Journalist and editor Irina Falcao started a dating site to improve her English, but unexpectedly married a sultry Brazilian. The girl told what stupid stereotypes about life in Russia exist among foreigners, whether her husband likes Olivier salad and how much it costs to marry a citizen of Brazil.
Irina, were you planning to move to distant Brazil?
- Of course not! I, like many, dreamed of the California coast and Hollywood style life. But life has shown me the way to real happiness and freedom, which I also found in America, but South.
- And how did you start the path to your dream?
- Moving was not my ultimate goal. I just started taking English lessons, and the teacher advised me to start live communication with native speakers. It turned out that the easiest way to find interested interlocutors is on a dating site. The experience of communicating with the British, Canadians, Americans turned out to be invaluable - I not only learned many new words, but also saw enough of erotic photos from all over the world. In the first weeks it seemed to me that I only attract psychos and perverts: they sent me invitations to have virtual sex on Skype, erotic novels and demanded my depraved photos in return. But soon I learned to weed out strange types and found many interesting men.
After about a year, my English became more or less bearable, and my knowledge of the world expanded to the limit. It was then that I realized that apart from life in Russia - so dear, warm and understandable - I want to see another life, because it's so interesting! Just at this time, an insanely handsome American paramedic began to look after me, and soon he came to Moscow to meet in person.
And then you thought: "Here it is, female happiness!"
- It was not so. Everything was fine, but next to him I constantly felt some kind of discomfort. Sometimes he jokingly asked if I worked for the KGB, made strange jokes about the Russians. At first I tried to smile silently, but soon it began to annoy.
The Western world, oddly enough, is full of the stupidest stereotypes about Russia. Many there, for example, are sure that all Russians are gloomy, gloomy people, one way or another connected with crime or intelligence, and our women are mostly of easy virtue.
Of course, I must say “thank you” for this to Hollywood cinema, where we are shown exclusively in the images of bandits and prostitutes.
My American, for example, walking around Moscow, constantly asked: "Why are your streets so clean?" “Because people throw garbage in trash cans,” I answered in bewilderment. He was also struck by the fact that in the summer hundreds of sprinklers irrigate the streets with fresh water to get rid of the dust. In California, as it turned out, even washing the car is very expensive, and there is nothing to talk about watering the roads at all. He was also struck by the cheapness of cellular communications, the number of smiling passers-by on the streets, and especially the people dancing in Gorky Park.
In general, looking at his reaction, I realized that life in America is not for me. There you will have work and money, but you will never belong to yourself. In addition, the water in the ocean is always cold, and even while living on the beach, you can only swim in a special suit … I wanted to enjoy life without a suit.
But you did not give up …
- Of course not. I continued to learn English and get to know foreign men. In total, I had about ten novels and about twenty other penpals. Communication with them helped to clearly understand what I want and what kind of man I need.
One fine day, a Brazilian wrote to me, offering to meet on Skype. I just chuckled contemptuously: "Brazil, football, carnival, monkeys … Nafig need!" But the man was persistent. And he even volunteered to help me in learning the language, because he is an English teacher at the institute. This is how our communication with Markus began. A year after we met, I bought tickets and went to his hometown of Recife.
Brazil shocked me with poverty and unrealistically high prices. During the first weeks of my visit, I saw robbers on the streets, poisonous snakes and scorpions. Here people are kidnapped in broad daylight and their bags are taken away on the subway.
Watch the movie "City of God", you yourself will understand everything. But at the same time, nature, luxurious beaches and the Brazilians themselves, with their openness and kindness, simply captivated me!
We celebrated the new year 2016, and to the sound of fireworks, Marcus proposed to me. It was then that the question arose about the move and the heaps of documents associated with this registration and unrealistic expenses.
Approximately how much did the marriage procedure and registration of all documents cost you?
- Considering that we got married in Brazil, and I bought tickets (for about 70 thousand rubles round trip), then with all the clearance of certificates, their apostille and translation in Portuguese (about 40-50 thousand more), it turned out not cheap. Plus, upon returning to Moscow, I had to change my surname and completely change my Russian and foreign passports, bank cards, TIN, pension … The marriage procedure in Brazil took only 20 minutes, and the paperwork took almost 8 months.
Was it difficult to settle down on the spot? Do you have a desire to drop everything and return?
