I haven't written in awhile, so I have got a bit of catch up to do !
My apologies for this being selfishly lengthy, but I am eager to express, reflect, document, and share. Fortunately gmail has auto-spell check, as I gave up using apostrophes quite quickly as I just haven't got gotten used to the keyboard here so that I might as speedily catch my thoughts.
Sunday, we slept and slept after a night of sharing music tastes via youtube.com music videos. Then off to the TV Tower in the middle strip of the city which looks like an airplane from above.The TV Tower stands tall in the cockpit of the airplane, with the two government towers in the rear end and the streets griding out as wings. This city was designed, 40 years ago, from the ground up as I have gathered, right down to the buildings.
We are staying in SuperQuadra 209 North, Bloco I, apt 410.
The avenues and boulevards are named W2 and L2, and the buses all run back to the main bus terminal. If you are lucky, a car will stop at the bus stop on its way to the station and give you a ride... There was never enough room for the three of us, so we jealously watched others hop into the many stopping cars. The buses were fine of course, and actually almost every bus I have been in here in Brazil has been nicer than any bus I have ridden in the US - especially distance traveling!
Back to this strange city....The buildings are capped at a certain height, which helps with ventilation, I learned this evening, and the green spaces, help it not be so incredibly stifling hot. They are refreshing and relaxing, though they don't waste water keeping them green during dry season. Fortunately.
We tried again to go to the top of the TV Tower to see the view of the sunset, but the line was appallingly long and we had better things to do. Instead, we took the bus until we saw a Carrefour (grocery store I first encountered in Paris) and bought bread and cheese and wine and went to the movies! I was delighted when, instead of commercials, they showed the news highlights from the day! Refreshing!
The next day was a mini crisis day - family, work, and love - all entwined with 21st century technology - webcamming, skype conferencing, instant messaging, sms-ing thru skype, and more. What a world we live in and how it has changed!
My little sister, still in the slums of Sao Paulo on Monday, had called, a bit frantic and upset, saying she might have a blood infection. Then we couldn't get in touch with her after that phonecall.
As blood infections are quite serious, us concerned family members, without much knowledge of her actual condition, were discussing what we ought to do, Toby via instant messenger, Craig via skype-cell, etc....
I was a bit frantic trying to figure out whether I should go to Sao Paulo without having spoken with her on a flight leaving in an hour, to make sure she went to the hospital, knowing she thought she didn't have insurance to cover it. I wasn't quite trusting the poor peoples clinic she had gone to - should I bring her to Brasilia or go to Sao Paulo or get her back to the US even?
Less drama, less trauma - the calmer I could be the better, which I knew and was working on, but wasn't quite as successful as I wish, partially due to a bit of history with death in the late summer, due to lack of good medical care and other reasons.
Also, I don't know much about healthcare here in Brazil, except for free vaccines. Had she gotten online 15 mins later I would have been on my way to the airport to go back to Sao Paulo. A bus ride would take 15 hours. Instead, I ended up buying her a ticket to come to Brasilia the next day, as Sao Paulo is cold and wet, and the slums is no place to get healthy. Brasilia is a great place to get better ...hot and dry and relaxing.
Her flight was Tuesday afternoon, which turned out to be the worst travel day in the history of Brazil. We spent all day preparing for her arrival, looking for an english-speaking doctor, sanitary hotel, etc and wondering if her flight would actually arrive after many reports of the airport being closed and Brazilian authorities refusing outside help with their negligence in regards to international safety regulations.
It was a strange place to be in - some sort of urgency limbo.... feeling very urgent about her potential sickness, but having to wait to do anything, and not knowing the actual condition or even knowledge to really know how to react.
The airline didn't have much information to offer each time I called, and when we arrived at the airport, all flights were supposedly canceled and they couldn't tell me what was going to happen. In fact 70% of flights that day were delayed or canceled in Brazil, and we were hearing reports of rioting at the airport where she was. A bit disconcerting to say the least, to think of her with wounds and a fever, stuck in a riot with little chance of getting out of Sao Paulo.
I was wondering then what my options were, as transportation looked grim with buses overbooked, articles about people waiting a week to get home, etc. Also wondering how this flight crisis might affect getting back to the US in a week or so, depending on the political unrest with the international tensions rising.
The plane crash, killing almost 200, had occurred exactly one week before, and on top of that, during only mild weather, the roof of an area of the airport had blown off and mudslides were blocking runways.
There were only 3 flights that arrived that day into Brasilia, and one from Sao Paulo. Livs was lucky and was on it! She had been transferred to the international airport and was on the only airline who hadn't just canceled everything. Apparently a woman had attacked an airport employee and there were many riots crowds confusion wetness mud.
Waiting at the gate was nerve-racking and emotional, and a bit chaotic. No one was standing behind the red bars, but were right up against the doors, and cheering for every passenger coming through! It wouldn't have been allowed in the US - everyone pushing their way through the crowds to get out of baggage claim and people running into the secure area. The cheering was fun and light, but I was overwhelmed with relief and worry and hardly able to jump around.
The scene reminded me of the disorganization in relation to buses and lines.... Welton, my couchsurfing friend had mentioned this - a bit of common disregard for guidelines and regulations.. they are quite creative and fun people instead, and not time-bound.
I noticed that in buses, the same courtesy in the US where you let the people sitting in front of you on the bus get off first, in an orderly fashion, doesn't seem to exist. You just go and if they aren't rude enough to but-in, they have to wait. The same with lines.... constant cutting with friends, etc.
The point, however, wasn't to get her to me, but to get her some medical care - so after checking into the hotel, I suggested we just go to a hospital emergency room despite the late hour, banking on our family's conviction that we wouldn't have to pay up front.
The city is organized in areas.... all of the hotels are right next to each other, and all of the hospitals are together also. We picked Santa Luzia, which had a promising response to the english-speaking question. I needed some extra cash, but the cabbie informed us that the only 24 hour atm was at the airport 30 mins away! They wouldn't take her insurance... cab ride to the next as she wasn't in shape to walk... they won't either, despite them all being on the list of hospitals I had requested from the Insurance company. The third wouldn't either, so we sat singing to my ipod shuffle on the sidewalk at 1am until the taxi came to take us back to our hotel. This whole experience, increasing my already heightened and intense frustration and disbelief at healthcare systems - that someone needing urgent medical care can't get it!
At a hotel for the first time on this trip... guaranteed hot shower! Wonderful.
The hotel had promised internet access in the business center, but the computer was broken, so, with little energy to find alternatives I called internationally from the hotel phone - turns out we have to be reimbursed by her insurance company instead - hope they take creditcards.
I was appalled by the emergency rooms, but aware of the affect of my cultural perception. Olivia, having been here for 10 months, wasn't phased by the lack of professionalism, interest, cleanliness (to my standards), and I was wondering how to be more culturally open while ensuring proper care.
