FIFA World Cup lived by Aussies in Brazil: a lifetime experience

Here in Australia, all Latin people are feeling the atmosphere of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Soccer is a Latin passion and the enthusiasm of our countries is coming to us from the media, and our families and friends in our countries.

However, Gringo Magazine was curious about the Australian feeling about the World Cup. We interviewed Liem Nguyen and Raul Fearce, two Australians from Brisbane who have been in Brazil for the event. Check it out!

Liem Nguyen

World Cup experience: It is definitely a once in a lifetime experience for me and I will always remember the friends we made and the experiences we shared.

Being in Brazil: Brazilians are very open and friendly.  It was amazing to see the amount of passion people had for soccer.  Also there seems to be a lot of security everywhere we went, so I felt very safe. It wasn’t always easy to communicate, as not everyone speaks English.

Differences between Australia and Brazil: The most obvious difference is the divide between the poor and the better off.  But in Brazil, whether people are poor or not, everyone is very patriotic to the country.

Raul Fearce

World Cup experience: I will always keep in mind the amazing local people who were always willing to help the "gringo" (word friendly used to call the foreign people).

Being in Brazil: I enjoyed the most the party atmosphere and the willingness of the locals to help and make sure we had a good time. Straight off the plane in Rio I was surprised by the size of the favelas, and how densely populated Rio was.

Differences between Australia and Brazil: In my opinion, both countries share a lot of common qualities; it's just Australia is far more organized and structured.

By Ligia Ruy