Week's Word: Alterity

Sometimes we need to keep away from our native land to know things about ourselves, and about the “other”. It is called “alterity”, according to wikkipedia, “is a philosophisical term meaning ‘otherness’ strictly being in the sense of the other of two (latin alter)”. In other words, the alterity experience take us realize that never would have imagined or seen, due to our difficulty to fix attention or curiosity in simple things that is familiar for us.
I like this term, because I’m abroad almost three years and at the moment is the best term for defining my experience in Europe. I came from the so-called Third World(maybe not) for the First World(maybe yes) on 29 July 2006, specifically in Lisbon.
I really had a great alterity experience. The first one was the way to say salute with two big kisses on the cheeks. So, if you find ten people in the same time you have to kiss each one. Oh, my God, In Brazil I just used to kiss my friends. Besides this, I discovered bad things about me like selfishness and individualism. That time was my first contact with myself out my country. Another alterity experience happened when I met Brazilian people; It went like if I had looked myself on the mirror. I could see the likeness among us.
I left Lisbon one month ago and now I’m in Dublin. It is strange, because I have seen more likeness than difference. Fortunately, Irish people is outgoing, but is crazy to cross the street like my people; what's more the bureaucracy doesn't working. Also is a new experience about Brazilian people, because I’m trying to talk to them only in English.

And why am I talking about this word, Alterity? It is just a introduction to speak about a book, which name is “My Inventend Country - a nostalgic journey through Chile”. The author is a woman Chilean, Isabel Allende that has lived in the USA a long time. She became famous with your the first novel “The House of Spirits” (1982), in 1993 this book was adapted into a film, starred Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Winona Ryder and Antonio Banderas.

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