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The World Cup is officially the biggest event in the Universe.

Even astronauts have World Cup fever.

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Soccer as a Metaphor - The World

If you view soccer as a cross section the world... the field represents the earth - it's finite with specific boundaries. The clock represents time, always ticking up to the 90th minute without stopping because no one can stop time. And the ball represents power. No one can grab power and hold on to it. You can't possess it. You have to keep it moving and develop it or you'll lose it. It's up to each nation to decide how it to use that power when they get it. They can shoot, they can pass and they can dribble; but, they can't be too cavalier. Empires have fallen because of vanity.

When you watch a national team play soccer, you begin to understand the history of their nation. With so few rules, gameplay is open to interpretation and the identity of a nation begins to manifest.

--- THE IDENTITY OF A NATION ---

As an Island nation, long crosses from a winger makes sense for England. They have countless long-range shooters and they hustle.

When you see Germany, you think precision. That's what Germany companies are known for. No matter how they reconstruct their tactics... you know they are always on point.

When you witness the player movement of Dutch total football it's easy to see the correlation between that and a nation that made it's name of trade and movement around the globe.

Many of the players on the French team are black or muslim. Apropos for a nation that once colonized most of North and West Africa.

And of course, Brazil. A nation that's know for it's style and joy... but, a nation a dead set on pushing itself on to the level of the superpowers (without getting too political, it's great that Brazil is hosting the World Cup, but $14 Billion could be better spent becoming a super power than showing the world that you should be one).

And then there is the U.S. How do we fit in? Well, prior to the first World War, we went through a period of isolationism. The rest of the industrialized countries were vying for control over various parts of the world and we were just chillin'. We are at the point where we are opening up to the world. International talent is coming in. Our talent is getting international experience at the highest level. And, like the american spirit, we attack. That's going to be the American story of the future - an attacking style of play.

We attack relentlessly.

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SET IT OFF BRASIL!

100,000 people protested against the government and the raising of bus fare in Rio de Janeiro. 50,000 people protested in São Paulo. Tens of thousands more protested in Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Fortaleza. Where was I? Eatin' dinner. Why? Because I'm American and I don't want to be live on CNN with Delta Force evacuating me from a Brazilian prison like Elián González. I would just be another uninformed American sticking his nose in international business; an Instagram selfie isn't worth getting shot in the face with rubber bullets.

If this were America however, you know I'd be in the front with a V for Vendetta gas mask holding a sign that read "Free Malcolm X" or something crazy like that. I'd be going HAM. In fact, I'm considering that idea right now. I can go HAM internationally, too. It's young people. I'm young. And young people are always right. Why are they right? Because they A) Are statistically going to outlive the people in power. B) have the advantage of seeing the mistakes of an older generation that, at this point, said "Fuck it, just blow the money on the World Cup". While healthcare and education are in need of funding and there is massive corruption through out the government, all eyes are on the ball. 

Now, with that being said, our entire economy nearly collapsed in 2008 because a few bankers wanted to jerk off and asphyxiate with our money in the stock market; All we had were a few homeless students camping out? Yeah. Nut up or shut up. America can learn a thing or two. until then...

SET IT OFF BRASIL!

(The protests are 99% peaceful, so... Don't go run and tell everyone "That shit cray." Military police are wilin' though.)

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Exhaustion

My mind is exhausted... I have to think about expressing myself. I have to put the words together in some coherent fashion a spit it out of my mouth. That process in another language is tiring.

My mouth is exhausted... Forming words in Portuguese is much different. The rhythm of the language is different which makes for beautiful sound, but after a full day of interaction it's terrible. My mouth goes on strike from time to time. When I should make conversation with others, it instead says to me, "Are you serious right now? Say that shit in English."

My ears are exhausted... I space out for a second and then I lose the whole conversation. I spend the rest of the time listening for clues to see what it was that I missed.

Boa noite...

