Home sweet home?

Something to remember when you’re on your year abroad…it’s not your home. By that I don’t mean you’re not going to feel at home, but that you should remember that Brazil or China or Spain or wherever you are isn’t the same as the UK.

1. There are certain unwritten cultural rules that might not make much sense but immediately separate the locals from the foreigners. Like the simple fact of being a Brazilian which means flip flops are surgically attached to your feet including for going on hikes in the wilderness. Or not saying please and thank you in Spain.
2. Your accent will give you away, which can be really annoying but isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, I really struggle with the letter ‘E’ in Portuguese. As in English, there are many ways to pronounce this letter which don’t really have much to do with how the word is written (think, for example, of tear (cry) and tear (rip)). In Portuguese ‘E’ can be open (like in English bet), closed (similar to they), reduced (ee sound) and also nasalised (eng sound). I have been really struggling with the closed sound, which is a problem when the course you are studying is called ‘letras’ which has a closed ‘E’. Literally every time I hitch a ride from the University entrance to the Faculdade de Letras (the campus is massive – it would take over half an hour to cross it by foot), the conversation goes like this:

• ME: Cê vai até onde? [Where are you going to?]
• RANDOM DRIVER: (says a random building) Cê vai pra onde? [Where are you headed?]
• ME: Letras
• RD: Quê? [What?]
• ME: Letras, Le-tras
• RD: Elétrica?
• ME: Não, Letras!
• RD: Aaaa, letras! (pronouncing it exactly the way I did)
• [Short silence, I count the seconds until…]
• RD: Cê é de onde? [Where are you from?]

I got so fed up of being asked where I’m from after saying only a few words in Portuguese (or even more annoying people not even waiting for me to say anything before asking. I know I don’t look very Brazilian, but I could be, there are German colonies in the south where they all look like me. Just saying) that I have now forced the girl I’m living with to test me on the pronunciation of ‘letras’ every day. I think it’s working because since then I’ve had a few conversations where people actually understand where I want to go.

BUT I did say that sounding foreign isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it is annoying that people pick up on my accent but it doesn’t stop me from having deep and meaningful conversations about BREXIT and the problem with the banana trade and why lemon curd is amazing.

I also remember being told in class once that if you have a foreign accent, people are quick to forgive you if you make a cultural faux pas, because, well, you’re foreign so of course you didn’t know that the Spanish word ‘testigo’ (witness) doesn’t exist in Portuguese and actually sounds like another word for a very intimate part of the body, so if you start talking about the ‘Testigos de Jeová’* (Jehovah’s Witnessses) people are going to think you’re talking about Jehovah’s Testicles (true story).

The problem arises when you sound like a native and then commit the same faux pas because people aren’t going to forgive you so easily. If you’re an English person with a English concept of personal space but you sound like a Brazilian person, people are going to think that you’re just rude. And if you start talking about Jehovah’s never-regions…well, let’s not go there.

3. So you have this big invisible sign saying: ‘foreigner!’ Whether or not it’s true, people are going to assume that you’re: A) American, B) oh, sorry you’re British, therefore you must love the Beatles, right?, and C) super rich. The last one is the problem because you then become an easy target. Why am I saying this? Because you need to remember that you AREN’T AT HOME!!! It’s not a good idea to walk around with lots of money/jewellery/fancy cameras/iPhones etc. unless it is your intention to get robbed. And even then, if you’re very careful and don’t flash around valuable items, you still need to remember that it’s probably not very wise to walk home alone at night along deserted streets. Otherwise you may be followed home and then almost be the victim of a robbery/assualt. Again, true story. DON’T WORRY I’M FINE!!! (Nothing stolen, no harm done!) This experience has just taught me to be extra-alert when I’m by myself and at night, to make sure I only walk along main roads as far as possible and to carry only the things I really need.

So why am I saying that you should remember you’re not at home? Not to spoil your fun! I have found a home away from home in Brazil, I’ve been pretty much adopted into the family I’m living with and I wouldn’t change the country I’m in for all the world. But it’s NOT the UK. If you get robbed or whatever in Brazil, the police couldn’t care less. I stick out like a sore thumb and can’t walk down the street without people beeping their horns and calling out at me. I need to wear at least factor 30 every day or I will turn into a walking tomato. Make the most of your year abroad but be sensible, don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in the UK and also don’t do a lot of things that you would do! (I mean stupid crazy things. I’ve done a lot of new things in Brazil like learning how to dance and going on hike in my pijamas to a waterfall at night).

Sorry I’ve written an essay (it’s not a rant! I promise! I love my year abroad but it’s not all clear sailing) but I hope it’s helpful to anyone who is currently thinking about Year 3.

Tchau!

*the correct word is Testemunhas

Here is a photo of a giraffe in someone’s back yard in Sabará, Minas Gerais.