Today was a pretty chill day. Didn't do much sightseeing or "touristy" stuff, but I did get my bearings more and got more acquainted with what will be my new "home" for the next 2 weeks ;). I woke up pretty late--like 11 (I'm blaming it on jetlag and the 20+ hrs. of traveling we did to get here from NY)--and after that just lazed around waiting for orientation to start (which I knew little to nothing about in the first place--like what time it started, where it was, etc.). Eventually, Chantelle, Russell, Ambar and I walked down to Felipe's house on the bottom of the hill (Chantelle and Russell arrived yesterday too; Russell's from Oregon and helping with the surfing school in Ipanema and Chantelle's from London and will be helping implement a theater program in the favela I'll be teaching English in).
Felipe's is the "mastermind," if you will, of the whole program here in Rio. From what I understand, he is the "in-country coordinator" and is the one who decides what project placements the volunteers who come to Rio will have. Today was the first time Ambar and I ever met him (when we walked down to his house for orientation). His house is pretty awesome. Like most of the places on Rua Barão de Guaratiba (which is the road our hostel is on), it doesn't look like much from the outside but once you step inside it's like a hidden treasure. Inside, he explained to us that he had just recently bought the house and was in the process of remodeling it for him and his family (his wife, who is French, and his two children are currently away visiting her family in France). We sat in a section of the house that could be called a "living room," but it was much cooler than that. What now served as a common space to welcome guests (complete with couches and a small coffee table), was once an open veranda and he was explaining to us how he hoped to finish closing some of it off with bamboo in the coming weeks. He even had a hamock hanging a little ways off from where the couches were situated! Now THAT'S what I call a living room ;)...
Felipe started off the orientation by basically recounting his life's story to us. He told us that at one time he was an aspiring actor and even lived in New York for a few years when he was younger (from what I can tell--since he said he was once asked to be in a Brasilian soap opera in 1986 when he was 22--he's about 43 now ;). He described how he fell into non-profit work in Rio (having been born and raised here) and explained to us how important and influential the work we will be doing here in Rio is going to be to the communities we'll be helping. He also told us some precautionary safety advice for traveling around the city on our own (mostly just to keep our eyes open and think before we do things) and the commonplace rules of staying in our hostels (respect and maintain them as if they were our own homes, etc.). We also found out what time we would be leaving for our specific projects/destinations come Monday and who will be in them with us (as I mentioned before, Chantelle and I are in the same program and we leaave for our program at 9; from what I understand, the favela we're going to is only a half hr. away! Whereas Ambar's is about an hour and a half...). I'm excited about starting work. Felipe said most volunteers work 3 or 4 days a week. I think I'll work 4 just to get the most out of the experience and so that I can actually feel like I'm having some kind of an impact ;). Felipe also warned us, though, that we'll have good days and bad days at our project and to just take things as they come. I know it's going to be hard for me not to be able to structure, plan and organize things down to a T, but I'm going to try my best so that they and I can get the most out of it possible.
After orientation Lia, Timmy (Lia's son), Ambar, Russell, Chantelle and I went to Lojas Americanas (think Brasil's version of Walmart ;)--which literally translates to: "American Stores"--down the road because Chantelle had to buy a bathing suit. On the way we chatted a bit and Lia divulged to Ambar and I that Dominicans indeed do the best hair (damn right! ;) in terms of blowdrying as she experienced in NYC. She asked if we knew how (and we regretfully admitted that we didn't) and said she could probably make a fortune here in Brasil by importing Dominicans from NY to do hair here. We agreed with her completely. It's so cool though to see women here sporting their naturally curly hair, whereas in most places Spanish women with curly hair feel compelled to get their hair blowdried bone straight (I must admit that at times I'm guilty of this at home, because I do like the sleek look of straight hair on me). So because recently I've come to embrace my naturally curly hair, it feels so liberating here in Rio to sport it and see other women who look just like me :).
