My Quarantine Diary - Day 1

It's been a while, so here's a quick update:

We decided to leave Brazil and in the middle of planning and trying to sell our apartment, we were found a match for adoption and have adopted two beautiful girls.  So now we're an Anglo-Brazilian family, but still moving to the UK.  Then along comes the corona virus to make things complicated.  We decided that I would  go first, as arrivals need to quarantine for 14 days, then I can find a house and get everything ready.  So here's my quarantine diary.

Day 0

The day has finally come, after 9 years living abroad, I’m coming back to the UK!  True to form, the year 2020 has taken our carefully laid plans, suspiciously coughed all over them and caused a massive rethink.  Well, not to be beaten, the day has finally arrived, if 3 months too late and I’m in Scotland, isolating in my old bedroom!

 

The flight was ok, but a bit of a surreal affair.  All the airport has social distancing reminders everywhere, and marks on the floor to remind people to stay 2m apart (or 1.5m in Europe), but people don’t seem to pay attention to it.  Boarding the plane still appears like boarding at any other time, with people so eager to get on board that they don’t think how close they are standing.  Interestingly, the Amsterdam to Aberdeen flight was worse for this, no regard for social distancing at all!  For the Sao Paulo to Amsterdam flight, people appeared to be (for the most part) following the separation marks and disembarking row at a time as requested. 

 

The airports were also very strange.  Joinville is tiny, so not much to say about it, but Guarulhos – Sao Paulo’s international airport – was a ghost town!  I’ve seen it so quiet when catching one of the last flights at night, but my flight was at 15:05 on a Friday – it should have been heaving!  Then I boarded and saw a half-empty plane.  I was lucky enough to have a premium economy seat (a big ‘wow’ dripping with sarcasm) and there was hardly anyone in that section; I had the 4 middle seats to myself with an unobstructed view to the window, no one in front to put their seat back and no one behind for me to worry about putting my seat back and limiting their leg space.  Best of all, no queue for the toilets!  The service was a bit limited, but they did their best in the circumstances, straight after dinner, they dropped off a ‘goody bag’ with some chocolate, an apple, a cake, a can of coke and a bottle of water to make up for reduced service during the flight.  It’s not like normal KLM service, but with all the e-mails they sent about reduced service, it was more than I expected!

 

I was surprised that there was no health screening on arrival in Amsterdam – I was expecting at least a temperature check, but there was nothing but a constant reminder to wear a mask, wash your hands and keep your distance.  Thus began my 10-hour layover…

 

If you have 10 hours to kill in Amsterdam, I can heartily recommend catching a train into the city centre and passing the time there.  If you’re not in the middle of a pandemic and travelling from the country with the second worst number of COVID 19 cases and deaths (2.7M cumulative cases, 94,000 deaths) it’s not the best idea, so I tried to make myself comfortable.  Big mistake.  Schiphol – Amsterdam Airport – is one of the better airports I’ve been to and they have a good provision of comfortable seating, including some pleasantly reclined seats.  After an 11-hour flight with limited sleep, it wasn’t long before I found myself dozing, not something I would recommend when you’re on your own with no one else to look after your belongings!  So I got a coffee and spend the rest of my time between sitting, walking, eating, drinking, sitting, walking and sitting a bit more. I love travel, but airports are always a low point.

 

Day 1

Finally, the home straight, the short hop to Aberdeen.  After all that time, I inevitably slept most of the way there.  I put my jacket on to get off the plane, it’s summer, but I can suffer a bit of warmth to make it easier to carry my cases.  Who am I kidding, warmth?  IT was colder than when I left Brazil, a chilly day in winter and this is Scottish summer!  Home sweet home!

 

Again there was no real health screening beyond a couple of hand sanitisers on the walls and reminders to keep your distance.  On arrival in the UK, it’s obligatory to enter your flight details into an online form along with the details of where you will spend your 14 days of quarantine (unless travelling from an exempt country) so I showed my printout and that was that!

 

Although I spent almost all my time since the start of the pandemic in isolation (except for the occasional necessary forays) and despite wearing masks and my hands consuming more alcohol in a day than I drink in a year, I can’t guarantee that I didn’t pick up COVID on my travels, so I assume I am contaminated and am taking every precaution possible.  It has slightly dampened my homecoming, but the last thing I want is to pass this nasty virus on to my parents, so it’s masks and distancing until I know I am not contaminated.  So I sat in the back seat of the car, like a taxi passenger, for the trip to Forres.  I then sat at the other end of the room, wearing a mask to talk to my parents, wiping down everything I touch.  Most of my time will be spent in my old bedroom, or the other bedroom which has been deputised as my home office.  No hugs or anything, no going out and definitely no going to see my Nan.  Two weeks to go…

My Visit to Mater Dei School

While visiting Pato Branco (Southwest Paraná) I was invited to visit a local school that has a bilingual project.  For many of the students, it was their first contact with a native English speaker and gave them a great opportunity to practise what they had learned and ask questions about my culture.  It was a fun day and one that I won’t forget any time soon!

