Can't remember what happened on what day anymore so I'll just dive right in. At some point in the past I went to the museum of Portuguese language with Tompson and his cousin Raquelle (I'm pretty sure I'm spelling these names wrong) which was really interesting and in a beautiful building dubbed "really, really old" (built in the 1860s - the concept of old is different in a country where everything is new). It had a very European style of architecture and is from "colonial Brazil". Then we walked through the park to the municipal market where we had lunch - a sandwich made with lettuce, tomatoes, egg, beef steak, ham and cheese. It was ridiculous. The Brazilian people seem to think "hmm... what would make this meal better? ...STEAK!" One time I had it for breakfast... I kid you not. Anyway the market was huge and very busy and mostly sold food - with restaurants upstairs and stalls below.
Then we went to Rio. We started off at 2.30am and arrived at about 2pm. It's not actually that far, but the traffic here is a nightmare, so you almost have to double any journey time. I slept most of the way though! We got to Rio and had some lunch and saw Copacabana Beach (yes we did sing the song!) before travelling on to our campsite. We stayed on a peninsula outside Rio de Janeiro called Búzios, which was beautiful.
On the first night we went into the town and got pizza, before getting an early night as we were tired from travelling. On the second day we went to several beaches and into the town at night to sit in a bar by the beach and watch people in fancy dress, dancers, drummers etc. I think my overall impression of it wasn't like the stuff you see on the telly - we didn't go to the big parades, because they were too expensive, crowded, full of tourists etc. I think it's kind of like Glastonbury, but with more Tequila and less clothes, and nationwide. So there's more space next to your tent but it's still totally acceptable to be wearing Devil horns and drinking in the morning (yes, I do know a guy who did this). Oh and that evening we went on the carnival bus, which is kind of exactly how it sounds. A big old bus, with no glass in the windows, with fairy lights and painted in rainbow colours driven by Minnie Mouse and Spiderman.
On the third day it was very hot so we went to a little seaside town a paid for a day's boat ride - they take you to several beaches and a floating restaurant. There were about thirty people on the boat. The beaches were amazing (photos soon). White sand, turquoise sea - the whole package. The water was so clear you could see the bottom long after you couldn't reach it with your feet! There were beautiful fish and turtles too. By the time we got back to the campsite it was already dark and so we spent the evening dancing by the pool.
I think that covers most of the main points - but I'll give you some random thoughts about Brazil.
A lot of people have dogs, but I've yet to see a cat. And the dogs all tend to be of the small, noisy, irritating variety.
There's a lot of graffiti here, some is just names or words, but some is quite beautiful. And often instead of signs on the outside of a shop, the walls are painted - most garages have a beautiful car and I've seen repair shops with nuts and bolts. Other people like to paint the walls of their houses with designs - I've seen eskimos, cowboys, waterfalls, religious icons and more.
The flooding can get really bad - we couldn't go and see Christ the Redeemer because all the streets in the area were closed. I was pretty gutted about that.
The mosquitoes in Rio are really bad.
The houses here all follow a basic pattern, so that I get lost really easily. All have a metal gate that faces on to the street, behind which is a garage. Then you go up some steps (and possibly through a courtyard) to the house. And they all have balconies.
They eat way too much meat here - almost every meal. And although there's always loads of salad, there's hardly ever any cooked vegetables. It's just different though, and meat here is much cheaper so it kind of makes sense. Takes some getting used to though.
I don't know if it's because I'm foreign, or whether all girls are treated this way, but none of the guys really let me do things for myself. I suppose it's gentlemanly to open a door, but it's just ridiculous to open a can of coke for me!
The mosquitoes in Rio are really bad. I know I've already said that one, but I feel it needs emphasis.
I'm finding it really hard to get a handle on people's names, so that even people I've seen almost every day I still can't name. Usually because the pronounciation is so hard, but also because I've met so many people and the names are all foreign.
The mosquitoes in Rio de Janeiro are really bad. Are. Really. Bad.
