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Memories of An Expat
on Brazil
By Henry C.
Whitney — about
Whitney, Henry C.
Brazil,
specially Rio de Janeiro, must be the best posting that a
person could get both, career wise and fun wise.
I
went to Brazil as a bachelor with six suitcases and a two
year contract, stayed eight years and left with a Swedish
wife, a child a container of fantastic furniture and a lifetime
supply unforgettable memories.
Work
Professionally,
Brazil is a must to a successful career. I remember being
told that Sao Paulo was Sweden's biggest industrial city.
There are more Swedish companies there than in any city in
Sweden. What's more, the city has nearly three times as many
people as Sweden.
Some
German friends commented that to be president of your company
back home you had to have worked in Brazil because it was
where they had their biggest investment.
An
American came up with another truth: You'd be successful in
your company if you could be successful in Brazil because
if you could handle the problems that arose there, there was
no problem in your head office you couldn't handle.
I
worked in insurance. In Brazil it was highly regimented. Therefore,
even though I handled business of a size I have never again
managed, I found it professionally stifling. There was little
room for individual rating, creating fantastic insurance solutions
for my clients or developing sophisticated loss prevention
programs.
Fun:
Rio de Janeiro
Nature
gave Rio more beauty than any other city in the world. And
then added the most charming and fun loving people for good
measure.
That
is a problem for the expat. Most of us don´t know how to enjoy
the good things like the Cariocas, as the natives of
Rio are called, do. At first I only mixed with other expats.
My few experiences with the locals simply were unsatisfactory
because I was too serious and career driven..
Cariocas
have
a very different life style. Enjoying themselves is a priority.
Sure they worked. Actually, they are better workers, more
apt to follow instructions, than is normal in other Latin
countries. They simply see going out at eleven every night
during the week and getting to bed at two in the morning as
a reasonable.
I
never fell into the late night habit. I remember friends staying
up all night to go and drink champagne at sun up on Corcovado,
the mountain with the statue of Christ that overlooks the
city.
At
first I only had lunch at the American Club every day.. Later
I started going out more and more to cheaper and cheaper local
restaurants. How the Brazilians cook their own dishes! They
are so delicious.
I
loved their dried bacalao ( spelled in portuguese, bacalhau
), cod, dishes. All their fish dishes, with their local
spices are unforgettable. I enjoyed their calderada de
peixe, similar to our New England boiled fish dinner but
ten times tastier. All meals began with siri, stuffed
crabs. The best meat in Brazil is their grilled pork loin,
lombo de porco. I have never eaten pork anywhere in
the
world as delicious as that.
All
meals are washed down with batidas or caipirinhas,
caxasa, fire water, based drinks made with limes and
sugar. They taste so good and refreshing that it is all too
easy to overdo it. But that´s Rio for you.
Clothes
was a problem.
I
am a large man, six one, two hundred pounds. I never found
any dress clothes that I liked.
What
was the fascination of Rio?
At
first I thought it was the beauty of the city, the beaches,
the tropical sun. Later I learned it was the charm and warmth
of the Carioca. If you can break with your expat community
even a little bit and mix with true Cariocas, not the
elites educated in the US or Europe, you will have the time
of your life.
The
problem is that all too many of us are so tied up with ourselves
we can´t break out of shell.
We
miss the chance to live one of the most enjoyable experiences
of all times: having a Carioca
friend.
Mr.
Henry C. Whitney is American citizen and now lives in Buenos
Aires, Argentina. >>
He`s
president of Marketeck SA >>
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If
you have questions, suggestions or stories you'd like to share
with us, send mail to: dominiofeminino@dominiofeminino.com.br
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