A Day at the Movies

There has been a lot of rain in Belo Horizonte recently so I decided to go see a movie this afternoon. I have been to quite a few movies in Brazil and I was fairly confident I could handle the process of getting my ticket and of course a “mini kit” which consists of a 300ml (a little smaller than a can of soda) soda with a small popcorn. I didn't see any butter for the popcorn and I got a Kuat (guaraná soft drink). The package was out of proportion because the popcorn was big but the soda was too small. Now that I think about it, there is probably about the same amount of soda in 300ml fountain drink in Brazil as in the U.S. ,MEGA-SMALL, because they don't usually fill the cup to the top with ice down here before adding the soda. I have noticed that a lot of bars and restaurants will serve your Coke with a couple cubes of ice and a lime wedge.

The thing that threw me was the plastic bag the concession stand girl put my popcorn in after placing it in the usual cardboard popcorn box. I had never seen anything like that in the U.S. or in Brazil. The bag was not covered by advertising and there was nothing special about it. Just a standard grocery store plastic bag. I thought that since the theater was located at the mall that the use of the bag for your concessions was to help out when your hands are loaded with shopping bags. Well, all the movie theaters I have seen in Brazil have been in malls and none of them used this junk food bag. Maybe it was a way to prevent dropped kernels of popcorn from missing your mouth and landing on the floor or seat. I don't know about this one because my shirt, seat, and the floor around me was full of popcorn after I left. If there is an explanation I think it has to rest with the clean-up. A nice, neat place to put your empty cups and containers of popcorn and candy when you're done and the bag gets carried out and placed in the trash can. That is what you do with bags, carry them with you. No one likes to leave a bag behind. It feels like you left something in the theater. And even if you leave it where you sat or on the floor it is going to be easier for the person doing the cleaning to pick up after your slob-ass.

As the movie let out I took my bag with me and dropped in the waiting trash can just like I think it was intended and headed out through the food court. I needed a few minutes to realize I was still in Brazil and get my mind going in Portuguese again. Like most movies in Brazil, this one was in English with Portuguese subtitles and I think that got me out of my rhythm. The food court had live music and the song the guy was playing at the time was a Seal song and he was singing in English burdened with a heavy accent of someone who really doesn't speak the language but learned the lyrics like a parrot learns to say "Polly wants a cracker." I decided to go to the coffee/snack bar to have a beer and read the newspaper I had bought that day for $.15, U.S. This would allow me to get my wits about me and I felt like a beer. Up walked a girl with style of top that is very popular in Brazil. It consists of a piece of material draped over one shoulder, hanging off the other, fastened in the back somehow, and with a sports bra type thing under it. In these tops most of the woman's back is exposed along with the neckline, and at least one shoulder...a lot of skin! I do have to say I like them but I can imagine how long it takes to get that thing on the right way. On the front of this particular shirt this particular girl was wearing where the words in silver, “U.S. Marines” above what appeared to be an Army logo. It made me smile as I finished my last drink of beer and all I could think of as I walked away was, does she have any clue as to what a U.S. Marine is and Semper Fi!

One Month and Going Strong

I have been here for a few days short of a month and as John Lee Hooker once said, “I'm hitting that groovy spot.” I am over the fear of someone talking to me on the street and me not understanding a word they are saying. Now, I welcome the opportunity to speak and learn more of the day to day Portuguese weather it be on the bus, in the plaza near my place, or with the crazy...I mean eccentric woman I rent a room from.

I think the culture shock this time was especially hard because of the pressure I put on myself. My last two trips to Brazil were vacation on the beach doing nothing; a break from classes at the University of Colorado. I actually saw them as part of my program at CU since the Federal Student Loan Program was funding these expeditions. I wanted to get my degree and therefore I knew I was coming back for 15 more credit hours to get me closer to becoming college educated. My goals in Brazil were to improve my Portuguese, have experiences that would stick with me for the rest of my life, and have some fun along the way. At the end of my three months in Salvador last year Portuguese finally started clicking for me, I have memories and friends that will last, and I managed to have some fun.