That's all for now - time for some more antihistamine cream! I guess I'm glad I took my Yellow Fever vaccine after all! Tchau x
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Day 6
I haven't posted for a while, so I`ll try to update you as much as possible without boring you. I'm writing this on the kindle so if the grammer isn't what it should be then I'm sorry. So on Tuesday Bruno and I caught the bus to the local school, I wasn't really sure what we were doing there (I'm often at a loss as to what is going on, purely because I don't have enough Portuguese and they don't have enough English to explain) but a teacher met us and presented me with a fifteen year old boy who spoke fluent English called Tompson. I hadn't realised how much I missed speaking English until then. Not having to struggle to make myself understood was such a relief, as well as being able to speak at a normal pace, rather than in slow motion! He had the English to say what no one else could, that we were going to meet some classes of English students. So I was suddenly presented with lots of eager kids ranging from maybe 13 in the first class to 17 in the last. They were very welcoming and excited to see me and incredibly curious about me and my life and England in general. I explained to them about gap years and why I came to Brazil. Tompson acted as interpreter and did very well, only occasionally speaking to me in Portuguese or the kids in English when he got confused! The students were obviously unaccustomed to seeing Europeans, they said that I looked like a doll (white skin, pink cheeks and lips, blonde hair, blue eyes, pink dress) and the younger ones were very giggley! There are white people here, but very few and most are quite tanned so I really stand out, I attract a lot of stares and people keep warning me about pickpockets because they will target me. The fascination with the colour of my skin is almost univeral, people keep putting their arms against mine and saying "preto e branca" which translates as "black and white".
After that we drove to one of Zelia's relative's houses to have a Birthday lunch for Bruno with some pretty good cake! I saw Edilson Junior in the evening and he made me these pancake things with manioc flour, butter, condensed milk and coconut. They were really nice. In the evening Bruno and Edilson and Edilson J and I went to a bar and had some food and caipirinha, which is a kind of cocktail and very good, if a little strong! Bruno ordered some tequila,which comes in much larger shots here than in England! I totally mandled it though. Oh, and I taught them the song "I like to drink with Bruno, cos Bruno is my mate, and when I drink with Bruno, he gets it down in 8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1" which they thought was hilarious!
On Wednesday Bruno and I went into town and got our Yellow Fever vaccines. Nothing is more scary than having to get medical treatment in a foreign country without an interpreter. It was fine though and I'm now covered for the next 10 years! Had a small bout of homesickness, but soon got over it with some retail therapy! Got myself a dress,some shorts and a very touristy, but very cute Brasil tee!
In the evening I went back to the school to be shown off before the parents of English students and then went off to have dinner with Tompson. Speaking to him cured my homesickness better than shopping and I'm fine now.
That covers all the main points. More later. As always, I send my love, you are all in my thoughts. xx
After that we drove to one of Zelia's relative's houses to have a Birthday lunch for Bruno with some pretty good cake! I saw Edilson Junior in the evening and he made me these pancake things with manioc flour, butter, condensed milk and coconut. They were really nice. In the evening Bruno and Edilson and Edilson J and I went to a bar and had some food and caipirinha, which is a kind of cocktail and very good, if a little strong! Bruno ordered some tequila,which comes in much larger shots here than in England! I totally mandled it though. Oh, and I taught them the song "I like to drink with Bruno, cos Bruno is my mate, and when I drink with Bruno, he gets it down in 8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1" which they thought was hilarious!
On Wednesday Bruno and I went into town and got our Yellow Fever vaccines. Nothing is more scary than having to get medical treatment in a foreign country without an interpreter. It was fine though and I'm now covered for the next 10 years! Had a small bout of homesickness, but soon got over it with some retail therapy! Got myself a dress,some shorts and a very touristy, but very cute Brasil tee!
In the evening I went back to the school to be shown off before the parents of English students and then went off to have dinner with Tompson. Speaking to him cured my homesickness better than shopping and I'm fine now.
That covers all the main points. More later. As always, I send my love, you are all in my thoughts. xx
Monday, 28 February 2011
Photos
I've just uploaded some photos to Facebook. I'm sure everyone reading this has an account, or at least knows someone who does so I won't bother uploading them again here. I took a couple of videos of the Samba too, but the internet here is slower than at home and they would have taken ages to upload, so I'll do it when I get home. Ciao! x
Day 2/3
Not sure how much of yesterday I actually described, but I'll start in the evening and you can skip ahead if you've heard it all before. Edilson informed me we were going to the movies, so we went and met his friend Felipe and Felipe's girlfriend Natalie. She lives in a house with some other people who may or may not be related to her, one of whom was an English teacher. So that was nice - he spoke perfect English, but with a "deep south" American accent. He lived in Florida and Texas for some time.
