American? Bush Lover! -June 12, 2007

Outside of the hotel the neighborhood reminds me much of Mexico. The roads and sidewalks are paved but not smooth asphalt like I've gotten used to. There is a distinct green smell sometimes and whatever it is, I'm glad its not smog. The borders and walls among houses are of gray stone and have words like Bush=Guerra (Bush equals war) tagged on them. Watching cable TV at the hotel I found about 4 channels with popular English programs and Portuguese subtitles. Regardless, there is definitely an American influence in Brazil.


Back in class, our professor asked us to question a local person on their impression of the US.
As I was walking back through the campus with two other students, they stopped at a local vendor in the university to buy some earrings. After the vendor talking to us I had to make my popular introduction saying "we don't speak Portuguese." The vendor understood and tried to talk to the girls by pointing at some earrings and saying he made them himself. Meanwhile, I started a side conversation with the vendors friend who was just sitting there catching the sun.
He had long curly hair and looked local enough for me. It would be a funny conversation for his English was as bad as my Portuguese. Luckily, I know Spanish very well, which is very related to the Portuguese language making it easier to hold a conversation. As he asked me were I was from and why I was in Florianopolis I managed to tell him I could only understand him somewhat and thus began our conversation.
So what is your impression of the US I asked him. His first response was the apparent diversity that resides in the US. For example, he said, take the three of you, you look Mexican, she looks mixed and she looks Asian and you all come from the same place. In truth, he made sense and his example of the three of us was not necessarily correct but his point was well understood. Next, he dove into how he hates our current politics. By the way, It seems very popular around here to hate President Bush. He mentioned that Bush is like a puppet easily controlled by others and is ultimately responsible for the war in Iraq. All the while he would speak Portuguese mixed with Spanish and when there were words I didn't understand, I would simply repeat the word with a strange look on my face and he would follow with symbols and other words until I understood or simply pretended I did. What he said next I had a harder time understanding but went something like this: "Things much like life go in a circle. The government in American will change. Some governments will fall and other new ones will rise. The world is changing and so will politics. Once cycle is ending and another will begin." He spoke almost of a new world order. By this time the girls were done shopping and we had to go so I thanked him and left to see more of the campus. Like other students on campus, he seemed rather philosophical and very willing to talk to us.
Overall, it wasn't easy conversing with him, but it was interesting communicating without the simplicity of knowing each other's language.