And so we’re back…! talking about the issues plaguing the beautiful nation of BRASIL! *in the distance someone says over a loud speaker…”TELL THEM WHAT THEY’VE WON JOHNNY!”*
Once again, I’m just kidding! =)
Ok, so I was at the dinner table with my family, where we were eating a typical light dinner of frutas, bread, and a few other yummy but light weight foods when I asked “What’s up with this county?” I of course didn’t ask it like that– I’ve got a tad more tact and so I started by bringing up the current economic progress of this great nation do Brasil (of Brazil) 🙂
This of course elicited a tremendous discussion that I understood 88.3% (don’t ask why I chose these numbers, just go with it). In the span of an hour, I learned something I already knew but in an entirely different way. Ok, so this part of the story gets a little tricky to tell, so pay CLOSE attention! I’m about to start weaving together a series of moments, experiences, and words that occurred over the course of 3 days! Yes, I know that’s a lot, but this is about to be the longest blog post you’ve ever read….so if you have something to do in the next 10 minutes, read this when you have at least 20 or 30 minutes. It’ll be worth it 😉
Ok, back to the dinner table…so I begin by talking about how the world thinks that Brazil (yes, I’ve been spelling it both ways interchangeably and NO, it‘s not a typo…oh you‘re bothered by the inconsistency? It‘s called adding some visual flavor, so don‘t let it disturb you) is a possible world power of the future and a shining light of how quickly a country can grab fate by the horns and ride it into a well constructed and selected destiny. I also mentioned the interest of nations such as China and the U.S. in the current market here and the amount of FDI (foreign direct investment) coming in and the risks of not properly handling the growing population, the number of older Brazilians who are living longer, the increase in violent crimes, and muggings– you name it, I said it!
Dona (sign of respect, but not as formal as Mrs.) Sandra begins by telling me that the issue with Brasil is that the education system is unsatisfactory for those who can’t afford private schools. As a result the children don’t go to school and if they do, it doesn’t help them in the long run because the quality of education is so poor. She also mentioned that the government and police system are not “serious about their jobs.” this is an EXTREMELY rough translation (READ HERE: I’m having to translate from a language I just started learning 2 weeks ago to English…so there’s a chance the words didn’t leave her lips in that order and that it is not, I repeat NOT a direct quote, despite having equation marks…).
At this point, I asked about how poverty, education, and government could change in time for the World Cup 2014 and Olympics 2016, basically how sports was going to save Brasil. No, I was not mocking or making light of the conversation, but instead hoping to understand how a country with such unlimited potential could meet the expectations of a world that is being crippled by stagnant economies and delinquent governmental leaders (hey, Eurozone, I’m talking to you…hey Congress, that’s you too and no, this is not the kind of shout out you want from my blog. Two words, one command: FIX YOURSELF!)
Her and Seu (I believe this is also a sign of respect…we discussed it in class and when I went back to look for it in my notes, I couldn‘t find it, so I‘m hoping so!) Jose went on to explain how crime is high because children are basically running around and the lack of real opportunities for the poor gives them few options when it comes to making a living. Ok, now let’s jump ahead to the following day (July 18th). So after my first capoeira class, I came home to my familia brasilera and chatted them up! I have got to get that language practice (READ HERE: I will shamelessly butcher your language…I do not care…and by that I mean I‘m trying =) So I made myself at home at the formal dining table in the living room which we don’t eat at, we eat at the table in the kitchen, which is better anyways because then my glutinous face is closer to the food as our my sometimes lazy feet. So anyways, I was doing my usual game of bartering English words for Portuguese ones when my host father and I began talking about how expensive everything is. I already mentioned that the prices here are HIGH…and are only going to get higher when I get to Sao Paulo (not happy about this). Well, Jose, began crunching some numbers for me in order to show just how expensive things are here. So a brand new Honda Civic is about R$56,000 which is about $36,000. After he told me that, I had to shout incredulously “A Honda Civic….WHAT…wait A HONDA…oh no…really A CIVIC?” (Dear Honda, please don’t sue me…I’m just a very expressive grad student, plus I’m broke. Sincerely, Got-no-$ Grace) He then notified me of the fact that Brazil makes a car called the Honda City which is like a Civic and sold here and in Mexico. However, in Mexico, it costs R$ 27,000. This markup for Brazilians disturbed me. How in the hot mess are you going to make something IN COUNTRY, then charge your people more to buy it but some stranger much less. I’m no mobster, but you got to take care of your own, or no one else will, at least not in this economy! Well, since I wasn’t upset enough, he decided to show me an example with gas prices. In Brasil, gas is R$2.80 per Liter, I know that makes most Americans say…”oh cheap gas, me-likey!” But once you break it down, me, no-likey. If you do a conversion that is not that easy, it breaks down to 1 gallon of gas being equal to 3.9 liters, which means that if gas is $4/gallon, then it’s $1.03 per liter and over twice as much here in Brasil (actually 70% more, if the math is wrong, I’m blaming my host dad…he did it!!) After picking up my jaw and rolling up my tongue to prevent from tripping my self, I was having a sneakily familiar feeling…I was in shock. Don’t worry, this happens in almost every place I move, contiguous U.S. included. Nonetheless, the real KABOOM came when he told me that the average brasileiro earns between $350-500 a month. At that point I had a daymare/flashback to the mall where I saw clothes and shoes (READ HERE: cheap tanks and shoddy shoes) that were on “SALE” for about $25 in American Money…and this was non-designer. When I say non-designer, think Target or Wal-Mart tanks being sold at this price. I AT THIS POINT WAS SHAKING FROM FINANCIAL STRESS. In a country like Brasil, how do you feed your family, make sure your kids go to a school where they will be learning, afford housing, and still make time to actually be a tight-knit family unit? Well if you ask me, it’s time to get into the mugging business. But seriously, I was disturbed and not surprised by high crime rates and instances of robberies, kidnappings, and anything that earns money illegally. I’m not making excuses, but I’m empathizing hard core. It’s rough out here for any human being, but then to make so little in relationship to what things are priced is ridiculous. And let’s not forget, taxes here are about 40% on many items because they’re paying for things like public education….now the questions is, “where the hell is all that tax money going?”