I awoke first to a manager kindly requesting we remove the towels we had laid out on the balcony and then to a $R 233 phonebill for my 23 minutes total on the phone sorting things out. I mostly calmly explained that I needed to speak with Renato, who had booked us in, in english, the night before. I explained to him that he had promised internet and, as I was unable to use it to make my international phonecalls based on their broken keyboard, I had no choice but to use the hotel phone and thus refused to pay the USD $150 phonebill. It was hard keeping the frustrated angered face knowing I would pay the money if I had to. They asked me how much I could pay after consulting various authorities, and I said I would pay for the room only. Then they had me calculate how much it would have cost to make the call via Skype... and, with paying for an hour of internet, I calculated about $R 5.986. They took the whole $R233 off of my bill!.. I tried not to smile walking towards the mirror-walled elevator.
I was wary of taking her back to sit in the waiting rooms, so I found a list of providers through the US Embassy and called the Internal Medicine doctor who was kind, and spoke English and made an appointment for that afternoon. Yet again wondering if I was waiting too long, or over-reacting. She seemed to be doing alright, though very rundown in many ways including a deep chest cough, fatigue, feverish, etc and of course the gaping bloody-pussed filled holes in her left foot - until about an hour before our appointment when she got a bit out of sorts and weak.
We waited in the mini receiving area, giggling and singing various ridiculous songs, and wondering how bored the receptionist is at her table cluttered by about 5 pieces of paper she kept arranging and writing on.
Dr Oliveira was very nice, asking a lot of questions in his big darkwooded desk with the wall behind him bespeckled with awards and degree plaquard. $R250 Cash. We laughed after our immediate surprise when he walked around the table to reach under her shirt and pulled out the thermometer and then whistled ourselves out the door (I am learning!).
We were sent to walk to find the Lab Exame.. and found that, despite everything being in the same area, literally with nothing else but medical care facilities, there was no signage. We found it eventually, and in it, a young labist who took down our information, and another labist, woman very evidently on cocaine looked over his shoulder. I was surprised that they gave me a card after paying the $R 175 that instructed me to see the results online. They literally used a big Q-Tip to get the culture - I don't even want to think about it!
The next morning I called the doctor who said it's staphylococcus - some sort of staph infection, and switched her antibiotics and cream. What a relief! Staph infections, though somewhat dangerous in unsanitary cold, damp conditions with weak immune systems, etc are hardly a big deal whatsoever and though she hadn't been getting better but worse for 5 days, she would quite quickly.
We switched hotels, and weren't yelled at for putting my laundry on the balcony, though I did lose a tanktop. They all spoke english in the very empty lobby and I could feel their curious eyes on me as I walked through each time... who's the young white girl by herself?
The new meds seem to have helped tremendously so far, and her slow healing was mostly due to her mis-diagnosis in Sao Paulo. Only 11 pills to go and she should be all set! A bit of a scare for nought, though there are med-resistant kinds of staph infections you can get in hospitals.
Next time you are in Brasilia, go to the top floor of the Mercure hotel, and enjoy the outdoor rooftop swimming pool and view! They wont check to see if you're a guest - promise.
Having spent more than enough money on sanitary conditions etc, we tried a family friend contact from Portland, Oregon and 2 hours later were being picked up from the hotel by a PHD trombonist and his Nature Conservancy working daughter and driving to the countryside to a marvelous house.... actually there were three houses and a swimming pool inside a locked gate. I had learned by this time, that you don't take off your shoes when you get to someone else's house.. that's actually a bit unsanitary and strange in peoples opinions. In Belo Horizonte they were teasing me for having taken off my shoes... I wonder if that custom and tradition of politeness occurs in countries based on the countries intensity of personal hygiene issues.
We had a wonderful light dinner, bread cheese fruit and coffee, and spoke to the couple and one of their granddaughters about traveling, trains, languages, different cultures and much more. It was delightful!
They warned us that once they went to bed and put on the alarm, we couldn't leave our rooms - a bit strange. So we lay there doing leg stretches above our heads with our restless bodies and experimenting with Tigerbalm, somehow managing to get some in our eyes and warming our tummies. I want to put tigerbalm in bodypaint - what a rush.
Our mid-day discussion with the mom today gave me a newfound respect for Olivia teaching violin in the favelas as I was made aware of the fact that they don't use ABCDEFG, but do re mi...etc. So not only a different language, but a different music theory framework.
At lunch we discussed many things - one being why Americans are so fat and I explained briefly that one reason, is that it is cheaper to eat unhealthy foods while in most other countries, its cheapest to healthy and its a luxury to eat otherwise.
We decided to make it to a conference and get back to my couchsurfing friends place in the city - it was just a bit remote out there though quite beautiful. Our hosts were quite surprised and concerned - wondering who we would stay with - a friend of a friend was my reply, aware it wasnt the right time to explain couchsurfing.. they were disappointed as they were planning evening activities without letting on. But we had to move on.
Next stop... a 5 hour drive to Uberlandia to meet some farmers who live outside of the city! What an adventure this will be.
And then some interviews in Brasilia, and back to the US. I know I will come back to Brazil, and during a time when I don't have internet research I have to do everyday which keeps me from gallivanting around playfully as I normally do travelling.
If you got this far - congratulations!
Hope all's well with everyone
Much love
Emma
Saturday, July 28, 2007
free vaccines.... hiking in the mtns... penis/bread
I am still in Belo Horizonte, or was when I started this email at least - surprisingly enough. I didn't expect to stay here so long, but time is quite strange here.4 days of my 5 weeks ....random?
Its not a touristy town at all, in fact, the walk Roman and I took around the artificial lake, is really the only thing to see. The city was designed actually, by a fairly famous architect, the streets running one way being the states in the Brazil, and the other way being the indigenous tribes (mostly wiped out).
We are the first couchsurfers, apparently, who have come here. Everyone else just passes through... so we were quite welcomed by the community here! We have been staying with the same couchsurfer and her family, who is letting me use the internet, wash my clothes, cooking us vegetarian snacks, and helped me figure out where to get my yellow fever vaccine!
I got two shots yesterday, the most vaccines I can remember getting really except when I went to Africa. I barely have any of the normal shots you get. I got the rubella shot, which means I am not supposed to get pregnant for 4 months. I think I can handle that.The shots were free.,... absolutely, for anyone who walks in and it was such a pleasant medical experience - probably nicer than almost every other one I have had. She was so nice..!
I agree with Romans comment after, that we have been mothered a lot in Belo Horizonte, which we both needed a bit of after all of our intense travels recently. Sleeping in, etc.
