After 21 years, i finally got the oportunity to visit Santiago de Chile, the place where my mom was born and raised. Everything worked out for my trip last minute, from establishing Baha'i contacts there to finding a place to stay.
My friend Susana in Sao Paulo conected me with her friend Gael who lives in Santiago. We started talking through MSN about 2 days before my trip and he helped me with EVERYTHING. He basically explained how everything works in Chile, from all the many different options for getting home from the airport to how to get around on el micro (public transporation). He set me up in this house (kind of like a youth hostel, but not really) where two Baha'is from Canada were staying. About $10 a night for 3 meals a day plus "once" (tea time), plus laundry! Unbeatable price. Plus, one of the guys let me use the laptop he was using, so there was free internet access too. Tia Vicky (the owner of the house and our hostess) was so kind and attentive to all our needs, and proved to be an amazing help in finding the missing piece of the puzzle of finding my grandmother.
October 2, 2006
June 23, 2006
Conferência Nacional de Unidade
Towards the end of June, I headed down to Mogi Guacu to visit Samareh a few days before the National Baha'i Unity Conference in Mogi Mirim. The conference took place at Soltanieh - a Baha'i Education Center. It is basically a huge are of land that is kind of like a mini college campus. There is a lecture hall, dining hall, and dorms to host the hundreds of people that registered for the conference. Many of the large scale Baha'i events are held at Soltanieh (summer schools, conferences, etc...) and it is even rented out for other non-Baha'i events.
I ended up working closely with the Assecoria Nacional de Juventude in several photo presentations and a power point. I learned so much and had a bunch of fun working with them for the short amount of time i was there.
After the conference, it was time to head back to Sampa and get things in order for the end of the semester at PUC.
I ended up working closely with the Assecoria Nacional de Juventude in several photo presentations and a power point. I learned so much and had a bunch of fun working with them for the short amount of time i was there.
After the conference, it was time to head back to Sampa and get things in order for the end of the semester at PUC.
Only in Brazil...
Yesterday we had a final exam scheduled, but class was cancelled and the exam was moved to today because it fell on a game day. Only in Brazil, hehe.
A couple of us got together at a bar near PUC to watch the game...
All i have to say about the team is that sleeping beauty finally woke up!! In the last 30 seconds of the first half, Japan had already made a goal, and I was like "okay, you've got 30 seconds to make a goal"...and in comes Ronaldo!!!!!!!!!! wow, que emoção!! Everyone jumped up, clapped, cheered, hugged anyone close by, etc. And that was only one of four goals, hehe.
A couple of us got together at a bar near PUC to watch the game...
All i have to say about the team is that sleeping beauty finally woke up!! In the last 30 seconds of the first half, Japan had already made a goal, and I was like "okay, you've got 30 seconds to make a goal"...and in comes Ronaldo!!!!!!!!!! wow, que emoção!! Everyone jumped up, clapped, cheered, hugged anyone close by, etc. And that was only one of four goals, hehe.
June 21, 2006
last night everyone came over for pizza. we all sit around the table, plates get passed around, food flys onto plates, and everyone talks a mile a minute at the same time. it amazes me how anyone understands anything. i've learned to focus on two people and tune everyone else out in order to at least get one side of the story, hehe.
Maria Luiza, the youngest member of the family is shy with strangers. and after 5 and a half months we broke the ice, hehe. her first words to me were "dona Leah, olha que cê fez!". i had been pushing her around on a mini chair and then realized we were ruining the wooden waxed floor. i stopped for a second, she looked down, and then looked up at me and said "look what you did." Luckily my host mom was real chill about it and said the floor was needing a re-waxing soon anyway.
As you all back in the States are enjoying the heat of summer, Brazil is entering the peak of winter. and it's no joke my friends.
Every time i enter the house, i don't have to say a word, if my facial expression even hints that it's cold outside, my host mom doesn't let me forget how she warned me at the beginning: "você não acreditou!", and then gives a little chuckle, hehe.
I always thought i'd be able to handle the winter here because it gets ALOT colder in the States. but there's a tiny detail that makes ALL the difference: heating systems simply don't exist here. but then, heating systems would be a big waste of money and energy because the winter here has intercalary days of sunshine and warmth (but it gets cold at night either way). However, on those cold days, it is as cold inside as it is outside. i now sleep with 4 blankets. when i got here, a sheet was unbearable at times and now 4 blankets is almost not enough.
Every time i enter the house, i don't have to say a word, if my facial expression even hints that it's cold outside, my host mom doesn't let me forget how she warned me at the beginning: "você não acreditou!", and then gives a little chuckle, hehe.
I always thought i'd be able to handle the winter here because it gets ALOT colder in the States. but there's a tiny detail that makes ALL the difference: heating systems simply don't exist here. but then, heating systems would be a big waste of money and energy because the winter here has intercalary days of sunshine and warmth (but it gets cold at night either way). However, on those cold days, it is as cold inside as it is outside. i now sleep with 4 blankets. when i got here, a sheet was unbearable at times and now 4 blankets is almost not enough.
June 19, 2006
Living in Brazil during the World Cup
As many of you can imagine, the World Cup is like a national holiday in Brasil. I'm not kidding. We don't have class, people don't go the work, the streets are decorated with green and yellow and they are empty on days that Brasil plays. Weeks ago, almost every commercial on TV had a song advertising their product and cheering for Brasil to win "one more". I've already got jingles stuck in my head for various banks, a grocery store, a furniture store and dishwashing soap.
The last two games of Brazil (9 June and 18 June) were rather disapointing. Brazil won against Croatia and Australia, but everyone expected more from our world champions. Nonetheless, that doesn't stop people from celebrating victory with fireworks and decorations and all sorts of funny looking things that make loud noises when you blow into them. I watched the first game at Samareh's house in Mogi Guaçu. A bunch of Baha'is came over and took part in the festivities. The second game i watched with Feizi and Azm at a japanese restaurant on a projector screen. The apartment across the street set off fire works from their balcony.
May 25, 2006
what's been on my schedule the past couple weeks:
Guitar lessons: Thonni, one of the Baha'i youth in São Paulo lent me his guitar and offerred to give me lessons for the remaining time I'm here. For real, it just made my remaining month so much more exciting, hehe. I love guitar!! We get together an hour before his study circles on tuesday evenings. Now we're working on putting some prayers to music to be able to present at the next 19 day Feast.
Visit to Brazilian Public Schools: On May 17, for Brazilian Culture class, the topic of the week was public education in Brasil, so we went to visit a couple Public Municipal Schools. One school, C.E.U (Centros Escolares Unificados) is practically a camp: it's meant to maximize the time kids spend at school. It's got pools, a theatre, computer lab, areas to play sports, etc. It's free for students within a determined radius around the school and open to the surrounding community. The only thing is that building a school like this is really expensive, so there only exist 22 in Brazil.
After that we went to Amorim Lima, that uses a different method of teaching: there are no walls between classes. It is a little more modest than C.E.U., but the quality of education is supposedly better. Even with 20 gringos entering the classrooms, the students maintined focus on what they were working on. Impressive.
Of course there are tons of public schools that are falling apart or leave much to desire in the academic scene, but I thought it was a great idea to see an example of two models that DO function within the country.
Interesting fact of the day: Percentage of college age students enrolled in universities in the US = 73%. Brasil = 15%. Why the huge gap?
Carybé exposition: Friday I went with one of my classmates to check out the newest exhibition at the Museu Afro Brasil in Parque Ibirapuera: "O universo mítico de Hector Julio Paride Bernabó, o baiano Carybé" ("the Mythic Universe of Hector Julio Paride Bernabó, the bahian, Carybé". Carybé is a famous artist, born in Argentina as Hector Bernabó, and lived in Bahia for the later half of his life, nicknamed Carybé. He used all types of mediums and vibrant colors to portray brazilian history and everyday life in Bahia. He was also a collectioner and illustrated MANY books with brazilian themes.
Lunch on Paulista: after the museum i headed to Av. Paulista to meet up with Danielle, Darien, and Brittney to have lunch at this place called Bella Paulista...probably ate the best X-salada (cheeseburger) i've tasted in Brasil.
Pizza Rodizio and Salsa!!: a block away from my apartment there's this little Pizza Rodizio place that i've been eyeing since i got here ($6 dollars for all-you-can-eat pizza is not too shabby!). So Miranda, Darien, Lua and I hit it up for dinner Friday night (May 19). I adored it and the waiter was funny. Then we burned off the calories at Conexion Caribe! Seriously....if i ever come back, i would soooo work there. I love Conexión because it's a small place, same crowd, and people truly go there to dance salsa (and they can dance REALLY well). Of course there are the occasional guys that wanna rub up on girls and have make-out sessions in public, but they're easy to push off. Friday we were there for a good 4 hours. Having a passion for salsa allows me to say that there are some people that make the dance experience just magical. Chayanne in the ending scene of "Dance With Me" is one of them, and Samuel is another (i'm speaking strictly salsa here). You can take any girl in the club, dancer or not, and he's there with his eyes closed and a huge smile on his face, as if the music transports him to some paradise. And when i see people put that kind of heart into dance, it makes me happy.