Then we drove to the cinema (Felipe and Edilson are like Brazilian boyracers) in a black 4x4 with tinted windows, playing drum and bass. Felt a lil' bit gangster if I'm honest. The cinema had a queue around the corner, so we gave up on that and went bowling instead. I realised I had not been in years and whenever I go I have the barriers up. So I bowled to perfect zeros, before getting seriously embarrassed and upping my game a bit. I only came out about fifteen points behind the others, but I think the guys slowed up for me!
So then we went and looked around the shops for a bit - I was shocked at the prices, until I remembered that one real is forty pence, so it actually was really cheap! Then we drove to a pizza restaurant where someone parked the car for us, like in America (is it called valeting? or is that when people clean your car? I don't know and I'm not sure I care). In the restaurant, you just paid one price and then waiters would go to the kitchen, pick up a pizza and wander between the tables offering you a slice. They all had different ones - I thought it was quite clever. They also have sweet pizzas here, with chocolate, banana, marshmallow, merangue, lemon, pasionfruit etc (no all on one slice!) and the bases are made with cocao powder.
After dinner we went back to Natalie's house where I managed to explain to the English teacher that because of the time difference it felt like 3am and please could someone take me home? However when I got back there was a party in full swing for one of Zeila's friend's daughters, or maybe she was a relative - I'm not sure. Anyway, she looked about six and the party was barbie-themed. They fed me a cocktail that, as far as I can remember was made with wine and possibly milk and some sort of Brazilian fruit that has no translation and maybe coconut too, anyway I slept like a baby!
Later...
I got interrupted by Church at that point, so let me back-track and I'll try to include as much as possible without boring you. It's now day three in Brazil. So yesterday morning I had to get up criminally early, but then spent all day lazing by and occasionally swimming in a pool. So that was lovely.
Then I went to meet one of Edilson's friends, I think her name was Maria, but I've met about fifty people this weekend, so I'm not entirely sure. She had just got back from a two-month stay in Canada with a host family, so her English was very good. She thanked me for speaking slowly though - this is possibly the one occasion when that tried-and-tested British technique of speaking slowly and loudly actualy paid off. Also, she described my accent as "beautiful", though I think that was merely in comparison to our American friends across the pond. The news was on the telly while I was there and there were pictures of massive flooding - about half-way up the cars. I asked her where it was and she replied, with eerie calm "that's in Sao Paulo". So the city is that big, that it can be raining in one part and not in another and flooded in one part and not in another. But I think that's partly due to the fact that Sao Paulo is fairly hilly. Apparently it's a common complaint in Sao Paulo - they pay taxes and want better flood defenses, they seemed to mind this more than the crime rates or prolific graffiti. Anyway, the football was given more coverage than the flooding, so I don't think that it was considered too serious.
Then I returned home and had a shower and changed my clothes (by the by I usually get through at least two outfits in a day, not because I'm indulging in the English custom of "dressing for dinner", but because of the heat - by mid-afternoon whatever you're wearing is covered in suncream and sweat - not pretty I know) and got on the computer to write the first half of this post, and send emails to the lucky few. At which point I was interrupted by Zeila as it was time for the evening service at Church.
Their church is very nice, quite small and opens on to the street, but the people are very friendly. There was a girl called Danielle (Daniella?) there who translated the basics of the sermon for me and produced an English Bible, but I won't bore you with speeches on morality. I also had a chat with Marco, Lucelia's 10 year-old cousin, who is very sweet but obviously does not have one word of English, so stretched my Portuguese to the limits! It didin't take long.
