The 147th Episode : 2nd generation Japanese Brazilian
[August, 1999 San Paulo]
As mentioned, I was to fly to Rio de Janeiro after San Paulo. I asked the hotel clerk of a taxi to San Paulo airport.
An old guy approached me saying “did you call a taxi?” in fluent Japanese. He was a taxi driver. He has a little dark skin but the facial features are quite Japanese. The 2nd generation Japanese Brazilian, he said. It is quintessentially the city of Japanese Brazilians.
Age was 70’s. Japanese language is spoken by such the 2nd generation, but hard for the 3rd, 4th generations… he said. Nobody can help it.
We talked only in Japanese for approx. 30 minutes to the airport, about Japan, our job… I would fly to Lima, Peru via Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.
