C IRCLING R ELATIONS

When my informants connected much less to Brazilians than what they initially anticipated, it would seem to be a consequence of how they kept the unknown at a distance through dealing primarily with those of the same cultural and geographical entity. Starting from the initiation of a purchase, where different social channels were used to achieve a certain amount of safety in the action about to be performed, safety was something actively sought out throughout this whole consumption practice. How social

interactions worked as a reflection of the relationship between the safe and unsafe will be described here. That is done in order to take a closer look at how the known was held close and in what way the unknown worked best at a distance for the second home owners.

6.3.1 Circles of Interactions

The relations that were formed and what groups the owners socially interacted with in the second home context could be seen mainly divided between three large groups: Norwegians in a community, second home owners along with tourists in general, and the Brazilian society. As a second home owner one may flow from one of these groups to the next in various degrees, most often entering on the characteristic of being a foreigner. These different groupings illustrated a way to socially organise oneself in the second home context.

Although I have addressed most such meetings on a more detailed degree previously, the intention here is part of the greater ambition of this thesis. I will discuss how as a second home owner, one could get close to something unfamiliar, while also maintaining a certain distance from it. The circles of interactions as presented in Figure 2 should provide a useful infrastructure which emphasize and show in an illustrative way, the closeness and distance based in the second home and its owners.

1. The second home 2. An established Norwegian community 3. Other second home owners and tourists 4. Brazilian community

Figure 2: Diagram of circles of interactions

Figure 2 shows a circling of the social interactions and the different groupings that the owners could move in and out of in the second home context. It

suggests a mapping of a social system that was revealed when dealing with the social interactions that took place in this setting. Referring to social systems as a set of social relations that are made relevant through regular interactions (Eriksen 1998:90), circling interaction in the present way works as an act towards signalling the importance of cultural traits supposedly present in and between its actors. These different levels of social groupings and possible arenas for social interactions were not numbered randomly. They signify in what succession social interactions were mostly played out in the second home context. The circles of interactions represent most of all, a scale of relations connected by closeness and distance to the familiarity of my informants second home.

Different circles represent different arenas where interactions took place and recognize those which are most frequently in use. Circles ranked from the inside to the outside suggest groups and social arenas where the most social interactions took place. Located in the eye of the circle is the second home from where all interactions of the owner were based. This was the place where my informants had established a feeling of home and where most familiar objects were located. The next circle represents the Norwegian community where the second home owners most frequently interacted. Consisting of own condominium first and foremost, this was where a specific Norwegian

neighbourliness could be found. Relating to other second home owners and tourists, however, was done on a rarer basis. Still, my informants identified themselves with other second home owners and tourists, as they shared a common trait of being foreigners in Brazil. The interaction with other Europeans at beaches, restaurants, and other social arenas was greater than with Brazilians, because these other foreigner were viewed as closer to home and to their own culture. It was more likely that the owners would find something in common with them than with Brazilians, who are located in the outer circle of the diagram. Since the familiar were formed in these two inner circles, they made up the safest and most known arenas. As the Norwegians

shared the same nationality and were able to relate to known traditions, a safe zone was formed here.

While the two inner circles represent that which has been built in light of the known and the safe, the two outer circles on the other hand represent different sections of the second home setting. Having little or no contact with those who participated in these circles and not moving frequently within these arenas they were still important to the Norwegian second home owners. The general tourist was not so recognizably separated from the second home owners by my informants, but they were often talked about and the meetings between them were much valued when a communication with them was possible. In much the same way and even more was the appreciation of meetings with the Brazilians in the outermost layer. Even though the Norwegian second home owners integrated to a minimal extent with Brazilians, it was nevertheless the most appreciated, as we have seen. Still, the Brazilian community was not the most sought out of the social arenas. Having dealt with many of the

explanation for that in chapter five, what is worth adding is the

characterization of the Brazilian local community as the most unfamiliar zone for social interaction. This outer layer represented otherness and by that it was an area where specific assumptions concerning cultural difference were

placed. It is this that held the relations with Brazilians at a distance for the second home owners, while at the same time it established the second home as a base from which to interact. A construction of second homes as a base will be treated further in the next section.