of the language.  I find it’s a very flexible and expressive language with many phrases that I use even when speaking English as they get across exactly what I mean.  I should add that this is usually with my wife; we have developed a kind of Portu-glish for everyday use.  This sometimes baffles fellow Brits and bilingual Brazilians find it funny when I drop Portuguese words into the middle of a sentence. 

Brazilians are aware that Portuguese is not the most obvious language for foreigners to learn – after all, the majority of countries in South America speak Spanish – so they are generally impressed when they meet a foreigner that can speak Portuguese, or even one brave enough to give it a try.  I would strongly encourage anyone visiting Brazil to learn a few phrases – it is invaluable if you stray away from the big cities, but it will also ingratiate you with your hosts.  This is where Brazilian helpfulness comes in again, they will be happy to help you learn more.

3.     The Food

I like my food and I love Brazilian food!  Before I went to Brazil for the first time, I asked about the food and got back a three word answer that didn’t particularly inspire me: “rice and beans.”  Growing up in Britain, my experience of beans was, more often than not, baked beans.  Going through university and living on cheap supermarket baked beans inspired an aversion to the orange slop that I can’t escape and the thought of spending a fortnight munching on rice and beans filled me with dread!  Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the black beans that can form an accompaniment to anything, or a meal in their own right.  After a few years of marriage, there is nothing more natural than throwing together a quick meal of steak, rice and beans!

Feijoada

The most well known beans dish is feijoada, a kind of stew consisting of pork, black beans and herbs.  This traditional dish dates back to the era of slavery when the masters would eat the good parts of the pig, leaving the less desirable parts of the animal to the slaves.  Feijoada was an effort to make something edible and tasty from this undesirable meat and results in a dish that looks an unappealing purplish-grey with random chunks of meat floating in it.  The first time I saw feijoada, I was really not impressed, but as my friends were so keen, I thought “oh well”, closed my eyes, thought of England and... was pleasantly surprised!  The second time I saw feijoada, I was again unimpressed and not particularly sure I wanted to get involved; but this time, it was all we ordered so I got stuck in and was once again impressed.  It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth time that I was able to look at feijoada and think “that looks good.”

Costelinha (ribs) on the barbecue

Then there’s churrasco, or barbecue.  The first time I went to a churrascaria, or barbecue restaurant, I was in love!  The meat is brought to the tables on skewers where the waiter slices off as much or little meat as you like and it is always hot and fresh.  This style of restaurant is becoming more popular in other countries and I have been to several in Britain and the US, but none compare to the real thing!

I could go on and on about the food, but maybe that should be left for another day!

4.     Snacks

Coxinhas

Ok, I said I wouldn’t go on about food, but Brazilian snacks deserve a special mention.  Pasteis (pastry filled with meat or cheese and fried) and coxinhas (pointed balls of dough, stuffed with chicken and fried) are just two examples that start my mouth watering just to think of them.  And then wash it down with some Guarana!  Ok, I’ll behave.

5.     Chocolates

I lied, but I don’t think this needs any explanation.  Next...

6.     Football

It should come as no surprise that Brazil loves football; any country with five World Cup wins is bound to have some measure of affection for the game.  It does not take long for the subject of football to appear in a conversation, with obligatory questions about the team you support.  The quality of club football in Brazil is, again unsurprisingly, of a very high level.  The games are marked by high speed, skilful play and very passionate fans, although this passion can often lead to the more ugly side of the game with fights and riots not uncommon. 

Aside from watching the pros, the amateur game is very much alive in Brazil with groups of friends regularly meeting up for a game, followed by a barbecue and a beer or few. 

7.     Music

I started listening to Brazilian music as a way of improving my Portuguese and just got hooked!  I starting listening to Bossa Nova by artists such as Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho and gradually learned the lyrics, which in turn helped me to remember some of the rules of the language, such as conjugating verbs in the past tense (much more enjoyable than sitting down with a textbook!)  I was then introduced to more contemporary music (I particularly like rock music) which has also improved my language skills, especially becoming familiar with common expressions.  For anyone interested, I highly recommend Charlie Brown Jr, Skank and CPM 22.