Deepening: the youth committee launched it's first deepening series this past weekend on Sunday (May 21). We're starting with the book "Some Answered Questions" by Abdu'l-Baha, "Respostas a algumas perguntas" in portuguese. The book is a result of talks between Abdu'l-Baha and Laura Clifford Barney between 1904 and 1906 while He was confined in the city of 'Akka by the Turkish government. The book is divided into 5 parts and delves into many issues we ponder about and question. The first 2 chapters we studied on Sunday had to do with Nature and the existence of God. It provoked great discussion among the 12 of us at the Baha'i Center.
Interview with a Holocaust survivor: Monday (May 22) I had the great pleasure of interviewing a woman who survived the ghettos of Poland during the time of the Holocaust. She gave a vivid account of her life as a child fleeing from ghetto to ghetto before her family finally sought refuge in the tropics of Brazil. The purpose of the interview was to support my research paper, but aside from that, it was an important experience for me coming from a Jewish background. It took about 10 hours to transcribe...no joke. In the end she gave a message to my generation (this is a translation):
Accept differences, defend all minorities, don't wait for an attack, as happened during the Holocaust...It's like a cigarette: put an end to any verbal manifestation. Put it out - or else, it becomes a fire that we can't control. Homosexuals, gypsies, jews, nordestinos, blacks: it doesn't matter. We are all the same. The only path to peace for future generations is tolerance. Don't discriminate and always be alert.
Declaration of the Bab: Monday night, after the enterview, I headed over to the Baha'i Center to commemorate the Declaration of the Báb. The Báb was the Forerunner of Baha'u'llah, prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith. His mission was to prepare the world for the comming of Baha'u'llah and declared it on the evening of 22 May, 1844. The Báb was later imprisoned and executed for his beliefs. There was a beautiful devotional presentation that is worth watching even just to hear the music...i was moved. Then there was a delicious persian feast awaiting us...polo and tadeek and bademjan, oh my! Good spirit in the air, great company, amazing food.
Ruhi book 1, Esfias, "Sessão da Noite" and Salsa: Saturday was just full of activities. Miranda and I joined a study circle for book 1 in portuguese (not that it's offered in any other language in Brazil, hehe). After that we walked to a little Arabic joint down the street with Marcos and Jaqueline to grab a bite to eat. Esfias - i don't know exactly how to describe them, but they're delicious. They come aberto or fechado ("open" or "closed"). The "open" esfias look like mini pizzas, but they're not pizza. You can get them with meat, cheese, greens, etc. The closed esfias are those same "mini-pizzas" folded into a triangle...with the "meat, cheese, greans, etc" stuffed inside. They're really good with limes and garlic sauce. Esfias are great because they not only taste good, but they're cheap too. Maybe about $0.75 each for an esfia a little bigger than your palm. This particular place has won over my heart. They have esfias doces, which are basically dessert esfias, filled with BRIGADEIRO!! complete extasy, I'm telling you.
After that we headed back to the Baha'i Center for our first movie night, another activity launched by the youth committee this month. We're planning to have a monthly showing of a film (with soda and popcorn). A fun way to provoke discussion about different topics amongst the youth. This month we viewed "Quem Somos Nós?", the american film titled: "What the Bleep Do We Know?". All i can say is: Wow. I probably have to watch that movie a thousand more times to understand it. It's one of those really-make-you-think-in-a-profound-kind-of-way sort of movie. I really liked it, but definitely need to watch it again.
Then a bunch of us headed to McCafé (it's like a Starbucks by McDonalds) for some tea/cookies/coffee, etc., followed by some more salsa at Conexión.
Research and Papers: Now it's down to work. I've been spending a lot of time lately on reports and final papers. Due dates are around the corner and I don't want to spend my last couple weeks here suffering the consequences of procrastination.
other pictures....
Visit to Brazilian Public Schools: On May 17, for Brazilian Culture class, the topic of the week was public education in Brasil, so we went to visit a couple Public Municipal Schools. One school, C.E.U (Centros Escolares Unificados) is practically a camp: it's meant to maximize the time kids spend at school. It's got pools, a theatre, computer lab, areas to play sports, etc. It's free for students within a determined radius around the school and open to the surrounding community. The only thing is that building a school like this is really expensive, so there only exist 22 in Brazil.
After that we went to Amorim Lima, that uses a different method of teaching: there are no walls between classes. It is a little more modest than C.E.U., but the quality of education is supposedly better. Even with 20 gringos entering the classrooms, the students maintined focus on what they were working on. Impressive.
Of course there are tons of public schools that are falling apart or leave much to desire in the academic scene, but I thought it was a great idea to see an example of two models that DO function within the country.
Interesting fact of the day: Percentage of college age students enrolled in universities in the US = 73%. Brasil = 15%. Why the huge gap?
Carybé exposition: Friday I went with one of my classmates to check out the newest exhibition at the Museu Afro Brasil in Parque Ibirapuera: "O universo mítico de Hector Julio Paride Bernabó, o baiano Carybé" ("the Mythic Universe of Hector Julio Paride Bernabó, the bahian, Carybé". Carybé is a famous artist, born in Argentina as Hector Bernabó, and lived in Bahia for the later half of his life, nicknamed Carybé. He used all types of mediums and vibrant colors to portray brazilian history and everyday life in Bahia. He was also a collectioner and illustrated MANY books with brazilian themes.
Lunch on Paulista: after the museum i headed to Av. Paulista to meet up with Danielle, Darien, and Brittney to have lunch at this place called Bella Paulista...probably ate the best X-salada (cheeseburger) i've tasted in Brasil.
Pizza Rodizio and Salsa!!: a block away from my apartment there's this little Pizza Rodizio place that i've been eyeing since i got here ($6 dollars for all-you-can-eat pizza is not too shabby!). So Miranda, Darien, Lua and I hit it up for dinner Friday night (May 19). I adored it and the waiter was funny. Then we burned off the calories at Conexion Caribe! Seriously....if i ever come back, i would soooo work there. I love Conexión because it's a small place, same crowd, and people truly go there to dance salsa (and they can dance REALLY well). Of course there are the occasional guys that wanna rub up on girls and have make-out sessions in public, but they're easy to push off. Friday we were there for a good 4 hours. Having a passion for salsa allows me to say that there are some people that make the dance experience just magical. Chayanne in the ending scene of "Dance With Me" is one of them, and Samuel is another (i'm speaking strictly salsa here). You can take any girl in the club, dancer or not, and he's there with his eyes closed and a huge smile on his face, as if the music transports him to some paradise. And when i see people put that kind of heart into dance, it makes me happy.
Deepening: the youth committee launched it's first deepening series this past weekend on Sunday (May 21). We're starting with the book "Some Answered Questions" by Abdu'l-Baha, "Respostas a algumas perguntas" in portuguese. The book is a result of talks between Abdu'l-Baha and Laura Clifford Barney between 1904 and 1906 while He was confined in the city of 'Akka by the Turkish government. The book is divided into 5 parts and delves into many issues we ponder about and question. The first 2 chapters we studied on Sunday had to do with Nature and the existence of God. It provoked great discussion among the 12 of us at the Baha'i Center.
Interview with a Holocaust survivor: Monday (May 22) I had the great pleasure of interviewing a woman who survived the ghettos of Poland during the time of the Holocaust. She gave a vivid account of her life as a child fleeing from ghetto to ghetto before her family finally sought refuge in the tropics of Brazil. The purpose of the interview was to support my research paper, but aside from that, it was an important experience for me coming from a Jewish background. It took about 10 hours to transcribe...no joke. In the end she gave a message to my generation (this is a translation):
Accept differences, defend all minorities, don't wait for an attack, as happened during the Holocaust...It's like a cigarette: put an end to any verbal manifestation. Put it out - or else, it becomes a fire that we can't control. Homosexuals, gypsies, jews, nordestinos, blacks: it doesn't matter. We are all the same. The only path to peace for future generations is tolerance. Don't discriminate and always be alert.
Declaration of the Bab: Monday night, after the enterview, I headed over to the Baha'i Center to commemorate the Declaration of the Báb. The Báb was the Forerunner of Baha'u'llah, prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith. His mission was to prepare the world for the comming of Baha'u'llah and declared it on the evening of 22 May, 1844. The Báb was later imprisoned and executed for his beliefs. There was a beautiful devotional presentation that is worth watching even just to hear the music...i was moved. Then there was a delicious persian feast awaiting us...polo and tadeek and bademjan, oh my! Good spirit in the air, great company, amazing food.