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Portinglês: The GirlTalk of Languages

From the mouth of babes...

Going to another country and learning a language is the closest thing you get to becoming a child again. You understand concepts and relationships, but you can't formulate what you're experiencing into words. I’d like to think my accent is as cute as baby talk, but I highly doubt it. Maybe it’s funny like “Foreigners Say The Darnedest Things”… I mean… I laugh a lot at the end of my sentences. There's probably a joke about people like me that’s equivalent to “Me speaky no engrish”.One day I’ll be fluent. Until then I’ll just keep “speaky-ing”.

The Lingua Franca of the Youth

Now that I'm deeper into the Portuguese language (past counting and whatnot) I'm starting to realize how difficult the english language can be. I can understand why people's accents are the way they are. I can understand why they arrange sentences they way they do. I can even understand why they like American curse words (best in the world bar none). I knew all of this before, but, until you speak another language and put it into practice, you can't fully understand your own language.

With that being said, I rather enjoy mashing the two languages together and using what makes sense to me in each language whether or not it makes sense to everyone else. This Portinglês just so happens to be the lingua franca of Young people in Brazil.

Most of the young Brazilians I've encountered at bars, parties and get togethers can speak some English. Many are fluent. This isn't necessarily true for the whole country, but for young, college-educated people, it seems to be the case. So, when I'm I can have a full, semi-robust conversation 50% in Portuguese and 50% in English (more of a 30/70 split, but fuck it).

Spanish: The Gateway Language

Every person in America should learn Spanish.

1 - Our closest neighboring countries and Puerto Rico speak Spanish.

2 - We have a large percentage our own population that are bilingual or speak Spanish as a primary language.

3 - We have easy access to the resource to learn Spanish

Spanish has the ability for Americans to open the door to the rest of the Romance languages that cover 753 million native speakers: Portuguese, Italian, French, Romanian. Without knowing some Spanish, I wouldn't be as far along in Portuguese as I am today.

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I have one year from today to get my shit together:

Just 365 days away. One year from today the 20th edition of the World Cup opens in Brazil. We’re excited here for the next year, how about you?

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VAI TIMÃO!!!

The Corinthians - O time do povo (the team of the people).

My first Brazilian soccer experience blew the lid off American sports. We need drums. We need flags. I mean... we pour millions of dollars behind our sports and the most passion we can muster are season tickets. Before you disagree note the following differences:

The home team and the opposition are kept completely separate - They enter on different sides of the stadium and are physically separated during the game.

There are no assigned seats - You sit or stand wherever you put your ass.

There is a crowd-control gate all the way around the field - not one of those "keep of the grass' gates at college games. I'm talkin' 'bout 12 feet and curved at the top.

Drums & Flags - There were two 50 ft. flags waving across two entire sections of the stadium and constant drumming throughout the entire 90 minutes of the game. Drums really make you feel it more. If I would have seen a fã (fan) of Portuguesa, I probably would have thrown a punch.

For anyone whose a soccer fan, just know it's exactly like they say. Que maravilha.

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Ghetto Music: The CHI/Rio Connection

Picture this: Chief Keef, the "violently" successful teenage rapper from the southside of Chicago, and MC Beyonce, a teenage Funk artist from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, on a track together. Other than the language barrier, there's no reason it couldn't happen; the song would probably be an international sensation. Drill music meets Funk Carioca.

The Drill music of Chicago and the Funk music of the Favelas in Rio are essentially the same. Lyrics - drugs, sex, money, violence. Beats - repetitive, but catchy. Videos - low budget, butts, sunglasses, money, cars. Artists - homegrown from impoverished neighborhoods. It's the South Side Chi/Rio Favela connection.

I can't lie... I love "ratchet" music. Below are four tracks from Chicago and Rio than I can never seem to get out of my head. I've noted my favorite lines from each song. Note - These contain explicit lyrics (as if that wasn't expected from the descriptions above):

1. "Fale Mal de Mim" - MC Beyonce (Rio) 

A purrada come."

