Eat, Sleep, Play Football. The Brazilian Way Of Life.

I dont know how to start writing this one.. Football is more than a sport for Brazilian people, it's their passion(These are the words of a Brazilian) Everyone knows something about football, every family has a club of their own, it's normal life here. For me, it's the same. More than a passion, i would say!

Well, I expected a lot of football here but I got a "little less". I played my first football after almost a week for one hour. Dissappointed. Nothing for the next two weeks. Getting a bit bored here, you know. No football... Then one fine Sunday, (The best day of my Brazilian life till now) I go with my brother to play football at 5:30. I had no idea how much time, what, where we were going to play. He takes me to his old apartment where they have a little, cemented, floodlit, fully covered football field. People join in slowly. At 6 we start. BRAZILIAN PEOPLE ARE CRAZY FOOTBALL PLAYERS. I am not exaggerating. It's true. I got beaten atleast 10 times that day and I feel no shame!
First time in my life have I played and enjoyed myself so much... Reggae music in the background, insane football players in front. I am standing there, breathing in the wonderful moment, telling myself to believe it and trying to cope up with their game as well!
One thing i noticed about these guys, is that they are honest players. Nobody cheats, nobody gets angry on another for a foul, everyone is simply enjoying doing what comes to them so naturally. Second thing is that these guys are not afraid to try new things, new tricks, risky passes because they know that nobody is going to shout at them for doing it wrong. That is the problem, i feel, with Indian method of teaching. You dont have that freedom, that space to do something new because mentally you are cramped up, you think,"If i get this wrong, people are going to laugh at me. So, I better not try it" Nothing like that here. Nobody laughs at another guy for getting a trick wrong! I was really overwhelmed by this.
6 in the evening to 10 in the night, I played, I lived a better life for 4 hours. At ten everyone stopped, next half an hour went in chatting with each other. Then, some wise guy had the idea of playing poker. Poker, from 10:30 to 11:10( Without real money, Of Course!) Leave for home at 11:30. That is THE ideal Sunday, believe me.

Though I have not started regular football yet, I hope to start it as soon as possible. I have LOVED what I have seen till now and if all Brazilian football players are like this, I am going to enjoy myself more than anything. Now I know why Pele became 'The Greatest Footballer'. Brazil and Football go hand in hand, dont they? :)

Symbiosis followed by Julio Chevalier.

In India, I passed out of school this year with sad feelings, saying goodbye to the atmosphere, to the many people who have had such an important part in my life only to experience school life again here in Brazil.

    The school here is really really different, more than I expected, but in a good way. Indian schools are filled with people, it's not that here. The 'type' of grades is also different and you graduate from school at the age of 17-18. Myself, I'm in the second year of high-school and my class has 19 students, including me!
   Now, without going into much details about the School System (Which, honestly, would be boring to read) One thing I would like to praise about my school is the people around me. Very very very gentle, very polite, very humourous, very friendly ( I can go on and on...) Again, I dont speak the language and it was very important for them to accept me, make me one of them. They have. That too very easily.
 The first day of school is UNFORGETTABLE. I was surrounded by people. Everyone so curious, so excited. The english speaking students became full-time translators. People were bombarding them with,' Pergunta ele... Pergunta ele..'( Ask him this.. Ask him that) And then reactions like,'Serio?! NOSSA!' (Really! WOW!) I was a superstar.. Everyone waving 'hi' smiling at me, looking at me and gossiping in each others ears. It was something very different!
  Now, things have cooled down. I'm a normal kid and I know the ways of school here. Who is boring, who is nice, who to make fun of.. Normal school stuff. Another thing I'm amazed by is the effort people put in to talk to me. They have conversations in groups to form a grammatically correct question in English. I'm really honoured by it and I will try my best to learn their language to make things easier for them. I will try. I really will because the effort shown by my friends is really phenomenal and I owe them

I was new here and you welcomed me in,
May it be my classmates or other people, with you I always have fun.
Tayna's Joi, Navi's 'How?' , Gabbi's 'Pay Attention' or Didi's Shalibi
Coqueti's faces, Lunch with Liine and with Taina, Bob Marley
You have helped me a lot and so,
Muito Obrigado :)

From Aai-Baba and Dada to Mãe-Pai e Irmão

Parents... The most important people in your life. They help you learn the basic things needed to live life as a good human being. They help you to talk, walk, and be one of them. Most of your personality depends upon their teachings and whatever you are, it's because of them.