Ruhi book 1, Esfias, "Sessão da Noite" and Salsa: Saturday was just full of activities. Miranda and I joined a study circle for book 1 in portuguese (not that it's offered in any other language in Brazil, hehe). After that we walked to a little Arabic joint down the street with Marcos and Jaqueline to grab a bite to eat. Esfias - i don't know exactly how to describe them, but they're delicious. They come aberto or fechado ("open" or "closed"). The "open" esfias look like mini pizzas, but they're not pizza. You can get them with meat, cheese, greens, etc. The closed esfias are those same "mini-pizzas" folded into a triangle...with the "meat, cheese, greans, etc" stuffed inside. They're really good with limes and garlic sauce. Esfias are great because they not only taste good, but they're cheap too. Maybe about $0.75 each for an esfia a little bigger than your palm. This particular place has won over my heart. They have esfias doces, which are basically dessert esfias, filled with BRIGADEIRO!! complete extasy, I'm telling you.
After that we headed back to the Baha'i Center for our first movie night, another activity launched by the youth committee this month. We're planning to have a monthly showing of a film (with soda and popcorn). A fun way to provoke discussion about different topics amongst the youth. This month we viewed "Quem Somos Nós?", the american film titled: "What the Bleep Do We Know?". All i can say is: Wow. I probably have to watch that movie a thousand more times to understand it. It's one of those really-make-you-think-in-a-profound-kind-of-way sort of movie. I really liked it, but definitely need to watch it again.
Then a bunch of us headed to McCafé (it's like a Starbucks by McDonalds) for some tea/cookies/coffee, etc., followed by some more salsa at Conexión.
Research and Papers: Now it's down to work. I've been spending a lot of time lately on reports and final papers. Due dates are around the corner and I don't want to spend my last couple weeks here suffering the consequences of procrastination.
other pictures....
May 18, 2006
Everything's pretty much back to normal here in São Paulo. There was a lot of commotion the past couple of days, but much if it was due to people's paranoia (which is understandable considering the circumstances). The tricky part is trying not to blow things out of proportion without pretending like it was nothing...either way, it breaks our routine, but life hasn't come to a stop because of it. We've been told various things by people here...anywhere from don't worry, everything's cool to we're in a civil war. The general consensus is that there's no need to walk around with fear but continue to take precautions.
Okay, that's it for now...just wanted to leave the family units with some peace of mind :o)
Okay, that's it for now...just wanted to leave the family units with some peace of mind :o)
May 16, 2006
15 de maio: uncertainty leads to panic in São Paulo
I have to admit, yesterday was a little scary. The panic and uncertainty that spread throughout São Paulo was enough to make anyone a little worried.
Shortly after my first post about recent incidents, I received an email from the Council (here’s my rough translation):
Dear students,
You have probably been following through newspapers and television reports news about the violence that has been taking place in the city and state of São Paulo. We will have the opportunity to discuss this issue in Culture class on Wednesday. At the moment, we are concerned about the question of your safety.
CIEE in the United States and probably your universities and your parents are also following with preocupation the events. They are worried about your security. We suggest calling your parents or close family to assure them that you are doing okay and are in regions that are safe.
We also ask that you call us to tell us how you are.
I would like to remind you of some recomendations, that i know you already know, but it’s worth repeating:
The violence has occurred in the periferia, in places that we know you don’t frequent normally. We ask that you avoid those areas and avoid leaving home except if you’re sure that everything’s okay in your region. Talk to you host families and follow their recommendations.
At PUC, classes are still going on. Whatever alteration, we will comunicate to everyone.
Some banks were attacked, as of now, also out of the area of where we are. But we advise that you aviod using these establishments in the next couple days. If you need to use an ATM, do it inside of PUC.
For any doubts or information, we are here for you, during the entire day here at the office, and after hours, at our homes and cells.
We will be in constant contact, should anything change,
Hugs,
Ana Luiza e Maurício.
Council em São Paulo
So I continued with my plans for the day: head over to USP, do some research at the library, meet up with Jefferson and Bruno and have dinner at the bandejão. While I’m on the bus, i get a call from Mauricio saying that because the situation has escalated, the Council is asking all CIEE students to stay at home that afternoon. PUC was already closing early and if you aren’t home already, head that way now. I was almost at USP, so i decided to go there anyway to see if i could find Jefferson. We had scheduled to meet up that afternoon. I get to the library and as soon as i spot Jefferson in the corner with his books, a lady walks in and informs all students that the library is closing due to the circumstances. Many Professors who live far and rely on buses for transportation were liberated so they would be able to get home, so classes were also canceled. There were rumors of bomb threats at various universities and malls, but i don’t know what’s true or not. It occured to me that there was a police headquarters on campus, right next to that graphic crime museum that Jefferson took me to one time. With the email from the Council, then the phone call, then campuses closing down, it was enough to leave me uncomfortable. I kept hearing "o que é isso, meu?" Nobody knew exactly what was going on.
As Jefferson and I descended to the lobby of FFLCH of social sciences, we spotted Bruno and a couple other friends of his. Bruno lives in Vila Madalena, the same neighborhood as me, and one of his friends offered all of us a ride to the area. Not only was everyone rushing to get home, but at the entrance of USP, there were police checking cars. It took us half an hour just to get off campus! And almost another hour just to get to my neighborhood...a drive that should’ve taken 15-20 minutes MAX. That’s the worst traffic i’ve ever seen. The fact that I was with Jefferson and Bruno made me feel better. Everyone in the car was talking about the situation, how they’d never seen anything like this before, and we even made fun of one of the radio news broadcasters. He had one of those dramatic voices: "panico tomou conta da cidade! Faculdades fecharam! Estudantes que tinham trabalhos pra entregar e provas pra fazer agora não podem! Todo mundo está correndo pra casa! As linhas telefonicas estão loitadas! Tem gente ligando cada cinco a cinco minutos!".("panic has taken over the city! Schools and universities have closed! students can’t turn in their papers and take tests that were to take place today! everyone is running to the safety of their homes! The telephone lines are jammed! People are calling their loved ones every five minutes!") gente, da risada, hehe.
But for real, the entire city practically shut down. The prefeitura had ordered all schools and stores to close. A metro station was attacked, so various stops in the centro were shut down too and many buses stopped running early. The streets were pretty chaotic in terms of people trying to get home. Imagine this kind of thing happening in a city like New York. The guys in the car were comparing it to 9/11...a similar kind of panic/uncertainty was probably in the air.
Anyway, i finally got home around 5:30 and found my host mom praying in the dark. She refused to turn on the TV or listen to the radio before everyone was safe at home. "não adiante ficando preocupado e aumentando o medo com tudo que a mídia está dizendo". She said she tried to call me, but couldnt get through. And i had no credits on my cell to call home. I went to my room and turned on the radio to the lowest audible volume. I caught the end of an interview with the comandante of the military police. He criticised all the histeria saying that "hoje é o dia mais tranquilo, desde sexta-feira". My host mom later said he was lying to try to calm everyone down. The city refused federal help claiming they had the situation under control. The reason i started getting nervous in the first place was because i realized that even though this war is between the bandits and the police, the bandits look like everyday people...so if there’s open fire between the two groups, any civilian could be accidently targeted. On the radio they were talking about putting police on the buses, but i think that’s a stupid idea...all you need is for one of the gang members to get on board and bam, shooting party in an enclosed area with lots of innocent bystanders.
The rest of the evening was uneventful. I worked out in our ghetto apartment gym, ate dinner, watched Belissima (a novela) with my host famiily and then stayed up watching a movie (Bulletproof Monk) with my host sister
Helicopter images of Av. Paulista and other main roads showed na empty ghost-town São Paulo. This is probably the first and last time in history that Av. Paulista will have no cars in sight.
If you think about the incidents of the past few days, perhaps the gang achieved one of their aims: making life inconvenient for the fake middle-class world that many people live in. They definitely managed to break the routine of thousands of citizens yesterday. Whether it will have any long term effect, I don’t know. But what’s clear to me is that these guys are revolting against social injustices they’ve sufferred. For sure, 15 de maio will go down in history.
This morning I got up to watch the news to see if there were any developments. My host mom said classes were cancelled so i went back to bed. In general though, things were getting back to normalcy, from what i saw in the news. A couple hours later i got up and called Mauricio to see what the latest was and he confirmed that CIEE classes and morning classes at PUC were cancelled, but PUC was opening after 12PM and would have evening classes. The news said buses and metros were all fully functioning so I ventured out late afternoon to use the computer lab on campus and report to you the latest...May 15, 2006
Gang attacks in São Paulo
Okay people, here's the scoop:
PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital), is a criminal gang founded in 1993. They're known for drug trafficking, arms trafficking, bank roberies, the whole shabang.
Last thursday, 765 inmates were transfered to another penitenciary with the intention of preventing an organized uprise (that was set to take place this past weekend in many prisons within the city). Among those transfered were leaders of the PCC. This is what the authorities do in order to break up ties between prisoners and gang members outside prison.
Since this weekend, the gang attacked various banks around the area (zona sul, zona oeste, and grande são paulo), aproximately 61 buses have been burned (most bus companies have stopped routes going to those areas in fear of more attacks), and more than 60 are dead as of this morning. Not only are there attacks on police stations, but there have been uprisings and rebellions in various penitenciaries and jails.
Apparently, these violent actions are in response to the decision made by the state government to isolate the leaders of the PCC, i.e. the transfer of those inmates.
