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An earring in a bloke is rare in Brazil and I had to inform customers and those I had day-to-day contact with that ‘left was right, and right was wrong’ - my left ear was pierced thus the right side for a bloke. If my right ear had been pierced then you can call me a ‘bicha.’ Strange rule? Actually I got it from another works colleague who had lived in the US for a few years. His left ear was pierced and for some reason it was common conception in the States that if you had you right ear pierced you were gay. Simple as that. The phrase ‘left is right and right is wrong’ is something he spouted off once - I’m actually surprised he could remember the phrase as he always went on about how stoned he was when he lived in America. He’d often say how he could hardly remember the Seventies at all. He was however an intelligent and sensible person and that is hard to believe seeing as he’d fried half of his brain! That phrase struck a chord and was something I found repeating to others; not only in Brazil but also in most countries I visited where my little hooped earring would become a major conversation piece. I’ve got nothing against the gay community mind you so don’t think this is me being completely homophobic. Anyway as I’ve already said, I stood out, not that Brazil has a clearly defined style of inhabitants. Without sounding insulting, Brazil is like a country of mongrels. I don’t mean that in a nasty way; it’s just that you have all manner of people from very dark skinned to very light skinned, European looking to South American looking. But my pale skin and probably my dress sense showed I was foreign though people would think I was a ‘Yankee’ or ‘Americano’ - the UK was too far away as far as they were concerned! I had to learn to dress down when venturing outside. What I mean by this is, I was told of the ever increasing crime-wave Brazil has - more notoriously in the tourist areas such as Rio de Janeiro more than the industrial areas of São Paulo. Nevertheless I would go out wearing a plain T-shirt, jeans, no watch and carry less than ten dollars (US currency is the world’s currency). I’d only carry more if I knew I needed to due to a cinema visit or if I was off to buy something. Ten dollars worth was ample for my fast food fetish. You simply had to be careful you see, I didn’t want to be mugged, it would probably involve my death as I guess street robbers have little moral sense in countries where the law often mirrors that of the Wild West. If I wasn’t wearing jeans I’d probably be wearing tracksuit bottoms - and unfortunately back in the early nineties meant the shell suit variety. I guess that look made me stand out. People would look at the trousers as if I was some sort of clown wearing this strange fabric on my legs. The thing is they were comfortable and fashionable at the time (in the UK). I dare anyone not to own up to having ever had a shell suit. Everyone wore them at that time, just not in Brazil. There were plenty of stares, but no one actually approached me about the pants. Often however I’d get more than my fair share of beggars coming up to me, and it saddens me to say that the vast majority of these were kids. One lesson I learned on my worldwide travels would be to turn a blind eye. I’ve seen many a sad site and who am I to put right the world’s problems single handedly. I looked after number one and so ignored any hand gestures thinking I’d dig deep to help out a homeless or starving child. The harsh reality is that some of these are merely street rackets. Some adult tout would put out some kid to beg, hand over any money collected, and then get a bowl of rice if they were lucky and that routine became their normal and pitiful existence. I do recall Brazil having a large problem of homeless children. I’d even heard of extreme measures being taken in some parts of the country whereby vigilante forces went out night to rid the streets of their presence. All pretty sad, but the truth is South America is renowned for being a corrupt continent. You have those who have and then those who have not. The contrast between them is stark and shocking. Continued On Next Page (Brazil, Page 4) ... AUTHOR: P D Han  TAGS: Travel big mac pizza fast food life eating BOOKMARK: Digg it | Add to Del.ICIO | Add to FARK ACTIONS: Comment Save Print Register free acount  |
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