Hello everyone!
I did promise to make a blog so here goes... To me the concept of a blog seems inherently self-indulgent and egotistical. Why should other people care about my random and often purely hedonostic trappings around the globe? I hope you are not bored to tears. Ideally you'll find this blog so inspirational you'll actually come see me and we can drink from coconuts on some beach together!
I have been in Brazil for just over 3 weeks now... It's nice to be back although a little bit strange as well. I spent the first week in Sao Paulo, and felt like crap pretty much the entire time. Paulistanos (people from Sao Paulo) will go on and on about how lovely and wonderful their city is, but I think you have to be either from here or a "big city person". For me Sao Paulo is an unnimaginably vast mass of high-rise buildings and chaos. The soundtrack to this chaos consists of incessant barking, car horns and helicopter traffic (transport problems and crime have led a lot of business people to fly to work). I found the first few days there pretty nauseating, on top of the noise, it is impossible to see the horizon because there are buildings in every direction you look and it's kind of off-putting. Still I got to see some really cool stuff, there are some interesting museums and the old part of the city is quite beautiful. Sao Paulo's nightlife is really crazy, there are a lot of "alternative" places and people stay out all night. This is truly a 24-hr city, there is a shopping centre for pets (where you can buy absolutely everything your spoilt poodle doesn`t need) which is open 24/7, just in case you need some cat nip to help Felix deal with his 4am come-down. I also saw for the first time in my life male prostitutes on the street who aren't transvestites, just normal-looking guys wearing normal clothes standing around in a park at 4 am, I could pass as one of them!
I also went to a graduation party in a town in the northern part of Sao Paulo state. In Brazil university graduation is a HUGE event. Everyone gets all dressed up like it's a wedding, and the party takes place in a massive hall about the size of a football field, there is a proper elevated stage with a few different bands playing accompanied by dancers with jumbo-sized silicone body parts and accordingly skanky clothes. It starts off quite chilled with everyone just having a few beers, taking a few fancy pictures and picking at the buffet. At around 1am all the graduants line up and as their names are called out they walk forward to recieve their award. It is all filmed and put on big screens like it's the Oscars or something, and the families scream and shoot these weird confetti bazukas at the graduant when their name is called out. This takes about an hour because there are so many graduants, after this they dance a waltz and then the real party starts. Some wierd erformers go around doing tricks with fire and stuff, the cocktails kick in and everyone dances either forro, samba or Brazilian country music - the cool thing about most parties in Brazil is that there are almost always a few different stages playing different music so it never gets boring or repetitive. The family I was with got quite wasted, the uncle of the graduant lost his jacket and one of his contact lenses, and everybody young and old was taking me around the party trying to find me a Brazilian girlfriend... Some people have no shame. When the sun came up breakfast was served and then we finally straggled home.
After that I went to Penedo to visit a friend I met in Australia. Penedo is halfway between Rio and Sao Paulo. There is a huge national park where monkeys and jaguars supposedly live (I didn't see any), there are also some nice waterfalls and pretty views etc but the best thing by far is the "Finnish town" which exists there. I don't know how, why or when but a whole bunch of Finnish migrants went there with Santa Claus and set up a delightful chocolate and icecream factory!
After this I finally went to Rio. I went straight to Xerem the town where I worked last time I was in Brazil, for an NGO called Casa do Caminho, which mainly functions as an orphanage. Xerem is quite poor with very high rates of unemployment and related social problems (alcoholism, teen pregnancy etc). Despite this, many things had changed in the five years I´d been gone, there were so many more shopping centres and businesses, although all the slums and polluted rivers remain unchanged. The expansion of the Brazilian economy is actually quite noticeable, no more donkeys and carts, a lot more new cars and buildings and almost everything is a lot more expensive. However it is also clear that a lot of people are yet to be included in Brazil´s economic boom.
When I arrived in the main square I immediately saw a "kid" from the orphanage, he´s only one year younger than me and he was riding a bicycle while carrying a baby... turns out he had one with a girl from the orphanage. There are A LOT of similar stories from Casa, I guess it´s inevitable.
Only a few of the kids recognised me, generally the older teenagers.. although a couple of the little ones knew who I was and that was really nice. In general it´s been kinda sad to see the kids because a lot of them used to be innocent children and now they are teenagers with attitude, and instead of wanting to kick a ball with you they just want to ask you if you have a girlfriend and if you like sex and other delightful questions like that. The teenage boys on the other hand have absolutely nothing to say at all!
Seeing my old co-workers was quite nice too, although the staff has changed dramatically, basically five years ago the volunteers were considered "helpers" and there were paid staff responsible for the majority of taks.. now there are very few local staff and the majority of responibilities are borne by volunteers. I think this has really improved the functions of the organization, not just because a lot of money can now be spent on other things, but also because we have an energized and motivated team, whereas some of the old staff became a little too comfortable in their positions.
There is also a plan to set up a "Green Community" in the site of the orphanage, which is located in the bush about 30 minutes from the town. They are in the process of establishing an organic farm and one day become fully-fledged self-sufficient hippies. I think it´s a nice idea, living like that doesn´t require any concerns about the problems in the Middle-East, rising inflation, your super-annuation or any other measly issues.
After visiting the orphanage I finally went to Rio. I´m not sure if there´s a city on Earth that better represents both heaven and hell at the same time. The bus arrives at a famous station called Estacao Central do Brasil, but it could easily be a scene from Calcutta, Manila, or Port Au Prince. Seeing so much poverty, rubbish and chaos does not bring to mind the image of Rio you see in the postcards. The trip into Rio from the interior passes a heavily polluted area which is mainly populated by slums.
However, when I went and visited my friend in Barra da Tijuca, one of the richest areas in Rio, far from the city centre but surrounded by picturesque mountains and beautiful beaches, I really did feel like I was in paradise!
I´ve also been to a Brazilian wedding, but it was just a fancy dinner with some fancy people in a fancy restaurant. Not much to report, it´s actually been a little strange for me this time round as the contrast between different economic groups is so huge, not just in terms of material wealth, but also in terms of attitudes and culture.
Next week I start working for Casa (the orphanage) where I´ll be teaching at a cultural centre, both to children from the organisation and local residents who pay very low fees. It´s going to be tough as the living conditions are extremely basic and the resources of the school are quite limited, also I´ll be the most experienced teacher there so instead of asking others for help and advice I´ll supposedly be the one giving it. Nevertheless, I´m really looking forward to it.
p.s. sorry if this is all really boring!!