One evening we were supposed to meetup with a couchsurfer named Raquel - who wanted to take us out. She gave us instructions to her place as we were already downtown, and we arrived at quite the swanky apt building, probably one of the nicer ones I have been in! Her dad opened the door, with shirt open, apologizing as hed just gotten home from work and proceeded to lay out all sorts of bread, cheese, fruit, cake, and tea for us for dinnner!
Raquel recently was in Germany, and works in risk-management at a bank and is hoping to study economics abroad!
We went out to a nice bar, with a $5 covercharge - she said my chacos and skirt-tanktop were ok, because we were already obviously gringos... Gringos is descriptive, not derogatory in Brazil and theres nothing wrong with being American.
I think if I had dressed in tight jeans and little high heels, etc. people would have thought I were Brazilian as we could have easily been in Europe... Everyone was very white!
Race, the 49 colors of it according to Lonely Planet, is relatively linked to class here. She said that her friend who also works at the bank, is discriminated against and another couchsurfer Valeria, who lived in Park City Utah for 4 months said she was quite surprised when she was considered colored in the US as she is considered white in Brazil.
Couchsurfer Sidney and his fiancee (english teacher) meet us at the bar and were very friendly and patient as I insisted on trying to speak Portuguese. I later received a thank you-goodbye email from him saying that I changed his view of Americans - that he didn't know Americans were so nice! Yay! Though it is sad that his stereotype was so easily influenced, at least it was positively influenced... had I known he had such bad images of Americans I would have made more of an effort to paint a somewhat realistic US situation, but we can keep in touch.
There were a couple of guys hanging around Raquel's moms very expensive car and Raquel seemed a bit worried and annoyed. She gave one of them 50 centavos and then explained that she hates this. Its guys who are often unemployed, and they "watch" your car for you when you are doing something like going out to see a show, shopping, etc. They sometimes demand money upfront and other times when you get back. This time, he wasnt there when we parked, just asked for money when we got back.
Raquel says she dislikes it because its a kind of violence and intimidation... you dont know what they might do to your car if you dont give them money and you cant really tell them no.
We slept and slept - can't quite decide whether it was oversleeping making me tired, or me catching up on my sleep slowly. Either way, no alarm clock rudely interrupting my dreams has been nice and I have most mornings awoken with the sun, though promptly and peacefully gone back to the dreamworld for a bit.
Then we got in touch with Valeria, who had offered to take us to the mountains.
We met up with her in the Centro and took a quick taxi ride up towards the surrounding mountains. Belo Horizonte is an incredibly hilly city itself, encircled by mountains that stretch to the horizon.
I dressed conspicuous, in a conductor hat so shed find us easily, and black and white and blue - quite self-entertaining. The dirt was red and orange with iron and other melange of minerals found in the area. It was a simple 2 hour total hike, but surprised Valeria that we were so eager to get into the mountains...Roman missing the Himalayas and me missing the Rockies. We had a breathtaking view once we got up a bit, increasingly so, of the 4-6 million person city stretching out in front of us.
Valeria said that despite the grandiosity of the area and population, that it felt like a small city, that you meetup with the same people, and it has quite a small feeling - that people live small - like its a bunch of small towns side by side.
She is ready for the big city of Sao Paulo, boasting at least 12 million.
Roman and I found Belo Horizonte quite peaceful, however, refreshing after the insanity of the favelas.
Valeria, very surprised, asked Roman and I, why on earth out of all of the places in Brazil we had chosen to spend time in the favelas - that we were the third foreigners she had met who had chosen to do so and she didn't understand why. I also met, via some searches online (Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum), a young Danish man who is studying the phenomenon of tourists visiting the favelas. I am undecided, as there are pros and cons... it is important that people understand whats really going on in different parts of the world - but the lives of people should not be a tourist attraction at the same time. It depends upon the motives of the tourists I think - whether its for entertainment, or for understanding which they can use to help through various means.
We decided on trying the local food that night - which meant that I tried a taste of some local meat, along with 3 different deserts, a lot of garlic bread and garlic rice,...
Whats the opposite of commiserate? Because thats what Valeria and I were doing regarding our couchsurfing experiences, and the community in general.
Then we got onto the subject, of the fact that if you mispronounce the word for bread, it means a slang word for penis - that was good for a couple of laughs as Roman shared the multiple times and various situations wherein the german volunteers kept trying to pronounce it right...
As everywhere else in Brazil so far - it costs $1 to ride, there's no bus schedule, the buses are nicer than any greyhound bus I have seen - quite a bit better actually! And, there are two employees per bus - one driver, and one that takes the money. Is that more efficient? My first reaction was that it's not an efficient use of their money - but it might be, when considering safety, faster loading-unloading, etc. Also - with unemployment so high, the cost might not be as much as I imagined to add another employee. They have been quite useful so far with directions!
Walking around the lake the first night, I realized that Palm Trees, the very existence of them in my immediate surroundings, make me happy - a sign of relaxation, vacation - along with white birds being beautiful and symbolic. Of course, these perceptions are very much affected by my upbringing and culture. It's just another reminder that my truths are my truths alone.
Couchsurfing - can help bridge the gap between living in a city you are visiting, and visiting/seeing a city you are in. The difference between living your lifestyle and seeing touristy sights and living the local lifestyle and enjoying the city.
Were I in control, no one would receive a degree in international development without having lived for at least 3 months or more working for a development project in some capacity! My observations made me wonder whether my sister, after a year of working as a volunteer in a development organization in various capacities, knows more about development than I do - or more, what has she learned that would complement my knowledge and vice versa.
I have been excited to see the technology leap that has, according to my meager experience, occurred here, at least in terms of the energy efficiency of the showers. They are using, in the favelas and middleclass neighborhoods, one of the most efficient ways of creating hotwater if you are unable to use renewable resources to do so, which is heating the water right when you need it rather than keeping large quantities of water hot 24/7.
Now we are in Brasilia - arrived this morning on a very bumpity rockety 11 hour bus ride which affected my dreams in strange ways. Its a desert-flat area, and the most spread out city I have seen in Brazil. The weather is marvelous so far, and the city is quite strangely organized. We are staying in Quadra 209, Block i, apt 410. Everything is organized by numbers, laid out in the shape of an airplane. There are two people responsible for the city's design, one who designed the layout, another the buildings, and apparently they get blamed for everything.
Every night I have been looking at the moon and its been kind of refreshing to have that consistency and watch it change - it might be helping me understand the passage of time as I see the moon wax from a Cheshire cat grin to a large, hmm, elegant banana I guess might be the best description.
The couchsurfer we are staying with now couldn't have been a better match in terms of my research here - he is studying international relations and has many government, environmental, and academic contacts. He is presenting at an intl relations conference this week, on the structural relationship between the NGOs working to combat desertification in the North East of Brazil. He also wants to travel around different cities in Latin America learning best practices that he can bring back to Brazil to try as pilot programs. I am excited to explore what options are available, and to build contacts in case I am successful in my application to be the next United Nations Youth Caucus Coordinator.