Just as I got back to the house Edilson turned up and said we should go to see the Batteria, which, literally translated means drums, but in reality is the local Samba group. They were practising at the social club in preparation for Carnival. Then one of the neighbours called me a "gringa" which is slang for foreigner, but not offensive I don't think. When I walk around the neighbourhood people often stare and when I am inrtoduced everyone immediately asks where I'm from as it's so obvious I'm not from Brazil - "muito branca" they say - "very white".
So we went down the road to the social club, which looked to me like a warehouse with a bit of tinsel and some large posters displaying local interests - samba, football and some election posters. The batteria was amazing. I have seen samba in England, but nothing like this. The warehouse was open to the street and the noise was such that there would have been an avalanche of complaints by Daily Mail readers if it had been in England. But it was beautiful - all age groups were there, the ice-cream store was doing a roaring trade (I'm pretty sure Edilson fed me sweetcorn-flavoured ice-cream) and there were smiles on everyone's faces. I felt a bit reserved and British.
As well as the drummers, there were other percussion instruments and singers and dancers and a very large croud watching. The dancers were amazing. There were lots of children and adults following a basic routine, the members of the public around the outside who weren't following a routine and some prefessionals. There were three women wearing sashes - one said "first princess of the batteria", another "second princess of the batteria" and the third something which I couldn't translate, but I think roughly means "woman" or "mother" or "matron of the batteria" - she was an older woman. And these three danced the samba like I've never seen it before (that sounds very naive and touristy...) but they were wearing proper carnival outfits - all sequins and tiny skirts etc. And they danced so fast - in 6-inch heels! I thought one of them was sure to break a leg. Then there were a couple dancing - quite a large black woman, with her hair pulled back into a tight bun and a knee-length white skirt that flew straight out when she spun around. She had a flag in a holder on her hip and danced in a way that was a little samba and a little like ballroom dancing, with her male partner who looked the part in an open shirt and slicked-back hair. When she spun her skirts flew out and the flag waved and the two of them danced around and around the band, while the princesses of the drums danced in front and the children and adults following the routine were outside them and the general public danced around the edges. It was quite a sight. Anyway, it didn't look like it would stop anytime soon, so I fell into bed at about one!
That's probably enough for now, I'm not sure what's happening today, but I do know I'm going on a road trip to Rio de Janeiro on the 5th so you can expect radio silence for a few days after then. Love to all xx
Then we drove to the cinema (Felipe and Edilson are like Brazilian boyracers) in a black 4x4 with tinted windows, playing drum and bass. Felt a lil' bit gangster if I'm honest. The cinema had a queue around the corner, so we gave up on that and went bowling instead. I realised I had not been in years and whenever I go I have the barriers up. So I bowled to perfect zeros, before getting seriously embarrassed and upping my game a bit. I only came out about fifteen points behind the others, but I think the guys slowed up for me!
So then we went and looked around the shops for a bit - I was shocked at the prices, until I remembered that one real is forty pence, so it actually was really cheap! Then we drove to a pizza restaurant where someone parked the car for us, like in America (is it called valeting? or is that when people clean your car? I don't know and I'm not sure I care). In the restaurant, you just paid one price and then waiters would go to the kitchen, pick up a pizza and wander between the tables offering you a slice. They all had different ones - I thought it was quite clever. They also have sweet pizzas here, with chocolate, banana, marshmallow, merangue, lemon, pasionfruit etc (no all on one slice!) and the bases are made with cocao powder.
After dinner we went back to Natalie's house where I managed to explain to the English teacher that because of the time difference it felt like 3am and please could someone take me home? However when I got back there was a party in full swing for one of Zeila's friend's daughters, or maybe she was a relative - I'm not sure. Anyway, she looked about six and the party was barbie-themed. They fed me a cocktail that, as far as I can remember was made with wine and possibly milk and some sort of Brazilian fruit that has no translation and maybe coconut too, anyway I slept like a baby!
Later...
I got interrupted by Church at that point, so let me back-track and I'll try to include as much as possible without boring you. It's now day three in Brazil. So yesterday morning I had to get up criminally early, but then spent all day lazing by and occasionally swimming in a pool. So that was lovely.
