When I was a kid, I was very naive. More so than normal, I think. I also lacked social self-awareness. One incident in high school comes to mind. Act I: In which I am not especially tactful My high school was what we call a “technical” high school – it’s like a standard high school,…
Quando eu tinha uns 10 anos, a moda era vídeo-cassete. Vídeo-cassete de 2 cabeças, 4 cabeças, slow motion, o escambal. Era caro e difícil de comprar, ajustar a hora era uma aventura, mas num mundo dominado por 1 canal de TV e meio passando os mesmos filmes sem parar, video-cassete era o ápice do entretenimento…
What did you do during the war? That’s the question everyone would always ask when first meeting someone. What did you do during the war? Did you help others? Did you hide? Did you run away, abandoning friends and family? Did you use what little opportunity existed to take advantage of others? Did you volunteer,…
My dad passed away about 2 weeks ago. He was 77. It was not a natural death, however; we was hit by a mini-bus when crossing the street. He died in the hospital. For the past few years, I’ve been dreading this moment. The moment I would receive a call from my family letting me…
He didn’t stop for anything. The cab speeding in his direction, breaking, and finally coming to a stop an inch before hitting him. He didn’t care; he didn’t even bat an eye. Nor did he care for the screams of the cab driver, offering him details of his mother’s sex life he never imagined; as…
This is probably hard for people who live in New York (or, to some extent, the United States) to understand, but for me, getting to New York was like stepping into a movie. In Brazil, your whole knowledge about the United States comes from Hollywood movies. The cultural values in Brazil are just similar enough…
This is the last day of your life. I know. Crazy, right? I know how it sounds. Normally people don’t get warnings like these. Not The last day comes and they just go on with their lives, unaware of what’s to come. Do whatever they normally do. Then poof, they’re gone, never the wiser. Maybe…
The week I started working at the offices of the company that had hired me in New York, I was pretty sure everybody hated me. My first few moments in the office were pretty odd. In a way, I already knew most of the people who worked there – I had been working for them…
When I first got to New York, I rented a small apartment in Brooklyn from a great guy called Ray Jones. The apartment was meant to be temporary, as I was going to be there for a month only. It already had furniture and all that, and it was just something I could use as…