Journalled on Friday, 23 June 2023 | Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 26 °C, hot and sunny.

It is Friday, the end of the working week for most and almost the end of the month.

The week has been reasonably good. I have had to choose the templates for all my sites.

I have bought a new pair of glasses and am just waiting for them to be ready. I have worked. I have given several classes; it has been a productive week. Another important point is that I am now only paying one rent, for Yasmin and Nalva. Since I am temporarily living with them,

I am saving money, which is very beneficial. When I lived with Nalva during our common-law marriage, I paid two rents: one for our flat in Flamengo and another for the school in Copacabana.

When we separated, initially, I lived at the school for a couple of months before moving to Benfica in the north zone of Rio. From that point until I decided to close the school permanently, I spent around six or seven years paying three different rents: one for the school in Copacabana, Yasmin and Nalva’s place in Flamengo, and my residence first in Benfica and later in Copacabana.

It was a lot every month. Some people have trouble paying one; I had to pay three. Now that I have moved in with them and there is no longer a physical school in Copacabana, I am only paying one, which is a great relief; a heavy financial burden has been lifted. I can breathe a little; it is a luxury for me to pay only one rent.

I’m doing relatively well for a person living in Brazil, paying only one rent as the main expense; I am experiencing a temporary sense of financial freedom that I haven’t felt in quite some time. Since moving in with Yasmin and Nalva, I have paid off the glasses I bought with Dona Vera before moving.

I also paid for my new Brazilian ID, which was not cheap. I have also bought a new pair of glasses for my trip to England. I have also helped Nalva pay off most of her debts, which I was not aware of before. I also paid for various presents, food, and Yasmin’s piercing for her birthday.

More importantly, I am not broke; I am not searching for money at the end of the month, which was quite normal in the past. Usually, at this time of the month, I am looking for a pupil to pay in advance because money has already dried up. This is the first month in a long time that I have not felt the need to find a pupil, because otherwise I would not have money to buy food.

There were times when I had to live on very little or almost nothing towards the end of the month, counting the days until the start of the new month to receive my income. My priority has always been to honour my commitments, especially regarding Yasmin and Nalva.

Life has its good and bad moments, but living in Brazil, unfortunately, there are more bad times than good. People in Brazil literally work to survive unless they come from a privileged background or family, and the gap between the privileged and the less privileged is becoming larger, worse, and more violent.

Particularly in a city like Rio de Janeiro, where the middle and lower classes often live in the same neighbourhoods, the mixture of different social levels is not always ideal and certainly not consistent.

For instance, consider Ipanema, one of Rio’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. Many films have been shot there, and some of Brazil’s most renowned music has been inspired by Ipanema’s culture, style, and bohemian nightlife.

Although this neighbourhood is home to some of the most valuable real estate in Brazil, with values surpassing those of Sao Paulo in some cases, it still contains two or three large favelas or slums.

Here, the upper middle class and millionaires share the same neighbourhood with many people who live below the poverty line. Both the wealthy and the impoverished can be seen walking side by side in the streets of Ipanema and other neighbourhoods of Rio.

Is this a healthy situation for everyone and for society as a whole? And whether it is or not, why? And this government that I dislike so much, is it their fault? Or is it just pure ignorance?

If so, when will this continue, and what will the future look like? Currently, an entirely new generation in Brazil is emerging without any prospects at all. Once again, common sense does not seem to be a factor in these matters. The issues are complex, challenging, and complicated.

Those in positions of power enjoy talking and making excuses, but they often have hidden agendas that take priority over assisting the people they are meant to serve.

On Friday, I worked until 5 p.m. At around 6 p.m, Nalva arrived home, and we went for a walk around Flamengo. While we were out, we bought some “churrasquinho de gato” barbecue on a spit, and took it home to make sandwiches. We paired the sandwiches with a chilled Camenere red wine, which made for a great end to the night.

In bed by 11 p.m.