In 2012 I lived in the Northeastern Brazilian city Maceió on
a Fulbright scholarship. Afterwards, I moved to New York City and in July of
2015 I returned to Brazil for another year in Maceió. And so I thought it was
time that I revive my old blog.
It is always interesting to revisit a place or move back to
a city that was once called home. In many ways I expected Maceió to remain
stagnant, to be preserved as it was in my memory. Of course that is never the
case. Not only has the place changed over the course of a few years but so have
I and my perspective.
Over the past few months, while readjusting to life in the
Northeast of Brazil, I have recognized many changes since my last stint here. I
have outlined a few of my observations below. Of course none of this is based
on quantitative/qualitative data of any kind, but rather anecdotal evidence,
the advantage of an outsider living in a Brazilian city which does not garner
much (if any) international attention, at two different periods of time.
Health Craze
Sitting at a restaurant in New York City shortly before
returning to Brazil, some friends asked what food I would miss most. Moving
from a city that offers literally every type of food imaginable to the Northeast
of Brazil can be a bit of a shock, but I had done this before- I was prepared. I
thought about it and then responded that while I would certainly crave a
Chipotle burrito I would miss bagels, Thai food, and salads.
When I lived in Maceió in 2012 and even when I came back for
a visit in April of 2014 it was nearly impossible to order a salad at a
restaurant. If it was on the menu and I tried to order one the waiter would always
respond with “
acabou” that they were
out of salad. But I was suspicious that they even had it to begin with and was
curious as to why it was on the menu at all. The only “salad” I managed to get
consisted of a wilted piece lettuce and two sad slices of tomato that’s sole
purpose was to add color to a plate of rice, beans, and meat.
Yet, to my surprise (and delight) salads have been trending
in Maceió. Salads at restaurants and even restaurants focusing on salads and
healthy foods like the restaurant Salad Creations have become the new norm.
In addition to this focus on healthy food there has been an influx
of health fitness classes. When walking along the beach to the next
neighborhood I encounter no less than four workout classes. Additionally near
my apartment there are free dance fitness classes and Maceió even has a free,
outdoor, beach gym.
Baby Parties
As long as I have known Brazil, baby clothes and toys have
been expensive. Throwing birthday parties for one’s children is nothing new in
Brazil. What is new, is throwing parties every month for the first year of
their life. Yes, there are actually one-month parties and then two-month
parties and so on until each baby has had a total of eleven parties (that they
will never remember) leading up to the lavish one-year old party.
Parents are not skimping on these parties either. While I
have not yet attended a month birthday party, I have heard stories and seen
pictures. I did have the opportunity to attend a one-year old party, and
granted the one-year old party is more grandiose than the month parties, but I
was still not prepared for what I encountered. The party had a clown, catered
food- including a crepe station, and decorations galore; it lasted until about
10pm. Brazilians have had years to practice the art of the one-year old party.
According to my friends many one-year old parties are even more extravagant
than the one I experienced and go into the wee hours of the morning.
Selfies
To be fair selfies have become popular world, not only in the
Northeast of Brazil. However, in my opinion Brazilians have truly mastered
selfies. If selfie-taking were an Olympic sport, Brazilians would easily take
home the gold. It’s nearly impossible to be around other humans here and not
see selfies being taken- whether they are individual, couples, or the large
group selfies you can be sure that a Brazilian will document what is going on.
They may even embellish to secure an optimum selfie. I was
at a party recently and the woman next to me wanted a drink. I offered her a glass
of red wine but she declined, saying that she does not like red wine. Later on
at the party the same woman was asking to borrow her friend’s glass of red wine
so that she could snap a chic selfie of her with “her drink.”
Needless to say the selfie stick has done quite well here. And
you see men walking around selling them one the beach about as often as you
would see them sold in Times Square.
English= Still Impressive
Of course not everything has changed in Maceió. For better
or worse, many things have remained the same. For example, English is just a
trendy as it had been before.
New English words continue enter the (Brazilian) Portuguese
vocabulary. Beyond obvious words that relate to technology and are new in any
language- such as “selfie” there are unexpected words as well such as
“bullying” which Brazilians say in English with a Portuguese accent.
Even Black Friday has become popular here. Throughout the
month of November many stores and travel agencies advertise Black Friday
specials, pronounced here as “Black-eeee Free-day.” Though many Brazilians
lament that the sales are not as good as those they hear about in the U.S. Even
people who sell snacks on the bus have started promoting Black Friday specials
on Ruffles and Doritos!
I see more t-shirts with sayings written across the front in
English than in Portuguese. I often wonder if the owner understands the meaning
because there are many instances in which I do not. Some of the shirts were
clearly bought in the U.S. or imported. There are shirts referencing bands or
movies that you would see New Yorkers wearing on any given day. Then there are
the shirts with cheesy catchphrases like “No Pain, No Gain” or “Do what you
love and love what you do.” But there are also some confusing ones that I have
never seen (nor expected to see) like one I saw the other day “The first name
is Hungry. And my last name is Always. Nice to meet you.” Forget the awkward
sentence structure and messed up grammar, if you’re going to try that on a
shirt shouldn’t the name at least be “Always Hungry” instead of “Hungry
Always?”
Moreover, restaurants, bars and other small businesses
continue to employ English names to attract customers. There are many examples like
the aforementioned “Salad Creations.” Speaking English continues to be a status
symbol in Brazil, much like an iPhone 6.