It was his birthday today - and I pleasantly impressed myself with my portuguese skills as I was able to have such conversations as whether Brazil is considered Western (to which I inquired what their definition of western was), and the positive and negative aspects of virtual world technology among other things.
Thats it for now! I know - quite a mouthful - but I cant leave anything out - it just builds up as little curiosities..... more to come :-)
Love and more love!
Emma
Its not a touristy town at all, in fact, the walk Roman and I took around the artificial lake, is really the only thing to see. The city was designed actually, by a fairly famous architect, the streets running one way being the states in the Brazil, and the other way being the indigenous tribes (mostly wiped out).
We are the first couchsurfers, apparently, who have come here. Everyone else just passes through... so we were quite welcomed by the community here! We have been staying with the same couchsurfer and her family, who is letting me use the internet, wash my clothes, cooking us vegetarian snacks, and helped me figure out where to get my yellow fever vaccine!
I got two shots yesterday, the most vaccines I can remember getting really except when I went to Africa. I barely have any of the normal shots you get. I got the rubella shot, which means I am not supposed to get pregnant for 4 months. I think I can handle that.The shots were free.,... absolutely, for anyone who walks in and it was such a pleasant medical experience - probably nicer than almost every other one I have had. She was so nice..!
I agree with Romans comment after, that we have been mothered a lot in Belo Horizonte, which we both needed a bit of after all of our intense travels recently. Sleeping in, etc.
One evening we were supposed to meetup with a couchsurfer named Raquel - who wanted to take us out. She gave us instructions to her place as we were already downtown, and we arrived at quite the swanky apt building, probably one of the nicer ones I have been in! Her dad opened the door, with shirt open, apologizing as hed just gotten home from work and proceeded to lay out all sorts of bread, cheese, fruit, cake, and tea for us for dinnner!
Raquel recently was in Germany, and works in risk-management at a bank and is hoping to study economics abroad!
We went out to a nice bar, with a $5 covercharge - she said my chacos and skirt-tanktop were ok, because we were already obviously gringos... Gringos is descriptive, not derogatory in Brazil and theres nothing wrong with being American.
I think if I had dressed in tight jeans and little high heels, etc. people would have thought I were Brazilian as we could have easily been in Europe... Everyone was very white!
Race, the 49 colors of it according to Lonely Planet, is relatively linked to class here. She said that her friend who also works at the bank, is discriminated against and another couchsurfer Valeria, who lived in Park City Utah for 4 months said she was quite surprised when she was considered colored in the US as she is considered white in Brazil.
Couchsurfer Sidney and his fiancee (english teacher) meet us at the bar and were very friendly and patient as I insisted on trying to speak Portuguese. I later received a thank you-goodbye email from him saying that I changed his view of Americans - that he didn't know Americans were so nice! Yay! Though it is sad that his stereotype was so easily influenced, at least it was positively influenced... had I known he had such bad images of Americans I would have made more of an effort to paint a somewhat realistic US situation, but we can keep in touch.
There were a couple of guys hanging around Raquel's moms very expensive car and Raquel seemed a bit worried and annoyed. She gave one of them 50 centavos and then explained that she hates this. Its guys who are often unemployed, and they "watch" your car for you when you are doing something like going out to see a show, shopping, etc. They sometimes demand money upfront and other times when you get back. This time, he wasnt there when we parked, just asked for money when we got back.
Raquel says she dislikes it because its a kind of violence and intimidation... you dont know what they might do to your car if you dont give them money and you cant really tell them no.
We slept and slept - can't quite decide whether it was oversleeping making me tired, or me catching up on my sleep slowly. Either way, no alarm clock rudely interrupting my dreams has been nice and I have most mornings awoken with the sun, though promptly and peacefully gone back to the dreamworld for a bit.
Then we got in touch with Valeria, who had offered to take us to the mountains.
We met up with her in the Centro and took a quick taxi ride up towards the surrounding mountains. Belo Horizonte is an incredibly hilly city itself, encircled by mountains that stretch to the horizon.
I dressed conspicuous, in a conductor hat so shed find us easily, and black and white and blue - quite self-entertaining. The dirt was red and orange with iron and other melange of minerals found in the area. It was a simple 2 hour total hike, but surprised Valeria that we were so eager to get into the mountains...Roman missing the Himalayas and me missing the Rockies. We had a breathtaking view once we got up a bit, increasingly so, of the 4-6 million person city stretching out in front of us.
Valeria said that despite the grandiosity of the area and population, that it felt like a small city, that you meetup with the same people, and it has quite a small feeling - that people live small - like its a bunch of small towns side by side.
She is ready for the big city of Sao Paulo, boasting at least 12 million.
Roman and I found Belo Horizonte quite peaceful, however, refreshing after the insanity of the favelas.
Valeria, very surprised, asked Roman and I, why on earth out of all of the places in Brazil we had chosen to spend time in the favelas - that we were the third foreigners she had met who had chosen to do so and she didn't understand why. I also met, via some searches online (Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum), a young Danish man who is studying the phenomenon of tourists visiting the favelas. I am undecided, as there are pros and cons... it is important that people understand whats really going on in different parts of the world - but the lives of people should not be a tourist attraction at the same time. It depends upon the motives of the tourists I think - whether its for entertainment, or for understanding which they can use to help through various means.
We decided on trying the local food that night - which meant that I tried a taste of some local meat, along with 3 different deserts, a lot of garlic bread and garlic rice,...
Whats the opposite of commiserate? Because thats what Valeria and I were doing regarding our couchsurfing experiences, and the community in general.
Then we got onto the subject, of the fact that if you mispronounce the word for bread, it means a slang word for penis - that was good for a couple of laughs as Roman shared the multiple times and various situations wherein the german volunteers kept trying to pronounce it right...
As everywhere else in Brazil so far - it costs $1 to ride, there's no bus schedule, the buses are nicer than any greyhound bus I have seen - quite a bit better actually! And, there are two employees per bus - one driver, and one that takes the money. Is that more efficient? My first reaction was that it's not an efficient use of their money - but it might be, when considering safety, faster loading-unloading, etc. Also - with unemployment so high, the cost might not be as much as I imagined to add another employee. They have been quite useful so far with directions!
Walking around the lake the first night, I realized that Palm Trees, the very existence of them in my immediate surroundings, make me happy - a sign of relaxation, vacation - along with white birds being beautiful and symbolic. Of course, these perceptions are very much affected by my upbringing and culture. It's just another reminder that my truths are my truths alone.
Couchsurfing - can help bridge the gap between living in a city you are visiting, and visiting/seeing a city you are in. The difference between living your lifestyle and seeing touristy sights and living the local lifestyle and enjoying the city.