My Father, Antonio and Me.

  It's the same for me here. It's a whole new world out here and it's the same compared to me being born. I'm born in a different country now. The parents here help me learn to 'talk', their language. Act, Like a Brazilian, the culture, the differences. And then I can be one of them. One very important thing that I learnt here is that you do not need to learn the language to communicate. No. Not necessary. It's the feeling that you need to understand. My mother here cannot speak English, I cannot speak Portuguese. No problem. We can communicate daily without much problem!

My Mother, Lidia and Me.

 In a country where I do not understand a thing that is being spoken, I need people I can trust. Though I have just known 'My Parents' for not more than 20 days, I trust them. I dont know why, but I do and it's the same for them as well. Having a kid coming to your home from a different country, different culture is very challenging. But they have adapted to me very well and I thank them for that.

My Brother, Leo and Me.

I also have a brother here, an elder one. Just like it is back home. AND MY GOD, HE IS FUN! Parents, yeah, I know they are always there for me, but, a person also needs someone to understand them like no-one else does. And that's what I found in my brother here. Even though he has to work and go to college everyday, whatever time I get to spend with him, is time spent well.

Bottomline, I have no regrets. I love my family here as much as I love my family back home and I'm proud of the fact that I have become a medium for the two families to be friends for the rest of our lives. And that's really important :)

The Brazilian Jay

Here I am, sitting ten thousand miles away from my country and yet i feel like i'm home, i'm safe.

Brazil. Yes, I'm in Brazil. It took a little while to sink in but, now I'm ready, to breathe like a Brazilian, to live like a Brazilian, to be a Brazilian. That's why I titled this one, 'The Brazilian Jay'.

First day: I touched Brazilian land after a tiring journey of almost 20 hours. But, it was worth it. I was welcomed by my host family with warm smiles and open arms(literally). It was one of those moments which is impossible to describe in 26 alphabets. The feeling is much more deeper, more complex. We began the journey to the house and I thought to myself,"Brazil? Are you sure? Am I supposed to be here? Is this correct?" But, curiousity eventually drowned these thoughts of anxiousness.

Me and My Brother, Leo.

My City, Campinas.

    We reached home after a good two hours. My brother showed me around the house and I had my very own room for the first time in my life. A room that belonged to me. MY ROOM. It was on the 19th floor and I looked out of the window just to be amazed by the beauty of my city, Campinas. It looked so lively, so enthusiastic, so happy. I looked at myself in the mirror and i could see the same feelings on my face. Enthusiasm, Happiness and that unusual feeling of being Alive.
  Now, My experience till now in Brazil has been really really nice. I am enjoying whatever I have here. The people are so friendly! I haven't heard/seen a single fight or disagreement between two people. Brazilians are the most blissful and simple people I have ever seen. They like to laugh a lot, talk a lot and care a lot.
My school friends made me feel so welcome that I am already one of them now. All my friends are very very funny and they LOVE to make fun of other people but nobody seems to mind because the feeling is mutual. Yet, they have a sensitive side towards them which is very touching.
 The girls here are some of the most beautiful on the earth, the food takes your breath away. Yet, these things seem very small. I have a feeling of security and honesty here. Many people ask me,"Why Brazil?" To that, I tell them I wanted Europe in the beginning but I did not get selected for Europe and I was forced to take Brazil... And also, I'm glad I didn't get Europe.

ते म्हणतात ना, जे होतं ते  चांगल्यासाठीच होतं... सत्य आहे.