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Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

April 16, 2009 Meet Derek Booth who recently moved to Brazil. Read the following interview in which he tells us about some of his most memorable experiences and gives some useful advice to newcomers. 1. Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do etc.? My name is Derek Booth, a 58 year old, from England. I was born in Yorkshire and though I moved to Lancashire in my early thirties I retain a Yorkshire accent, which I find strange, since I haven't visited there for thirty years. I started out in life working in Banking and Finance. I have been in business for many years. For a time I taught guitar to primary school children on a voluntary basis, which I found quite rewarding. I have a love of live music and on many occasions, I have joined the bands on stage at the bar I owned, for a couple of songs. Luckily I didn't seem to empty the bar. My last business venture was a bar restaurant, but the UK smoking ban and the onset of the recession spurred me on to move to Brazil, for which I had a lifelong fascination, not to mention a girlfriend waiting for me. I have just finished a novel and I am busy typing away at a second novel, which is almost complete. Writing the novel was relatively easy, however getting agents interested is a completely new ballpark. Fortunately, I treat it as a hobby and don't take it seriously. 2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here? I had been trying to study Brazilian Portuguese for some time and on an extended visit to Salvador last year, I met and fell in love with Ana, to whom I am now happily married. Fortunately, she could write perfect English, but like most Brazilians, including the native English teachers here, she has difficulty with pronunciation. This has made communication rather fun at times. We both have laptops and if we have really needed to put something across outside our vocabulary, we have been able to write it down. I found it relatively easy to settle down here. Brazil is a beautiful diverse country, rich in culture and landscape, with a promising future. Together with President Lula, who has me in stitches with some of his remarks on the international stage, we could do with him in England. The country is far more modern and advanced than some of the blogs I read on the internet before settling here. I am fortunate that we live in a condominium that has a setting the equivalent of a Garden of Eden, with a lake, sports facilities to die for and a five minute walk to an incredible beach. My wife's relatives, of which there are many, have all been very helpful, acting as translators, on the many visits to obtain documents and for doctor's or dentist's visits. 3. What were you first impressions of Brazil? My first impression of Salvador was one of awe. I had been researching the area on the internet with articles that tended to portray the culture and slave history of the Old Portuguese city. The sight of a modern city with great public transport, surprisingly good roads and the many shopping Malls, that could match any in America and the UK, left me speechless. Of course, that was my first impression. Now that I have had more of a chance to look around with a more critical eye, the thing that strikes me, is how the buildings are neglected and in need of a lick of paint, if only to cover the graffiti that disfigures them. The main tourist area of Pelourinho in the old city, a must on any tourist's itinerary, is doing itself a great disservice. I would have thought at least, they could attempt to tidy the buildings in the area. That aside, I am struck by how hard the Brazilians seem to work but equally have a thirst to play hard and enjoy life to the full. 4. What do you miss most about home? I have only been here permanently for four months, so I can't really say I miss much, although the odd pint of English ale wouldn't go amiss. Of course, it's difficult not being able to pop around to old friends and relatives but with Skype and Messenger, I seem to keep more in touch than ever before. If I were to say there was one thing I missed more than anything it would be cooking ingredients. I am in charge of the kitchen as Ana works full time. I have yet to find a decent slice of bacon, or baked beans, to complete a good old English breakfast, fry up. Fresh inexpensive mushrooms, plum tomatoes and red kidney beans seem to be elusive, which tend to make my lasagne and chilli dishes a little lacking. 