By Regina Noppe
Published: July 29, 2015
WHEN I first moved to Canada back in 2005, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy road. Despite the fact that I’ve always had a subconscious desire to live in another country since I was a child, I knew I would miss my roots. But, as I love challenges and new beginnings, I gave it a shot!
We immigrants all have some idea what we may have to have to face in a new country. I believe that every single hard experience has made me the person I have become today and I am thankful for that. You really have to be very dynamic as this new you is coming to life. While most of the times I loved my life in Canada, in the back of my mind, I always had that feeling of what I might be missing in my home country of Brazil.
Technology helps most of the times. I honestly can’t imagine how people used to make do in the pre-Internet times but it also weighs heavily when you see all those posts about your best friend’s first newborn, weddings, etc.
It starts to add up sometimes, and especially when things are not going your way, those thoughts come out and you start to wonder if it is time to come back.
In my case I like to “pay to see”, and after eight years I decided to move back to Brazil temporarily. Yes, its seems exotic and a great option, especially after the Canadian winter… but is it it really better?
My experience back home has been intense. It sure feels good to be around the same neighbourhood you’ve grown up in, to see the comforting faces and to be close to your family and old friends. But after the euphoria is gone, you realize that you are just not the same person anymore and you don´don’t quite fit in, in your “own” country.
I read an article comparing the social differences between Brazil and Canada.They gave scores of 80 vs 38 for individualism. With Canada ranking the highest among all countries, Canadians are shown to be the most individualistic in the world. Another score is power distance. This reveals the hierarchy of how our society is ruled. Canada scored 39 and Brazil 69, meaning that Canadians treat each other a lot more equally, with less class distinction and there is no need for titles as there is in Brazil. I have lived and breathed through these differences; they are real, not just words or studies on paper.
It has been almost two years that I´ve been back in Brazil. I believe that I had to experience Brazil again to wrap this up, as I long to breathe Canadian air once again! Actually, I talk about Canada quite a lot because besides having a Canadian husband and daughter, I am also working for a Canadian company, the John Casablancas Institute. As well, I lead a project to help Brazilian startups to come to Vancouver. I am an executive committee member for Alumni Canada-Brasil and was recently appointed as a member of the educational committee for the Chamber of Commerce Canada-Brazil (CCBC).
