Voltei!

Goodness, has it already been 4 months since I've been back in Canada. I can't say it has been an easy 4 months trying to readjust to life, but it has certainly been a process. I arrived back in the dead of winter, rarely leaving my home because of the cold weather. For someone who's spent most of their life in Canada, I still find winter a tough season to get used to, especially after spending months in a tropical location. I tried to reintegrate myself back into my Canadian life by spending time with friends and looking for work. I've met up with some of my Brazilian-Canadian friends who were curious about my experience and my impression of their country. I still keep in touch with alot of the people I met in Brazil, through email, facebook, and texting. We often just reminisce about the fun times we had, then the repeated question of "When will you come back to Brazil?" is asked. At this point, my answer is simply "Sei la meu amigo/minha amiga."

Camarao ao alho e oleo

I often find myself longing to be back in Brazil. The combination of constantly exploring my environment, meeting new people, and independence is what I miss most (oooh and the FOOD, camarao ao alho e oleo, baiao-de-dois, caranguejo....eeeittta fica tranquilo meu estomago). I've always had a passion for travelling, one of the reasons that I chose to pursue a career in international development. The world is limitless and I want to see as much of it as I can. I always find myself applying to different opportunities abroad, who knows what country I might end up in next.

Since coming back, continuing this blog has been in the back of my mind. Jos, one of my Niagara College bosses, had mentioned that he had enjoyed reading my blog and encouraged me to continue developing my writing skills. I guess all those traumatizing essays I wrote in university did pay off. Like I mentioned in previous blogs, I don't want this blog to die off into the infinite depths of archived internet blogs. So what finally brought me back to writing here? Yesterday I read an article about the development of Brazil's northeastern region and I simply wanted to share that article with whoever might still be reading my blog.

Brazil's historically poor northeast finally gets its boom by Vincent Bevins

In the article, Bevins describes the trend of Brazilian people migrating from the southern and interior regions of Brazil to northeastern cities, such as Recife and Fortaleza, as a result of the economic boom these cities are experiencing. Although I spent less than a week Recife during my month of travelling, it was clear to see that things are moving in the city. However, the heavy rains in Recife and Olinda were a hindrance to my experience in the state of Pernambuco. Bevins states that:

"The area around Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, has benefited from huge government and business investments...Government aid has also helped struggling families improve their lives, which has lessened the need to move elsewhere."

Windmills at Canoa Quebrada

In the last 12 years, Recife has experienced a decrease in unemployment rates, from 14% to 6.2%, and there are little signs to show that the city's development will slow down. Bevins further goes on to say that "...billions of dollars in government investments and projects have made the northeast — home to nine states and 50 million people — the fastest-growing population center in Brazil's economic success story." Fortaleza is one of the northeastern cities that has also received an increase in investment. During my time there, new hotels were being built, specifically on Beira Mar, the main location for tourists. On my way to Praia do Futuro, I would often pass by parked trucks that had giant windmill propellers in the back. In fact, wind energy is becoming a huge business (if it isn't already) along the northeast region.

Now that I think back, many of the people I met in Fortaleza were from other parts of Brazil. Funny story, I remember nearing the end of my stay in Brazil, I was talking to a friend that I had met during my first month. While conversing, I had stopped him mid-sentence to confront him with the fact that he spoke differently from Fortalezans. It had taken me 5 months of learning Portuguese to finally hear his distinct regional accent (I forgot which city he was from, forgive me). He simply laughed at my reaction and explained that he was from the interior of Brazil but came to study in Fortaleza.

The 9 states of the Northeast

Back to the article, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order decrease poverty in the northeastern region. The northeast has often been regarded as the "backwards/country" part of Brazil, similar to the stereotypes North Americans make about the southern states of USA. However, its promising to see that people from other parts of Brazil are recognizing the great potential the northeast has. The economic neglect the northeast has experienced is no longer an issue as it was in the past.

During my first trip to Rio de Janiero, I had written about the clear gap in investment between Rio and Fortaleza. Although Fortaleza may never experience the same magnitude of investment that Rio receives, things are changing for the better. All countries experience this economic trend of businesses and people moving to other cities for better economic opportunities. What these northeastern Brazilian states need to ask themselves is, "will this last or is it just a current trend?"

I will continue to write sporadically, but mainly when I come across something interesting and Fortaleza/Brazil related.

Until the next post...