As I sit here at YVR with nothing to do, waiting for my delayed flight to Mexico City, I realize that probably everybody around me thinks that I am Mexican. Actually, the mexican a employee who came to help me find a currency exchange booth first greeted me with "hola", instead of the usual hello. It's ok, I am used to that. Usually, in BC people always think that I am east Indian, and the majority of the east indian patients talk to me in punjabi before even asking where I am from. I have been asked many times to go help translate something when I am working in big centers and people don't know where I am from originally. What can I say, I guess I must have an international face.
My background has nothing exotic about it. The typical brazilian mixture of portuguese and south american natives. I thought I was the typical brazilian mulatta. If you go to Brazil you will see lots of me. But funny enough, I have learned that most brazilians living abroad have similar problems and are taken for just about any nationality, but Brazilian. Facebook has a community called "you know you are a brazilian when..", and they mentioned that nobody can figure out where you are from. I have to agree. They also mention a lot of other funny and interesting facts about being a Brazilian. My Brazilian friends will laugh reading it and my non Brazilian friends will learn a bit more about us if you want to check it (just ignore the pictures people posted and read the text on the left side). You can tell me if you agree with the description or not :)
It is extra funny to see the surprise on people's faces, specially my punjabi patients when they finally find out where I am from. They aways give me back a smile, and usually enquire further about carnival and soccer. I of course have always loved to talk about my home country, so I welcome the dialogue and make a new friend.
Anyways, I guess we should be boarding soon, so Colombia, here I come!
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