2. "Mais Mais" - MC Carioca (Rio) 

"Ele disse que ela pina no som do minha voz."

3. "3Hunna" - Chief Keef (Chicago)

"Click clack pow and now he runnin'."

4. "Hitta" - Lil Durk (Chicago)

"I'm a hitta by myself, I don't need nobody else."

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FALE PORTUGUÊS!!!

I hopped of the plane with nothing but a language book and a hacksaw for a tongue with the words "Made in America" written on the side. My Portuguese is good (for my level), but I have my off days. Oh... and when I'm drunk, I might as well have an American flag and George Washington's wig shoved in my mouth.

I'm so glad I have text messaging - I'm far more eloquent with written Portuguese. I've had deep conversations with people over text that in person, we just understand "While he may look Brazilian, he definitely is not." My host father told me, in portuguese, "People will think you're Brazilian, until you open your mouth."

Despite any challenges, Portuguese is great. Two more weeks and I'll be putting out my own funk carioca mixtapes. 

But, really, speaking any language is easy. You probably know more of every language than you realize. Lesson #1:

"What is this?" - Take index finger and point at object.

"Where is this?" - Shove map in someone's face. Commence pointing.

"How much does this cost?" - Pull wad of Reais from pocket.

"I don't understand." - Smile.

"Repeat that, please." - Blank Stare.

"Damn. I really didn't get that, but fuck it." - Laugh.

"[General small talk]" - Say, in English, the name of any American pop culture icon. American pop culture is pretty cancerous. McDonald's and "Call Me Maybe" are our greatest exports.

Now, you can travel anywhere.

Está bom?

Owen

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Motos, Gates & Tags

"The number one killer of tourist are their own two eyes."

- George Washington, 1777

As a tourist, looking at shit is what we do. "Oooh! Que é isso?!" (What is this?)... it's a person, having lunch, living their life. "Que é aquele aí?!" (What is that over there?)... It's a dessert. You have it in America, you just never noticed it until now. It isn't until you syphon through the stupid things, that you notice what's real and you begin to get a since of your surrounding. Every city has its attractions. It's the day to day objects that give the city its personality.

Here are the top things you will see in São Paulo:

1. Motorcycles

Traffic is incredibly bad in the city... and in between the stationary cars on the roads are 150cc motorcycles. And they cruise. The motorcycles probably ride between the cars at about 40 miles per hour. Our side mirror was clipped when we were stalled on Avenida Paulista; it's a common occurrence. Motorcycles to São Paulo are what bikes are to Chicago in the summer time.

2. Gates (Real Gates)

There are walls and gates in every neighborhood. The gates are 10 feet high and topped with barbed wire. Everything is built into the aesthetic, so it in no way looks like a compound, but you definitely feel a separation from "whatever" is being keep on the outside. "Neighboring Sounds" is a brazilian film (iTunes) that explains this completely.

Neighboring Sounds - Plot Summary

3. Graffiti

... And on said gates and walls are graffiti. Much of the graffiti has a super cool aesthetic; this graffiti exists for the art ('Tá bom). The other graffiti is comprised of random marks and symbols that, while we have no idea what the fuck it means, given the context, it's quite ominous.

4. Magazine Stands

If you need a magazine, walk down the street. The magazine selection is legitimately better than any gas station I've ever seen in the States.

5. Beautiful People.

I don't need to say anything else. This is how you get hit by a car in São Paulo.

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North American Scum

Prior to coming to São Paulo, the only thing I had ever heard from Americans about the city was crime and traffic. That’s because we inherently don’t know shit about the rest of the world. Now, to be fair, all of the above exist and I’ve only been here for two days… but, 18 million people live here every day; somehow they manage to cope with both.

Below are a few of my favorite ignorant quotes from Americans.

“I can’t read this. It’s not in English.”

