Fabiola — Introduction
October 16, 2007Hello everyone,
I would say that in spite of living in São Paulo for roughly ten years, sometimes I feel like a stranger here. I was born in Rio de Janeiro but was raised in a small city 600 km far from São Paulo. You might be thinking what would be the reason for me to live here, so far from the beach. So, the reason was my first job and since the beginning I knew that to be a flight attendant one of the mandatory requirements was to live in São Paulo because most of the international flights take off from Cumbica’s airport and almost all the important air companies are located here. Today I don’t have any doubt that I accepted the idea very well in order to pursue dream, a wish but now since I’m not a flight attendant anymore I just accept the idea of living here because I need it.
How interesting, Fabiola. Although you were my student before, I did not know know you had worked as a flight attendant. Also, I did not know you had grown up in a small city. In your introduction, it felt as if you had regreted having come to São Paulo to become a flight attendant. I may be wrong, but your story gave me the sensation that you have chosen to continue living here because you had no other choice. Am I right? Would you go as far as to say that a person who lives in the countryside usually lives a happier lifestyle than a person who lives in a big city? What are your views on this issue?
Rick
Hi Rick,
No I hadn’t regretted having come to São Paulo to become a flight attendant. Actually, working as a flight attendant for almost 7 years was the best experience I could have had in my life. All my courage and humorous versatility to face the life, even after my dad’s death, came from the aviation. And for sure I had to accept things that I was trying to avoid anyway since my adolescence, like living in São Paulo. But before coming to São Paulo, I lived in Curitiba, Cuiabá and Rio de Janeiro and these lifestyles made me never want to move to São Paulo and also never move back to the countryside. By the way, I think I would not settle in the countryside anymore, people gossip too much there, they spend most of their time taking care of your life.
Hi Fabiola,
Thanks for answering my questions so promptly and so thoroughly. I think your responses will lead to a great theme for your writing in about a week or so. We will be dealing with narratives very soon, and you could explore one of your life experiences moving from city to city as the groundstone for this paper. We will talk about it the future.
See you in class,
Rick