5. What has been your most frustrating experience in Brazil? Independence, Having to rely on others until I can learn to be fluent in the language or attempting to answer the telephone and waiting for my identity card to open a bank account. 6. What has been your most memorable experience in Brazil (specific incident)? Hmm, I have so many it would be difficult to write about just one. I think one of the most moving experiences I had was visiting Rio. I am not particularly religious, but standing in front of the statue of Jesus overlooking Rio, I felt quite emotional. The view of city itself has to be one of the wonders of the world. I have visited many cities around the world and Rio has to be number one. I feel quite privileged to have visited there and think it should be on everyone's bucket list. Then there was the Island, Morro de Sao Paulo, off the coast of Bahia, on our honeymoon. I couldn't believe it, no cars. The taxis were the locals with wheelbarrows to carry your suitcases. Children freely played games, safely in the square late at night, around the many candle lit stalls. Crime is virtually nonexistent on the island. Most of the restaurants have live music. The trip around the island by boat was an experience, stopping off at secluded attractions including a health mud bathing area and a fishing village restaurant with a fresh seafood menu. No wonder that foreigners, who own many pousada's there, visited the island and never left. I have to mention the Salvador Carnival and bearing no resemblance, the Rio carnival. The Carnival parades along the front of the beach, with the spectators taking part. The atmosphere is electric. The floats are top Bahia bands. If you could imagine the Beatles, the Rolling Stones etc, parading through your local City and you could almost reach out and touch them. Then that is what it is like. 7. What do you most like about Brazil (in general)? The thing I most like about the people of Bahia is their love of live music and the Brazilian's zest to party. 8. What is your favorite restaurant/place to hang out here? I don't have a favourite restaurant. I quite like the price per kilo outlets. We visit many different types of restaurants and I have yet to find a bad one. 9. Do you have any funny stories/incidents to tell about your time in Brazil? I think the funniest thing that happened to me was finding I was stuck in the toilet at home and alone, with the door handle missing. I had no mobile phone with me and in the heat of the day; it was like an oven, as the temperature soared. I thought it best to call someone and attempted to shout through the small window to passers bye, but with my lack of Portuguese, the few that passed simply waved back. After an hour, luckily, I managed to fashion the towel holder to open the door. 10. What difference between your homeland and Brazil do you find most striking? I can't say that I have experienced some of the main comments that tradesmen fail to turn up. Here in Salvador I find them to be very efficient. I think the main difference between here and in the UK is the people's tolerance to queue, especially in the banks. We just would not tolerate the long waits in the UK. The big difference and a culture shock, is in the service provided by dentists. In the UK and I think it is the same in Europe, dentists train to carry out all procedures. Here I had a problem and found that most dentists specialise in ether fillings, cleaning, or prosthesis. I found this very difficult as I needed all three and was lucky to find a German Dentist, who could provide all the services. 11. How is your Portuguese coming along? What words do you find most difficult to pronounce/remember or are there any words that you regularly confuse? Not very well, I am afraid. The biggest mistake I made was trying to learn in England alone. It has helped me to be able to read Portuguese to a limited extent, but my notion of the pronunciation was all wrong. Now I have to learn it all again. A typical example is carro (car) and caro (expensive). Now I don't go anywhere without my phrasebook. 