After visiting with Sergio’s family for a while that afternoon and evening, Loretta and I headed back to the pousada and “settled down for a long winter's nap.”
My Dear Friends of St. John’s & St. Peter’s and Bishop Michael,
I now have more days behind me in Brazil than ahead of me. It seems so strange to think about my time here in this way. For more than a semester, I have been looking forward to this trip and this experience and now it is more than halfway over. It is truly a bittersweet thought. I am loving the people and community of Pereira Barreto, but I’m also beginning to feel the pull of my last year of studies at General Seminary. I don’t want to leave these wonderful people, but I know that in a few short weeks I will need to return to the United States and begin my studies again in a more formal way.
This has been a very interesting week full of changes. Santo Andre gained a new member this week. The medical system here in Brazil isn’t as technologically driven as our system in the United States and William’s wife Maki has been expecting. The doctors didn’t give them an official due date, so things have been up in the air for them. This was also the week that Loretta came and joined me here in Brazil. Almost from the moment I arrived, one of the most frequent questions has been, “When will your wife be here?” This week, everyone got to meet Loretta and many of their questions have been answered.
The week began with Sergio and me having made plans to leave on Monday night for Sao Paulo. Loretta’s plane was due in on Wednesday morning and Sergio wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time in order to meet her at the airport. We had purchased the bus tickets for our trip to Sao Paulo more than a week ago. Last week, I had begun my Portuguese class with Camila and I felt that taking too many days off from class was a bad idea. So, Sergio and I exchanged our Monday night tickets for Tuesday night. This gave me time to take a class on Tuesday. The sad news was that with our Monday night tickets we had bottom floor seats, because we exchanged our tickets so close to the travel date, we had to take upstairs seats.
It is worth noting that as an American, I made an assumption about the bus seating that is inaccurate. I assumed that the bottom seats were more expensive. This seemed to be a natural assumption to me; there are fewer of them and they are more comfortable. My thinking was something along the lines of the airlines, the first class passengers get the seats that are larger and closer to the cabin door, while the coach passengers have to travel to the back of the plane and they get the smaller seats. This is not the way these buses work here in Brazil. The seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. This system would actually work in favor of someone like me who feels a need to plan ahead. Since I like to make my plans days, if not weeks ahead of time, I would usually find myself in the lower level, and in a more comfortable seat.
Another thing that happened is that Rosana began to feel bad after the Festival of Nations. On Sunday, she thought that it was just some simple digestive issues, but by Monday she was still experiencing some discomfort. Delaying the trip allowed Sergio and Rosana a chance to go to the doctor on Tuesday morning.
Monday was also the beginning of the “countdown” for Maki’s due date. Maki’s visits to her doctor had been getting more frequent. An interesting thing here in Brazil, especially in the less populated areas, is that most deliveries are by C-section. I have heard different estimates about this, but a common estimate seems to be around 85% of all deliveries are by this method. Having come from the United States, I was shocked to hear that the number is so high. I think of this procedure as major surgery and would only want to consider it as a last resort in an emergency. Here, the joke among the men is that the doctor gets tired of waiting and so he just decides that it is time for the baby to be born. It is important to note that because the doctors and the hospital staff do a good number of these procedures each year, they are quite experienced and most women have their babies delivered with few if any complications.
Maki had her visit with the doctor on Monday, but wasn’t given a due date at that time. At the same time, William is trying to complete the unfinished projects on his desk so that he can spend as much time as possible with his family after the new child is born. It is an exciting time for their family.
Monday was also of note because I was surprised at how busy the city was. The streets usually have some traffic on them, but Monday morning in particular was extremely busy. It was very difficult to cross the street at an intersection with all of the cars on the road. I’m guessing that things were so busy because of the funeral on Friday, the state holiday on Saturday and the fact that the businesses are closed on Sundays. It seemed like everyone was out on Monday getting the things that they would have purchased on either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. It just seems strange to me as an American to see shops closed on a holiday. I remember the “Big Memorial Day” sales that were being advertised before I left, and I know that I missed all of the “4th of July” sales while I was in Brazil. In our country, it seems that a holiday is really an excuse for increased consumerism. Here in Brazil, a holiday is a day not to work. I have to admit that I like the Brazilian model more than I like the American model.
