Everything To Everyone

Everything to Everyone – Part I

Something tells me that when your roommate coerces you into bleaching your already-blonde eyebrows, you should say an unhesitant ‘no’. Even if she’s right – “it will look avant garde and model-like” – but just not the way you remember yourself, anymore.

As a 26-year-young Canadian, working and living in a third world country aching to be considered first, it feels that way. In a system where most things go wrong for lack of preparation (both of workforce and of the task itself), and only go right after a certain kind of pleading and yearning, one intends to mold itself to what you are required to be on a day-to-day basis for others, instead of what one wants to be according to schedule. Life schedule, that is.

Comparison is futile; it will never be shoved into a routine. This is Brazil, after all. A country renowned for upswings and downplays. We understand the function of rolling with the punches and helping one another to live with it as it is, especially if we’re getting a left hook to the ribs. Home to almost 200 million people, it is my home, too. Weed-like prosperity and growth are being captioned in world press and sold as the new promise land for sound investments, real estate, world events… milk and honey, etc. Don’t get me wrong: that Brazil topped with a fresh caipirinha and glorious shining sun exists; I live in it. But just as Canada breeds organization, neutrality and stability, Brazil breeds the opposite. It’s having two sides of the coin that’s rewarding for a citizen of any country. The good, the bad, and free access to appreciate both.

It wants to be avant garde and model-like, just without feeling the need to change.

Needless to say, I bleached my eyebrows. Granted, every time I look into the mirror I feel a twinge of surprise. But surprises can be good, especially when you begin to forget what you looked like to begin with.

Chelsea Patriquin is a Canadian living and working in Brazil. She started with nothing and is now a Client Relations Manager for a non-profit organization promoting Brazil as an investment in the real estate and tourism industries. Bumpy rides, interesting characters and unforgettable lessons are a part of her everyday routine. She documents her journey here on GlassHeel.com.