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Caroline Miwa Nemoto Vice: Why Italy, Brazilian lady? Caroline: I came to study fashion design. In São Paulo I took a course in styling while I worked on a social project at the university. After a while I’d had enough and decided to move here. What were your first impressions of Pizzaland? It was different than I expected. I thought it was going to be a whole other world, but I found that São Paulo and Milan are very similar, even in architectural terms. The greatest difference I found was in personal relationships. Not to sound like a stereotype, but people in Italy are much colder, even if I do have a lot of great Italian friends. I don’t want to be the typical expat who spends half her time complaining about her new country and living in a bubble of her past life. I wanted to be here physically, mentally, and emotionally. Tell me about this “social project” you were working on. It was an outreach program. We helped people set up businesses. Brazilians can have very low self-esteem, because they are very poor, and they end up giving up on life. We wanted to change this. What do you think causes this? I think it’s the Brazilian government’s fault: It’s a nanny state. There is absolutely no use in giving money to these people and perpetuating their ignorance and poverty. You have to invest in education and allow them to help themselves. Makes perfect sense. OK, so besides poverty, another stereotype is that Brazilians prefer to “feel” rather than to “think.” I mean, yes, OK, we are passionate. But this doesn’t equate with being irrational. Speaking of stereotypes, I’m sick and tired of hearing about Brazilian girls. Italians talk about Brazil as though it’s a giant nudist hippie free-for-all. Bullshit. Brazilian women aren’t like that. There are many who will be very sad to hear this. Take the Carnaval of Rio. It’s an important cultural event, but in Italian news they only show the queen of the Carnaval, who traditionally dances topless. She is topless though, right? They take that nudity out of context. Around the queen there are thousands of old women and children and all the samba schools, who dance a highly structured choreography for more than an hour, with a story and music composed especially for the event. It’s not just a woman with her tits showing. Final question. You look like you might be Asian. Are you of Japanese descent? My dad is Japanese. And he’s the only one in my family to marry a non-Japanese. His family was very doubtful to begin with. But my mother looks slightly Asian herself, for some reason, and when she was formally introduced, she wore a kimono. My grandma said, “She’s not exactly Japanese, but she’ll do.” INTERVIEW AND PHOTO BY SERENA PEZZATO
Alice Galeffi Vice: Hello, Alice. What are you doing in the land of the Kiwis? Alice: I’m attending Auckland University for film and art history. Are there any directors or artists from New Zealand that made you want to come here? I didn’t really know much about New Zealand. I knew people here like to go bungee jumping and all sorts of sports, but that was about it. Have you taken part in that ridiculousness yet? Bungee jumping? Yeah. I moved here when I was 16 as an exchange student and right away I did three bungee jumps, got two piercings, and told all my friends New Zealand was the most radical place on earth. What do you miss most about home? The food. Brazilian food is amazing. And I miss my parents and friends, obviously. Also, the heat and it taking only five minutes to walk to the most incredible beach you’ve ever seen! Do you find that New Zealanders think Brazilians just want to party all the time and rub their genitals on everyone? I’ve met some Brazilians here and that characterization seems true. [laughs] A lot of the time it is. I’ve had some Kiwis stay at my house in Brazil and they had to beg me and my Brazilian friends to skip a night of partying. But I think Brazilians are just very happy people. No matter how poor or miserable they are, there is always a way and a reason to celebrate life. Are you saying Kiwis don’t know how to have a good time? People are more low-key here. Brazilians party every day, but they just want to be around people, have a beer, and talk. On the other hand, Kiwis don’t go out as much, but when they do it’s pretty intense. What’s the funniest thing about New Zealanders? When my Kiwi friends came to Brazil with me they had absolutely no idea how to approach girls in a nightclub. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the way they are and I deplore sleazy Brazilians, but Kiwi boys can be pretty sheepish. Do you have a boyfriend here? Yes. He’s the main reason why I moved here. Although I had to convince my parents that it was because of the university. And your parents actually bought that one? So, can Kiwis dance? The guys dance like retards, but the girls are all good. One time I applied for this job teaching Portuguese. They said I could only have the job if I could dance the samba. That’s borderline racist. Did you get the job? No, I just didn’t reply. By the way, how do you say New Zealand in Portuguese? Nova Zelândia. That’s beautiful. It makes it sound like it’s some mystical land full of gnomes and talking animals. Hopefully I’ll see you in Auckland or Rio sometime. Actually, let’s make it Rio. OK, bye! INTERVIEW BY ROYCE AKERS PHOTO BY HAYDEN EAST
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