Every trip to England and I bump into Brazilians. Even the Supermarket manager, a Romanian told me he is married to a Brazilian. Brazilians seem to be popping up wherever I go. One subject comes up while chatting to them is that the political corruption in Brazil is its downfall.
I met Edson, a Brazilian who has been living in the United Kingdom since September. His daughter is married to an Englishman. Originally, he came to visit for a short stay, but then he was convinced to take a menial job as motorcycle courier (bike delivery) to understand why Brazilian leave their country of origin. And the reason behind it, is that he makes more money than when he worked as a logistics manager in Brazil.
He told me that after working thirty-five years for Brazilian companies he has very little to show for his efforts. Yes, he’s got a small house and a one bedroomed flat at the beach, but at the end of the month he barely makes ends meet. He’s got a degree and has fully qualified professionally, but even skilled he earns less than he currently earns delivering pizza, or whatever is on the menu in London.
He complained that professionals don’t stand much of a chance because the cost of living is so high in Brazil. Apart from the weather which he hasn’t got used to yet, he’ll be able to send money back to his family. As a logistics manager he earned R$10,000.00 a month, whereas as an unqualified motorcycle courier his salary is over R$15,000.00.
He lives at his daughter’s so no rent to pay. Then food is much cheaper here, he told me. He already sends his wife about R$12,000.00 a month. Although meat and most vegetables are cheaper in Brazil, everything else is much more expensive. He complained that many items are literally double the price. In fact, I’ll have to back him up on that point.
So, the argument is, why does an over 50s professional who has worked most of his life in Brazil, have to travel abroad to make an honest buck. Well, it is about time Brazilian politicians were held accountable for their incompetent political standpoint.
All the best!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Popping up (phrasal verb) = to appear all of a sudden
Downfall (n) = ruin, collapse, disgrace, fall, defeat, end, demise, breakdown, failure, (ant) rise
To make ends meet (idiom) = to pay for the things that you need to live when you have little money. This is a good example of an idiom that is often used in English but that is not transparent in meaning.
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