8.     The Landscape

Waterfall in Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais

Everyone knows that Brazil has very beautiful beaches, but there is so much more to the country.  The majority of my visits to Brazil have been to the south, which is where my wife is from (Pato Branco, a small city in Southwest Paraná that is closer to Argentina than the beach) so I have not seen all that the country has to offer, although I intend to put that right.  But those places I have seen, have taken my breath away.  From hiking in Serra da Canastra in Mias Gerais, to abseiling down waterfalls in Paraná, enjoying a refreshing drink of coconut water in Parque Ibirapuera, São Paulo to exploring the forests and beaches of Ilha do Mel, Paraná, it is impossible not to be enchanted with the place.  I’m sure I’ll add to this once I have been to the other places on the list: lençois maranhenses, Olinda, Pantanal, Serra Gaúcha...

9.     The Cities

It’s easy to be negative about cities and to come up with lazy generalisations but if you look beneath the surface, there is usually a lot hidden below.  A lot of people I have spoken to dismiss São Paulo is big, busy and ugly.  While I have to agree that it is big – well, only the largest city in South America, busy – I refer you to my previous point, and parts of it are ugly, there is a lot more to it.  I was surprised to find the calm of the botanical gardens and the relaxation of a walk in Parque Ibirapuera (even though half the city seemed to be there as well.)  There are beautiful building like the Paulista Museum and Vila de São Paulo and then more modern buildings such as the Banespa Building and the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art.  These aren’t for everyone, but I like them! 

Museu do Olho, Curitiba

But my favourite city has to be Curitiba, the capital of Paraná.  The city is beautiful, with colourful buildings, parks and interesting architecture.  It is easy to pass several hours in the botanical gardens and marvelling at the Museu do Oscar Niemayer, or Museu do Olho (eye museum) as it is affectionately known.  The city is well thought out, with dedicated bus lanes and an efficient public transport system that makes it easy to get around.  It is a city that I could easily see myself living in.

10.                       Political Awareness

Protesters around Brazil

No country is perfect and of course Brazil is included in that.  One of the biggest problems that the country faces is gross corruption.  For many years, Brazilians complained about corruption but threw their hands up in the air: “what can we do about it?”  In 2013, O gigante acordou – the giant awoke.  The people saw money being taken away from schools and hospitals and finally took to the streets to protest.  Brazilian expats around the world also held protests, with a trending twitter hashtag of #changebrazil, the world sat up and took notice – after all, they were protesting during a major football competition, so it MUST have been serious.  During this time, many of my friends spoke of their pride of being Brazilian and in the people trying to change their country for the better.  This ultimately leads me back to my first point; it is the people that make Brazil so special.

Recipe for Pizza de Frango e Catupiry com Borda Recheada

This is a recipe for a chicken and catupiry pizza with a catupiry stuffed crust (frango e catupiry com borda recheada.)   It's a combination of a few recipes that I put together and found it works well.  Catupiry is a Brazilian soft cheese; outside of Brazil, you may be able to find it in Brazilian shops.  If you can't find it, try any kind of cheese and let me know if it works!  This recipe works perfectly well for any topping of your choice, so go nuts!