I know most of you in the states are probably hearing about gang attacks with machine-guns, grenades, bombs, hostages, etc. and although that's all true in part, all mayhem has not broken lose here in São Paulo (well, i'm pretty sure the police think otherwise since they're the ones under attack).
I want to draw your attention to the fact that most of those reported dead are police officers. The target of this gang is primarily the police and anyone associated with them (civil and military police, penitenciary agents, metropolitan guards, etc). Of course there always exists the possibility of civilians getting entangled in this kind of stuff, but members of the PCC are not on the streets everywhere firing anyone in sight. They are much more organized and have an aim at what they're doing.
In a BBC article, i read: "If the state is being attacked, what can happen with every normal citizen. That's what everybody thinks." But i disagree. Around here, you tend to trust the ladrão more than the police. I'm sure it's not a news flash for anyone that the police of Brasil are among the most corrupt in the world, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's more behind this whole thing than just a "violent response" to the transfer of PCC inmates.
i was talking to one of my friends in class this morning about the situation and she told me about a recent attack on Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, where the police there closed the entrance and opened fire in the favela claiming that there was a theif inside. Imagine all the people who aren't involved in drug trafficking that get entangled in all this. In anycase, in the end it was found out that all the commotion was really about arms trafficking that the police were in on with the favelados. My friend told me stories about how police pulled over one of her friends, threw drugs in the car and then arrested them for being in possession of drugs. And then she mentioned another incident in a jail that was running out of space, so the police started a rebellion and then did a mass killing in an attempt to "break up the uprising". Because my friend has been witness to the corruption of the police, perhaps that explains her negative attitude towards them. Maybe she's exaggerating, maybe she's not. Anyway, the point is, both sides have their story and there is usually more to it than what we see in the news.
PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital), is a criminal gang founded in 1993. They're known for drug trafficking, arms trafficking, bank roberies, the whole shabang.
Last thursday, 765 inmates were transfered to another penitenciary with the intention of preventing an organized uprise (that was set to take place this past weekend in many prisons within the city). Among those transfered were leaders of the PCC. This is what the authorities do in order to break up ties between prisoners and gang members outside prison.
Since this weekend, the gang attacked various banks around the area (zona sul, zona oeste, and grande são paulo), aproximately 61 buses have been burned (most bus companies have stopped routes going to those areas in fear of more attacks), and more than 60 are dead as of this morning. Not only are there attacks on police stations, but there have been uprisings and rebellions in various penitenciaries and jails.
Apparently, these violent actions are in response to the decision made by the state government to isolate the leaders of the PCC, i.e. the transfer of those inmates.
I know most of you in the states are probably hearing about gang attacks with machine-guns, grenades, bombs, hostages, etc. and although that's all true in part, all mayhem has not broken lose here in São Paulo (well, i'm pretty sure the police think otherwise since they're the ones under attack).
I want to draw your attention to the fact that most of those reported dead are police officers. The target of this gang is primarily the police and anyone associated with them (civil and military police, penitenciary agents, metropolitan guards, etc). Of course there always exists the possibility of civilians getting entangled in this kind of stuff, but members of the PCC are not on the streets everywhere firing anyone in sight. They are much more organized and have an aim at what they're doing.
In a BBC article, i read: "If the state is being attacked, what can happen with every normal citizen. That's what everybody thinks." But i disagree. Around here, you tend to trust the ladrão more than the police. I'm sure it's not a news flash for anyone that the police of Brasil are among the most corrupt in the world, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's more behind this whole thing than just a "violent response" to the transfer of PCC inmates.
i was talking to one of my friends in class this morning about the situation and she told me about a recent attack on Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, where the police there closed the entrance and opened fire in the favela claiming that there was a theif inside. Imagine all the people who aren't involved in drug trafficking that get entangled in all this. In anycase, in the end it was found out that all the commotion was really about arms trafficking that the police were in on with the favelados. My friend told me stories about how police pulled over one of her friends, threw drugs in the car and then arrested them for being in possession of drugs. And then she mentioned another incident in a jail that was running out of space, so the police started a rebellion and then did a mass killing in an attempt to "break up the uprising". Because my friend has been witness to the corruption of the police, perhaps that explains her negative attitude towards them. Maybe she's exaggerating, maybe she's not. Anyway, the point is, both sides have their story and there is usually more to it than what we see in the news.
May 14, 2006
Introspecção
Que este rasquinho seja uma lembrança da grande importância do meu tempo aqui...
Sexta à noite, eu fiquei acordada na cama pensando em como vão ser meus últimos dias aqui em São Paulo e os primeiros dias lá nos EU. Pensei, “nossa! Vai ser super legal passar o dia c/Paul e encontrar c/todo mundo em Fridays!” Não vejo a hora de voltar, reunir c/meus queridos lá e começar uma nova etapa na minha vida – cumprindo o último ano na faculdade, aplicando pra escolas de pós-graduação, aprendendo dirigir, procurando um lugar pra morar, etc. Mas na verdade, esta animação foi seguido de uma grande tristeza. Pq tenho um grande medo de voltar pros EU e resumir vivendo sedentáriamente no sentido espiritual.A tristeza vem das saudades que já estão surgindo no meu coração. Ainda não fui embora e já estou sentindo a falta daqui. Sem dúvida, os momentos mais felizes do meu tempo no Brasil tem sido no ambiente da comunidade baha’i. O amor que eles mostraram pra mim, as amizades que fiz, as diversas atividades que organizamos/participamos, quer espirituais quer sociais, as respostas que achei, etc. Não consigo imaginar sentindo tão parte de uma comunidade como sinto aqui.
Sábado, depois da reposição do livro cinco, eu fiquei batendo papo com Maria de Lourdes e cheguei à grande consciência q este sentimento de posse realmente depende no próprio indivíduo e não nas características da comunidade onde ele mora. Os últimos anos têm sido anos de estagnação pra mim, com respeito à Causa. Quase não conheço as comunidades de Nashville e Montgomery County e sempre pus a culpa no meio: a sede fica tão longe, meus estudos ou trabalho não permite tempo, não sinto parte, etc. Qq coisa justificaria minha inatividade. E agora tô me dando conta de q tudo isso dependa no grau de participação na vida comunitária...nossa, q revelação, hein? Bom, fico c/muito q pensar e pouco tempo pra aproveitar! vou atravessar aquele ponte quando eu chegar aí
May 8, 2006
Academic Scene
I've received many comments on the lack of books in any of my pictures, or talk of real studies in any of my posts...so here, let me ease your mind and assure you that I am indeed here principally to study. However, needless to say, most of the learning has taken place outside of the classroom. The official learning experience began the minute I stepped foot into BWI airport and has been evolving ever since.
This is what my schedule looks like:
Monday
8AM - 12PM: Contemporary Latin America (Social Movements & Revolutions)
Tuesday
12:30PM - 2:30PM: Portuguese
Wednesday
2PM - 5PM: Brazilian Culture: Issues and Realities
Thursday
12:30PM - 2:30PM: Portuguese
7:30 PM - 11PM: History of the U.S.
Each week there is a TON of reading to do for each classs. And we are expected to be able to discuss in detail what was read, defend or criticise the author, etc. As american students, attention usually gets brought to us to present the "american perspective" and give our opinions...this has presented a problem for me since I've avoided developing opinions on lots of things until now. For my two classes at PUC, after each unit, we are required to write a paper synthesizing everything that was covered, using the texts and lectures as references...if you don't keep up with the reading, this can be a BIG challenge when it comes to the night before the report is due (and the computer at home is slow running and it happens to be thunderstorming heavily outside and the electricity suddenly cuts off and you lose all your work...NOT FUN. But then, it's Brazil, and in situations as these you repeat "tudo vai dar certo" almost religiously until you yourself believe that "everything's gonna be alright", and with a stress-free attitude, everything ends up working out out in the end).
Things have started getting really busy one the academic scene especially since i realized that i have less then 2 months to finish all the work that's left to do.
The assignment for the Contemporary Latin America class is actually a magazine - to be worked on individually or in a group. I joined up with two girls in my class and today we did some informal planning during our intervalo/coffee break (the 20 minute break we get to divide up the 4 hours of class). The magazine is going to have an artistic/cultural theme to it with various articles, photos, poems, etc. I'm looking forward to the final product. Plus, it's seems like a lot more fun then writting a research paper.
In my Portuguese class, we've had a lot of mini writting assignments, grammar exercises, and our first exam last week.
Brazilian Culture is by far one of my favorite classes. I'm convinced that Prof. Lourival knows everything...or close to it. You can ask him any question about anything related to history, anthropology, sociology, and he will produce an answer right there that will leave you astounded. It's like for a second you understand the world. But only for a second. Because then you get back to reality and try to fit things into the grand scheme of things you've ever learned in life and how this new understanding should affect the way you live from that point on....and then life gets confusing again. For his class, we have weekly reading assignments on various topics of Brazilian culture (religion, brazilian soap operas, economics, politics, poverty, violence, etc.) and have to write a paragraph summary on what we've read.
