Being a brazilian in Canada makes my life a lot easier. I emphasize on that because most people have no idea of what it is like to live in a country where taking care of yourself means finding the most varied ways of trying to make it a better and safer experience.
Brazilians grow up listening to their parents telling them how dangerous the streets are and how the world can be a very dark place if you don't pay attention to what is going on around you. Somehow, there is a feeling that the whole population is trying to trick you into doing something bad.
Once again, I'm not saying that Brazil is an extremely dangerous place and that Canada is heaven. There are two sides to all the stories in this world. Like everywhere in the world, both Brazil and Canada have places which are safe and places which are dangerous. The only difference is that in Brazil we have to learn how to deal with the dangerous places even though we may never go there.
About two weeks ago, a chinese friend and I were at a very well-know shopping mall here in Vancouver. As I spotted some not very nice looking men, I changed the direction I was going and got away from their vision. My chinese friend noticed what I did but asked me why I had done that. For him, it made no sense to switch directions since we were getting out of the mall.
I explained to him that this is the way that people 'function' in Brazil. We are always checking our pockets to see if we have everything and nobody has stolen anything. We walk on the streets checking if we are being followed or checking if there are any kind of bad people around us. We fear to enter our houses when nobody is on the streets. However, it's how I became strong in Canada.
Three weeks ago, the same chinese friend and I were in the Student Centre at university getting some articles printed. While we were waiting by the printer, some guy approach our backpacks and started looking at a book I had opened by the computer desk. I noticed him, but he did not noticed me. While I waited for his move, John, my chinese friend, also noticed him approaching our stuff and started moving towards him. He soon realized that his plan was going to fail, gave up and walked away.
This story is there to portray how well-trained brazilians are. Most canadians would never notice that guy and would have had their things stolen. But I have been trained not to leave my belongings unattended and always watch my stuff when they were not with me.
Now I walk the streets of the city knowing that I have been trained long enough and that I am light years ahead of what Canada has to offer in terms of safety. I know that I can take care of myself because my country has taught me to do so.
