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Once Upon A Time...

Once upon a time…

By George Antunes
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?

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