A routine that has developed here for me is a lunch schedule. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have lunch with William and his extended family. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have lunch with Sergio and his family. Everyone here has been so gracious and accommodating that there were actually some days were both families had prepared a place for me at their tables. So, in order to prevent hurt feelings and to prevent any further miscommunication, we set up this schedule. It has really worked out well for both families and for me. I get to experience traditional Brazilian foods with Sergio and Rosana and I also get to experience some Japanese food with William’s family. William’s family is so gracious as they try not to laugh when I attempt to eat with chopsticks. It really is a funny sight and I keep telling them that it is OK to laugh.
At Monday’s lunch I was told that we had a project for the afternoon. There is a room in the rectory that Sergio and Rosana have kept closed. This room has been a storage room for the parish for years and next week Sergio’s mother and father are coming to visit. Sergio has asked for help in clearing out the room, so that he can have a guest room. The morning had been spent removing things from the room and putting them on Sergio’s patio or in a classroom. I had missed the morning activity because of my Portuguese class. We spent the afternoon sorting through the items and moving the things that we wanted to keep to another building that had been donated to the church. It felt very good to actually do some physical labor. I was also reminded about a time that I worked with the Sunday School teachers at St. John’s and cleaned out our educational closet. It is very comforting to know that churches everywhere have the problem of hanging on to things even when there is no real use for them. It was a real bonding moment when I told some people that we have the same problem in our church as well. It is very hard to throw things away when you don’t know the history of the place. It can be very easy to offend someone who gave an item to be used.
Tuesday was a much more relaxed day. I had my Portuguese class in the morning with Camila and then went to the church. With the preschool closed, things are really quiet at Santo Andre right now.
Tuesday afternoon, Sergio and I went with Rosana and Laura to a shoe sale. No, I’m not being a sexist pig… a local shoe store was having a clearance sale and it was a time to get good shoes at a very cheap price. Neither Sergio nor I needed any shoes, so we waited outside on one of the benches while the ladies reviewed their options. Actually, there were a lot of people in a small store and since Sergio and I knew that we weren’t going to buy anything we decided to wait outside on a bench. While we were waiting, Rachel, one of the teachers from the local English school, stopped by and asked if I was still interested in taking a Portuguese class. I told her that I already had a teacher, but that I would be interested in taking a class in the afternoon. We set our first class for Friday afternoon after I got back from my trip to Sao Paulo.
After the visit with Rachel, I went back to the pousada to pack and rest for a while. I have never really been able to sleep in a moving vehicle and while these bus rides are more comfortable than the ones in the United States, it is still a far cry from a bed. As I was in my room at the pousada, I watched some local television. Afternoon television seems to be afternoon television, no matter what country you are in.
Tuesday night, Sergio and I caught the bus for Sao Paulo. It was at this time that I learned a very interesting fact about life here in Pereira Barreto. In the United States, we have this vision of life that we call “The American Dream,” in short: “I’m going to have a better life than my parents and my children will have a better life than I had.” It is a very common way for us to think, but for many people in Brazil, this is not the case. They have come to accept the fact that they are poor and that there is no real opportunity for them to move beyond this state of poverty. On Tuesday night, I saw a man who has not accepted this condition.
This man currently has four children and his wife is pregnant with their fifth child. On Tuesday night he was boarding the bus with Sergio and me in order to go to Sao Paulo in order to catch a flight to Japan. Once he gets there, he will live in a small apartment with a friend and work at a job there for at least a year and possibly for up to three years. It was heartbreaking to watch this man say good-bye to his wife and family. The difference in emotions between the different family members was unbelievable. The man was being stoic and the “rock” of the family. His wife was fighting back tears and trying to be brave and strong. While this was going on, the younger children were running around the parking lot, playing and having a good time. I had a very difficult time, not crying myself.
