Both Brazil and the US are huge and extremely diverse countries. On both you can see extremes of luxury and poverty. On both you will see violence and police corruption. In the case of the US, it's more heartbreaking because it's a rich country, and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco.
There are too many things that "shouldn't" in the US that just are and that is what makes me avoid visiting as often as I once did. The current descent into a quasi-fascist state isn't enticing either.
Brazil, on the other hand, is a poor country with rich pockets (chances are we both grew up in one), and poverty is kind of expected and hard to avoid. At least there (I don't live in Brazil anymore) we see a government dedicated to reducing economic inequality. I hope they succeed.
In the meantime, I guess I'll learn some basic Mandarin and spend more time in China. It's an interesting country that's now opening up to the world and with a lot of new things to be discovered by those who grew up elsewhere.
> and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco.
Taking a straight line on the map in San Francisco, we saw people in conditions as grim as I have ever seen, including South African slums. As you say, it's in some ways worse because the USA should not - there must be the ability to improve that, but not the inclination. The dire pockets are smaller in the USA, sure. But there were also extremes of luxury and poverty.
> In the case of the US, it's more heartbreaking because it's a rich country, and you shouldn't see people living on the streets of a place like San Francisco.
It is certainly not for lack of money all around that many/most live on the street. Money is the one thing that sloshes all over the place. Mental health care and friendly administrations of all kinds, on the other hand, not so much.
你说得对，你首先需要学中文。Otherwise you'll have a tough time out here.
But once you've got the language to a decent place, it's pretty nice. I'm hesitant to express how much I like it here, though… I look at what's happening with all the foreigners causing trouble in Japan, and really hope that the "scary" reputation of China helps keep those types of people from descending like locusts here too. Some secrets are better left kept…
What's good about living in China? Aren't the cities huge, unwalkable, polluted? Asking in good faith. I've never visited, but spent a lot of time in Bangkok and that was a dystopian nightmare to me. I'm assuming Chinese cities are similar?
+ what about the gov? I have a lot of friends who emigrated from China and they are complaining a lot about freedoms, social welfare, and work life balance back home.
It's naive to believe that the Brazilian government has the population's best interest at heart.
It is a Russian-style aristocracy with zero freedom of speech. I genuinely believe that Lula as a "people's person" cared for the "people" at some point, but that's long gone.
Brazil is a failed state with 52(!) GNI. That level of inequality signals a gargantuan failure of the state.
My hope for the country is that is gets split at some point, since as it is, it only "works" for a very small minority.
> The current descent into a quasi-fascist state isn't enticing either.
> In the meantime, I guess I'll learn some basic Mandarin and spend more time in China.
There are too many things that "shouldn't" in the US that just are and that is what makes me avoid visiting as often as I once did. The current descent into a quasi-fascist state isn't enticing either.
Brazil, on the other hand, is a poor country with rich pockets (chances are we both grew up in one), and poverty is kind of expected and hard to avoid. At least there (I don't live in Brazil anymore) we see a government dedicated to reducing economic inequality. I hope they succeed.
In the meantime, I guess I'll learn some basic Mandarin and spend more time in China. It's an interesting country that's now opening up to the world and with a lot of new things to be discovered by those who grew up elsewhere.