At the end of class we have to turn in a 10-15 page final paper on a topic of our choice. After much thought and changing topics, I think I've finally pinned something down. I've decided on a research studying European-Jewish immigrants that fled to Brazil during the Holocaust and the formation of a Latin-American identity within the context of Judaism.
The interest sprouted from the fact that my mom's parents fled Germany during World War II; my grandfather was actually among the many that planned escapes from concentration camps. They fled to Santiago, Chile, and that's where my mom and aunt were born and raised. I also recently found out that on my dad's side there are contacts in Cuba and I think Argentina. So I am a mixed product: born and raised in the United States to a chilean mother of German descent and an american father with relatives in Latin America, raised Jewish, converted to Baha'i...and in the end, next to being a human citizen of the world, I identify with the latino culture. Oh life is fun, hehe.
This is what my schedule looks like:
Monday
8AM - 12PM: Contemporary Latin America (Social Movements & Revolutions)
Tuesday
12:30PM - 2:30PM: Portuguese
Wednesday
2PM - 5PM: Brazilian Culture: Issues and Realities
Thursday
12:30PM - 2:30PM: Portuguese
7:30 PM - 11PM: History of the U.S.
Each week there is a TON of reading to do for each classs. And we are expected to be able to discuss in detail what was read, defend or criticise the author, etc. As american students, attention usually gets brought to us to present the "american perspective" and give our opinions...this has presented a problem for me since I've avoided developing opinions on lots of things until now. For my two classes at PUC, after each unit, we are required to write a paper synthesizing everything that was covered, using the texts and lectures as references...if you don't keep up with the reading, this can be a BIG challenge when it comes to the night before the report is due (and the computer at home is slow running and it happens to be thunderstorming heavily outside and the electricity suddenly cuts off and you lose all your work...NOT FUN. But then, it's Brazil, and in situations as these you repeat "tudo vai dar certo" almost religiously until you yourself believe that "everything's gonna be alright", and with a stress-free attitude, everything ends up working out out in the end).
Things have started getting really busy one the academic scene especially since i realized that i have less then 2 months to finish all the work that's left to do.
The assignment for the Contemporary Latin America class is actually a magazine - to be worked on individually or in a group. I joined up with two girls in my class and today we did some informal planning during our intervalo/coffee break (the 20 minute break we get to divide up the 4 hours of class). The magazine is going to have an artistic/cultural theme to it with various articles, photos, poems, etc. I'm looking forward to the final product. Plus, it's seems like a lot more fun then writting a research paper.
In my Portuguese class, we've had a lot of mini writting assignments, grammar exercises, and our first exam last week.
Brazilian Culture is by far one of my favorite classes. I'm convinced that Prof. Lourival knows everything...or close to it. You can ask him any question about anything related to history, anthropology, sociology, and he will produce an answer right there that will leave you astounded. It's like for a second you understand the world. But only for a second. Because then you get back to reality and try to fit things into the grand scheme of things you've ever learned in life and how this new understanding should affect the way you live from that point on....and then life gets confusing again. For his class, we have weekly reading assignments on various topics of Brazilian culture (religion, brazilian soap operas, economics, politics, poverty, violence, etc.) and have to write a paragraph summary on what we've read.
At the end of class we have to turn in a 10-15 page final paper on a topic of our choice. After much thought and changing topics, I think I've finally pinned something down. I've decided on a research studying European-Jewish immigrants that fled to Brazil during the Holocaust and the formation of a Latin-American identity within the context of Judaism.
The interest sprouted from the fact that my mom's parents fled Germany during World War II; my grandfather was actually among the many that planned escapes from concentration camps. They fled to Santiago, Chile, and that's where my mom and aunt were born and raised. I also recently found out that on my dad's side there are contacts in Cuba and I think Argentina. So I am a mixed product: born and raised in the United States to a chilean mother of German descent and an american father with relatives in Latin America, raised Jewish, converted to Baha'i...and in the end, next to being a human citizen of the world, I identify with the latino culture. Oh life is fun, hehe.
Living in a country of contrasts...
One of my good friends will be working this summer in Kenya and recently asked me how I’m dealing with the contrasts of Brazil. I thought it was a good theme for a post. Whenever you’re in a “country of contrasts”, it’s normal to feel that your contributions are insignificant and to feel guilty for having privileges that you do (e.g. traveling within the continent if you have the opportunity)...so how do we deal? I wrote to my friend saying that feeling guilty and not taking advantage of the opportunity to travel along the coast if she has the chance is not going to solve the problem of poverty...i encouraged "have a blast, learn all you can, and then use that as inspiration to figure out how you want to contribute to society."
I'm gonna re-post a story that's on one of my first blog posts because it's something i often think about. A while back at a Baha’i fireside, one of the ladies shared a dream she had...I remember it to this day because it has really helped me put some perspective to the social issues we face:
there was some kind of reservoir and lots of people were drowning in it. People ran to the side of the water and attempted to pull out individuals one by one. Sometimes they were successful, sometimes they themselves fell in. And this lady noticed Abdu’l-Baha sitting on a hill nearby overlooking all this. She got angry because she didn’t understand why He wasn’t doing anything about it. People were dying and He was just sitting there. She approached Him and saw He had paper and pen in hand. And upon questioning, He told her that He was figuring out a way to drain the reservoir. Can you imagine how many more people will be saved? Though individual efforts are noble and courageous and will save precious lives, they will not ultimately solve the problem of people drowning in the reservoir.
So the challenge we have when we come across societies that are marked by contrasts is to try to figure out how to drain the reservoir...in the end, much more people will be saved. When it comes to our everyday lives, I think moderation is key. We shouldn't give up all our possessions just to help a cause, but at the same time, we shoudn't go overboard with unnecessary material things. Find the balance. That's the philosophy I'm trying to stick by.
José and I have had many a discussion on the differences that exist between the United States and “los países de nosotros”, and of course, poverty always comes up. If you compare poverty that exists in other parts of the world, the poor in the US have it good...
Anyway, it’s a topic of long discussion...I’d be interested to hear your comments on the issue.
I'm gonna re-post a story that's on one of my first blog posts because it's something i often think about. A while back at a Baha’i fireside, one of the ladies shared a dream she had...I remember it to this day because it has really helped me put some perspective to the social issues we face:
there was some kind of reservoir and lots of people were drowning in it. People ran to the side of the water and attempted to pull out individuals one by one. Sometimes they were successful, sometimes they themselves fell in. And this lady noticed Abdu’l-Baha sitting on a hill nearby overlooking all this. She got angry because she didn’t understand why He wasn’t doing anything about it. People were dying and He was just sitting there. She approached Him and saw He had paper and pen in hand. And upon questioning, He told her that He was figuring out a way to drain the reservoir. Can you imagine how many more people will be saved? Though individual efforts are noble and courageous and will save precious lives, they will not ultimately solve the problem of people drowning in the reservoir.
So the challenge we have when we come across societies that are marked by contrasts is to try to figure out how to drain the reservoir...in the end, much more people will be saved. When it comes to our everyday lives, I think moderation is key. We shouldn't give up all our possessions just to help a cause, but at the same time, we shoudn't go overboard with unnecessary material things. Find the balance. That's the philosophy I'm trying to stick by.
José and I have had many a discussion on the differences that exist between the United States and “los países de nosotros”, and of course, poverty always comes up. If you compare poverty that exists in other parts of the world, the poor in the US have it good...
Anyway, it’s a topic of long discussion...I’d be interested to hear your comments on the issue.
April 24, 2006
A National Day of Action
May 1st, 2006: A Day Without Latinos and Rally for Immigrant Rights
For the recognition of their right to work,
the education of their children
and medical services.
They are workers, not criminals.
No immigrant will work on this day in the United States, and all latinos and citizens all over the world can support this cause by not buying, consuming, or using any american product on this day, the 1st of May, to show the impact they have.
That means: No Coca-cola, Pepsi, Mc Donalds, Burguer King, Sears, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Starbucks, Crispy Cream, Subway, TGI Fridays, Blockbuster, Cinemark, Radio Shack, Dave and Busters etc. Hoteles like the Sheraton, Westin or the Hilton, supermarkets and superstores like Wall Mart or 7 Eleven, don't fly Continental, United, American Airlines, Panam etc.; don't go to your City Bank on this day, and dont use DHL or FEDEX, and all cable chanels.
Pass the word...
For the recognition of their right to work,
the education of their children
and medical services.
They are workers, not criminals.
No immigrant will work on this day in the United States, and all latinos and citizens all over the world can support this cause by not buying, consuming, or using any american product on this day, the 1st of May, to show the impact they have.
That means: No Coca-cola, Pepsi, Mc Donalds, Burguer King, Sears, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Starbucks, Crispy Cream, Subway, TGI Fridays, Blockbuster, Cinemark, Radio Shack, Dave and Busters etc. Hoteles like the Sheraton, Westin or the Hilton, supermarkets and superstores like Wall Mart or 7 Eleven, don't fly Continental, United, American Airlines, Panam etc.; don't go to your City Bank on this day, and dont use DHL or FEDEX, and all cable chanels.
