I finally got off the boat from Manaus to Belem! A couchsurfing host
named Fabien picked me up and took me to his apartment, which is
located in the middle of the city in a nice, high rise building
apartment. He spoilt me insanely over the next few days, which was
certainly a relief after the boat trip! He took me to a wonderful
restaurant, and shouted me a all you can eat, delicious buffet!! He
wouldn´t take no for an answer! Then we went to a park where there were
lots of birds and butterflies.
The next day, while Fabien was at work, I decided to make him a
pasta dish to make up for his generosity, but when he came home, he
dragged me out for yet another meal... just as nice, and was like a mix
of traditional Brazillian and European food. The chocolate dessert just
melted in my mouth!! I had totally gone from cat food smelling tuna, to
like five star dining!!! Fabien was even nice enough to help me out
with much advice for the Nomadic Hands project )
www.nomadichands.com).
It took me about 50 hours by bus and cost me $490 Real to get down
to Sao Paulo from Belem. I was happy upon arrival, as my mate Jerome
(who I travelled with in Peru for two months, about four months ago)
was there to pick me up from the metro station and take me to his
couchsurfer's (Bruno's) house to stay.
Jerome also decided to give me an early birthday present and so
sent me on a weekend of white water rafting with a whole lot of
couchsurfers!! Most of the people who went were Brazillian, and so I
really got to practice my Portuguese while meeting a whole lot of new
friends including two now awesome mates Ricardo and Raoni.
The reason I came to Sao Paulo was to get a new passport (as mine had
been stolen months ago in Peru). Unfortunately when I took all of my
paperwork to the Embassy, they would not accept one of my guarantor
forms (that had been sent from Australia), due to the fact my friend
had written in black pen over blue pen on the form!! So I am still
here... waiting for another to arrive!
But
the good thing about all of this waiting is that I have also met many
couchsurfers who are doing great things for social and environmental
change... like Adriana (who is working on food organics) and Skip (who
is working with non-profit organisations). I also stayed with Skip at a
friend Eduardo's house for a few nights, and was taken to his
university to see what it was like. Another couchsurfer I had been
emailing (Dirk) volunteers in a favela, and invited me to go and have a
look at the work they are doing.
Dirk has been volunteering at Monte Azul (Blue Mountain favela) (
http://www.monteazul.org.br/
) for the past six months, because he wanted to help people. When I
arrived at Monte Azul, he was sick and couldn't leave the volunteer
house, but instead sent another volunteer (Cristoph Rust) to show me
around. Christoph, who is twenty years old and has been working here
for four months, came to volunteer for a year instead of doing military
service in Germany. He came with the help of an organisation called
Freunde der Erziehungskunst Rudolf Steinen, and teaches violin, gives
English lessons, and helps in the kindergarten and in many other areas.
Cristoph kindly showed me around the favela and showed me all of
the wonderful things that the organisation (that has the same name as
the favela) Monte Azul has done over the past thirty years since it was
first founded by a German woman, Ute Craemer. I met with Ute, who also
said she was working on another project called Alianca Pela Infancia (
http://www.aliancapelainfancia.org.br/
), which helps children. Christoph showed me the workshop, the library,
the bakery, the kindergarten, the hospital, and the kitchen (which I
did some lunch preparation in the next day). He also took me to Centro
Culture Monte Azul, where there are capoeira, music, painting, language
and dance classes, and also special activities for the disabled.
I was then taken by Christoph, to Carminha's house for coffee and
biscuts. Carminha is a woman living in the Favela with her three
teenage daughters Brena, Brenda and Bruna. It's quite interesting that
Bruna actually has a boyfriend called Bruno too! She is very happy in
the favela, and said to me how much better it is now since the
organisation Monte Azul (which she now works with) came. She told me
how it used to be alot poorer and how she used to live in a wooden
house on the river. Her house now is quite nice, and even has a
television (on which we watched a movie about a favela in Rio later
that evening after she invited me to stay the night on the couch).
Before staying the night at Carminha's house, I went for an hour or
two to visit the volunteer house and say hello to Dirk and all of the
other volunteers. There were quite a few volunteers, and at one stage,
after popcorn and cheese on bread, I could hear about 5 languages being
spoken at the same time, in one small room... English, German, Spanish,
Portuguese and Japanese!!
On the way back down to Carminha's house, I saw many open garages
with Evangelists preaching inside. I ended up finding out that if
people want to go and watch this they must pay 10% of their wages!!!
Although I was in a favela, it was much safer than walking the main
streets of Sao Paulo at night, because everyone knows everybody in the
area. We did however walk past a young boy of only about twelve years
of age, who had become involved in drug trafficking!
When Christoph and I arrived back at Carminha's house, we played a
game of Badminton out on the street with her daughters and Bruno. I
then went into the house again, and was offered first a nice meal, and
then a comfy couch to sleep on. The next day she even put corn-rows in
my hair!!
Carminha mentioned to me that she had looked at moving into a house
outside of the favela, but said that she felt much safer here where she
has met alot of honest people. She first moved to Monte Azul from the
state of Salvador with her husband because he had a heart condition and
could only get operated on in Sao Paulo (SP). Since then, her husband
has moved to another area in SP with another woman, and Carminha
re-married to a German man. Before she came however, everybody from her
old home up north had said to her that she will either have a good life
with money and be successful in SP, or she will either not have a
chance and die in a favela.
But with her connection to Monte Azul, and free food (as she works
for the organisation) free education for her daughters, and free
medical expenses, she believes that she has a very good life.
Christoph
came to pick me up the next morning and took me to the kitchen where we
made pizza bases, before eating lunch and then visiting another house
in the favela where a disabled girl is living. I went to the bathroom
upstairs, and was quite surprised to see a turtle wandering about,
trying to enter the room that had the bathroom after I had left!?! We
took the young girl for a stroll in her wheel chair, and just before
leaving the favela, I visited the hospital to see pictures of what
Monte Azul used to look like... alot poorer.
Volunteers are currently needed at Monte Azul so please email
international@monteazul.org.br if you are interested in helping or visit
http://www.monteazul.org.br/ for further information.
Alianca Pela Infancia (
http://www.aliancapelainfancia.org.br/) is in need of donations.