Were I in control, no one would receive a degree in international development without having lived for at least 3 months or more working for a development project in some capacity! My observations made me wonder whether my sister, after a year of working as a volunteer in a development organization in various capacities, knows more about development than I do - or more, what has she learned that would complement my knowledge and vice versa.
I have been excited to see the technology leap that has, according to my meager experience, occurred here, at least in terms of the energy efficiency of the showers. They are using, in the favelas and middleclass neighborhoods, one of the most efficient ways of creating hotwater if you are unable to use renewable resources to do so, which is heating the water right when you need it rather than keeping large quantities of water hot 24/7.
Now we are in Brasilia - arrived this morning on a very bumpity rockety 11 hour bus ride which affected my dreams in strange ways. Its a desert-flat area, and the most spread out city I have seen in Brazil. The weather is marvelous so far, and the city is quite strangely organized. We are staying in Quadra 209, Block i, apt 410. Everything is organized by numbers, laid out in the shape of an airplane. There are two people responsible for the city's design, one who designed the layout, another the buildings, and apparently they get blamed for everything.
Every night I have been looking at the moon and its been kind of refreshing to have that consistency and watch it change - it might be helping me understand the passage of time as I see the moon wax from a Cheshire cat grin to a large, hmm, elegant banana I guess might be the best description.
The couchsurfer we are staying with now couldn't have been a better match in terms of my research here - he is studying international relations and has many government, environmental, and academic contacts. He is presenting at an intl relations conference this week, on the structural relationship between the NGOs working to combat desertification in the North East of Brazil. He also wants to travel around different cities in Latin America learning best practices that he can bring back to Brazil to try as pilot programs. I am excited to explore what options are available, and to build contacts in case I am successful in my application to be the next United Nations Youth Caucus Coordinator.
It was his birthday today - and I pleasantly impressed myself with my portuguese skills as I was able to have such conversations as whether Brazil is considered Western (to which I inquired what their definition of western was), and the positive and negative aspects of virtual world technology among other things.
Thats it for now! I know - quite a mouthful - but I cant leave anything out - it just builds up as little curiosities..... more to come :-)
Love and more love!
Emma
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Rubella? motels lobby churches? toiletpaper allowed?
My sister asked me whether I had heard about motels in Brazil.... which, having heard little of Brazil, I hadnt and she explained that the favela is mostly evangelist and catholic/christian and that you are not allowed to have sex in your home.
The apparent loophole, that everyone uses, is motels. You are somehow allowed to have sex in motels instead, but no birth control of course. So are the motels lobbying the church? Or maybe the churches own the motels... don't take me seriously please.
She said that most families have 7-15 children in the favelas (all with lice of course, which I have so far successfully avoided). All of the volunteers have had lice.
I am quite wary of lice, because last time I had to cut all my hair!
I did, however, for a couple of days, think that I had Rubella. No, I dont think I got the vaccine for it, and the woman Lindalva, who works at the organization said the bodyrash I had, and warm cheeks, seemed like Rubella to her.
She said its not a big deal, I am just now allowed to go anywhere for 8 days because I would either kill or cause complications
with any unborn babies... and there are a lot of pregnant woman - everywhere!
After some research, and the fading rash, I decided that due to an incubation period of 14-21 days, Its not likely I have rubella... Unless I got it in Austin. Hmmm Texas
but if I do - be careful if i have kissed you and dont go around killing babies.
So, at one point, I had a fullbody rubella rash (supposed), my eyes hurting, a hopefully not infected cut on my finger, swollen hands and feet, and sore limbs, surrounded by lice-infested volunteers. Wheres the spa? I am only kidding - it has been great and minor in comparison to the sicknesses, horrible ones, that my sister has complained/explained of every time I have spoken with her in the last 10 months. Makes me feel alive.
Feeling alive is a bit from a conversation I had with an english volunteer in that the people in the favelas are really living.. despite lack of resources. And its so sad that those with so many resources dont seem to do the same! Here there is community, and dancing, and art, and so much more - people are alive!
So what have I done in the last 3 days?
Well, I ate pancakes on Saturday, had falafels on Sunday, and had cabbage-meat on Monday.
Literally, besides a bit of internet to plan my next travels and research, the one meal has taken up all day. Time works quite differently here, preparing for, hanging out, and cleaning up after and planning etc, has been done quite leisurely with large groups of people.
I was quite happy about the meals these past three days, as my sister doesnt really eat, and spending time with her I was often hungry and in search of food. If it wasnt on the agenda, then we could snack on the volunteer food... which left me one night making beans/rice/carrots/garlic/bellpeppers.
I have eaten meat at two meals now, as I wont refuse what a Brazilian family has kindly and generously prepared for me. Who knows whether the protein will be good for me, or it wont be good for my body to add additional new things it hasnt seen in a decade to an already confused system.
I have now arrived in Belo Horizonte, sitting at the computer desk of the room that my new
friend Roman and I are sharing as we couchsurf with a brazilian family, in particular, a girl from here, Olivia,
who just got back from being an au pair in Germany and is studying history at the University here.
Universities here are free, though there are some private universities that aren't very good. Olivia told us that it doesnt
help very much to have a degree to get a job - its contacts that really count. Theres also a debate here right now as to
the value of studying history - whether we can learn from it, or not.
I asked her to confirm that I could actually flush the toilet paper down the toilet, as my sister had told me yesterday that everywhere in Brazil you cant do that! Theres also a washing machine and internet - what a luxurious place for us to stay right now.
Her mom, aunt, and brother are very welcoming and we are going to meetup with 3 other couchsurfers tonight who I contacted, to see one of their friends play at a bar.
Once I decided to leave the favelas, partially from restlessness, and partially because I wasnt feeling so well, I realized that two of the volunteers, Roman, and Maria were also leaving yesterday so we are now travelling together. I am not used to travelling with other people, but they both speak portuguese, are spontaneous and flexible and a lot of fun. Roman is from Nepal and speaks 7 languages or so and Maria is from Norway. Roman is going to Amherst in the fall! Small world.
Its winter here in Brazil of course, and in the south its quite cold... so far ive been bundled up - with scarf and jacket and tennis shoes at the least - and its been constantly raining.
Fortunately we are on our way up north and today it is sunny! I am now in a tanktop and skirt and sandals and thinking about sunscreen - I am so looking forward to the beaches we will find a bit further north!
First, though we will go to uberlandia where I will stay for a couple of days or more, doing reserch on a development project there and visiting an ecovillage.
I have contacted all of the ecovillages in Brazil in the hopes of visiting and documenting my visit and disseminating the information through mass media websites as the beginning of a world-wide project that I want to start, bringing the lessons learned and innovative ideas and lifestyles from ecovillages to the mainstream. This is only just a chance for me to get an idea of how to go about it, and in the future, I will partner with organizations, have more structure and sponsorship... but the best way to learn is to just try it out for now!
