Becoming part of the culture

Higor, my 8-yr-old friend, was glued to the screen he held in his lap, and so were the rest of us. The sweet protagonist, Maria, was finally forced to confront her nemesis, Ramona, who had spread all sorts of lies about Maria and Paolo, Maria's fiance. Ramona, rubbing salt in the wound, told of yet another treason: Susana, a "friend" of Maria's, had come onto Paolo when Maria was out of town!

Maria said to Ramona, "She would never do that!" Ramona began to grin a slow, terrible, evil grin.

"Oh yes she would!" I said out loud.

Higor turned to me and with a sly look, he said, "...and she did."

It's easy to get caught up in certain parts of culture. And if you have never watched a Latin television show and understood it, you cannot possibly understand how addicting that drama can be! Things like that can suck you right in, which is wonderful for learning culture.

 

A Taste of Brazil

I have a weakness for a type of Brazilian country music called Sertanejo. Click to preview: Sertanejo on Youtube. You can skip forward and preview a mix of songs. It is really fun to dance to, and the lyrics are usually pretty funny.

Some things are exactly the same, just in a different language.

 

Brazilian One Direction. They're called "Fly." The good-looking one in the sports coat is named Nathan. Go figure.

And some things are entirely different.

Oh, you know, just your typical quail eggs hanging out in the middle of the chicken eggs.

Below are a couple of videos of the apartment where I'm staying. It's a pretty cool place.  

Here is a video of the kitchen.

  

 

A Caveat About the Protests

Everybody is asking about the protests. Have I seen one yet? Am I going to take part in one? What is really going on? The truth is, I was in a car and drove past one just the other day, but it was small and peaceful. I hardly saw anything. And that's the only experience I've had with them. The people here know what's going on. They know where the protests are going to be (and it's not hard to figure out) and they pretty much avoid them unless they really want to take part. I haven't met many who are really that politically charged, though, so I've just been hanging out with people - typical, everyday, normal people. Don't believe everything you see on TV.

 

Difficulties

A few things have been difficult to navigate. I've made cultural mistakes, probably offended a person or two, been offended myself, and I'll probably experience all of that again. But through the difficulty that is living in another country for awhile, God is reminding me why I love it. There aren't many challenges this big that I would enjoy taking on. I don't ever want to climb a mountain. I don't have any desire to run a marathon (or even two miles, actually). It makes no difference to me if I never learn to sail. But becoming part of another culture, that's my kind of challenge. It motivates me every day. 

So when someone starts yelling (because they're Italian by blood and that's normal), and I feel like shying away (because of my English heritage), I have to remember that "different" does not mean "wrong." It's a strain on my brain, but I like it. I have to think through that when the boys call me "linda" and whistle at me on the street - totally offensive where I come from, but it's just a way to compliment a girl here. I have to think through it when I give someone a gift and they don't open it in front of me, when I go to greet someone and they kiss me on the cheek, when I misspeak and everybody laughs, when I want to spend time alone and someone tags along, when we try to plan something and nobody arrives on time, or when I try to help out around the house and the help isn't as well-accepted as I expected. All of these things are confusing. They're bothersome. They're difficult to handle. But they make me better. They pull me outside of myself and force me to see things from a different angle. And I thank God for the challenge.