Porto Alegre

One of the most important economic and cultural cities in Brazil, state capital Porto Alegre was our final stop on our Rio Grande do Sul tour.

Founded in 1742, this city actually began life as a large farm.  It is situated on a delta where five rivers converge.  Today it's one of the wealthiest cities in Latin America and the combination of history and architectural contrast makes it a great place for tourists to visit. 

My sister-in-law told me that she imagines London to be a bit like Porto Alegre.  When she first said this to me I thought she was mad to such an assumption but when I arrived I started to understand what she meant. 

There are many similarities between London and Porto Alegre - the many styles of architecture that help to tell the story of the city and create a stunningly contrasting horizon; the strong cultural presence and of course the climate which is indeed very similar - lots of rain and cold. 

Touring round the south of Brazil has been something I have enjoyed immensely.  I never fail to be amazed at the historical, ancestral and cultural diversity of this country that I have called my home for over a year now. 

There are so many regions to visit each one with a unique beauty, you could easily spend a lifetime travelling along one of nature's most beautiful roads. 

Japan Brazilian style

The islands of the Japanese archipelago were formed from the tears of a goddess.  Where each tear fell into the Pacific ocean, an island arose or so goes the legend.

Today, Japan has grown into a land of contrasts where uber-modern gadgets, buildings and culture go hand-in-hand with time-honoured traditions and rituals. 

My first visit to Japan was great.  Although I didn't travel through this country as much as I would have liked to, I did spend time getting to know some members of my husband's family that I otherwise would not have met.  We were the first family visitors they had had since moving to Honjo, a small town about an hour away from Tokyo, ten years ago.  I couldn't help feeling sad that most of the family will never be able to afford to visit them as travel is so expensive in Brazil - never mind that it is practically the otherside of the world, but I was glad to be able to relay news and show videos. 

My Japanese Brazilian family at Mount Fuji

Japan and Brazil have an immigration partnership that dates back over a hundred years when Japanese farmers arrived to work in coffee plantations in 1908.  I have always been fascinated by the Japanese population that in exists in Brazil, mainly in Parana and Sao Paulo.  They make up the largest concentration of Japanese descendants outside Japan, beating the US.  Despite some initial problems and ill-treatment during the second wolrd war, similar to what happened in the US at the time, the population recovered and today has become one of the more successful groups of immigrants within Brazil.

The beautiful Japanese countryside

Conversely in the 1980s and 90s Japanese Brazilians started to migrate to Japan, the approximate population today is 450,000.  Tokyo currently holds the largest carnival outside Brazil and communities of Japanese Brazilians remain Brazilian from a cultural perspective.  Portuguese is the third most spoken language there after Chinese and Korean and is also among the most studied languages in Japan.  

Japanese Cultural Festival in Maringa

In 2008 a census was conducted on Japanese Brazilians from the city where I live, Maringa.  It revealed among other things that 15% of the 15,000 strong population was working in Japan; that 6.61% were born in Japan, 40 was the average age, 47% can read and write Japanese and that 52%  are women. 

Everyday I am learning more about Brazil's culture and its past.  I have come to love the racial diversity and fascinating history that surrounds this giant of South America, the country that has now become the first in its continent to host the Olympic games. 

In search of Gisele...

Last year when I told all my friends I was moving to Brazil, they all thought I was crazy. I think they thought I would be dancing around doing the samba, wearing Havianas, exposing my bum in a revealing bikini!

The fact is that most of us think that that is what Brazil is like.

Not that it has 10 of the world's best companies or that it's the world's third largest emerging economy or that there are more natural resources here that humans need to survive than in any other country on the planet and most of those haven't even been tapped yet. http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/10705/

I love spending time with my friends here having a Churrasco (Brazilian bbq, see pic) at the weekends but no matter what we talk about, if there is a new guest, the inevitable question comes up. 'What did you think Brazil was like before you got here?'

I have to admit that I was one of those people. I mean of course I have read The Alchemist and I've got Bebel Gilberto's album, except she's not famous in Brazil - you'd be better off swatting up on Marisa Monte or Jotta Quest if you are trying to impress a Brazilian.

The fact is that when I arrived in Brazil, and got to the small town of Maringa, Parana, (pop. 331, 412) I half expected to see Gisele, Adriana and Alessandra there to greet me. I was of course quite relieved to see that Brazil is full of ordinary looking women as well as very beautiful ones.

My Brazil has been a breath of fresh air. It's been about funny stories of me confusing Portuguese words, it's been about learning a new culture, and about getting to know my new family.

Brazilians have, in my opinion, an unrivaled sense of hospitality. They are incredibly warm and inviting and have the purest of party spirits. The whole way of life here is about food and family and family and food. Hardly a day goes by that I don't get invited to some one's house to just hang out and have some delicious food and talk about anything you want.

After four months here, I am starting to find out that we still have a lot to learn about Brazil.