12. What advice do you have for newcomers to Brazil? My advice would be to have all your documents legalised at the Brazilian Consulate before you settle. Not just the important ones, if you have any qualifications, have them legalised. If you have sold a house or any other assets, have the documents legalised for tax purposes, to avoid the funds been classed as income. Above all, if transferring large amounts of money, check then double check you have the correct transfer number, or the Banco do Brasil will take a big chunk in withholding tax. If you are getting married in Brazil, have your girlfriend go to the Cartório de Registro Civilrio and ask exactly what documents they require, then send them by email for your girlfriend just to have the Cartório make sure they are the correct documents, before you travel. It is also important to book a date, again through your girlfriend before you travel. Cartório's are notorious for a longer waiting time for estrangeiros, unless the wheels are oiled. Then, provided you can afford the flight tickets, go back home to apply for Permenancia. It only took me six weeks in England, but a German friend has been waiting sixteen months for his, when he applied in Brazil. Are you a foreigner who has lived in, or is living or travelling in Brazil? Are you a Brazilian who has a lot of contact with foreigners and/or lived outside of Brazil? Are you interested in telling your story? If you would like to volunteer for our interview series, or if you would like to recommend someone, please send a blank email to gringoes@gringoes.com with "Interview" in the subject. We will send you the interview questions by return email. To read previous interviews in the Brazil Through Foreign Eyes series click below: Jim Shattuck - USA Ruby Souza - Hawaii Stephan Hughes - Trinidad and Tobago Louis van der Wiele - Holland Drew Glaser - USA Barry Elliott - Canada Joel Barsky - USA David Drummond - Canada Liam Porisse - France Jim Kelley - USA Max Ray - USA Jeremy Clark - Canada Don Fredrick - USA Jase Ramsey - USA Ben Pearce - UK Nitai Panchmatia - India Johnnie Kashat - USA Jeni Bonorino - USA Eric Jones - USA Bill Martin - UK Bernard Morris - USA John Graves - USA Deepak Sapra - India Alison McGowan - UK Brent Gregory - USA R Dub - USA Tara Bianca - USA Jack Hurley - USA James Woodward - Canada Tony O'Sullivan - Ireland Anna Belavina - Russia Jim Kirby - USA Linda Halverstadt - USA Michelle Monteiro - USA Chris Mensah - UK David Sundin - USA Stephanie Glennon - USA Julien Porisse - France Hans Keeling - USA Jim Adams - USA Richard Murison - USA Will Periam - UK Jan Sandbert - Sweden Jim Jones - USA Mike Stricklin - USA Edward Gowing - Australia Adrian Woods - USA Kevin Raub - USA Pierpaolo Ciarcianelli - Italy Zachary Heilman - USA David Johnson - Bermuda Cipriana Leme - Argentina Timothy Bell - USA Patti Beckert - USA Timothy Bell - USA Paul James - USA David McLoughlin - Ireland Pat Moraes - USA Richard Dougherty - USA James Weeds - USA Tom Sluberski - USA Peter Kefalas - USA Sylvie Campbell - UK Kathleen Haynes - USA Matt Bowlby - USA Alan Longbottom - UK Eric Karukin - USA Eddie Soto - USA Kieran Gartlan - Ireland Bryan Thomas Scmidt - USA Emile Myburgh - South Africa Bob Chapman - USA David Barnes - USA John Milan - USA Chris Coates - UK Matthew Ward - UK Allison Glick - USA Drake Smith - USA Jim Jones - USA Philip Wigan - UK Atlanta Foresyth - USA Lee Gordon - USA Carmen Naidoo - South Africa Lee Safian - USA Laurie Carneiro - USA Dana De Lise - USA Richard Gant - USA Robin Hoffman - USA Wayne Wright - UK Walt Kirspel - USA Priya Guyadeen - Guyana Caitlin McQuilling - USA Nicole Rombach - Holland Steven Engler - Canada Richard Conti - USA Zak Burkons - USA Ann White - USA Monde Ngqumeya - South Africa Johnny Sweeney - USA David Harty - Canada Bill McCrossen - USA Peter Berner - Switzerland/Brazil Ethan Munson - USA Solveig Skadhauge - Denmark Sean McGown - USA Condrad Downes - UK Jennifer Silva - Australian Justin Mounts - USA Elliott Zussman - USA Jonathan Abernathy - USA Steve Koenig - USA Kyron Gibbs - USA Stephanie Early - USA Martin Raw - UK Sean Coady - UK Hugo Delgado - Mexico Sean Terrillon - Canada Jessie Simon - USA Michael Meehan - USA Thales Panagides - Cyprus Tammy Montagna - USA Samantha Tennant - England Ron Finely - United States Bob Duprez - United States Peter Baines - England Youssef Bouguerra - Tunisia Van Wallach - USA Lesley Cushing - England Alexander von Brincken - Germany Hank Avellar - USA Ed Catchpole - England Penny Freeland - England Yasemin de Pinto - Turkey Amy Williams Lima - USA John Naumann - England Marsye Schouella - Eygpt Rita Shannon Koeser - USA John Fitzpatrick - Scotland Liam Gallagher - Northern Ireland Lorelei Jones - England Adam Glensy - England Tommie C.B. DeAssis - Japan Aaron Day - Canada Graham Debney - New Zealand Silke Tina Tischendorf - Germany Tanya Keshavjee Macedo - Canada Frank de Meijer - Holland Carl Emberson - Australia Kim Buarque - Wales Damiano Pak - South Korea Jonas Helding - Denmark Pari Seeber - Iran John Milton - England Ken Marshall - Australia

4/16/2009