In Pereira Barreto there are basically two different people, the Brazilians and the Japanese…and they don’t really mix. You can go into the shopping district and see stores that are run by Brazilians and other stores run by Japanese. But I have yet to see a Brazilian working in a Japanese store and the same can be said of the Brazilian stores. It is a very divided city in many ways. Racism and prejudice exist here in Brazil and they are more open about it. It is also worth mentioning that there are often two stores that will sell the same kind of items; one store is for the Japanese and another for the Brazilians. It is also worth sharing that each group considers the other group to be the prejudiced group. I was very sorry, but not surprised, to learn this. We always notice the pain that we experience; rarely do we see the pain that we cause. There are so many ways that we don’t live up to our baptismal vows on a daily basis. It is a truly wonderful thing to be a servant of a loving and forgiving God.
This week I also discovered that the public school system in Pereira Barreto is something to be avoided at any cost. In short, if your child attends the public schools, then this child will only have enough education to get a job as a $R300/a month worker – the minimum wage in Brazil. A child who attends the public education system has almost no chance of going to a trade school let alone getting a university education. The public school system basically keeps the children off the streets, but doesn’t really prepare them for the future. Families with any sort of income will struggle to find any way possible to keep their child(ren) out of the public schools.
This man was leaving his family behind, not so that he could have a good time in Japan for a year or two, but rather so that he could provide a future and an education for his children as well as some financial stability for his family now. He had a very difficult decision to make in which neither of the choices was really acceptable. He could stay with his family and get by feeding seven people on the minimum salary (but not providing a future for his children), or he could go to Japan and get a position as a laborer. By going to Japan, he would be away from his family for an extended period of time, but he could provide for their financial needs and give his children an opportunity to have a better life than the one he has.
Last summer, as part of my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) experience, I visited with men who were on large cargo/container ships. I had the opportunity to have these men share their experiences with me about how lonely they were when they had been away from their homes for months at a time. These men lived and worked on these large ships as a way of providing for their families and their contracts could be anywhere from 9 months to a year with the company having the option to extend the contract on very short notice. It was difficult to hear the stories of these men, but seeing this man and his family really brought home how very tragic things can be in other parts of the world.
It was truly heart-wrenching to watch this drama play out in the lives of these individuals. I think that the hardest part was watching the children who didn’t understand what was really happening with their father and what this decision would mean for them. It was also quite ironic to think at that time, that I was going to go be reunited with Loretta, whom I hadn’t seen in about a month, and how happy I was, while at the same time, I was watching a family being torn apart for what could be 36 months. I was shocked to see such quiet suffering in the middle of such a beautiful city. This is something that happens, but is not talked about. This suffering isn’t the same as living in a favela – these people have a small hope of a better life – but the cost to obtain that sliver of hope is very high indeed.
I awoke in Sao Paulo on Wednesday morning after a very non-restful bus ride. I was glad that I had taken Tuesday afternoon as a rest time. Even though I hadn’t slept in the afternoon, after the bus ride I felt tired, but alert and awake when we arrived in Sao Paulo. We took a commuter bus from the bus station to the airport and we arrived about half an hour before Loretta’s flight landed.
It was truly a wonderful moment to see Loretta again and be able to introduce her to Sergio, but even at that time, I still couldn’t help but think about the family that I saw the night before. We had a quick breakfast in the airport and then got a taxi to take us to the diocesan center. The last time I took that trip it was about 10pm and I was exhausted after traveling all day. This time I was able to see the city in the daylight and get a better view of the area. I was truly amazed to see the smog that hung above the city as we were approaching. You could look in a different direction and the view was crystal clear, but if you tried to look at the city, everything was hazy and you couldn’t see very far at all, much less anything behind the city. It was truly a depressing site to behold.
After we arrived in the diocesan center, we all took naps until about 2pm. Bishop Ito was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule in order to greet Loretta. We had an opportunity to meet with Bishop Ito and Eric Mercer for about an hour. During that time, Bishop Ito told us about himself and his diocese. It was truly amazing to see some of the similarities between our two dioceses. Most of the parishes are in or around Sao Paulo, just as many of the parishes in Central Pennsylvania are centered around the Harrisburg/Lancaster/York area. Once you leave Sao Paulo, the parishes are smaller and in more remote areas. It was also very interesting to learn that the Diocese of Sao Paulo is working with another diocese in order to start some mission parishes in the other diocese. Because of geography, Sao Paulo is actually closer to the mission areas than the other diocese, so it is easier for Sao Paulo to provide services for these mission congregations.
