1977.
On TV, the news of Elvis Presley’s death took the world by a storm.
On the radio, Bee Gees hit the charts with the lovely song How Deep
is Your Love. It was also the very year I arrived in Brazil. My
choice? No! Not really! I just happened to be here. Some say it
was God’s plans. A Secular British Humanist would vehemently
disagree. Anyway, It was difficult for me to get used to the
language, to the costumes and to the people. The most difficult bit to
understand was, and still is, the political system of this country. I
can tell you it is really mind-boggling. I am not exaggerating, it
really is. I did not have any choice but to get used to it. When I
arrived the country was under military dictatorship. Ernesto Geisel
was the man in charge of running the country. As a newcomer I could
not make sense of what was really going on here. People talked a lot
about everything, there were protest songs about the current events
of that time. People disappeared, apparently. But, how could I understand? I
could not understand a word. You may think I was really stupid but I
guess I was just too young and naive. That's all. I did not
bring any money along. I always asked myself, why not. Go figure!
The
90’s here was the best. I was already quite fluent in Portuguese.
Brazil at this time was notoriously known for its badly manufactured
cars. A bold guy here decided to change it. He was a young president
who loved cars. He allowed the country to import cars in an attempt
to improve the ones that were made here. No invested interest, I
guess. That didn’t change my life though. I could not buy a car anyway.
Well, I always loved cars but they would still be only in my dreams
for years. I learned a lot at this time.
Things
changed a lot since the day I arrived here. I changed too. I got
married to a gorgeous Brazilian woman, had three wonderful daughters and became an English teacher, what else could I do, right?
Coming
back? Not really! I don't want to come back. I am fine here. By the
way, I used to be afraid of coming back. Now I am ok. I finally got
my mind around to it. I know someday I will. But, for now, I am staying as
long as I can stand. You might be wondering how I could get my mind around to something everybody dreads the most. Simple! Everybody
will go back to wherever they came from. In other words, everybody
will die, what’s the big deal?
LISTEN
WHAT A TRIP!
LISTEN
WHAT A TRIP!
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