In South America there lies the large nation of Brazil, a country highly dependent on the USA. They are a country with unique culture, however. Many people are in poverty, and the country goes in and out of economic slumps frequently. We contacted a 17 year old boy living in São Paulo, Brazil and requested that we could converse and interview him. He readily agreed, and what follows are excerpts from conversations on ICQ, and Internet Instant Messenger, with which messages are sent back and forth. He shared with us much about his culture and beliefs.

On February 9, 1999, we contacted Christian in Brazil and asked if he would like to converse and share about his culture. What follows are excerpts from our team member's conversation with Christian:

Christian: For sure! I love to talk about different cultures.

Jocelyn: What is happening there right now, how is the economy, and relations with other nations?

Christian: Friendship with other nations. Economics, we are getting by, there is problems, but everything will be OK in some months.

Jocelyn: Do you plan to go on to higher education after high school, like a college or university?

Christian: I am thinking about becoming a lawyer, it's nice, I really like this area.I guess I'll live here in Brazil, I love this country!

Jocelyn: What is the form of government?

Christian: Democratic presidential.

Jocelyn: Are you happy with your form of government?

Christian: Yes, I am. The president is quite good, he is making the best...But we still have some problems.

Jocelyn: Does your country favor what our country is doing to Serbia?

Christian: Brazil hasn't an official position about, but WE HAVE TO AGREE WITH USA, it's a kind of economic imperialism, we still need foreign money to keep our economy fine, so we can't disagree with you [USA]. In my opinion it's not something nice, but...Brazil is one of the countries under US, some say we are your [USA's] backyard.

Jocelyn: Where in Brazil do you live?

Christian: In the São Paulo state, it's the richest one in Brazil...It's in the South-east.

Jocelyn: You say it is rich; is the rest of Brazil in poverty?

Christian: So so, the south and the southeast of Brazil are the richer areas, the others are not so rich neither not so poor...In some specific areas we have belts of poor sites.

Jocelyn: Your country probably depends on agriculture as a major income, does it? Have you ever traveled outside of your country?

Christian: I've not left my country yet, and yes, agriculture back us up, but also the commercial and industrial...they are very VERY important to our country...My state (São Paulo) is industrialized but in other areas agriculture is the most important one.

Jocelyn: What is the predominant religion there in Brazil?

Christian: Catholicism is the predominant in Brazil, but I am a pagan.

Jocelyn: What do you mean by pagan?

Christian: I really would take centuries to explain that here.

Jocelyn: So you believe in several different gods.It's polytheistic, right?

Christian: Ya, and besides that I believe in the nature.

Jocelyn: Is your family also pagan?

Christian: No, I am the only one in my family.

Jocelyn: Is your family Catholic, then?

Christian: Yes, they are.

Jocelyn: What brought you to search outside of your family's religion?

Christian: Research.information...I read about other religions and got interested.

Jocelyn: What drew you to Paganism specifically?

Christian: I liked its ideology...I don know how to say that, it is close to what I am.

Jocelyn: What are the fundamentals of what you believe, meaning what is its basis and reason; motivation?

Christian: Paganism follows the nature, the self, the wish, the peace, the love but also the war and even the revenge! We follow the animals that must survive whatever is the cost, like the old trees that remains after the strongest storm, we look for knowledge and happiness.

During our interviews, we developed a set of questions to ask. Christian gave us some very interesting answers, and the interview can be viewed by clicking the link below.