Observations of Brazil from a native Texas Resident

OBSERVATIONS OF BRAZIL FROM A NATIVE TEXAN

By: Glenn Mondshine  (revised 2-3-16)

      Before you decide to go to Brazil, get familiar with exactly what you are getting into.  Your decision is a powerful one because it will send you far, far away, and you cannot get back to the states quickly.  I spent 26 days in Pacajus, Brazil, which is near the city of Fortaleza in the state of Ceara.  My girlfriend has relatives there so we had a house to stay in.
     The travel part of the trip is one of the harder elements.  It is possible to miss an airplane if you are not careful.  Sometimes you will have to change planes in another city and they don't give you much time. American Airlines had cancelled my flight on departure day so I stayed at the airport for nine hours waiting for the next trip to Sao Paulo.  I never heard them announce my group to board the plane and and almost missed it.  Do not trust airline workers to accomplish your agenda.  You have to look out for yourself.
     There are a lot of hazards in Brazil that we don't have in Texas.  In the small cities you walk everywhere unless you are going across town.  Be alert when you move around the city.  You have to keep cash and electronics hidden as much as possible.  Crossing the street is hard to get used to because cars will not stop for you.  It took me several weeks to forget what I do in Texas and learn what to watch for before stepping into the street.  There are lots of motorcycles in the streets and the riders seem pretty good because they get so much practice.  The hospitals may not be able to patch you up if you decide to ride one.  They are just not willing to treat you right if they can avoid it.  I saw two injured riders at the hospital get ignored.  The more effective emergency rooms are probably in Fortaleza.  
     A quiet, zen-like state this place is not.  There are cars with speakers stacked on them that drive through the city making noise like a loud concert.  They do not spare the residential streets either.  Locals blast their overpowered systems from their front porches all day if they think it's a good idea.   This noise would never be tolerated in Texas.  There seems to be problems getting people to protest and make changes.  Noise can come in the form of loud motorcycles and cars too.  I saw a lot of modified pipes on the scooters and Honda 125's.
     The Brazilian house is not built the same as the average Texas one.  The walls are made of a red brick that seems abundant in supply.  The roofs have a different red clay tile that keeps out the rain but lets the air in.  The houses have windows but not glass.  They are openings with wood doors on hinges to serve as ventilation.  You can escape the heat by avoiding the sun and finding shade.  The houses have open areas with red tile roofs to block the sun.  Hammock hooks are standard design in the houses and rooms so you can always use one of them to relax in the shade.
     The utilities include electricity, gas, water and plumbing.  Do not expect to take hot showers.  The water can be cold if you are not used to it.  Prepare to practice water conservation because sometimes you won't have it from the pipes.  In this case you use reserve cans in the bathrooms until the elevated tank refills.
     All of my cooking was taken care of by relatives, saving me from having to go out and buy prepared food.  You can go buy fully cooked chickens at some of the nearby shops.  They will also have sides of rice and beans.  At our house the hosts were generous with large lunches and dinners.  You will never go hungry here unless you are a vegetarian.  There are not a lot of vegetables served here, but if you looked for them and worked at it you might get by.  The coffee is mild and sweet with low caffeine level.  In the house was adding sugar to the brew (her mother) but I got her to back it off.  It was still not harsh.  Stay away from pizzas because I got very sick from the cheese on one.  My girlfriend took me to this hospital where I was able to get a saline bag in my arm, blood test, and prescription.  As mentioned earlier, others ones with significant injuries, were largely neglected.     
     One day we shopped for a cotton blanket and a pillow    for sleep at night.  The hammock is an option if the bed isn't too good.  Beware of sleep because earlier I mentioned there is a noise problem.  Expect loud music on weekends and religious music in your bedroom whether you choose to go to church or not.  An electric fan will also be worth it if one is not already provided.
     On the Fortaleza area beaches you will find a much better scene than that of the Gulf Coast.  The sand is cleaner.  Instead of brown and gray, you get yellow and white.  It does not burn your feet so readily and will leave a more accurate yet volatile footprint.  You will also find a bigger wave and steeper beach.  You can get away with wearing a bikini if you are male, even if you are out of shape.  In Texas you would silently offend but here you have free reign.  If you go to a more crowded beach on a weekend there will be lots of Braziledas showing off.   
     Despite all this, the Fortaleza beaches are a shadow of their former glory.  There is a long paved pier made from granite rocks with a wood railing that needs paint.  It would be a big project to re-paint it. That was the idea in the first place, to have a grand pier.  Everywhere you find a wall, it will probably has graffiti.  It is usually black marks that look more like scribble than anything else.  There is probably a correlation between the amount of graffiti and mood of the residents.  More graffiti means less prosperity.  Last time I came to Fortaleza, the graffiti was not quite as bad.  In Pacajus the graffiti is less pronounced but the trash problem is big.  Local governments don’t use the taxes properly or steal the funds.
     I don't get the sense that things are getting better even after a world cup blew through a year ago.  In fact the addition to the airport was still under construction on our way out.  With the value of the $Real being down against dollars, I see a struggling economy as the reasons for the graffiti and trash.
     The language is what is holding things together here, as there is lots of communication going on.  Those living here will have the task of becoming involved in their public affairs if it is to improve.  We have the same sort of problem in America which is apathy towards civic affairs.  We have our opinions but rarely do we take any action.
     We were able to travel to the mountains, yet the trip was bumpy and a little bit scary.  The problem is the big trucks coming at you on a two-lane highway.  There are bumps and holes that drivers try to avoid and the yellow line gets crossed a lot.  In the mountain towns it is quiet and desolate between locales.  We drove for thirty minutes on a dirt road with nothing but the road and brush before a town appeared.  It looked like the only road and it delivers all the water and resources.      
     The fruits found here are a nice treat because it will be new to you.  The cashew fruit or caju, which is out of season, is one of my favorites and there is nothing like it in Texas.  I found some half-size bananas called banana prata, or silver bananas, which were  better than the boring ones you get here.  A strange green fruit called atemoia is soft and white on the inside. It is very sweet like a vanilla shake.  You will find cold green coconuts served on most beaches with a straw for the water inside.  Imagine the canned coconut water here, without all the sugar and pulp.
     There are a surprisingly small number of soccer fields here.  Besides indoor, the ones I saw were mostly dirt or sand with an occasional set of metal goal posts.  The guys like to play barefoot on the sand.
      I was able to handle being without TV, cars, and retail because I was writing and painting.  There is a lot of time to use and I bring art supplies to work on acrylic and water color paintings.  I just set up two chairs in the shaded courtyard and get to it.  The paint dries real fast because of the dry heat.  Its good to have that but I add mixes to slow the drying when needed.  Being able to turn inward and be independent for stretches of time allowed me to thrive.  Bring books and a little LED light to read at night.  Anything to keep you productive.  Play chess, do puzzles.
     This piece was not meant to be a travel guide, but a look at the experience of going to Brazil.  It is a troubled country, stemming mainly from the rich politicians' lack of ethics.  America has its screwed up and scattered interests, but there is at least a functioning infrastructure of rules.  It is hard to get action from the police to stop excess noise.  It will be up to the community members to make a movement towards noise free life.
     Brazil is geographically isolated from the world.  Try getting around without a plane and you will see it is its own planet.  Without rules and enforcement, it is up to the people to lead the way towards reform.  I know of a retired friend from Texas living in Ecuador.  He and his wife are in a retired community of American ex-patriots.  The community there is very nice and peaceful.  A good sign of improvement in Brazil would be for ex-patriots to start setting up camp there.  Make that awful graffiti go away and I bet you see that start happening.