At the end of our meeting, the three of us, Sergio, Loretta and I, went off in search of adventure in the big city. Actually, we were very tired and we went to the local mall in order to get a meal, and while we were there we decided to stay and watch Madagascar. I can’t prove it, and they both deny it, but I would swear that both Sergio and Loretta fell asleep during the movie. After the movie, we went back to the diocesan center to retrieve our bags, got a quick bite to eat at a local restaurant and then headed to the subway station, which is under the mall and headed towards the bus station.
Thursday dawned in Pereira Barreto around the time that the bus pulled into the bus station. They say that “hunger is the best sauce”; please let me add to that by saying that “exhaustion is the best pillow.” I slept for most of the bus ride. Ladykillers was the movie playing on the bus, and I barely made it to the point where Tom Hanks introduces himself before I was sound asleep. It wasn’t a restful sleep, but I did sleep. Rosana was gracious and had a small breakfast prepared for us when we arrived at the rectory and then, after a few minutes of conversation, Loretta and I were off to the pousada where we took another nap until the late morning.
Rosana had an appointment with the doctor later that morning, so Sergio didn’t really sleep that morning. All of her test results came back negative, so it looks like everything is fine. But just to be sure, they scheduled another series of tests for next week.
Being an adventurous soul, I decided to reschedule my morning Portuguese lesson with Camila for the afternoon. If there was a lesson to be learned from this experience it is this: Don’t attempt to learn a second or third language when you are exhausted. It wasn’t pretty and it certainly wasn’t fun. After about an hour we both gave up knowing that we weren’t going to get anywhere that day.
The rest of the day was spent showing Loretta some of the sights of Pereira Barreto. Loretta was taken with the natural beauty of the area. There are palm trees growing in the square and there are many other kinds of trees that I’m not able to identify. It all adds up to a very beautiful place to be. When we arrived at the parish, Rosana opened up the church so that Loretta could see it. She was surprised about how small the building truly is. From some of the pictures, she was expecting a larger structure.
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We also found out that Maki had her baby the previous night at around
1am. The baby’s name is Naomi;
they had struggled for quite a while to find a name that would work in three
different languages: Portuguese, Japanese and English.
Naomi was born by C-section and I’m happy to report that both mother
and baby are doing well.
After visiting with Sergio’s family for a while that afternoon and evening, Loretta and I headed back to the pousada and “settled down for a long winter's nap.” |
Friday began in the fashion of my new routine: I headed off at around 8:30 for my Portuguese lesson with Camila. Loretta got to stay in bed and she took full advantage of the situation. When I got back from my lesson we headed up to the church and had lunch with Sergio and Rosana.
There is one thing about the culture here that has been becoming more annoying the more I experience it. At first it didn’t bother me too much, but the more I’m here the more frustrated I become with this aspect of life here. It is very common for advertisements to be made by people driving around in cars with huge speakers mounted on top of the vehicles. The announcements are some sort of a taped message that is repeatedly played as the car drives around the city. The volume of these announcements is so loud that the announcements can be heard from 3 or 4 blocks away. The overall effect of this is quite simple: you hear this announcement repeatedly for about 5 – 10 minutes as the car drives around your area of the city. You also have the likelihood of hearing the announcement again if the car drives around some blocks that are close to where you are. These announcements can be so loud at times that it is very difficult to think or listen to someone else talking. And let me tell you…when I’m trying to talk with someone in Portuguese, I need all of the brainpower that I can muster.
On Friday morning, we had a car driving past Camila’s neighborhood making these announcements for quite a long time. We ended up losing almost half an hour of instruction time because of this disturbance. It is very interesting; I as an American find it annoying and the Japanese members of the community dislike the practice as well. Most of the Brazilians have no problems with this and just consider it a part of life here.
