American expats Lori and her husband have been living in Maringá, Brazil for the past year, where she works as a freelance writer. Here she shares what living in a small Brazilian city is like for two foreigners, clears up some misconceptions about the cost of goods in Brazil, and offers advice regarding how things are done locally.	Lori

-Where were you born?

Southern Indiana, USA

-In which country and city are you living now?

Maringá, Brazil – a small city in the southern state of Paraná, population is about 300,000

-Are you living alone or with your family?

I live with my husband.

-How long have you been living in Brazil?

About 1 year

-What is your age?

29

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

We had always considered living abroad at some point, but never really in Brazil. The idea first came when my husband's employer presented the option. It was a situation where we knew if we didn't jump on the opportunity we would probably regret it in the future. It was good timing for us. I was tired of my job, my husband was looking for more of a challenge in his work and no kids yet.

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

The visa process was frustrating and time consuming. We had tons of help from legal services through my husband's company; however, we still had to travel to Washington, D.C. for a week and deal with the Consular's office ourselves. My husband did most of the work. There were long waits, power trips and lots of phone calls. In the end, we finally got temporary visas that will allow us to stay in the country for 2 years without having to leave. Once we arrived back in Brazil, there was more paperwork to get our RNE and CPF numbers.

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

My husband's employer takes care of this. Our health insurance remains the same in the US since that is where the company is based. However, we also have health insurance in Brazil.

-How do you make your living in Brazil? Do you have any type of income generated?

I've used the opportunity of this move to become a freelance health and travel writer. I didn't have plans to work in Brazil. I knew the language barrier would be too great. I worked for 3 years in health education outreach at a university prior to our move. After about 5 months of getting settled here I decided to start researching freelancing. I'd always wanted to work from home and hope to continue when we return to the US. Having free time here has allowed me to research the field and perfect my skills. It really gave me the opportunity to accomplish a goal.

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

I think it is very important to have a grasp on the local language. That being said, after 10 months, I still do not speak it very well. I studied CDs for 10 months and took classes for 4 after moving here. I can speak some, but I still have a difficult time understanding others. I'd highly advise a private tutor to learn the language. Group classes weren't an effective way for me to learn it. The CD's will help you know what to speak, but they won't help you with understanding others. It can feel like a whole different language once you hear natives speak.

I think observing local customs is important. Flexibility and openness are essential. Sometimes it is difficult to understand why certain things are done or practiced, but you just have to accept it and also change your way of doing things.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?

Yes, I definitely miss home and family. First, we had to leave our dog in the States with family and I miss her terribly. I get to travel back about twice a year for major holidays. We lived about 3 hours away from our extended families so we weren't accustomed to seeing them on a daily basis, but I do miss occasional weekend visits. Also, we were pretty settled before we made this move. We had a house, cars and hobbies. I really miss having my own home and a yard, especially my kitchen and a garden!

We have found new things to fill our time here though. We love exploring the new foods. We get to travel some and we really enjoy going to futebol (soccer) games. I've also made English speaking friends through the web. We meet for coffee or shopping about every week.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

We love to travel which is why this move was appealing to us in the first place. We were planning to travel more during our time here, but air travel is incredibly expensive and my husband's work schedule won't really allow it. We are still managing to make a trip to Europe and the Caribbean this year, two of my favorite places in the world. At the end of this experience we plan to do a tour of South America before our move back to the States.

We don't rule out the idea of living abroad again in the future, but it probably won't be in the immediate future. It will be time to settle down and have a family once this journey has ended.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?

Assistance with a place to live was part of our agreement with my husband's employer. We live downtown in a high rise apartment building. We have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The number of rooms is the same as the house we had in the US, but the square footage is less. The cost is about R$900 a month for rent.

-What is the cost of living in Brazil?

There is a huge misconception that it is inexpensive to live in Brazil. Yes, it may be less expensive than large, metropolitan cities in the US, but if you live in a moderately sized town you might be surprised to find that things cost about the same.

Produce, beer and meat are the few things that are a lot cheaper. I can go to the weekly farmer's market with about R$15 and buy 2-3 times the amount of produce I could get for the same money where I lived in the US. However, household goods like towels, linens and furniture are more expensive and of much lesser quality. Electronics and appliances are outrageous. Toiletries, beauty care and canned or packaged foods are the same or more expensive. In the end, the cost of living is about the same as where I lived in the US.

-What do you think about the Brazilians?

So far I have met some really wonderful people here. They are always willing to help and there are a few I can now call friends. Maringá is a small town by Brazilian standards and they are not used to foreigners at all. Most are very friendly, but they immediately recognize you as not being from here. It doesn't help that I have blond hair! Luckily I have not experienced any anti-American attitudes like others do in some countries. Most are very glad we are here, but many do not understand why we would move from the US to Maringá!

One of the most difficult things is the fact that they are not used to hearing foreigners speak their language. Therefore, when we first moved here and were learning Portuguese we would slightly mess up a word or two and they would not understand anything we had said. This is so unfamiliar to me because in the US I am so used to hearing people speak English with all kinds of different accents. Even if they do not speak correctly I still get an idea of what they are saying and can help. Not so here, which has made the language learning process difficult.

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

Positives:

• Exotic fruits – Even the same fruits I can get at home taste better here;
  

• Lots of green – Maringá is full of beautiful trees on every street and a lot of greenspace and parks;
  

• Lots of opportunities for nature – Brazil is filled with more than just beaches. You have the opportunity to travel to waterfalls, rainforests, wine country, thermal baths, beautiful nature reserves and parks;
  

• Interesting customs to observe – I could generically say that the people are friendly, but I really don't like describing a place like that. So far in every place I have traveled to in the world the people have been friendly. So while friendly people doesn’t necessarily make Brazil stand out, what you will get are some interesting and often appealing customs to observe and take part in. Things like late dinners beginning about 10:00pm, leisurely afternoons drinking beer, inexpensive manicures and pedicures that every woman here gets and driving that seems unorganized, but works in its own way.
  

Negatives:

• Paperwork – No matter what you go to do here chances are you are going to be filling out mounds of documents;
  

• Brazilian time – When it comes to scheduling maintenance, internet hookup or similar events there seems to be no concept of time. Workers often give you a day and time never show up only to knock on the door 2 days later to do the work with no explanation as to why they are 2 days late;
  

• Slow inefficiency – There is not a line you can stand in here that is going to move quickly be it the grocery store or the bank. Everything seems to use an unorganized, inefficient system that the locals just go along with;
  

• Crime – While the city I live in is relatively safe, there are many areas of Brazil that are not. No matter where you are you have to stay aware of your surroundings and conscious not to flaunt your valuables. I don't wear expensive jewelry and have even stored away my engagement ring. We keep our cameras and ipods put away and secure our wallets at all times.
  

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

Get to know the area you might be moving to. It is easy to generalize about a country as large as Brazil. The truth is you can generalize it no more than you can a country like the US. Living in the south is very different from the north, just as living inland is much different the constant access to the beach. Be open to cultural practices and be aware that the pace of your lifestyle may slow down. While this is a wonderful benefit in some aspects, it can be frustrating when you are actually trying to get something accomplished. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Also, if you move to the south it helps a lot if you love red meat!!

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

I keep a blog of my adventures living in Brazil. You can read more at www.blondieinbrazil.blogspot.com.