Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 29 degrees, hot, Sunny and beautiful blue skies; a beautiful day.
It’s Monday again, the start of a new week, so there are many tasks to tackle. At the moment, I don’t have any early classes on a Monday, and I am currently in sync with Brazil, with no time difference. In England, I was either 3 or 4 hours ahead; now, it is the same time as Brazil.
Up early and out to do exercise at the park, walking, skipping, TRX and elastic, all in an hour and a half session. On the way back, I bought a coffee from the Portuguese bakers, journals and prepped and posted a blog at home.
I had arranged to deliver a present I had bought for Rafael, a newborn boy whose parents are my pupils. Marcella stopped having classes because of Rafael’s birth and the chaos that comes with having a baby for the first time. Victor, the husband and father, continues to have classes, but I am unsure for how long.
His English is good, so the classes are less productive than they used to be; they are more about maintaining his English than teaching new material.
Both of them work as IT consultants, which allows them to work remotely from home. However, Victor has to go to the office in Praia do Flamengo at least once a week, a 15-minute walk from where I am currently living.
We had arranged to meet in his office building, the same building where Eike Batista’s office is located — an old, renowned yet fallen Brazilian billionaire who became involved with PT, the workers’ political party, a mixture of corruption, confusion, and theft. I know the building well because I had taught classes there briefly in the past.
Stupidly, I had forgotten my ID at home so that I couldn’t go up to the office floor. I spoke to the receptionist, and Victor came down to receive his son’s present. He kindly thanked me, and we had a brief chat about everything.
The first time I gave him lessons was about 15 years ago. I think it’s been about 4 or 5 years since I started teaching him online. I believe the last in-person lesson we had was at the school in Copacabana, probably 10 years ago.
I know, obviously, that I have grown older, but for me it is interesting to see how time and ageing have affected others. He’s still the friendly, very well-educated, and correct person whom I have always known him as, but now he’s rounder, plumper, from at least 10 years of us not being together in person.
It was terrific to see him, and I am glad that everything in his life appears to be going very well. His flat in Recreio, a nice and new neighbourhood in Rio, is paid for. He is very well established in his work and profession, and over the last six months, he has become a family man with his equally lovely wife, Marcella.
What has always caught my attention with Victor is his correctness and his strong sense of ethics. He is an extremely good and competent professional, respected by everyone; only compliments and praise are spoken of him. I have never heard him say a bad word about anyone, not even when that person deserves it.
For me, someone who doesn’t speak ill of others is rare these days; people often seize the chance to belittle others to boost their own sense of importance or strength. It is sad, but sadly, it is a reality today.
Your own actions and hard work will always reveal who you truly are. So, you don’t need to worry, think, or speak about others; let them live their lives, and focus on yours. If someone does something wrong to you, it is their problem. Truly, what they say is none of your business, even if it concerns you, so just let them get on with it.
On my way back from meeting Victor, I invited Nalva for a coffee at the baker’s as she’s off work today. I took the opportunity to talk to her about the importance of saving money and not spending more than she earns. I have tried to speak to her about this many times, emphasising the reality of what we are living in Brazil at the moment, especially since I’ve been back.
For me, she is living a lie, as the only reason she’s living in Flamengo, the southern zone of Rio, the best part or at least one of the best parts of Rio, is because of me. If something happens to me, her situation would change very quickly.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is that she is living beyond her means, and when you do that, you become highly vulnerable to external forces. If you live below your means, it makes you stronger. Very few people truly understand that, but it’s true. And instead of seeing it as degrading, it is the opposite: an uplifting.
She needs to save money before it is too late. I know how to live within her means; it is the basics of surviving in today’s world, while also having a fulfilling life. I will help her in the future buy her own place, but she needs to prove to me that she will have the means to maintain it and won’t lose what I could help her with because of poor financial management.
I believe she understood what I was trying to say, and now let’s see what happens.
Talking about women, Julie is a bit of a mystery to me; we spoke a lot at the weekend, but it felt stifling. I have doubts about what the future holds. I miss her. I enjoyed being with her when I was in England; we had many great times, but something more profound was missing, and there were a few warning signs, including feeling suffocated and blackmail.
A simple and productive day.
In bed by 10p.m.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