Friday afternoon, Loretta & I went to a local padaria (bakery – bread store) and had a small afternoon break. The woman owner of the padaria speaks English and enjoys having the opportunity to practice speaking the language. It seems that I’m doing a great job of helping people practice their English, but I’m not doing a great job of practicing my Portuguese.
After our break, I had my first class with Rachel. This is another one-on-one class and I asked Rachel to focus on verbs and other grammatical issues. With Camila I’m getting a fair amount of conversation, be we really haven’t looked at how to conjugate verbs. So what ends up happening is that she continues to correct the same mistakes for me, but I haven’t learned how to prevent the mistakes. Rachel is working with me on these issues and I’m now taking 3 hours of Portuguese classes a day.
Friday evening was the Eucharist. Lately Sergio has been having me read a lesson in Portuguese to the congregation. I know that it is a good experience for me, but I am very concerned about mispronouncing the words and having the people be so concerned for me that they are not listening to the message. The people here are very supportive and don’t seem to mind.
Saturday began with the Portuguese class and then Loretta & I were picked up by Rachel for a family gathering. Rachel wanted us to experience a traditional Brazilian family get-together. It was Rachel’s sister’s birthday celebration and most of the family had assembled for the occasion. We arrived around 11am and were immediately greeted by warm embraces and hugs. I need to explain that one group of people isn’t better than the other or that one community isn’t more welcoming than the other; this is not the case. The difference is merely in the way in which this welcome is expressed. The Japanese community is more formal, but the Brazilian community is more expressive. We felt just as welcomed in both communities, but the Japanese expressed this by bows and ritual, while the Brazilians expressed it by grabbing, kissing and hugging you.
We had a wonderful time with Rachel’s family. Lunch was not served at a large table, because they didn’t have a table big enough for the family. As many people as possible gathered in the kitchen/dining room and sat at the tables, while others sat at counters or at a second table and others sat outside. It was a very informal meal punctuated by a great deal of loud conversation as everyone tried to be heard over everyone else’s conversations.
Something that I noticed with Rachel’s family is that it isn’t considered rude to join in a conversation by talking over the person who is already speaking. There was no waiting for a pause in the conversation. Everyone just jumped right in and often there were three or four people all speaking very loudly, but they were all smiling and having a wonderful time. This is not something that I’m able to do. I have been taught from a very early age that it is extremely rude to just jump on someone else’s conversation, so I ended up listening to the conversations around me in total amazement.
After four hours, both Loretta and I were exhausted. Before the meal we were treated to a wonderful walk to the beach with the children. It was a beautiful day and it was a pleasure to watch the children playing. We returned to the center of the city and did a little shopping. Most of the stores are closed on Saturday afternoons, but a few of the stores that are part of a national chain remain open. The good part about this is that the store is empty on a Saturday afternoon. We basically had the store to ourselves, but we also had all of the store employees to ourselves. It was a fun moment when the employees came over to offer assistance and they then realized that we don’t speak enough Portuguese. There was a mad rush to find the employee who spoke the most English, so that someone would be able to help us. The really funny thing on our part is that we are Americans, we are used to shopping without assistance, and we find it strange to have someone standing near us as we discuss colors and sizes.
Sunday was my day of rest. We slept in. I don’t have any Portuguese classes on Sundays and the parish has its worship service in the evening. It is truly a rare treat to be able to sleep in on a Sunday morning and I take full advantage of it. I don’t think that I will have the opportunity again after I leave Brazil.
On Sunday we began to have drizzle and the weather began to turn colder. This really kept us inside for most of the day. That evening we had choir rehearsal and then Eucharist.
Sergio has asked me to lead an Evening Prayer service while I’m here. This service will be next Saturday evening. I had asked the choir to work on three musical pieces so that there would be some music at this service. We are asking the entire congregation to come as well as any known English speakers. We are hoping to have about 30 people show up, but there really is no way to know.
I brought down (and had Loretta bring down) copies of our hymnals for the parish here. They are using this service as a chance to experiment with “American” music. We are hoping to be able to make a videotape of the service for the parish archives and if I can, I’ll make copies of the tape to bring to the United States.
Loretta & I are having a wonderful time here in Brazil. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again very soon.
Va com Deus,
“Patricke”