Tech Me Amadeus

I'd say the biggest difference between Brazilian and American life that I've had to get used to is the American tech fetish. Yes, that means you. You Americans are obsessed with your gadgets and blogs and gadget accessories. Every morning, I still marvel on the subway at all the people with their iPods, laptops, Blackberries and what not nerding away and oblivious to their neighbors.

The thing is, in Brazil, no one can afford gadgets because they cost at least double the price here due largely to insane Brazilian import taxes and general Brazilian weirdness. As a result, walking around the streets there, I saw much fewer people with the cyborg blueteeth headsets. I never once saw a Wii there and never played Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Instead, people on the subway just read newspapers (yes, newspapers!) or talked to each other, like back in the old days here.

So as I let go of Brazil and relearn my American ways, I've realized that the first I have to do is tech my shit up. Flatscreen TV? Check. The latest digital camera? Check. This week, I bought myself a Blackberry. Next week, cyborg bluetooth earpiece.

And how does it all make me feel? Somehow, more complete. The difference is back in Brazil, people hung out more, talked to each other, drank endless chopps on the street and ate endless sticks of barbecued meat. That was their world and their community, and it went all night.

Here in the States, I've noticed everybody's purpose-driven. Eat dinner, see movie, go home, fornicate, sleep, find job, read book, on and on. People don't hang out, they don't drift, they're in their own heads.

So no wonder Americans look to virtual Playstation worlds or their little Blackberry pastures with the cute icons for solace. If you were Brazilian, instead of reading this blog, you'd be talking about the same shit with your friends on the street as you chewed on some lamb. 

Which way's better? I have to admit that back in Rio, I'd walk back from the bus stop past a bar packed with people talking and drinking beer, and I'd wonder, "Where the hell do they find the time to hang out so much?" I'm into tech. It fills me up.