Ingredients

Base

1 table spoon yeast (eg 1 sachet)

1 coffee spoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 egg

1 cup of warm milk

3 tablespoons olive oil

Plain flour (enough to make up the dough)

1 packet Catupiry (divide between the stuffed crust and the topping)

Topping

Chicken, roasted and shredded

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato puree

2 cloves garlic

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Fresh basil and parsley

Dried oregano to garnish

a few slices mozzarella

Method

Topping

1. In a saucepan, fry the onions and garlic until the onions are soft
2. Add the chicken and mix well
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, basil and parsley and cook over a low heat until the sauce thickens.
4. Leave the topping to one side until ready to add to the pizza
5. Add salt and pepper to taste

Pizza

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F)
2. Activate the yeast by stirring into ¼ cup of warm water (35-45°C, 100-110°F) with 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Let it stand for 10 minutes until it foams and doubles in volume.
3. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, adding extra flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands.
4. Knead the dough on a floured surface for approx 15 min.
5. Roll out the dough until it is thin and round.
6. Grease the pizza tray (or baking tray) with a little olive oil
7. Lay the dough on the pizza tray, ensuring the dough extends an extra inch or so over the edge of the tray.
8. Use a piping bag to pipe a thick ring of catupiry around the dough, roughly marking out the edges of the pizza tray.
9. Fold the dough over the catupiry and firmly press into the base of the pizza.
10. Prick the dough with a form in several places.
11. Put in the oven for approx 10 minutes until the dough is slightly golden.
12. Remove the dough from the oven
13. Lay a few slices of mozzarella on the base
14. Spoon the chicken mixture on top of the mozzarella
15. Pipe the remaining catupiry over the chicken and garnish with dried oregano
16. Put the pizza back in the oven for approx 10 minutes until the crust is golden and the toppings are cooked.
17. Leave to cool a little before serving.

Piping the catupiry (use more cheese than I used!)

Folding the dough over the catupiry

Finishing touches before first bake

After baking (we put some mozzarella slices under the topping)

Frango...

... com catupiry

Ready for the oven

Ready for eating

Pizza

Pizza in Brazil is a unique experience.  There are loads of possible toppings, some familiar, some not so much.  Stroganoff, bolognaise, broccoli, German sausage... if you can imagine it, someone has probably put it on a pizza! 

Frango com catupiry pizza

Special mention goes to a cheese called Catupiry, a creamy cheese that originated in Minas Gerais.  The name comes from the native Tupi language meaning excellent and with good reason!  It is a very popular pizza topping in Brazil and goes with practically everything – one of my favourites is frango com catupiry (chicken with catupiry.)  Cooked chicken is combined with tomatoes, garlic and herbs then spread on the pizza with catupiry liberally squeezed all over it. Catupiry often makes another appearance in the crust.  Borda recheada (stuffed crust) is a popular option with catupiry being the cheese of choice. 

Just in case you aren’t feeling full after that, you have the option of sweet pizzas.  Growing up in Northeast Scotland, I had heard rumours of such a thing on occasion, but never came face to face with one until I went to a rodízio restaurant in Meia Praia, SC.  Rodízio restaurants are all-you-can eat restaurants where the food is rotated (hence the name) around the restaurant by the waiters.  Outside of Brazil, this will usually be a churrascaria (barbecue restaurant) – I will no doubt be writing more about these – but in Brazil, it could be anything from feijoada to pasta.  Personally I think pizza rodízio is a great idea, as you can try as many types as you like and sometimes looking at the pizza that is offered will make your mind up for you.  Of course, there are consequences as well, so prepare for that guilty, overfed and overfull feeling when you leave...

Sweet pizza with various toppings

Anyway back to sweet pizzas... An apparition of chocolate, strawberries and ice cream appeared before me (sorry, I’m back on the rodízio place) and I had to try it!  Of course, by this stage, you’ve probably already eaten too much (well, I have anyway) but if you have to have a dessert, why not have it in pizza form?  By the way, I just googled “pizza doce com borda recheada” and saw a picture of a pizza with strawberries and chocolate in the crust, I have to try that!

Before I finish, I’ll add a few words about pizza etiquette in Brazil.  Everyone has their own habits; personally I like to pick up a slice and attack it!  In Brazil, it is very rare that people eat pizza with their hands, whether in a restaurant or at home.  If you’re meeting the in-laws for pizza, don’t forget the knife and fork!

After all this writing about pizza, I need to go on a diet!  Or eat a pizza...