Now I am all grown up. What I mean by that is in December of 2008, I finally graduated from the University of Colorado, go Buffs, with a B.S. in marketing with a focus on international business. As you know, last December was the beginings of the worst recession the world has seen since the Great Depression. Thanks Tater! Undaunted, I moved to Denver and continued my job search that began in earnest in August 2008, when I returned from Brazil. I searched my soul down there and realized I was ready for the rat race and I wanted to work. Six months sitting on the couch recovering from brain surgery seems to have something to do with this attitude of mine. As far as job searching goes I did everything you're supposed to do and then some. When there are hiring freezes and top ad agencies putting people like me out on the street, there is no hope for someone like me. January came and passed...nothing. February blew by and didn't have a job for me. I had no social life, no money, my parents were helping me out. As February was dying so was my moral and I needed a change. Demoralized, I woke up one day and realized I had no other choice but to go home. My parents were thinking the same thing.

At first I felt like a defeated loser. The more I realized that I was one of the growing number of people going through the same turmoil, I started to feel better and to look at this change of events as an opportunity. I also thought about the support they gave me through my surgeries. I wouldn't be here if it were not for Mom, Dad, and my brother who I like to call P.Milton. They got me through the hardest chapter of my life, so I had no doubts that they would help this economic shitstorm  seem like a warm summer shower.

I arrived in Indiana and the job scene was worse than it was in Colorado, but and least I had entered friendly lines. In April of this year I found a job cutting grass for $8.50 an hour! My degree was really working for me. I also spent a month in Phoenix working with a friend getting his recently purchased rental properties ready to rent. I ate with mom and dad, saved every penny, and ate at White Castle only two times per month. That discipline got me to Brazil.

I have never shied away from challenges and since my first trip out of the country alone, I thought, “Could I live abroad?” When I arrived in Indiana I immediately began a course to become certified in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). I felt this was something that would help me answer this question as well as act as a stepping stone into something more. Or, maybe I would love teaching and make it my life long pursuit. Since my surgeries I have tried to live in the present while maintaining a rough outline of the future. As I grow older the outline becomes shorter and more simple. It is coming down to the basics and it starts with love. I could check out at anytime and I don't want to be focused so far ahead and on things that aren't realistic that I miss out on the journey. I believe that life is a journey not a destination.

I am in Brazil right now and enjoying the ride and letting the driver take me wherever he wants. I have this idea of turning this experience into a life here but I have to see what is going to happen. I don't have anything pulling me back to the U.S. right now, but there is the problem of funds. I am not independently wealthy and without some money coming my way I will have to go back home. I am looking for work here as an English teacher and finding some. I am learning as I go and as much as the process of finding a job in Brazil resembles the job search at home the more I realize differences. For example, I have a very small network to draw from, a culture and customs different than my own to deal with, and there's the language thing. I am told everyday how good my Portuguese is, but it is still nerve racking to walk into an English school and have to get my point across in a foreign language; especially when I am nervous and I don't know anyone. I have not visited one school in Belo Horizonte where the receptionist speaks English! I find that Funny. It is a tough but it keeps me sharp. I don't know the limits that exist here so I am able to step outside the situations that stop me in my tracks at home and just do what I have to do. The feeling I get is exhilarating and I thrive on it.

I am also enjoying the things that make Brazil, Brazil like: arguing about the local football (soccer) teams while one person is telling me I should be a Curzeiro fan and the other person saying I should be an Atlético fan, the lanchonetes (snack bars) that are everywhere, the wandering vendors on the street, the coffee, and the desserts. It is organized chaos. I am on my own a lot of the time and it gets lonely and boring, but remember, I am doing what makes me happy and I knew this was going to be the case before I landed here. I learn something new about Brazilian culture, Portuguese, and myself everyday. It is exciting, scary, and fun all at the same time and those are the things that make a memorable experience for me. I would like to tell you that it is all roses down here but there are things that irritate me. I am human and from the United States so I have expectations about service and manners that get my hackles up. When I feel this happening I stop, think of where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going, and then I feel a sensation of victory and a smile comes across my face.

Next week: My run to the top of Belo Horizonte.