Pass the word...
April 21, 2006
How to read my blog
For first time viewers of my blog and for the not so internet saavy, here are a few tips for navegating through my blog...
First, you'll note in the dark green panel is a series of links.
Under "links" you will see the link "My Photos" - clicking on this link will take you to my yahoo page where I have online photo albums from the past 6 years or so. Feel free to browse those. Photos from this semester are not yet posted and probably won't be posted untill after my trip.
"previous posts" shows the last 10 posts. When you click on the last post, you will be taken to that post and the previous previous 10 posts will be shown.
Next you will see "archives" - which consists of all my blog entrees archived by the month they were posted. For example, under "March 2005" you will find all blog entrees that were posted in the month of march 2005, which happens to be my 8 days of Alternative Spring Break. The page shows all 8 entrees, starting with the most recently posted, i.e. Day 8. In order to see Day 1, you would need to scroll to the bottom of the page. "April 2005" and "November 2006" contain Brazil Week related postings. Starting in "January 2006" is where you will find everything about my study abroad semester here in São Paulo, Brazil. Everything is in order by month. Again, posts from the beginning of the month are found at the bottom of the page and scrolling up.
Quick note about pictures: if the pictures don't load or you see red x's where a picture should be, don't worry, it is not your browser. the one disadvantage to using geocities to upload photos to my blog is that there is a limit to the airtime of each photo each day. So if the photo has exceeded it's time, it will not appear. Usually if you return to the site the next day, the picture will appear. This won't be an issue once I get my pictures up on my yahoo albums.
Hope this helps!
First, you'll note in the dark green panel is a series of links.
Under "links" you will see the link "My Photos" - clicking on this link will take you to my yahoo page where I have online photo albums from the past 6 years or so. Feel free to browse those. Photos from this semester are not yet posted and probably won't be posted untill after my trip.
"previous posts" shows the last 10 posts. When you click on the last post, you will be taken to that post and the previous previous 10 posts will be shown.
Next you will see "archives" - which consists of all my blog entrees archived by the month they were posted. For example, under "March 2005" you will find all blog entrees that were posted in the month of march 2005, which happens to be my 8 days of Alternative Spring Break. The page shows all 8 entrees, starting with the most recently posted, i.e. Day 8. In order to see Day 1, you would need to scroll to the bottom of the page. "April 2005" and "November 2006" contain Brazil Week related postings. Starting in "January 2006" is where you will find everything about my study abroad semester here in São Paulo, Brazil. Everything is in order by month. Again, posts from the beginning of the month are found at the bottom of the page and scrolling up.
Quick note about pictures: if the pictures don't load or you see red x's where a picture should be, don't worry, it is not your browser. the one disadvantage to using geocities to upload photos to my blog is that there is a limit to the airtime of each photo each day. So if the photo has exceeded it's time, it will not appear. Usually if you return to the site the next day, the picture will appear. This won't be an issue once I get my pictures up on my yahoo albums.
Hope this helps!
April 20, 2006
Candy Popcorn and Yakkisobi
Everyday from 8 in the morning until about midnight, a row of vendors pull up along the sidewalk in front of PUC to sell jewelry, clothes, magazines, you name it. Everyday around sunset, a white van pulls up and out pops the Yakissobi man and his wife. They set up shop and get to work making Yakissobi...chinese noodles with cabbage, chicken, and beef. For 2 dollars you get a "small" serving (which is really huge) of the most delicious lomein to be found around a college campus. This guy will never run out of business.
Right next to the Yakissobi man is the popcorn man who sells red candied popcorn and regular popcorn will little bits of fried provolone cheese.
As i leave class thursday nights the sweet aroma of caramalized popcorn hits first and then the yakissobi. The smells that will forever transport me to the sidewalks of PUC.
Right next to the Yakissobi man is the popcorn man who sells red candied popcorn and regular popcorn will little bits of fried provolone cheese.
As i leave class thursday nights the sweet aroma of caramalized popcorn hits first and then the yakissobi. The smells that will forever transport me to the sidewalks of PUC.
April 17, 2006
11-15 April: Buenos Aires, Argentina
The lovely thing about being young, in college, on financial aid, and participating in a study abroad semester in South America is that it allows the opportunity for spontaneous travel. Last week was Semana Santa, i.e. the week before Easter, which was yesterday, Sunday 16 April. We got half the week off because of the holiday, so i decided to go visit Alonzo in Buenos Aires. Darien, one of my CIEE friends here in São Paulo, decided to come along for the trip. I'm really glad she tagged along because the three of us (me, her, and Alonzo) make for a funny trio. I definitely got my laughs in for the year, hehe. We planned everything just 3 days before the trip (because that's pretty much when we found out that we had practically no classes the following week).
Tuesday, first Day in Buenos Aires...
I spent the night at Darien's and we took a taxi around 4AM to arrive at the airport in time for our 6:20AM flight from SP. At the airline counter, the attendant scared Darien telling her that she might get deported when she tries to get back into Brazil...because she didnt have the little piece of paper with her picture on it that showed she had registered with the Federal Police. The little piece of paper that is the product of our day (or in Darien's case, two days) of waiting endless hours on foot at the federal police station just to get fingerprints. So, the lady told her that they wouldn't even wait to question her as to why she doesn't have the paper with her. They'd just mandate her immediately for deportation..."it's like that in response to the way Americans treat Brazilians when entering the States."
I love how when we travel, we all of a sudden become representatives of the government and lawmakers of our land. Whatever bad that has come from the US imperialism in Latin America over the past bagillion years is automatically transferred on every American Citizen, like the original sin that is somehow genetically inherited by all. Forgive me for stepping up on a soapbox for a second, but although we grow up with the influences and lessons learned in previous times, we are not what our parents or grandparents or great great grandparents did years ago. We aren't the ones that made the laws and declared the wars. Just to illustrate my point, did you know that the Argentinos are still mad at the Chilenos for betraying them in war?? How many years ago??? All of this just blows my mind. I mean, seriously, i know that within each border of each country thrives a different culture and way of life...different ideas, ways of governing, ethics, etc - but that adds to the richness in this world. There is only one earth and we humans are living on it. I don't understand how certain people rise up and start claiming areas of land as their territory, and then forbidding people from entering that territory. Who are we? Land is not a human possesion. We certainly didnt create it. So i don't understand how war and suffering is started over it and in the end just breeds prejudice in all parts of the world. Ukh!
The Baha'i Faith explains that all that's going on in the world today is part of some Divine plan, and as many catastrophes we see happening around us/to us (caused by nature or mankind), there are stronger spiritual forces at work. So we just gotta try to remember that and see the wisdom behind things instead of getting frustrated...which is something I'm obviously still working on. Beaurocracy frustrates me in any country.
SOooooo, we flew from Brazil, on Lufthansa, a german airlines, to Argentina. Never have i been in such a state of total lingual confusion, hehe. You never know whether to say Danke Shein, Thanks, Gracias, or Obrigada. The flight attendents start out speaking to you in german, then maybe throw in a little portuguese, and then see the confused look on your face and resort to english. It was a little less than a 3 hour flight to Buenos Aires, but we almost divereted to Montevideo, Uruguay, due to heavy fog. After circling above the city for half an hour, the pilot decided to try landing. Imagine your normal landing: the plane flies on top of the clouds for much of the flight and then when it begins its descent, you go through some brief turbulence, clear through the clouds and can see the city from however many miles up you are. then it usually takes another 20 minutes to hit ground, right? So we go through the whole turbulence, clear through the clouds thing and 2 seconds later, we hit the ground. The general reaction on the plane was: "What??". That's how bad the fog was folks. incredible. i dont know how the pilot did it, but everyone else must have been impressed too because the whole plane clapped upon touchdown.
Alonzo met us at the airport and we took the bus to his neighborhood to drop of our bags. Buses in Argentina, (and pretty much EVERYTHING for that matter) are much cheaper than in Brazil and the States. Our bus to Villa Crespo (about a 1.5 hour ride) cost 1,30 pesos...i.e. less then 50 US cents (a 20 minute taxi ride to the airport in Nashville costs 30 bucks!!) A bus within the Capital Federal is 80 centavos, which amounts to less than 30 US cents. We got to his place, dropped off our bags, went to lunch at a local pizzaria, and then hit town for a tour of the city. We visited Avenida 9 de Julio - the widest avenue in Buenos Aires, where they have their own version of the pencil monument we have in DC.
Then we went to Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada (their White House, where the president stays). The Plaza de Mayo has an amazing historical tale and has been an active ground for political and social protest. During the military dictatorship in Argentina during the 70s, a group of mothers joined together to form the Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo ...group of mothers in search of their children that "disappeared". They would gather in the plaza with diapers wrapped around their heads as scarves in protest of the repressive government. That explains the white panuelos painted on the floor of the plaza.
The Plaza de Mayo is a touristic site, but it still remains an active area of protest. In December of 2001 there was a protest of unemployed leftists, and some of them were gunned down by the police.
