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Most of the time, bedroom doors were kept closed,
making it rare for residents to have the opportunity to see the inside of one another’s private spaces. Bedroom 4 was occupied by Felipe and Jessica, one of the two married couples in the house. comfort food – and alcohol – as I awaited my grandfather’s death, which could happen any day. We laughed together at the absurdity of it all. And when he finally passed, she cooked me dinner. “You need to eat”. She made pasta al pesto and some sugar snaps. And while I sat and cried in the entrance hall, Everton approached me, grabbed my hand and asked for my permission to pray. For my grandfather and for me. Social Psychology professor Josélia Barroso says that there is no sociability without contact. “The human subject only becomes such when in touch with others. There is no possibility of being human without coexistence”, she says. At 177 Clonliffe Road, we started out merely co-existing. But as the weeks of confinement went by, we went from sharing a house to living together. When we arrived, the house didn’t have many appliances. But as time went by, we started furnishing it piece by piece. The new blender was used almost weekly for preparing carrot cakes – and everyone would pitch in with the ingredients they had. The cooking and frying pans Carla and Pedro bought for themselves, so they wouldn’t have to do the dishes immediately after cooking, were free for everyone to use. And once the weather improved a bit, someone bought a grill and barbecues in the yard became a thing. On Easter morning, Eduardo and Everton got chocolates for everyone in the house. For birthdays, we created the tradition of getting people a cake and a card, signed by “your Irish-Brazilian family”. When June finally came, we didn’t skip the traditional Festa Junina: we improvised on costumes and decoration, but cooked up the typical food. We started sharing each other’s happiness. When Pedro surprised his mom back home with a new fridge and when Beatriz’s sister got pregnant, we all celebrated. And on almost every Sunday we would have lunch together, like any ordinary Brazilian family. Although most of us have left the house, we do our best to stay in touch. We have a WhatsApp group with the original residents, and those who remained in Dublin still get together every now and then. As we recollect our time together, the shared memories, the ones we kept, are those of mutual respect and support. When describing the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé, the Argentinian anthropologist Rita Segato explains that, for the duration of their rites, the devotees are transported back to Africa. Through a process of religious transmutation, as they dance with their bare feet, they step on actual African soil. In our confinement, as we danced and hugged and spoke Portuguese and ate our food we turned that little brick house into Brazil. For a few weird months, although in Ireland, we stepped on actual Brazilian soil. Amanda is currently in Aarhus, Denmark, studying for a masters degree in journalism, media and globalization under the Erasmus Mundus Journalism programme. When she last checked in Pedro, Carla, Eduardo and Everton were still living in 177. amandamagnani.one 20