So its raining cats and dogs…yet again…here in Campos do Jordao. Well actually according to the weather people its crazy raining in the whole of the South-East of Brazil. It doesn’t just ‘rain’ here either, it pours and then drizzles and then pours some more. It makes going outside a hugely stressful experience – what should I wear (even though its raining, it’s not actually cold) boots would be sensible but I will probably bake, same goes for a coat. It’s such a pain. Dont get me wrong, I’m British, I know only too well what temperamental weather is like – but its summertime here in BRAZIL, and I want SUNSHINE.
But instead I have rain, and more rain.
So I am stuck inside and have decided to reminiscence about all the things I miss about lovely old Britain (apart from my wonderful friends and family of course). There are many so here are a just a few –
1) Chocolate – not any old chocolate – Cadbury’s and Galaxy to be exact, I love the creamyness of their chocolate (send me some mum??!)
2) Efficiency – Bureaucracy + Brazil = inefficiency, headaches, frustration, anger – enough said.
3) British English – yes that’s BRITISH English. I spend every day teaching American English and miss hearing the my country’s version of English.
4) Affordability – Brazil + Enormous Tax On Everything = EXPENSIVE. I miss going into shops and not feeling like you’ve been robbed every time you buy anything.
5) British TV especially the BBC – good, interesting programming and also some great entertaining Saturday and Sunday night TV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loNQgax53Jk
6) Newspapers and Magazines – especially the Sunday Times, reading it with coffee and breakfast on a Sunday morning used to be one of my great loves.
7) Fashion – this ties into affordability, everything here especially clothing is expensive making impulse purchases impossible, and following fashion a luxury.
8) London – amazing views for nearly everywhere you go, culture from all around the world, amazing transport links (yes Londoners you don’t know how good you’ve got it!), great history, free museums, the parks, running by the river, pubs, Oxford Street, Westfield, cinemas with recent releases and no dubbing, something different to do every weekend…….the list could go on and on.
9) The green, green fields of England – Devon to be precise, especially going walking with my sister and our family dog, Jack, in our home village Winkleigh.
10) Sunday Roasts – nothing beats it as far as I’m concerned….especially cooked by my family or by the Tom Cobley Pub in the village of Spreyton, Devon.
11) Food – Shepherd’s pie, Apple crumble, my mum’s chocolate pudding, a good chinese or indian takeaway, toad-in-the-hole, sausage and mash, my mum’s meat pie, victoria sponge, my sister’s chocolate cake… again I could go on and on.
12) Radio – waking up to Magic, Heart, Capital FM or Radio 2 / 4 – I know that might sound like a nightmare for some of you, but I miss it!
13) A Blighty Christmas – this is my first Christmas away from my family and friends, and there are things I am already missing – Christmas decorations – London and my mum’s! Making Christmas cake and pudding with my sister, writing Christmas cards, choosing and wrapping the gifts with my mum and sisters, hoping for snow (after I’ve arrived home) putting up and dressing the tree, finding all our Christmas stockings that are somewhere in the loft from last year, tasting my mum’s mince pies, listening and singing along to Christmas songs on the radio, again I could go on and on and on…..
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of things I have missed since I moved to Brazil. This list does not mean that there are not many things about Brazil I love – the opposite in fact – there are many many amazing things about living here in Brazil (Antonio, you’re number 1 😉 ) but being British born and bred there are things that of course I miss about my home country and on this particularly rainy day in the mountains of South America I wanted to share some of them with you all…..
So what do you miss about Britain or your home country? Or what do you think you would miss the most if you lived abroad??? All comments are very welcome!
abritishgirlinbrazil 