When each class arrived, they were shy and nervous; I guess embarrassed about potentially making mistakes in front of their classmates (we’ve all been there…)  I briefly introduced myself and invited them to ask me questions. 

"Teacher" for the day!

There were several questions I expected; do you like Brazil?  What do you like about Brazil? What’s your favourite food?  And so on.  Then there were some questions that really made me think about why they were being asked.  “Have you ever been robbed in Brazil?”  The answer, thankfully, is no, and that goes for other countries.  I’ve become accustomed to people in the US saying “oh, but isn’t Brazil dangerous?”, “isn’t there a lot of crime?” (Walk through some ‘interesting’ parts of Oakland, CA, then ask me that) but it was surprising to be asked the question in Pato Branco, which is a small city in the countryside.  It appears to point to a general pessimism that’s can be seen around Brazil – a misguided belief that Brazil cannot compare to other countries such as the USA and countries in Europe.  It would be wrong to say that crime does not exist in Brazil, but as a country as a whole, I don’t think it should be known as a dangerous country and I really hope to see this negative opinion change in my lifetime.

A similar question was “what were you scared of when you first came to Brazil?”  Again, I thought of the motive behind the question; did it reflect the fear of the unknown, the doubts some people always feel when I first go to a new place?  Or was it another slightly downbeat opinion of the country?  I can’t be sure, but I know they didn’t expect my answer.  My first trip to Brazil was in December 2007; I left a cold, wet, rainy England, stopped in Amsterdam (umm, cold?  Maybe, I was in the airport an hour or so, so I can’t say) then had a 9 hour flight to São Paulo.  I knew that December was summer time in Brazil and I was expecting nothing but blue skies and sunshine.  As the plan descended towards São Paulo, all I could see was thick cloud cover.  What was I scared of when I first came to Brazil?  That I’d just taken a 9 hour flight and arrived back in England!

Some of the subjects; my favourite
film, which team I support in England...

Football was a popular theme, which came as no surprise, and invited controversy.  I wore a white Atlético Paranaense shirt, which was already enough to attract comments from the Fanaticos (nickname for the fans of Atlético) and the Coxa fans (some other team from Curitiba…) Of course, not everyone noticed – it doesn’t stand out as much as the red and white striped home shirt would – so the inevitable question of what team I support in Brazil.  My answer tended to drive the class wild!  A large proportion threw their arms up and cheered; a minority put their head in their hands.  If there is anywhere in the world that the term “it’s just a game” does not apply, it’s Brazil!

In the afternoon, came the turn of the younger students.  As they were only about 8 or 9, their English was very basic, so I gave my answers in English and Portuguese (thus making it educational for me too!)  After the nervous, slow pace of questions from the teenagers in the morning, the excited energy of the younger kids came as a surprise! 

What struck me most was the reaction to my answers.  “What’s your favourite colour?” one asked me.  I pointed to the blue sky of the Big Ben mural on the wall and responded “Blue, azul.”  The response was a cheer from the questioner!  I got even bigger cheers when I answered “sweets” when asked if I preferred sweets, fruit or savoury food.  I admit it, I have a sweet tooth! 

But one question bowled me over.  Do I prefer apples or tomatoes?  What possessed them to ask such an obscure question?  Ok…  I’ve never liked tomatoes (except when cooked in a dish, in a sauce etc) so I answered “apples.” 

Well…

You’d have thought Brazil had won the world cup, Disney had announced a new resort in Pato Branco and each of them had won the lottery!  I guess it was the right answer!  I asked the teachers if they knew how anything about it and the answer is a journey into child psychology!  Being children, they of course do not like to eat salad and healthy stuff like that; they’d rather eat the good stuff, like meat, pão de queijo and so on.  So parents hit back by tell them that it’s a fruit; you like apples, bananas and pineapples, why not tomatoes?  Well of course, the kids are too smart to fall for the old tomatoe-is-a-fruit-so-you-must-like-it trick and decided to get the opinion of the visiting Englishman.  Sorry parents, I hope I haven’t set back your efforts too much!  (But I really don’t like tomatoes!!)

When discussing the day with the teachers, they expressed surprise at the questions that were asked.  In the normal lessons, the students overflow with questions about culture and life in the UK and USA and were surprised at how restrained they were.  Our conclusion was that in the hot seat, with the foreigner in front of them and classmates all around, the nerves got to them.  Or maybe they just forgot.

Which brings me to this question: “what are teenagers like in the UK?”  Answer: “pretty much the same as here.”  Faced with a real live German in my German classes at school, I’m sure we’d have come up with the same questions, with the same nerves and the same shy refusals to ask questions to begin with.