I have been invited to go to the ecovillge in the northwest amazon, but it will take a long time and cost a lot - so I dont know that I should do that unless I want to change my flight back home. I will go visit one in uberlandia, which is about 6 people...lots of mosquitoes and I need to bring a sleeping bag for the floor. We shall see!
Whenever I am around those whose first language isnt english, my english devolves... I make all sorts of mistakes, which doesnt help them learn, and only entertains me. I'll see what I can do about that... lack of fluidity in my sentences and thoughts even as I start to mix spanish, portuguese, french, and german with my english.
Last nights 9 hour bus ride is the first time in a longtime that I havent been able to sleep on a bus for the first couple of hours... so many thoughts running through my head!
I started to think again, Sunday. Noticable" I was no longer exhausted by speaking multiple languages, the food, culture shock, and the health tolls - and I started talking and feeling a better version of myself. It was refreshing and now I am on a roll again... creatively travelling and learning and exploring, proactively!
Also, traveling is getting my creative juices going once more on the positive-impact travel site I have wanted to create for awhile. Dont steal my idea, because I am going to do it :-)
love
The apparent loophole, that everyone uses, is motels. You are somehow allowed to have sex in motels instead, but no birth control of course. So are the motels lobbying the church? Or maybe the churches own the motels... don't take me seriously please.
She said that most families have 7-15 children in the favelas (all with lice of course, which I have so far successfully avoided). All of the volunteers have had lice.
I am quite wary of lice, because last time I had to cut all my hair!
I did, however, for a couple of days, think that I had Rubella. No, I dont think I got the vaccine for it, and the woman Lindalva, who works at the organization said the bodyrash I had, and warm cheeks, seemed like Rubella to her.
She said its not a big deal, I am just now allowed to go anywhere for 8 days because I would either kill or cause complications
with any unborn babies... and there are a lot of pregnant woman - everywhere!
After some research, and the fading rash, I decided that due to an incubation period of 14-21 days, Its not likely I have rubella... Unless I got it in Austin. Hmmm Texas
but if I do - be careful if i have kissed you and dont go around killing babies.
So, at one point, I had a fullbody rubella rash (supposed), my eyes hurting, a hopefully not infected cut on my finger, swollen hands and feet, and sore limbs, surrounded by lice-infested volunteers. Wheres the spa? I am only kidding - it has been great and minor in comparison to the sicknesses, horrible ones, that my sister has complained/explained of every time I have spoken with her in the last 10 months. Makes me feel alive.
Feeling alive is a bit from a conversation I had with an english volunteer in that the people in the favelas are really living.. despite lack of resources. And its so sad that those with so many resources dont seem to do the same! Here there is community, and dancing, and art, and so much more - people are alive!
So what have I done in the last 3 days?
Well, I ate pancakes on Saturday, had falafels on Sunday, and had cabbage-meat on Monday.
Literally, besides a bit of internet to plan my next travels and research, the one meal has taken up all day. Time works quite differently here, preparing for, hanging out, and cleaning up after and planning etc, has been done quite leisurely with large groups of people.
I was quite happy about the meals these past three days, as my sister doesnt really eat, and spending time with her I was often hungry and in search of food. If it wasnt on the agenda, then we could snack on the volunteer food... which left me one night making beans/rice/carrots/garlic/
I have eaten meat at two meals now, as I wont refuse what a Brazilian family has kindly and generously prepared for me. Who knows whether the protein will be good for me, or it wont be good for my body to add additional new things it hasnt seen in a decade to an already confused system.
I have now arrived in Belo Horizonte, sitting at the computer desk of the room that my new
friend Roman and I are sharing as we couchsurf with a brazilian family, in particular, a girl from here, Olivia,
who just got back from being an au pair in Germany and is studying history at the University here.
Universities here are free, though there are some private universities that aren't very good. Olivia told us that it doesnt
help very much to have a degree to get a job - its contacts that really count. Theres also a debate here right now as to
the value of studying history - whether we can learn from it, or not.
I asked her to confirm that I could actually flush the toilet paper down the toilet, as my sister had told me yesterday that everywhere in Brazil you cant do that! Theres also a washing machine and internet - what a luxurious place for us to stay right now.
Her mom, aunt, and brother are very welcoming and we are going to meetup with 3 other couchsurfers tonight who I contacted, to see one of their friends play at a bar.
Once I decided to leave the favelas, partially from restlessness, and partially because I wasnt feeling so well, I realized that two of the volunteers, Roman, and Maria were also leaving yesterday so we are now travelling together. I am not used to travelling with other people, but they both speak portuguese, are spontaneous and flexible and a lot of fun. Roman is from Nepal and speaks 7 languages or so and Maria is from Norway. Roman is going to Amherst in the fall! Small world.
Its winter here in Brazil of course, and in the south its quite cold... so far ive been bundled up - with scarf and jacket and tennis shoes at the least - and its been constantly raining.
Fortunately we are on our way up north and today it is sunny! I am now in a tanktop and skirt and sandals and thinking about sunscreen - I am so looking forward to the beaches we will find a bit further north!
First, though we will go to uberlandia where I will stay for a couple of days or more, doing reserch on a development project there and visiting an ecovillage.
I have contacted all of the ecovillages in Brazil in the hopes of visiting and documenting my visit and disseminating the information through mass media websites as the beginning of a world-wide project that I want to start, bringing the lessons learned and innovative ideas and lifestyles from ecovillages to the mainstream. This is only just a chance for me to get an idea of how to go about it, and in the future, I will partner with organizations, have more structure and sponsorship... but the best way to learn is to just try it out for now!
I have been invited to go to the ecovillge in the northwest amazon, but it will take a long time and cost a lot - so I dont know that I should do that unless I want to change my flight back home. I will go visit one in uberlandia, which is about 6 people...lots of mosquitoes and I need to bring a sleeping bag for the floor. We shall see!
Whenever I am around those whose first language isnt english, my english devolves... I make all sorts of mistakes, which doesnt help them learn, and only entertains me. I'll see what I can do about that... lack of fluidity in my sentences and thoughts even as I start to mix spanish, portuguese, french, and german with my english.
Last nights 9 hour bus ride is the first time in a longtime that I havent been able to sleep on a bus for the first couple of hours... so many thoughts running through my head!
I started to think again, Sunday. Noticable" I was no longer exhausted by speaking multiple languages, the food, culture shock, and the health tolls - and I started talking and feeling a better version of myself. It was refreshing and now I am on a roll again... creatively travelling and learning and exploring, proactively!