- You know, when you are full of hope and love, nothing is difficult. At first I also read a lot of various Internet whiners who scared me of lack of money and loneliness … And that was the most difficult thing - to take the first step. But in reality everything turned out to be simpler. After all, I could once move from small Lipetsk to huge Moscow! I was able to find friends in the capital, make a career …
So, moving to Brazil turned out to be about the same.
The only problem was that almost no one here speaks English. And I saw the notorious wild monkeys only once. And people - people are the same everywhere. There are honest and decent, and there are those who will deceive you and will not blush. And yes, half-naked sexy beauties do not walk the streets here, as I imagined living in Russia.
Before leaving, I bought things from Ikea and sent them by mail, because in Brazil they cost three times as much. I also brought with me two suitcases of T-shirts and shorts, fearing that I would not buy good quality things here. Now I sometimes miss Russian sour cream and fresh dill, they simply do not exist in Brazil. And sometimes there is not enough usual coolness, fresh breeze. But I do not experience any stress, depression and melancholy, like many migrants.
I think it all depends on the person. If in Russia you are used to complaining about fate and giving up at the first difficulties, it will not be easy for you in America, and in Canada, and on the moon.
And if you are a positive person who knows how to benefit from any situation, if you are open to the world and adore life, you will be happy in any country.
Did the relatives of Marcus welcome you well?
- Yes, I was incredibly lucky with them. Not only that, unlike traditional Brazilian families, in ours they do not gossip, they do not build intrigues, they read a lot, they also constantly joke around.
For example, they make fun of me all the time because of the white color of my skin, my naivety and, of course, our football.
I brought some Russian traditions into the usual Brazilian way of life.
For example, she taught my husband to shake hands with me when leaving the bus, walk arm in arm and give flowers for the holidays. Brazilian men are not used to doing this. For the holidays, I cook Olivier salad, meat pies and hodgepodge. Everyone really likes it! Well, during my entire stay in Brazil, I was taught to eat beans in unlimited quantities and sprinkle it with special cassava flour that looks like Parmesan. At first it seemed to me that it looked like sand, but now I have learned to understand its taste.
Did you manage to find a job in Brazil?
- Today I celebrate the anniversary of my Brazilian life. I work remotely: I write articles for the largest newspapers and magazines in Russia, I do PR for talented people and famous companies, I run a children's magazine and attend Portuguese language courses. I have no shortage of communication, because every day I am in touch with a dozen journalists and editors. There is so much work to do that sometimes there is no time to walk to the beach, although we live only a five minute walk from the coast.
Yes, now I do not go to the office, but work at home, looking at the blue ocean, but this was my dream. Now I finally have time for creativity and I am finishing my next novel "My Dog Speaks Russian" - about life in Brazil and how important it is to achieve your goals and believe in a dream.
My dog, a German shepherd, really knows all the commands in Russian, because I always speak Russian with her. And I'm also preparing a recipe book for release, which I began to compose immediately after marriage. At first I wrote down successful recipes in a notebook, for myself, and then it turned into almost 300 colorful pages called “Gostobar. Recipes of a Young Wife. " "Gosto" - in Portuguese means "delicious".
Perhaps someday I will find a job in Brazil, but so far I have no need for this. Even my husband Markus started teaching Russian students on Skype and was in great demand. Firstly, he is a really good teacher, and, secondly, the price he takes for a lesson is half the price in Moscow. Now he has about 20 students from Russia, aged 11 to 48. In a word, now our family lives in Brazil, and works according to Moscow time. We wake up at four in the morning, when it’s already ten in Moscow, and end our working day at noon, and then go swimming in the ocean.
After reading your story about life in Brazil, many will probably want to move to another country. What advice would you give to those who are determined to emigrate?
- I noticed that people have a little strange idea about emigration. For some reason, it is believed that if you want to leave for another country, then you are sure to be dissatisfied with your homeland. Or you are terrible and could not find yourself a worthy life partner among your compatriots, so you moved to a foreign land. In fact, most of the people who live abroad moved by accident - they found a job, fell in love, transferred to a local university … It is just that at some point it comes to the understanding that the world is not limited only to Russian men and only to your native country. Residents of Europe, for example, constantly move from country to country, and this is considered the norm. In our country, emigration is almost equated to a feat.
Therefore, my advice to everyone who wants to change their lives is simple: do not be afraid. Fear is the main obstacle to any dream.
Cast aside doubts, find a job on the Internet, it will help you have an income at first, start learning the language of the country you want to move to, make foreign friends. And if you are persistent enough, life itself will show you the shortest path and give you the opportunity to fulfill any dream. The main thing is not to give up halfway.