Next we visited Puerto Madero - the chiquier side of town. There are so many painted cows there. What I initially thought to be a strong affinity for cows turned out to be an international movement called the CowParade. No, I'm serious. CowParade is an international movement that creates about 250 life-size fiberglass cows, has local artists paint them, has them exhibited for a few months and then has them auctioned off and the money goes to a selected non-profit organization in the region. that's so nifty! dont you think?
According to this article i read, to be able to have the CowParade pass through, your city has to have a large population (around 20 million in the entire metropolitan area), a "cosmopolitan" character, and a highly developed visual arts traditions.
Apparently "the cow was chosen for its inherent nobility: it provides milk and meat and the various products derived from them, while asking very little in return. Since then, more than 4,000 painted cows have "grazed" the streets and parks of cities like Stockholm, Chicago, Johannesburg, New York, London, Prague and Tokyo."
The first exhibition in Latin America was just last year in São Paulo (a few months before i came), and subsequent ones took place in Mexico City and now in Buenos Aires.
Also famous in this part of town is the "Puente de la mujer" - that lovely white bridge you see in the background of some of these pictures.
After exploring town a little more, we headed back home and cooked dinner. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm slightly (or very much so) kitchen-challenged. I'm so kitchen-challenged that i managed to mess up mashed potatoes over winterbreak. I didn't think it was possible. I still blame the potatoes. But i'm pretty sure Paul blames me, hehe. He even drove to and from the supermarket to get the milk...and then made a second trip to his house just to get the gravy packet! SO this fine evening in Buenos Aires was nothing short of a miracle. Leah Chaya Lewis cooked chicken stroganoff. it's a common dish in Brasil - soooo tasty (and happens to have the simplest recipe, which is probably the only reason i was able to make it...but that's besides the point!). This is quite possibly my favorite dish here. When we were in Rio and the Council took us to the same chique Churrasco place for 3 meals straight, i got chicken stroganoff every single time. And now I'll be able to make it whenever I want! (unless this was just a lucky stroke...)
Wednesday, day two in Buenos Aires...
Alonzo had class so Darien and I explored the neighborhood a little bit (i.e. leather shops!) and then headed to La Chacarita Cemetery where Juan Peron (past president of Argentina) and Carlos Gardel (famous tango singer and actor) among other famous people are burried. The thing is, with the exeption of the time Mike's brother took me to the Nashville cemetary for a driving lesson with the philosophy that i wouldn't be able to kill anyone because "everyone's already dead", I never set foot in a cemetary before. I was kinda hoping there'd be some sort of map...or at least a guide saying "A-J burried over here, K-Z burried over there", or something of the sort. We had no idea where the grave was and were afraid to ask someone mourning for their lost loved one if they could please direct us to the grave of their ex-president because we traveled all the way from Brazil to see it. So we roamed around for a good while and then came upon a statue of Evita...makin progress. She's actually barried in another cemetery with the rest of her family. An elderly guy, later to identify himself as Miguel Angel, an aspiring poet, saw us looking around and guided us to the mausoleum we were searching for. Then he introduced us to his other graveyard buddies, one of which is an aspiring tango singer.
Thursday, day 3...
The following day i went out a little early to get my haircut and buy my leather jacket. I just wanted to get my ends trimmed because with curly hair, split ends split faster than...whatever happens really really fast. Plus haircuts in argentina are about 10 pesos...that's less than 4 bucks for a haircut - good deal! I advise Alonzo that it's gonna take 20 minutes MAX, because i'm only cutting the ends, and then i'm gonna go buy my jacket and head back to the house so we can passear for the day. So i sit in the chair and the lady asks me what i want. She layers it in less than 15 minutes and then says other stuff really fast and i'm like "yeah, okay, sounds good" (i thought she was asking if i wanted to rinse my hair before leaving). Next thing I know, I'm sitting in one of those chairs with that plastic helmet hanging over my head getting my hair "deeply nutritioned." My 15 minutes turned into an hour and my hair felt like steaming spaghetti when you just drain it from a pot of boiling water. I think i have communication issues...or just HEARING issues...or maybe lack of comprehension denial syndrom...issues. At this point i'm sure Darien would force me to tell the stories about the rico gordito and apple pie, hehe.
"Manzana es mas natural"
It all started because i had to use the bathroom. There was a coffee shop right next to the ice cream place were were at, but the restrooms were only for customers and I couldn't bring myself to go and then run out of the store. So we grabbed a table and looked over the menu. Alonzo leaves his order with us as he left for the men's room. The waiter comes to our table and I ask him for a green tea. Then he speaks superfast...and i hear: "......manzana....mas natural". So I'm thinkin he's talking about flavors of green tea, so i respond, "esta bien"...Alonzo will take whatever. Alonzo get's back, and soon after the waiter returns with a tray and we all look up with questioning faces "what's that???" and then all eyes turn to me and the expression on my face pleas innocent and denies having anything to do with the big slice of apple pie that appeared with Alonzo's green tea. Meanwhile, the waiter's still standing there with the tray, as we sort out the confusion, hehe. "apple"..."more natural"...now i get it. But in what universe does a more natural apple pie go with green tea?!
"Que rico el gordito!"
Las Palmas is a Mexican restaurant in Nashville. Erica, Jefferson, Gilmara and I went there for one of our last dinners together since it was good food and close to campus. As i was finishing my plate the waiter comes to our table and asks me "te gustó la comida?" (well, that's what I heard) and I respond all enthusiastically: "si, si! me gustó! bien rica!" Except what he REALLY asked was "te gustó el gordito?" !!!! Because i had glanced behind me to look at the margarita pitcher Erica was pointing out (we'd never seen margaritas served out of a pitcher before) and one of the waiters (the so called gordito) thought i was checking him out. Oh brother. That explains the glances and grins el gordito was shooting over to our table, haha.
Anyway, digression closed.
When i finally got back to the house with a haircut and a new fire-resistant leather jacket (the salesguy convinced me when he took a lighter to my arm...so i thought, "oh, this is wonderful...now i have a flame-resistant jacket for the winter), we headed out to Caminito, in el barrio de la Boca - a very touristy place full of lots of artesan crafts and souvenir shops. We roamed around the area for a bit, ate lunch, and then headed to San Telmo, another part of the city....best compared to Pelourinho of Salvador da Bahia. It's a convserved older part of town...very nice. We looked around the open market for a bit and then headed home.
My justification (as a college student with VERY limited funds, there is ALWAYS a justification, at least that a I make inside my head, for spending large sums of money) is the following: when else am i going to go to Argentina? or have the opportunity to travel there? God Willing, whatever career i have in the future will permit me to return again and again to South America, but even so, i wont have such felxibility as i do now as a student. So that's that. Taking advantage of opportunity. Next, it was a good deal considering Alonzo allowed us to stay at his place for the 4 nights we were there. So no money spent on hotels. Third, we spent practically no money on touring the city. Alonzo showed us the BEST time, taking us to many touristic sites, tango dancing, to eat empanadas and carne, etc. The best part of staying in his neighborhood was that we got to see everyday life in Argentina and not just the beautiful downtown and flashy lights at night.
Tuesday, first Day in Buenos Aires...
I spent the night at Darien's and we took a taxi around 4AM to arrive at the airport in time for our 6:20AM flight from SP. At the airline counter, the attendant scared Darien telling her that she might get deported when she tries to get back into Brazil...because she didnt have the little piece of paper with her picture on it that showed she had registered with the Federal Police. The little piece of paper that is the product of our day (or in Darien's case, two days) of waiting endless hours on foot at the federal police station just to get fingerprints. So, the lady told her that they wouldn't even wait to question her as to why she doesn't have the paper with her. They'd just mandate her immediately for deportation..."it's like that in response to the way Americans treat Brazilians when entering the States."
I love how when we travel, we all of a sudden become representatives of the government and lawmakers of our land. Whatever bad that has come from the US imperialism in Latin America over the past bagillion years is automatically transferred on every American Citizen, like the original sin that is somehow genetically inherited by all. Forgive me for stepping up on a soapbox for a second, but although we grow up with the influences and lessons learned in previous times, we are not what our parents or grandparents or great great grandparents did years ago. We aren't the ones that made the laws and declared the wars. Just to illustrate my point, did you know that the Argentinos are still mad at the Chilenos for betraying them in war?? How many years ago??? All of this just blows my mind. I mean, seriously, i know that within each border of each country thrives a different culture and way of life...different ideas, ways of governing, ethics, etc - but that adds to the richness in this world. There is only one earth and we humans are living on it. I don't understand how certain people rise up and start claiming areas of land as their territory, and then forbidding people from entering that territory. Who are we? Land is not a human possesion. We certainly didnt create it. So i don't understand how war and suffering is started over it and in the end just breeds prejudice in all parts of the world. Ukh!
The Baha'i Faith explains that all that's going on in the world today is part of some Divine plan, and as many catastrophes we see happening around us/to us (caused by nature or mankind), there are stronger spiritual forces at work. So we just gotta try to remember that and see the wisdom behind things instead of getting frustrated...which is something I'm obviously still working on. Beaurocracy frustrates me in any country.