Also, traveling is getting my creative juices going once more on the positive-impact travel site I have wanted to create for awhile. Dont steal my idea, because I am going to do it :-)
love
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Rashes in the jungle...
On my second day in Brazil, my sister took me to Pequeno Principe, or, The Little Prince. It's a community in the forest, which has a kindergarten, kitchen, workshops, garden, many buildings, and german volunteers.
OH, and one swiss volunteer who I went to school with 10 years ago ! we are still friends with the same people though we dont remember each other being in different grades.
It~s like a mini paradise... with banana trees and many plants I've never seen before.
We took the bus with a group of children from the favela where my sister lives, who were getting a once in a lifetime chance to go to this paradise community for 3 days.
It was a strange feeling that I can go there after one day, and they have waited for years for this opportunity.
Schools in the favelas have three different sessions, morning, afternoon, and evening, because all of the children work. The organization that my sister works for, has many kindergartens and art workshops, thus theres quite a waiting line. Around 50% or so of the children are children of the workers of the organization.
Yesterday, Livy was surprised by the amount of light in the favela near the organizations center.. overnight there was a new lightpost which actually worked, bathing the children playing soccer, in light despite the late hour.
Back in the forest.... there's a volunteer house, more like a magical cabin, with a pond in front, and two adorable kittens running around. There are only male volunteers here, all very friendly and fun, and we speak a mixture of portuguese, german, and english. And sometimes swiss-german.
My portuguese is getting alot better, at least I think it is, though understanding native portuguese speakers is harder than those europeans speaking slowly.
I hadnt eaten much, so when we walked down the forest dirt road, unsafe to females by themselves, but fine with our group of guys, I searched for some vegetarian food at the stores below. Only bready cheesy things if i dont eat meat.
I drank my first Caiparinha, which ive surely misspelled. Its the talk of the country, and of travellers lucky enough to explore Brazil. It was glorious and worth the fame.
The next day, yesterday that is, it was sunny! and hot! All the other days I was quite quite cold here in winter! We laid out near a grove of banana trees, on a yellow fuzzy blanket, hand-in-hand, writing in our respective books. Dreaming of singing happybirthday in portuguese to our mother and enjoying the sunshine. The sunshine put us in a happy daze, which the crunchy apples woke us up from. I definitely got some sun. magical.
We found our friends, who'd been busy at work and were now off to give a workshop on making dreamcatchers. Livy cut her hair and I wandered after our friends, not saying much because of my sleepiness which spawned a bit of confusion when thinking of what language to use. Words coming to me in different languages quicker than words forming one sentence. Fortunately all the volunteers, all 5 or so, speak portuguese, german, and english.... and Manuel some french and of course swiss-german.
At this point I noticed a rash allover my body... little red bumps, bespeckling me like bodyart.
We went into the woods to break off long winding branches, or perhaps vines is the better description. Not too green, and not too dry. My swiss-army knife in my CarHarts came quite in handy once i remembered I brought it with.
We trampled back, my arms full of big rings of these vines. The children from the favela and surrounding community trickled onto the field, about twenty or so, but I have no quantity concept really.
I hadnt made dreamcatchers for many years, so I thought I would just watch. But the children knew better and I was soon in quite the demand, with so many eager quick learning children, and three of us able to show them. My portuguese was quite confusing i'm sure, mixed with spanish and hand gestures.. but the result was beautiful dreamcatchers, a cut on my finger which spurred a much needed conversation regarding vaccines I still need to get, and some happy children.
We took the 1.5 hrs or so bus ride back home, walking down Silva Aurujo street, bustling with people and capitalism, and sang happy birthday in portuguese to Mom through a bad skype connection. We tried.
At around 11pm we went to the community center for theater. It was all in fast portuguese, reminding me that I really dont understand much at all... though Livy confirmed she couldnt either and shes basically fluent. We were warned thered be nudity probably, and yes, one actor was naked, covered barely by a white apron. much passion and from what I could tell, was a social commentary.
Alrighty, enough gas fumes today.
love
OH, and one swiss volunteer who I went to school with 10 years ago ! we are still friends with the same people though we dont remember each other being in different grades.
It~s like a mini paradise... with banana trees and many plants I've never seen before.
We took the bus with a group of children from the favela where my sister lives, who were getting a once in a lifetime chance to go to this paradise community for 3 days.
It was a strange feeling that I can go there after one day, and they have waited for years for this opportunity.
Schools in the favelas have three different sessions, morning, afternoon, and evening, because all of the children work. The organization that my sister works for, has many kindergartens and art workshops, thus theres quite a waiting line. Around 50% or so of the children are children of the workers of the organization.
Yesterday, Livy was surprised by the amount of light in the favela near the organizations center.. overnight there was a new lightpost which actually worked, bathing the children playing soccer, in light despite the late hour.
Back in the forest.... there's a volunteer house, more like a magical cabin, with a pond in front, and two adorable kittens running around. There are only male volunteers here, all very friendly and fun, and we speak a mixture of portuguese, german, and english. And sometimes swiss-german.
My portuguese is getting alot better, at least I think it is, though understanding native portuguese speakers is harder than those europeans speaking slowly.
I hadnt eaten much, so when we walked down the forest dirt road, unsafe to females by themselves, but fine with our group of guys, I searched for some vegetarian food at the stores below. Only bready cheesy things if i dont eat meat.
I drank my first Caiparinha, which ive surely misspelled. Its the talk of the country, and of travellers lucky enough to explore Brazil. It was glorious and worth the fame.
The next day, yesterday that is, it was sunny! and hot! All the other days I was quite quite cold here in winter! We laid out near a grove of banana trees, on a yellow fuzzy blanket, hand-in-hand, writing in our respective books. Dreaming of singing happybirthday in portuguese to our mother and enjoying the sunshine. The sunshine put us in a happy daze, which the crunchy apples woke us up from. I definitely got some sun. magical.
We found our friends, who'd been busy at work and were now off to give a workshop on making dreamcatchers. Livy cut her hair and I wandered after our friends, not saying much because of my sleepiness which spawned a bit of confusion when thinking of what language to use. Words coming to me in different languages quicker than words forming one sentence. Fortunately all the volunteers, all 5 or so, speak portuguese, german, and english.... and Manuel some french and of course swiss-german.
At this point I noticed a rash allover my body... little red bumps, bespeckling me like bodyart.
We went into the woods to break off long winding branches, or perhaps vines is the better description. Not too green, and not too dry. My swiss-army knife in my CarHarts came quite in handy once i remembered I brought it with.
We trampled back, my arms full of big rings of these vines. The children from the favela and surrounding community trickled onto the field, about twenty or so, but I have no quantity concept really.