Then I went to meet one of Edilson's friends, I think her name was Maria, but I've met about fifty people this weekend, so I'm not entirely sure. She had just got back from a two-month stay in Canada with a host family, so her English was very good. She thanked me for speaking slowly though - this is possibly the one occasion when that tried-and-tested British technique of speaking slowly and loudly actualy paid off. Also, she described my accent as "beautiful", though I think that was merely in comparison to our American friends across the pond. The news was on the telly while I was there and there were pictures of massive flooding - about half-way up the cars. I asked her where it was and she replied, with eerie calm "that's in Sao Paulo". So the city is that big, that it can be raining in one part and not in another and flooded in one part and not in another. But I think that's partly due to the fact that Sao Paulo is fairly hilly. Apparently it's a common complaint in Sao Paulo - they pay taxes and want better flood defenses, they seemed to mind this more than the crime rates or prolific graffiti. Anyway, the football was given more coverage than the flooding, so I don't think that it was considered too serious.
Then I returned home and had a shower and changed my clothes (by the by I usually get through at least two outfits in a day, not because I'm indulging in the English custom of "dressing for dinner", but because of the heat - by mid-afternoon whatever you're wearing is covered in suncream and sweat - not pretty I know) and got on the computer to write the first half of this post, and send emails to the lucky few. At which point I was interrupted by Zeila as it was time for the evening service at Church.
Their church is very nice, quite small and opens on to the street, but the people are very friendly. There was a girl called Danielle (Daniella?) there who translated the basics of the sermon for me and produced an English Bible, but I won't bore you with speeches on morality. I also had a chat with Marco, Lucelia's 10 year-old cousin, who is very sweet but obviously does not have one word of English, so stretched my Portuguese to the limits! It didin't take long.
Just as I got back to the house Edilson turned up and said we should go to see the Batteria, which, literally translated means drums, but in reality is the local Samba group. They were practising at the social club in preparation for Carnival. Then one of the neighbours called me a "gringa" which is slang for foreigner, but not offensive I don't think. When I walk around the neighbourhood people often stare and when I am inrtoduced everyone immediately asks where I'm from as it's so obvious I'm not from Brazil - "muito branca" they say - "very white".
So we went down the road to the social club, which looked to me like a warehouse with a bit of tinsel and some large posters displaying local interests - samba, football and some election posters. The batteria was amazing. I have seen samba in England, but nothing like this. The warehouse was open to the street and the noise was such that there would have been an avalanche of complaints by Daily Mail readers if it had been in England. But it was beautiful - all age groups were there, the ice-cream store was doing a roaring trade (I'm pretty sure Edilson fed me sweetcorn-flavoured ice-cream) and there were smiles on everyone's faces. I felt a bit reserved and British.
As well as the drummers, there were other percussion instruments and singers and dancers and a very large croud watching. The dancers were amazing. There were lots of children and adults following a basic routine, the members of the public around the outside who weren't following a routine and some prefessionals. There were three women wearing sashes - one said "first princess of the batteria", another "second princess of the batteria" and the third something which I couldn't translate, but I think roughly means "woman" or "mother" or "matron of the batteria" - she was an older woman. And these three danced the samba like I've never seen it before (that sounds very naive and touristy...) but they were wearing proper carnival outfits - all sequins and tiny skirts etc. And they danced so fast - in 6-inch heels! I thought one of them was sure to break a leg. Then there were a couple dancing - quite a large black woman, with her hair pulled back into a tight bun and a knee-length white skirt that flew straight out when she spun around. She had a flag in a holder on her hip and danced in a way that was a little samba and a little like ballroom dancing, with her male partner who looked the part in an open shirt and slicked-back hair. When she spun her skirts flew out and the flag waved and the two of them danced around and around the band, while the princesses of the drums danced in front and the children and adults following the routine were outside them and the general public danced around the edges. It was quite a sight. Anyway, it didn't look like it would stop anytime soon, so I fell into bed at about one!
That's probably enough for now, I'm not sure what's happening today, but I do know I'm going on a road trip to Rio de Janeiro on the 5th so you can expect radio silence for a few days after then. Love to all xx
Saturday, 26 February 2011
In Brazil
I arrived in Brazil at 5.30 (local time) but it took another hour to get through the nightmare that was baggage claim and a further hour to tell them I had nothing to declare and no, thank you, I do not want any duty-free! The woman I sat next to on the plane was rather large and not only claimed the armrest, but a good proportion of my seat as well. I couldn't sleep much, so ended up watching Megamind, Stuart Little, Ratatouille and The Big Bang Theory.
