What's in a name?
Spirituality
It's very difficult for me, as a foreigner, to tell how spiritual the average person is here. A lot of the people that I'm around pepper their speech with "thanks be to God" and other religious phrases, but it's not clear to me if it's usually heartfelt or just something that people feel compelled to say.
People don't generally say grace unless they are at a more formal function with a larger number of people.
Religious names are much more woven into the cultural fabric here. Can you imagine instead of "New Hampshire" and "Pennsylvania," having a state called "Holy Spirit" and another one called "Christmas?" Also, some people name their sons the equivalent of "Messiah."
And speaking of boys' names, names ending in "son" or "ton" are popular, even names that would be family names in the U.S. such as Johnson, Davidson, Welleson, Jamison and Wellington. Names that are perceived as "American" are considered chic by some of the people.
Out of the mouth of babes
People often call each other "my son" or "my daughter" like you would hear terms of endearment such as "hon", "sweetie", etc. in the U.S. I really get a kick out of the small kids playing together and calling each other "my son" and "my daughter." For example: "No, my daughter, that is not how the game is played." But, of course, this is not said in an endearing tone, but usually moderate to loud shouting, in the case of the children.
Is there an echo in here?
Chances are, yes, there will be a HUGE echo wherever you are because the buildings are built from cement or bricks covered with plaster and have hardwood or tile floors. This adds an extra challenge for the foreigner trying to understand Portuguese.
Beauty vs. squalor
I've recently visited three different after-school projects in the Shade and Fresh Water network, a couple of which were in slums. I've been meeting the kids and volunteers and taking pictures for the Methodist Foundation here, which is trying to raise more money for the projects. One of the ironies that hit me last week was how the people living in these slums in the mountains outside the city have the most beautiful view of the city below, but only if they can look past the filth all around them--open sewers, litter and construction debris, etc.
In between worlds
Not for the first time in my life (and certainly not for the last) I find myself between two worlds. I am living in an upple-middle class apartment, with a comfortable bed, cable TV, Internet access and a person coming three days a week to cook and clean. My first Brazilian experiences were through my upper-middle class friends who live in a neighboring state, so this is not new for me. What is new for me is being in contact with and forming relationships with people in the communities who have so much less, and for whom life can be a daily struggle. I do not think I've ever worked with a group of people where as many as 15-20% of the people are functionally illiterate, where people live so much closer to the border of life and death.
My first couple of times to Brazil, I saw people darting across the highways to get from the bus stops to the poor neighborhoods, and occasionally, now, I am one of them. (Don't worry, Mom, I always look both ways and only go across one side at a time...) When I crossed the highway yesterday to go to Liberdade in the morning, I was stunned by the sight of an animal carcass completely covered with maggots--and I could only guess that it might have been a dog. Needless to say, they seem to have "organic" methods of dealing with roadkill here.
Eternal youth
I knew that Brazilians are very fashion-conscious and that plastic surgery was popular amongst those who could afford it, but I'd never realized the extent of the attempt to eternally appear young. I would guess that 80-90% of the women over 50 dye their hair, and a slightly lower percentage of men. Ironically, you'll see everybody in bikinis and speedos here--from age 10 to 100, pregnant, beer belly, or whatever.
It's very difficult for me, as a foreigner, to tell how spiritual the average person is here. A lot of the people that I'm around pepper their speech with "thanks be to God" and other religious phrases, but it's not clear to me if it's usually heartfelt or just something that people feel compelled to say.
People don't generally say grace unless they are at a more formal function with a larger number of people.
Religious names are much more woven into the cultural fabric here. Can you imagine instead of "New Hampshire" and "Pennsylvania," having a state called "Holy Spirit" and another one called "Christmas?" Also, some people name their sons the equivalent of "Messiah."
And speaking of boys' names, names ending in "son" or "ton" are popular, even names that would be family names in the U.S. such as Johnson, Davidson, Welleson, Jamison and Wellington. Names that are perceived as "American" are considered chic by some of the people.
Out of the mouth of babes
People often call each other "my son" or "my daughter" like you would hear terms of endearment such as "hon", "sweetie", etc. in the U.S. I really get a kick out of the small kids playing together and calling each other "my son" and "my daughter." For example: "No, my daughter, that is not how the game is played." But, of course, this is not said in an endearing tone, but usually moderate to loud shouting, in the case of the children.
Is there an echo in here?
Chances are, yes, there will be a HUGE echo wherever you are because the buildings are built from cement or bricks covered with plaster and have hardwood or tile floors. This adds an extra challenge for the foreigner trying to understand Portuguese.
Beauty vs. squalor
I've recently visited three different after-school projects in the Shade and Fresh Water network, a couple of which were in slums. I've been meeting the kids and volunteers and taking pictures for the Methodist Foundation here, which is trying to raise more money for the projects. One of the ironies that hit me last week was how the people living in these slums in the mountains outside the city have the most beautiful view of the city below, but only if they can look past the filth all around them--open sewers, litter and construction debris, etc.
In between worlds
Not for the first time in my life (and certainly not for the last) I find myself between two worlds. I am living in an upple-middle class apartment, with a comfortable bed, cable TV, Internet access and a person coming three days a week to cook and clean. My first Brazilian experiences were through my upper-middle class friends who live in a neighboring state, so this is not new for me. What is new for me is being in contact with and forming relationships with people in the communities who have so much less, and for whom life can be a daily struggle. I do not think I've ever worked with a group of people where as many as 15-20% of the people are functionally illiterate, where people live so much closer to the border of life and death.
My first couple of times to Brazil, I saw people darting across the highways to get from the bus stops to the poor neighborhoods, and occasionally, now, I am one of them. (Don't worry, Mom, I always look both ways and only go across one side at a time...) When I crossed the highway yesterday to go to Liberdade in the morning, I was stunned by the sight of an animal carcass completely covered with maggots--and I could only guess that it might have been a dog. Needless to say, they seem to have "organic" methods of dealing with roadkill here.
Eternal youth
I knew that Brazilians are very fashion-conscious and that plastic surgery was popular amongst those who could afford it, but I'd never realized the extent of the attempt to eternally appear young. I would guess that 80-90% of the women over 50 dye their hair, and a slightly lower percentage of men. Ironically, you'll see everybody in bikinis and speedos here--from age 10 to 100, pregnant, beer belly, or whatever.
posted by Christine Piggee at
8:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home