I hadnt made dreamcatchers for many years, so I thought I would just watch. But the children knew better and I was soon in quite the demand, with so many eager quick learning children, and three of us able to show them. My portuguese was quite confusing i'm sure, mixed with spanish and hand gestures.. but the result was beautiful dreamcatchers, a cut on my finger which spurred a much needed conversation regarding vaccines I still need to get, and some happy children.
We took the 1.5 hrs or so bus ride back home, walking down Silva Aurujo street, bustling with people and capitalism, and sang happy birthday in portuguese to Mom through a bad skype connection. We tried.
At around 11pm we went to the community center for theater. It was all in fast portuguese, reminding me that I really dont understand much at all... though Livy confirmed she couldnt either and shes basically fluent. We were warned thered be nudity probably, and yes, one actor was naked, covered barely by a white apron. much passion and from what I could tell, was a social commentary.
Alrighty, enough gas fumes today.
love
Thursday, July 12, 2007
24 hours in Brazil - July 12, 2007
Oi!
So, my first 24 hours... so many thoughts and impressions and ideas, soaking it all in.
I have a long list of things to get done online today, with 2 hours before Livy and I leave for the Pequena anotherwordiforget, which, according to Livy, is a project in the jungle, but we were corrected by a favelan yesterday, that he doesn't even consider it a forest!
It's a civilized nature place apparently. AND I might know someone there from Switzerland who went to the same school as me!
SMALL WORLD!
So, within blocks of where Livy lives, is this gas station, very cheap gas, and this internet cafe - the owner's nephew or son is in France studying and the daughter went recently to visit for a month - I guess opening an internet cafe in the area from 8am - 11pm was a good idea capitalistically speaking.
Pooping - I was advised upon entering my sister's house/apt not to flush the toilet paper or the toilet will explode
My head is a bit congested, probably due to the air pollution, the chainsmoking of the european volunteers....literally constant, and the fact that the little house I am living in has a bit of mold. Ok, not a bit of mold, but 3 years ago had a foot of sewage in it and noone inhabited the place until January. Needless to say, we have to keep the window open at night or it really stinks. And it's normal to have a swollen face in the mornings when you awake from the hard mattresses.
The first food I had was some wholegrain bread and cheese... The cheese was hard to stomach, but I am not going to waste any food,
security - in response to my dads comment that I should be security concious. I am following Olivia's lead and advice on this one. My belongings are safe, and I'm following the instructions that, during the day, if I stick to the couple of places that I know, I will be perfectly fine. Also, I need to keep some cash on me in case I get robbed because they won't believe me if I say I don't have any. After 8pm, however, I must walk around in groups if I go anywhere.
When I go travelling by myself next week, I will find other travelers to join up with for any evening activities, won't have anything but my camera that could be stolen, and will speak anything but english :-)
The only concern she brought up was that there have been shootings recently in the favela, but she says it's all drug-related and non-touristy and at night.
It's cold here! Much colder than the internet weather websites were indicating... however, it was 90 degrees or so according to locals just a couple of days ago. So who knows how it'll shape up.
Even just in the 8 months Livy has been here, there have been changes in the favelas, such as a new law against billboards, and another saying bars have to close at 10pm, along with electricity, meters and poles on most streets. She said that on the other side of the hill in the same favela they steal all the materials and electricity.
The organization she volunteers for has many kindergartens, community centers, artistics workshops, schools, and more, all in the same small area. It feels like a small camphill community plus waldorf school (camphill is a community that takes care of handicapped adults based on Rudolf Steiner's philosophy).
Being surrounded by a new language is always exhausting for a day or two if you are trying to engage and interact with it... I can mostly understand portuguese at this point, but it's a double-whammy because the volunteers all speak to each other in german so I've been speaking more german than portuguese so far!
Everyone I meet, tells us that we don't look like sisters, which we protest, and then asks us which one is older. It's true, I can look quite young, especially with pigtails.
Much more to write, but I've got to spend my internet time wisely and get health insurance, etc.
Much love
Emma
So, my first 24 hours... so many thoughts and impressions and ideas, soaking it all in.
I have a long list of things to get done online today, with 2 hours before Livy and I leave for the Pequena anotherwordiforget, which, according to Livy, is a project in the jungle, but we were corrected by a favelan yesterday, that he doesn't even consider it a forest!
It's a civilized nature place apparently. AND I might know someone there from Switzerland who went to the same school as me!
SMALL WORLD!
So, within blocks of where Livy lives, is this gas station, very cheap gas, and this internet cafe - the owner's nephew or son is in France studying and the daughter went recently to visit for a month - I guess opening an internet cafe in the area from 8am - 11pm was a good idea capitalistically speaking.
Pooping - I was advised upon entering my sister's house/apt not to flush the toilet paper or the toilet will explode
My head is a bit congested, probably due to the air pollution, the chainsmoking of the european volunteers....literally constant, and the fact that the little house I am living in has a bit of mold. Ok, not a bit of mold, but 3 years ago had a foot of sewage in it and noone inhabited the place until January. Needless to say, we have to keep the window open at night or it really stinks. And it's normal to have a swollen face in the mornings when you awake from the hard mattresses.
The first food I had was some wholegrain bread and cheese... The cheese was hard to stomach, but I am not going to waste any food,
security - in response to my dads comment that I should be security concious. I am following Olivia's lead and advice on this one. My belongings are safe, and I'm following the instructions that, during the day, if I stick to the couple of places that I know, I will be perfectly fine. Also, I need to keep some cash on me in case I get robbed because they won't believe me if I say I don't have any. After 8pm, however, I must walk around in groups if I go anywhere.
When I go travelling by myself next week, I will find other travelers to join up with for any evening activities, won't have anything but my camera that could be stolen, and will speak anything but english :-)
The only concern she brought up was that there have been shootings recently in the favela, but she says it's all drug-related and non-touristy and at night.
It's cold here! Much colder than the internet weather websites were indicating... however, it was 90 degrees or so according to locals just a couple of days ago. So who knows how it'll shape up.
Even just in the 8 months Livy has been here, there have been changes in the favelas, such as a new law against billboards, and another saying bars have to close at 10pm, along with electricity, meters and poles on most streets. She said that on the other side of the hill in the same favela they steal all the materials and electricity.
The organization she volunteers for has many kindergartens, community centers, artistics workshops, schools, and more, all in the same small area. It feels like a small camphill community plus waldorf school (camphill is a community that takes care of handicapped adults based on Rudolf Steiner's philosophy).
Being surrounded by a new language is always exhausting for a day or two if you are trying to engage and interact with it... I can mostly understand portuguese at this point, but it's a double-whammy because the volunteers all speak to each other in german so I've been speaking more german than portuguese so far!
Everyone I meet, tells us that we don't look like sisters, which we protest, and then asks us which one is older. It's true, I can look quite young, especially with pigtails.
Much more to write, but I've got to spend my internet time wisely and get health insurance, etc.
Much love
Emma
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