Twice an ex-expat and perhaps an expat-to-be once more is what American man Adam is, having lived in Brazil a few years ago and having moved back there again in late 2009. From his words it's evident just how much Adam appreciates and loves Brazil. Here he shares some of his expat experiences and observations about living in Brazil.	Adam

-Where were you born?

I was born in San Francisco, California, USA.

-In which country and city are you living now?

I am back living in the Bay Area in California; it's been a few weeks (currently its Feb, 2010) since I came back from Brazil.

-Are you living alone or with your family?

I am living alone.

-What is your age?

29

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Brazil?

In later half of 2004, I decided to try something new so I saved for several months and moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At that time I had been studying the culture and language for 5 years already. It was time I did something about it. The fact that I've grown up moving from place to place made it an easy decision, that combined with the fact that I love Brazil. 

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?

To get a visa, no, just the usual run-around of filling out the paperwork that you thought was correct then finding out it isn't and having to run around some more to fix it. I didn't go to Brazil to work, per se, but to experience the culture first hand. 

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?

I didn't get any type of medical insurance, although I did contract pneumonia within the first month. Luckily I met a local family who offered to help me by setting up an appointment with their own doctor and allowing me to get better in their home. It wasn't that bad actually and I ended up paying about $200. When I first saw the doctor, I started describing my symptoms in Portuguese and in general going about as if he only spoke one language. Three-fourths of the way through, he decided to let me know he was fluent in English and that such a thing is required nowadays. 

-How did you make your living in Brazil? Did you have any type of income generated?

I had a loosely held plan of teaching English, the great gringo hope, but without actual teaching experience and not knowing how to start out, I found it harder than I thought. I taught sporatically and with the rest of my time, I resolved to simply live and learn from the culture while my money lasted. In the very end of my stay, I managed to get a job although the manager of the hotel where I applied was a half a day late in replying to my email and I had already booked my return flight home. All in all, that seems to be the deciding factor as to why I am back in the States...that, and running out of my savings.

On the second trip, I got a job at a language school as an administrator of the school but many promises were made and none were delivered. Seeing as how my initial three months were up, I decided to come back home.

-Did you learn to speak Portuguese and do you think it's important to speak the local language?

I spent many years teaching myself Portuguese before going to Brazil and I learned it all outside of school and private classes. Self-study is preferred because it allows me to show myself that I really want something. As I've said many times before to friends and family, I find Portuguese to be one of, if not the, most beautiful language in the world. Speaking the local language is of the utmost importance even though many don't share my opinion. I ran into my fair share of people who had been living there for a year or more and didn't know more than very basic phrases and greetings. To me, thats a shame. 

-Did you miss home and family sometimes?

There are certain things that I missed, sure, as would anyone but I was prepared to miss them because the whole idea was to experience something new.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

I'm planning on moving back to Brazil by this year. Just working out some kinks and details. The good part is that I know what I'm getting myself into this time and I am aware of the realities. 

-What about housing, did you buy or rent a home? How much did you pay for it?

I rented a room in an apartment for the first month in a moderately priced area of Rio, which ran me R$400/month (US$190/month at the time). After that, I moved inland to a smaller town and paid R$200/month (US$95/month at the time) for a room in a house. My wallet thanked me especially because the room in the house included many more amenities (I would assume that is thanks to the kindness of the owner) than the apartment.

The second time around, I paid US$150/month for a room although this is in Belém, near the Amazon basin. If you are outside of the 'major' major cities, then rent can come pretty cheap depending on what you are willing to accept.

-What is the cost of living in Brazil?

Aside from clothes and electronics (which are outrageously-priced), everything is pretty low-cost. 

-What did you think about the Brazilians?

Locals were great. I never had any problems with them. The only problem was that they wanted to help me too much so I learned how to nicely decline on a regular basis. The concept of family being stronger in Brazil than in the States, is a reality and that surprised me even though I expected it.

Once I bought two beers for 50 cents each because I wanted to have two beers. When the father of my then-Brazilian girlfriend saw the two cans in the trash, he let her know that I made a pretty bad call. He told her to let me know that Brazilians, no matter how much or little they have, would have offered something to others. I felt bad and tried to offer her to buy him a 6-pack but she said I was still thinking in my American mentality and I should just stick with knowing I learned a lesson. 

-What were the positive and negative aspects of living in Brazil?

 Positive is almost everything for me as it's all different and wonderful if not interesting in the least. Negatives would include social injustices and the financial divide among the people which is more evident than any kind of racial divide. I suppose I should add that there exists a sort of cieling which is figuratively held above everyone's head there. What I mean is, many people don't seem to believe they can have a better living situation, a better job, etc and the sad part is there is some truth to it. However, since I come from a culture where you are what you allow yourself to be, it is hard to accept that that cieling exists. 

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Brazil?

I am a big fan of reading up on the place you are going to. Don't be a tourist looking for a piece of your kind of comfort in Brazil. Allow the situation and environment to dictate your experiences. 

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Brazil?

I run a website called Eyes On Brazil (http://eyesonbrazil.com) which is a straight-shot as far as what is relevant in Brazilian culture and in the lives of Brazilians. For an entire decade, I have been studying Brazil on a daily basis. My site is a mixed bag of cultural items which combine free information and media into a fun, informative and coherent way. I don't think anyone out there is doing anything similar, which is not to say that there aren't interesting sites out there about Brazil, because there are (just check my 'links' page on my site).