SOooooo, we flew from Brazil, on Lufthansa, a german airlines, to Argentina. Never have i been in such a state of total lingual confusion, hehe. You never know whether to say Danke Shein, Thanks, Gracias, or Obrigada. The flight attendents start out speaking to you in german, then maybe throw in a little portuguese, and then see the confused look on your face and resort to english. It was a little less than a 3 hour flight to Buenos Aires, but we almost divereted to Montevideo, Uruguay, due to heavy fog. After circling above the city for half an hour, the pilot decided to try landing. Imagine your normal landing: the plane flies on top of the clouds for much of the flight and then when it begins its descent, you go through some brief turbulence, clear through the clouds and can see the city from however many miles up you are. then it usually takes another 20 minutes to hit ground, right? So we go through the whole turbulence, clear through the clouds thing and 2 seconds later, we hit the ground. The general reaction on the plane was: "What??". That's how bad the fog was folks. incredible. i dont know how the pilot did it, but everyone else must have been impressed too because the whole plane clapped upon touchdown.
Alonzo met us at the airport and we took the bus to his neighborhood to drop of our bags. Buses in Argentina, (and pretty much EVERYTHING for that matter) are much cheaper than in Brazil and the States. Our bus to Villa Crespo (about a 1.5 hour ride) cost 1,30 pesos...i.e. less then 50 US cents (a 20 minute taxi ride to the airport in Nashville costs 30 bucks!!) A bus within the Capital Federal is 80 centavos, which amounts to less than 30 US cents. We got to his place, dropped off our bags, went to lunch at a local pizzaria, and then hit town for a tour of the city. We visited Avenida 9 de Julio - the widest avenue in Buenos Aires, where they have their own version of the pencil monument we have in DC.
Then we went to Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada (their White House, where the president stays). The Plaza de Mayo has an amazing historical tale and has been an active ground for political and social protest. During the military dictatorship in Argentina during the 70s, a group of mothers joined together to form the Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo ...group of mothers in search of their children that "disappeared". They would gather in the plaza with diapers wrapped around their heads as scarves in protest of the repressive government. That explains the white panuelos painted on the floor of the plaza.
The Plaza de Mayo is a touristic site, but it still remains an active area of protest. In December of 2001 there was a protest of unemployed leftists, and some of them were gunned down by the police.
Next we visited Puerto Madero - the chiquier side of town. There are so many painted cows there. What I initially thought to be a strong affinity for cows turned out to be an international movement called the CowParade. No, I'm serious. CowParade is an international movement that creates about 250 life-size fiberglass cows, has local artists paint them, has them exhibited for a few months and then has them auctioned off and the money goes to a selected non-profit organization in the region. that's so nifty! dont you think?
According to this article i read, to be able to have the CowParade pass through, your city has to have a large population (around 20 million in the entire metropolitan area), a "cosmopolitan" character, and a highly developed visual arts traditions.
Apparently "the cow was chosen for its inherent nobility: it provides milk and meat and the various products derived from them, while asking very little in return. Since then, more than 4,000 painted cows have "grazed" the streets and parks of cities like Stockholm, Chicago, Johannesburg, New York, London, Prague and Tokyo."
The first exhibition in Latin America was just last year in São Paulo (a few months before i came), and subsequent ones took place in Mexico City and now in Buenos Aires.
Wednesday, day two in Buenos Aires...
Alonzo had class so Darien and I explored the neighborhood a little bit (i.e. leather shops!) and then headed to La Chacarita Cemetery where Juan Peron (past president of Argentina) and Carlos Gardel (famous tango singer and actor) among other famous people are burried. The thing is, with the exeption of the time Mike's brother took me to the Nashville cemetary for a driving lesson with the philosophy that i wouldn't be able to kill anyone because "everyone's already dead", I never set foot in a cemetary before. I was kinda hoping there'd be some sort of map...or at least a guide saying "A-J burried over here, K-Z burried over there", or something of the sort. We had no idea where the grave was and were afraid to ask someone mourning for their lost loved one if they could please direct us to the grave of their ex-president because we traveled all the way from Brazil to see it. So we roamed around for a good while and then came upon a statue of Evita...makin progress. She's actually barried in another cemetery with the rest of her family. An elderly guy, later to identify himself as Miguel Angel, an aspiring poet, saw us looking around and guided us to the mausoleum we were searching for. Then he introduced us to his other graveyard buddies, one of which is an aspiring tango singer.
Thursday, day 3...
The following day i went out a little early to get my haircut and buy my leather jacket. I just wanted to get my ends trimmed because with curly hair, split ends split faster than...whatever happens really really fast. Plus haircuts in argentina are about 10 pesos...that's less than 4 bucks for a haircut - good deal! I advise Alonzo that it's gonna take 20 minutes MAX, because i'm only cutting the ends, and then i'm gonna go buy my jacket and head back to the house so we can passear for the day. So i sit in the chair and the lady asks me what i want. She layers it in less than 15 minutes and then says other stuff really fast and i'm like "yeah, okay, sounds good" (i thought she was asking if i wanted to rinse my hair before leaving). Next thing I know, I'm sitting in one of those chairs with that plastic helmet hanging over my head getting my hair "deeply nutritioned." My 15 minutes turned into an hour and my hair felt like steaming spaghetti when you just drain it from a pot of boiling water. I think i have communication issues...or just HEARING issues...or maybe lack of comprehension denial syndrom...issues. At this point i'm sure Darien would force me to tell the stories about the rico gordito and apple pie, hehe.
"Manzana es mas natural"
It all started because i had to use the bathroom. There was a coffee shop right next to the ice cream place were were at, but the restrooms were only for customers and I couldn't bring myself to go and then run out of the store. So we grabbed a table and looked over the menu. Alonzo leaves his order with us as he left for the men's room. The waiter comes to our table and I ask him for a green tea. Then he speaks superfast...and i hear: "......manzana....mas natural". So I'm thinkin he's talking about flavors of green tea, so i respond, "esta bien"...Alonzo will take whatever. Alonzo get's back, and soon after the waiter returns with a tray and we all look up with questioning faces "what's that???" and then all eyes turn to me and the expression on my face pleas innocent and denies having anything to do with the big slice of apple pie that appeared with Alonzo's green tea. Meanwhile, the waiter's still standing there with the tray, as we sort out the confusion, hehe. "apple"..."more natural"...now i get it. But in what universe does a more natural apple pie go with green tea?!
"Que rico el gordito!"
Las Palmas is a Mexican restaurant in Nashville. Erica, Jefferson, Gilmara and I went there for one of our last dinners together since it was good food and close to campus. As i was finishing my plate the waiter comes to our table and asks me "te gustó la comida?" (well, that's what I heard) and I respond all enthusiastically: "si, si! me gustó! bien rica!" Except what he REALLY asked was "te gustó el gordito?" !!!! Because i had glanced behind me to look at the margarita pitcher Erica was pointing out (we'd never seen margaritas served out of a pitcher before) and one of the waiters (the so called gordito) thought i was checking him out. Oh brother. That explains the glances and grins el gordito was shooting over to our table, haha.
Anyway, digression closed.
When i finally got back to the house with a haircut and a new fire-resistant leather jacket (the salesguy convinced me when he took a lighter to my arm...so i thought, "oh, this is wonderful...now i have a flame-resistant jacket for the winter), we headed out to Caminito, in el barrio de la Boca - a very touristy place full of lots of artesan crafts and souvenir shops. We roamed around the area for a bit, ate lunch, and then headed to San Telmo, another part of the city....best compared to Pelourinho of Salvador da Bahia. It's a convserved older part of town...very nice. We looked around the open market for a bit and then headed home.
Marcelo, Alonzo's host dad, invited us out to a Milonga - a tango club. The place was called Tango Ideal and that night there was a popular band playing, so it was a great opportunity. The band featured was: Orquestra Tipico, Fernandes Fierro - a group of young guys, maybe in their 20s and 30s playing their heart out in tango. absolutely beautiful. I wish i had bought a CD. After that, we headed to a salsa club that was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! (when can you ever go wrong with salsa?) Argentinos are incredible dancers. Wearing heels wasn't such a hot idea though.
Friday, 4th day...
We gave ourselves the luxury of sleeping in a little and got up for the next rondeveau of our trip: a visit to Recoleta Cemetery, best known for being where Eva Peron is burried. We walked around Paseo Recoleta and went out to dinner for our last night in Buenos Aires.
Saturday we went to lunch and then caught a taxi to the airport.
Bye bye beautiful Buenos Aires...
We had no problems at the airport and Darien didn't get deported.
a nice layer of smog blankets São Paulo
On the bus ride from the airport in São Paulo to the Metro Station, as i sat watching the sunset, listenin to slow spanish love songs from the music mix i asked Mike to make me, and munching on a bag of peanut m&ms (i'm an addict), i couldn't help but smile inside and thank God for bringing me to where I am today.
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