My mother-in-law goes to a morning fitness class a few days a week. Today, she came home with this story, as relayed to her by her fitness class instructor--this is the basic rundown:
Fitness instructor was parked in her car, window down, when a man with a gun (a.k.a. Mr. Man) approached her and demanded her cell phone and money. She gave them to him, he left. Fast forward one week later. Fitness instructor is again parked in her car. Mr. Man again approaches her, gun in hand, and says "Give me your money and your cell phone". At this point fitness instructor recognizes Mr. Man as the man who robbed her one week earlier. She said "I don´t have a cell phone because you stole it last week and I don´t have money to buy a new one because you stole my money too". To which Mr. Man replies, in basic translation "My bad! I´m sorry!" and left.
I think I have totally freaked out my friends and family, no? While robbery is completely unsettling (understatement), at gunpoint no less, this was funny. Admit it. In general, if you are aware of your surroundings and keep a low profile while out and about it is fine. It is definitely different from home--security, especially robbery, is always on my mind here, at least in the city. Unfortunately, there is poverty everywhere and a huge, in-your-face disparity between people who have and people who don´t. This, to me, is a major challenge of living here and I believe for the country and its citizens in general. On the other hand, there seems to be this sense of joie de vivre from citizens on all levels. I have read that Brazil is a land of contrasts...no doubt, the contrasts seem to be everywhere.
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