Beach Day
So dancing last night was different than expected. Everyone was thinking more like Jukebox, which was the rave that we went to last week, and this was more classy adult like than techno booty popin’ music. I still really enjoyed it, but my cohorts were not so much into classy as I was. We ended up staying for a few hours since we did have to pay a cover charge to get into the bar, and we did do some dancing, but I think I was the only one to really enjoy myself. Sure it was disappointing that there was another study abroad group there from Texas and Virginia there, so it did seem like the touristy place to be in Lapa. But the music was nice very Jazzy Brazilian music to just sway around to. Kelly even convinced me to dance with another American from the other study abroad group. He was nice and offered me a drink but after a few dances, we went back to our separate groups.
Beach day was fun, it was just sitting around people watching while getting a tan (still no burn on my end, I think this means I am all grown up) and what not.
I still can’t believe tomorrow is our last day in Rio, it seems like we just got here. I really don’t have a lot to say right now, so I guess this will be the last post before back in the U.S
In the Mountains and thoughts on gawking
Hello! I am back from my trip to the mountains and back to Rio! The past two days have been much more relaxed and easy going compared to the last couple of days. Starting from the first day I was gone, we just rode up the winding mountains to get to a small quaint town called. Conservatoria, which is famous for music. It was a lot different than Rio, in that it was very green, small (population 5,000) so not very much at all city like.
No Post tomorrow
I will be heading three or so hours away from Rio to visit a coffee plantation tomorrow for an overnight trip, so I am bringing a small bag and I don’t want to bring my laptop. I will have my ipad, but no garantees. So large post and photos on Saturday.
Holy Crap! I am back in the US Tuesday. I can’t believe two weeks are almost done here!
Playing catch up
Sorry for the lack of daily check ins the past two days, we moved to a hotel (a scary one at that) where the internet was down, so I couldn’t check in. But due to our hotel having mildew, an ant infestation and no hot water, we switched back to the original hotel which we have now nicknamed “The Palace”
arquiteturadosambinha asked: Hey. Glad you're in Rio. I saw your thoughts on your visit to Rocinha. It's a pretty wonderful place. Just a fun heads up (and maybe I'll post about this): "slum" and "favela" are not synonymous. There are lots of layers of metaphor and connotation in "favela" that "slum" doesn't have, but unfortunately they do share the social stigma. Have a great time. I miss Brazil terribly, so enjoy it for the both of us. Have you had suco de maracujá yet? With your beans and rice, there's nothing better.
Thanks for the message! I understand where you are coming from about the Favela and Slum and the difference. It is interesting because our bus driver uses the word Slum rather than Favela when talking to us, and our tour guide switches between the word Favela and communities.
We as a group have talked about the connotation and the stigma around favelas, especially as it deals with race and class in our reflection. One of the common themes was talking about the contradictions to the stereotype of the favelas, and what we saw. Obviously I need more time to process and much more reading to do before I don’t sound like an ignorant tourist.
And yes I have tried the suco de maracuja, they serve it at the hotel, but it is really watered down, so I am hoping to have a better tasting one before the trip is over.
Today was the day that I have been waiting for all trip-the day we visited the Favelas, or as we would call them slums. I wanted to see the places some people called dangerous, drug dealer land, with no running water and electricity. Basically the land of the poor people. We only heard negative things about this place, but I knew there had to be something good about them, otherwise they wouldn’t want to be called communities and when people have the resources they would want to leave.
The trip up to the favela was interesting as well. To get to the top of the favelas, we went by motorcycle since the streets were narrow and what not. So I rode the back of some random guy whose job it was to give people trips to the top. (Don’t worry Mom and Dad it is okay I wore a helmet!) It was my first motorcycle ride so it was exciting and scary as we zoomed inbetween buses and cars to get to the top. My helmet was too big, so I thought if I fell off, the helmet would do me no good. I was sad that we only rode up and not down.
Once we got to the top, I was shocked by what I saw. I didn’t know what to think. Like it looked like a slum, but it wasn’t like this horrible place, just an extreme poor part of town. Sure there were cops with AK-47s, (I took a photo with them) But I didn’t feel scared or not safe when I was there. Just sad by the poverty. Sure we were told this wasn’t truly a Favela but reclassified as a neighborhood and they had running water and cable (some stolen)
When we were at the top of favela and we could see the entirety of the community, it was beautiful, in a different sort of way. All the houses built in their own way, some brightly colored, and just all over the hill with the sun coming out. It did seem like a community on top of the hill, but at the same time I had to realize that these were people living below the poverty line and without the free resources such as school and healthcare that the community provided, there wouldn’t be those access. And of course we got the guided tour, not the wander around type of scenario, so I only saw what they wanted to show me. (Kelly just informed me that our bus driver was told that our tour guide was told that we were coming and that the locals shouldn’t fuck with us)
This was true when we went to the local elementary school to see how their school was set up. All these kids hugging us and say hi, I was thinking how cute, but in the back of my mind I wondered how many of them would finish high school or make enough money to not worry about their children’s health. We weren’t seeing the whole story in the school or in the favela.
It was an interesting place, the favelas, in that they are not supported at all by the government, they didn’t used to acknowledge the favelas, so they wouldn’t support them with services such as mail, or sewage or garbage pick up-So the communities found their own way to do it. The idea of community has coming up a lot of this trip, meaning different things to different group organization. For the favelas is building a place to live outside the eyes of the government to help each other out to live.
Tomorrow, We are switching hotels and talking about the dam being built. Talk more later
here are some photos from the site seeing we did today. We saw the second highest statue of Jesus who I have nicknamed, come at me bro jesus, since he is huge and overlooks the city so nobody will mess with him.
We also saw a really cool staircase that an artist made to cheer up the country of Brazil after they lost the world cup. He mosaiced an entire outdoor staircase and people keep sending him tiles and he keeps putting them on.
Brazilian gay rave adventures
Last night was crazy at the gay rave. Over a two thousand people crowed into a old train station center to rock out with some techno music and make out with members of various sexes. It was an adventure just getting there, trying to get a cab for five people when none of us spoke the language. In the end we piled into two cabs and told the second one to “follow that cab!” which oddly worked.
I was upset that when we got there I was the only one out of our group who got carded, sure I was the second youngest out of six but still, I look younger than 17?
About me
I'm Abigail Barefoot, I recently graduated from Iowa State University majoring in Women's Studies and Journalism. I loudly proclaim I am a feminist and incorporate it into everything I do. I will be going to grad school this fall for gender studies.I am a Vagina Warrior!