I met Zeila and Bruno at the airport and Bruno's friend drove us home. The driving here is a completely different style than at home - it's every man for himself out there. I spent a while trying to work out which was the fast lane, before realising that people were weaving through the traffic and that whole concept obviously meant nothing to them! We had a few close calls, though as no one batted an eyelid, I think they would not agree!
On arriving I had to immediately change into a sundress - I'm not sure what the temperature is, but I know it is hotter than anywhere I've been before - I'd guess in the midday sun it must be about 40 degrees. The food is nice, though a couple of dishes have no translations and neither do the ingredients, so I'm not entirly sure what I'm eating! I tried everything though, and it tasted good - so I won't complain!
This morning the next-door neighbour (who is a couple of years older than me), called Edilson Junior (though most just call him Junior, but wih a pronunciation that no one reading this, with the exception of Lucelia, will get), who has pretty good English, showed me around the neighbourhood. We went to the shops, met some of his friends and got some ice-cream made with acai berries (there's no English translation, and I'm pretty sure there should be a few accents on that word, but I can't figure out how to type them and don't know where they go anyway!). It was a deep purple colour and I think might be an aquired taste! I can't really describe it.
Then we came back for lunch and I slept during the afternoon as I was so tired from staying up all night. There are fans in every room, but it doesn't really help when they are just moving hot air about! I'd like to go on and describe the neighbourhood more, but I fear I'm being a little rude to Junior, who wants to take me to the movies or something, so I'll post more tomorrow.
Love to you all xx
I met Zeila and Bruno at the airport and Bruno's friend drove us home. The driving here is a completely different style than at home - it's every man for himself out there. I spent a while trying to work out which was the fast lane, before realising that people were weaving through the traffic and that whole concept obviously meant nothing to them! We had a few close calls, though as no one batted an eyelid, I think they would not agree!
On arriving I had to immediately change into a sundress - I'm not sure what the temperature is, but I know it is hotter than anywhere I've been before - I'd guess in the midday sun it must be about 40 degrees. The food is nice, though a couple of dishes have no translations and neither do the ingredients, so I'm not entirly sure what I'm eating! I tried everything though, and it tasted good - so I won't complain!
This morning the next-door neighbour (who is a couple of years older than me), called Edilson Junior (though most just call him Junior, but wih a pronunciation that no one reading this, with the exception of Lucelia, will get), who has pretty good English, showed me around the neighbourhood. We went to the shops, met some of his friends and got some ice-cream made with acai berries (there's no English translation, and I'm pretty sure there should be a few accents on that word, but I can't figure out how to type them and don't know where they go anyway!). It was a deep purple colour and I think might be an aquired taste! I can't really describe it.
Then we came back for lunch and I slept during the afternoon as I was so tired from staying up all night. There are fans in every room, but it doesn't really help when they are just moving hot air about! I'd like to go on and describe the neighbourhood more, but I fear I'm being a little rude to Junior, who wants to take me to the movies or something, so I'll post more tomorrow.
Love to you all xx
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Final 24 Hours
Well, I've packed, weighed, measured and repacked my bags (6 times). And now I guess I'm ready for the off. Haven't been able to settle to anything all day as it feels like I'm just waiting for tomorrow. I picked up my currency earlier and it's really colourful - with pictures of jaguars and fish. I'm saying my last goodbyes to friends tonight and to my family tomorrow as they're coming to see me off at the airport. I'm still not entirely sure what to expect when I arrive except 40 degree heat and an exuberant welcome! See you on the other side. x
Monday, 21 February 2011
Five days to go
There are five days before I'll land in Sao Paulo, but I've only actually got three days before I have to be ready. That's because I leave Friday morning for Heathrow and then catch an over-night flight, landing on Saturday the 26th. In those three days I have to get some currency, change the pin number on my credit card, pack a bag and do some last-minute shopping. And say goodbye to everyone. I think it'll be somewhat of a rush!
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