Vice director Fabricio, teacher Elisa and myself

Taking Cats to Brazil - Part 1

It’s Never Easy

My wife and I had decided that on our next trip to Brazil, we’d take our cats with us and leave them with my mother in law for the time being.  As was to be expected, it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t cheap; in fact everyone involved seemed to want a piece of the action.

When I booked the trip, I was in the UK on business, so after lengthy planning discussions over the phone at odd times of day, we settled on the American Airlines option; San Francisco to Curitiba via Miami with the cats in the hold.  Most planes have a pressurised compartment in the hold for transporting animals and this was the only option for getting to Brazil with American Airlines (United would allow cats in the cabin, but they couldn’t guarantee the rules for another airline to get from São Paulo to Curitiba.)  Sheila researched the requirements for taking cats into Brazil while I researched the requirements for taking the cats on the plane.

The travel advice varies according to the country you are travelling to as well as the country you are traveling from – always check for the most recent requirements, as they may change.  When travelling from the USA, the best place to get travel advice is the USDA (US Department of Agriculture.)  They advised us of the requirements for taking cats to Brazil:

• Rabies vaccination (the USDA recommends at least 30 days before departure, but this is not officially stated by Brazil)
• Treatment for external and internal parasites within 15 days of departure.  The USDA recommends you have the treatment done when you take the cats for the health certificate examination
• Health certificate examination (recommended within 10 days of departure)
• USDA endorsement

We made our appointment with the vet for 9 days before departure – do this as early as possible before the flight in case of problems or delays – with an appointment at the USDA in San Francisco the following day.

The USDA sent us a pdf copy of the health certificate for us to print out and take to the vet.  For some bizarre reason (in 2015, in the heart of Silicon Valley…) the vets did not have e-mail, so we could not send it directly to them.  If taking two or more animals and they will be on the same flights, you only need one certificate to cover them, although our vet kindly charged the $84 dollar certificate completion fee (I’m in the wrong job) twice, one per animal.  I suppose it takes a lot of extra effort and ink to write a letter 2 in place of a 1.  One of the cats, Kiwi, had a slightly high temperature during the exam, so we had to return with him the next day when the practise opened.  Fortunately, his temperature had dropped by then suggesting that it was stress, as opposed to fever, causing the elevated temperature.  All other results were good, so Sheila made her way to the USDA with the completed certificate.

I say completed, but that’s not quite true.  At the USDA, the official pointed out that the vet hadn’t completed the consignor and consignee fields.  Sheila asked if she was supposed to fill them in and told no.  The official was quite angry explaining that by not filling out those fields, the vet was signing an official document that would allow anyone to take the animals anywhere.  She completed the form, stamped it, then our two cats – Kiwi and Pretzel – were officially on their way to Brazil!

The requirements for the carrier or kennel that would be allowed on the plane are very strict and they vary depending on the airline.  Basically, they need to be made of a sturdy material, not collapsible, have a metal door that can be doubly secured with cable ties and can be bolted together.  I strongly recommend anyone travelling with animals to check with the airline before buying a carrier.  We also bought a couple of pet travelling kits, which included “live animal” stickers for the sides of the carrier, an information sticker, a food and water dish that could snap onto the door of the carrier and cable ties for the door (although the airlines provide these.)  We also put in an absorbent pad (in case of accidents), a cushion, a blanket and a small tray with cat litter.  In the event, the cats didn’t use the litter tray and actually proceeded to sit in, spilling half the contents.  It’s probably better to have it though.  In preparation for travel, we printed photos of the cats to stick to the box in case they escaped, taped copies of the paperwork (health certificates, vaccination certificates etc) to the box and attached a bag of dry cat food, as per the requirements of the airline.

We hired a large car to get everything to the airport, loaded up and set off.

To be continued...

Kiwi

Pretzel

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!

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.

Welcome to the support group for people married to Brazilians!

Hello, my name is Daniel, I'm English and I married a Brazilian...

I married Sheila in 2010 and, since meeting her, I have been experiencing and learning Brazilian culture; from Brazilian Portuguese, through the amazing food, to the dark side of Brazilian culture - Novelas (I'm suppressing a shudder, I'll try to go on...)

When most people - my experience is mostly of Brits and North Americans - think of Brazil, they think about beaches, football, half-naked women and the Amazon rain-forest, but this does not begin to scratch the surface of Brazil and its rich history and culture.  Even now, with the 2014 World Cup looming, there appears to be little awareness of the country: I heard someone on the radio joking about going to the World Cup for the Mardi Gras girls; where do I begin explaining what's wrong with that?!  I don't pretend to know everything about the country, but I would like to share my observations and experiences of Brazil and Brazilians.