I was coming through customs in Sao Paulo and I heard this quote in a conversation between an American man and one of the Brazilians at the checkpoint. The funny part was, the form was in four languages – French, Spanish, English and Portuguese. He was just pissed he had to fill out another form. He just chose the fuckin’ laziest cop out to do so. He should have just said, “I don’t feel like reading right now.”

“We had to ride in an armored car.”

Did you "have" to? Really? Because my first day I rode around the city on a bicycle.

“Brazil, huh? Are you going to find you a lady?”

As a joke, I should print out a picture of some random Brazilian girl and show it to this person like, “I found one.”

“Super legal.”

It’s “super cool” in Portuguese. Yes… I translated my own catch phrase and I use it on a daily basis.

  "Just throw it in the bag... wait?... Oh no... take that out."

Brazil is also very expensive. How expensive is it?! It’s so expensive it makes you wonder why they sell it in the first place. Below is the price of a Triumph Motorcycle I saw in GQ Brasil.

Cost in Brasilian Real:     48,690

Cost in U.S. Dollars:        $22,787

US MSRP:                       $13,999

Difference:                      $9,288 (a.k.a another motorcycle)

                                        66.3% 

The retail price of an apple computer was so expensive, it was almost the same price as purchasing a round trip flight to the US and buying one in Chicago.

Supply and demand… a little gift from Capitalism.

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ORD:GRU (Chicago to São Paulo)

A fantasia começa..

Way to the start the trip. I spent the morning riding around Chicago in a Jeep with the windows down cranking Kid Cudi the whole way through only to realize I packed the case to my headphones and not my actual headphones. I wear headphones every damn day. I wear headphones so much, I've even mastered giving hugs with headphones on. Anyway, I ended up purchasing new ones... as if I had a choice.

   Broken English meet broken Portuguese

On the plane to São Paulo, I made my first Brazilian friend! By friend, I mean I had a conversation with someone that didn’t actively know I was learning the language prior to me opening my mouth. They know now. Hey…. I did better than “…words…” (palavras).

  The Flight (O Vôo)

At first, I was disappointed about the flight being at night. How can I see the Amazon from 30,000 feet up, in the dark, especially if they confiscated my infrared binoculars at the checkpoint? However, the night flight was amazing... actually, probably the most memorable flight I've every had.

Let’s put it in context – I believe in signs, fate, destiny, what have you. My personal philosophy came from a book of horoscopes and I end up flying the entire way to São Paulo staring at the major constellations featured on the Brazilian flag. That's a sign. When we flew over the Caribbean Islands and every island was outlined by the light of its cities that shined through the partial cloud cover. It was like something from “Tree of Life”, you know, when the universe begins (for those of you that made it that far). The only thing that could make it better would be a couple of lightning strikes... (Que lightning) Wow. (Mix music) Holy shit. Let the show begin.

I wake up a few hours later and I see Sao Paulo...

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Because Pelé's Black...

Everyone asks me why I'm so fascinated with Brazil. the short answer - Pelé. I mean... there are many reason why I've always wanted to go to Brazil, but when you boil it down to the essence, I was seven and Pelé is black.

Pelé's black?

When I was seven, the only thing I gave a fuck about was kickin' my ball. Football, football, football morning, noon and night. We had moved from Germany and all of the kids played soccer. But, when I came to the U.S. no one played soccer, especially not anyone black.

One day, I was playing in the backyard and my dad asked me a question. "What color is Pelé?" Easy question - I'm the only black person to ever play soccer in the history of the world. "White." Done... now let me continue kicking my ball. "Are you sure about that?" Okay. What are you getting at here? "Why don't you look it up." Damn... now I have to stop playing soccer and get a book.

the first time I saw Pelé was in the Encyclopedia Britannica; I was floored. the greatest soccer player in the world was Black, just like me. Obsessed much? Very.

Brazil is way more than soccer, but... I had to start somewhere.