Reflecting on One Year in Brazil

One year ago today, almost to the hour, our plane touched down in Fortaleza, delivering us to our new home. We arrived exhausted, overwhelmed by the heat and humidity and noise. Guess we forgot to check the calendar, and arrived a couple of days before Carnival started! 

I think back to those first few weeks here, and I am so amazed at how far we have come. In this year, we found an amazing place, bought it, renovated the guest areas top to bottom, set up a business, and we have already hosted three successful events here! 

I have gone from being insecure in my language, frequently asking people to repeat themselves, or looking to Karl for translation, to a level of linguistic confidence I have never had before. I can now not only talk about the weather and the beach, but I'm also fluent in construction, and quickly learning accounting and small business law! 

I have gone from sitting anxiously in the passenger seat as Karl weaves in traffic to breezing through the transit on my own. 

I've learned the prices of everything from fruits and veggies to cars to clothes, to refrigerators to toilets, and won't settle for anything but a stellar deal. 

I've learned that I am a lot stronger than I ever would have imagined. 

I've learned that homesickness is ok. But life without Skype and iMessage would be unbearable. 

I've wanted to give up. I've wanted to succeed. I've seriously questioned my sanity. 

But here we are one year later, sanity intact. Mostly. I have experienced some of my highest highs this year as well as some of my lowest lows. 

I wish I could say everything is marvellous and we have no doubts or regrets having embarked on this adventure, but that would be a lie. I do know that I have grown by leaps and bounds, and there is no regret in that. 

I know that anytime the homesickness is just too much, I am only a day away from the family and friends who support us. 

And so we dive into year number two, armed with skills and knowledge we most certainly did not have a year ago. I am hopeful for what this second year will bring, but I am also fully aware that it will be a year of long, long work hours, frustrations, disappointments and challenges. I also promise myself that it will be a year filled with hours in the pool, dancing on the seashore with my pups, exploring new destinations, meeting new people, developing new connections and relationships, and generally making this place feel a little more like home. 

Property Tax

A new year brings all sorts of new and exciting things here, like rain and holidays... Like taxes. And there are lots of them here, (taxes, I mean) most of them being due at the end of January. This is our first time having to sort through the assortment of business and personal taxes that are due. Let's just say it is a learning curve. 

I assumed that like most of the country, our property tax would also be due at the end of January. I have already learned not to fully trust the postal system, so when January came and went, and we had not yet received our property tax bill, I thought I'd better investigate. Property taxes fall under the municipal jurisdiction. So I started with their website, which I discovered is under maintenance right now. 

So with a deep sigh, I put on pants (as compared to shorts, that is. Gotta wear pants when going to government buildings. Refer to THIS post for another pants - or lack thereof - story), reminded myself to be patient (It was 6 days after I thought the bill was due, so I was expecting huge lineups of other tardy folks like myself), and made sure I arrived at 8:15 (the offices open at 8:00, but government employees have a 15 minute grace period for showing up to work). 

I walked into the (blissfully) air conditioned building and was pleasantly surprised at the very short line and abundant number of employees working. 

When my turn came up, I began by explaining that my property tax bill had not yet shown up in the mail, blah, blah, blah. The lady helping me cut me off, informing me that in our municipality property taxes are due in July, not January. (Yay, I am not tardy after all!) She reassured me that I was not in fact late, and encouraged me not to worry about it for another 6 months... In fact, I shouldn't worry about it at all! This government employee proceeded to advise me that really, I shouldn't bother paying my property taxes until for some reason (like selling the property), someone checked up on us! The punctual, law-abiding, rule-following Canadian in me gasped in horror. Not pay taxes!?!? Who would do such a thing? The ever-growing Brazilian in me smiled and said, 'Nice! An extra couple hundred bucks in my pocket!'

The punctual, law-abiding, rule-following Canadian in me would like to think that for the most part people pay their bills and pay them in a timely manner. The experienced side of me knows this is not the case. For example, I know someone who had not paid their property taxes in 13 years. And here's the best part: NO ONE CARES! I also know someone who had literally THOUSANDS of dollars of unpaid phone bills. First, I was amazed they weren't just cut off. Second, the phone company will offer you all sorts of low-interest payment plans in a very kind, solicitous manner. But I guess that getting some money out of people is better than getting nothing. 

Every single day I manage to be amazed by the differences that exist between my own culture and the culture I am living in. Some of them I love, and I feel so privileged to be a Canadian living in Brazil. Some of them frustrate me. Some I just don't understand, so I shrug and move on. Some make me laugh. Some make me go 'hmmm'. And every now and then (if I am perfectly honest), some of those differences just seem wrong to me. 

My hope is that through all this, I am becoming a more well-rounded, culturally sensitive global citizen. My fear is that I am becoming cynical and judgmental. What I suspect is happening is that I am taking a little of where I come from, combining it with a little of where I am now, and the result will be a quirky person who doesn't quite fit in no matter where she goes. 

So will I pay my property taxes? Ask me in July!