Back to Brazil

After London and Munich, I finally arrived at the place that is the real reason of the whole trip: Brazil. After all, it all started as a trip back home to see family and friends I haven't seen for one year and a half or more.


So I stayed in Brazil from August 19th to September 16th. Basically one month... that went very fast. Most of the time I stayed in Londrina, my hometown and the place where I have more friends around... although many have left the city looking for a job or studying.

Talking about friends, one month wasn't enough to see all of them. Due to problems with schedule or simple lack of luck I couldn't meet some...


I'll write some more posts about events that I think are worth a separate post. For now, I'll write some general comments.

• I said I enjoyed Brazil a lot... and I'm not kidding! Ate a lot and at almost all the restaurants I like, slept well, played a lot with the Wii (family's new video game)... More than enough to satisfy my homesickness. Still, I realise it was a vacation. When I lived there the routine was different.
  
  
• When in Japan, I miss things in Brazil, but the opposite is also true. Sometimes I was wondering how friends in Japan were doing, reading about what they did and wishing I could be there too, missing being able to walk carelessly at night (or even during the day)... My conclusion is after you live aborad you'll never be complete again. There'll always be a part missing wherever you go, wherever you are.
  
  
• One of the things I've decided to do while I was in Brazil was to visit some of the places I used to go. That included my former high school and university. Especially at the high school I had some surprises and good reminiscences. Although it was reformed and looks completely different, many of the teachers I admired are still there. And it was interesting talking to them now, years after you were their student. More impressing is how many still remembered me, considering they have more than a hundred students per year and some eight years have passed since then...
  
  
• Also, going to those places was a nice thing to know how old friends were doing. And listening to some stories made me a little jealous. A former high school friend is now a nurse at that same high school; some classmates at university are employed by a multinational and did a course in Germany; another high school friend is now working or studying in the US (and her major is Physics!); other opened his own business... Guess I should keep moving too. At least I have good examples around for inspiration.
  
  
• Besides schools, I went to other places like my former judo dojo, dance academy and met the guys who played futsal together (those who are still around). Doing all that again made me sure of something I was feeling already: my physical condition reached an all-time low! Gotta do something from now on!!
  
  
• Talking of physical conditions, other skills are very rusty. I was never very good at snooker, but after losing 5 matches in a row to a friend and -worse- 3-0 to my younger sister(!), I guess I reached the point that I suck.
  
  
• Another of the places I had to go was my grandmothers' grave. They died last year, leaving me with no grandparents alive. One of them I particularly loved very much, and not even being able to go to her funeral was a strong blow. It was probably the only time I ever considered abandoning everything in Japan and going back to Brazil...
  
  
• There was a big costume party while I was in Londrina, Metamorfose. It says it's the largest of the world... I'm still not sure. I didn't go for some reasons (most of all I had people to meet; and that takes precedence considering I had limited days in Brazil), but it's worth checking pictures of it (click "Fotos").
  
  
• The thing I missed most in Brazil by far were family and friends. And meeting them again, by previous scheduling or by pure luck, was the very highlight of the trip. Some I haven't met for almost a decade, and it was really enjoyable catching up with each of them...
  
  
• I mention strange things in Japan, but some things in Brazil are also weird. For example, campaigns to reduce use of plastic bags are also happening in Brazil. Some supermarkets encourage customers to bring their own bags. But in Brazil you can't carry bags, backpacks, etc. in places like some libraries (we had to put it in lockers before entering the university's library), stores and supermarkets. So when you bring a bag to avoid using a plastic bag in a supermarket, you have to keep it sealed until you reach the cash register... sealed in a plastic bag!! Go figure...
  
  
• I thought of writing a faq with things almost everyone I met in Brazil asked me... but gave up. I wouldn't like to write some of the answers anyway. Some things are better said than written.