For dinner a group of us went to a churrascaria in Copacabana called Monchique. The food was pretty good, but I got fuller quicker than I expected. We had some excellent cuts of beef and also there was a buffet table where I got some delicious rice with black beans (some of the best I've ever tasted, in spite of the fact that both of those foods are staples in my diet as a Dominican ;) and other local dishes. One of the waiters who brought around some of the cuts of meat was particularly chatty with me once I started speaking Portuguese to him (he was surprised at first, but then even asked if I was Brasilian! What a compliment! :). He asked how long I was here, if I liked Rio, etc. He even tried to explain (in between placing slices of meat on people's plates) some of the dynamics of Rio (i.e., how it can be dangerous, how there are rich sections and poor sections like the favelas, etc.) most of which I already knew but it was interesting to hear it from someone of the city itself. He explained how he works because he needs to make money and when I told him I was American, he said that it must not be hard to make money there. I disagreed though and told him that it was, and also explained that dynamics in the U.S. are different (especially where race is concerned) unlike here in Brasil. His response (if I can remember it correctly) was: "We don't have that problem here in Brasil. We're all friends. There's barely any issues of racism here." I agreed and said it was better that way. To explain how race relations here in Brasil are is difficult, but to be brief each person here regardless of color is regarded as quintessentially "Brasilian." Divisions here are more based on economic means and wealth than on race. No one asks where you're from expecting to get an answer of some distant country or where your parents, grandparents, etc. were born. They all share a common bond of being Brasilian and it's a truly beautiful thing. It's a shame not more countries in the world can be like that, but it's something so unique that I love about Brasil :).
Well, it's been a long day so I'll end here. More to come! Boa noite!
Felipe's is the "mastermind," if you will, of the whole program here in Rio. From what I understand, he is the "in-country coordinator" and is the one who decides what project placements the volunteers who come to Rio will have. Today was the first time Ambar and I ever met him (when we walked down to his house for orientation). His house is pretty awesome. Like most of the places on Rua Barão de Guaratiba (which is the road our hostel is on), it doesn't look like much from the outside but once you step inside it's like a hidden treasure. Inside, he explained to us that he had just recently bought the house and was in the process of remodeling it for him and his family (his wife, who is French, and his two children are currently away visiting her family in France). We sat in a section of the house that could be called a "living room," but it was much cooler than that. What now served as a common space to welcome guests (complete with couches and a small coffee table), was once an open veranda and he was explaining to us how he hoped to finish closing some of it off with bamboo in the coming weeks. He even had a hamock hanging a little ways off from where the couches were situated! Now THAT'S what I call a living room ;)...
Felipe started off the orientation by basically recounting his life's story to us. He told us that at one time he was an aspiring actor and even lived in New York for a few years when he was younger (from what I can tell--since he said he was once asked to be in a Brasilian soap opera in 1986 when he was 22--he's about 43 now ;). He described how he fell into non-profit work in Rio (having been born and raised here) and explained to us how important and influential the work we will be doing here in Rio is going to be to the communities we'll be helping. He also told us some precautionary safety advice for traveling around the city on our own (mostly just to keep our eyes open and think before we do things) and the commonplace rules of staying in our hostels (respect and maintain them as if they were our own homes, etc.). We also found out what time we would be leaving for our specific projects/destinations come Monday and who will be in them with us (as I mentioned before, Chantelle and I are in the same program and we leaave for our program at 9; from what I understand, the favela we're going to is only a half hr. away! Whereas Ambar's is about an hour and a half...). I'm excited about starting work. Felipe said most volunteers work 3 or 4 days a week. I think I'll work 4 just to get the most out of the experience and so that I can actually feel like I'm having some kind of an impact ;). Felipe also warned us, though, that we'll have good days and bad days at our project and to just take things as they come. I know it's going to be hard for me not to be able to structure, plan and organize things down to a T, but I'm going to try my best so that they and I can get the most out of it possible.
After orientation Lia, Timmy (Lia's son), Ambar, Russell, Chantelle and I went to Lojas Americanas (think Brasil's version of Walmart ;)--which literally translates to: "American Stores"--down the road because Chantelle had to buy a bathing suit. On the way we chatted a bit and Lia divulged to Ambar and I that Dominicans indeed do the best hair (damn right! ;) in terms of blowdrying as she experienced in NYC. She asked if we knew how (and we regretfully admitted that we didn't) and said she could probably make a fortune here in Brasil by importing Dominicans from NY to do hair here. We agreed with her completely. It's so cool though to see women here sporting their naturally curly hair, whereas in most places Spanish women with curly hair feel compelled to get their hair blowdried bone straight (I must admit that at times I'm guilty of this at home, because I do like the sleek look of straight hair on me). So because recently I've come to embrace my naturally curly hair, it feels so liberating here in Rio to sport it and see other women who look just like me :).
For dinner a group of us went to a churrascaria in Copacabana called Monchique. The food was pretty good, but I got fuller quicker than I expected. We had some excellent cuts of beef and also there was a buffet table where I got some delicious rice with black beans (some of the best I've ever tasted, in spite of the fact that both of those foods are staples in my diet as a Dominican ;) and other local dishes. One of the waiters who brought around some of the cuts of meat was particularly chatty with me once I started speaking Portuguese to him (he was surprised at first, but then even asked if I was Brasilian! What a compliment! :). He asked how long I was here, if I liked Rio, etc. He even tried to explain (in between placing slices of meat on people's plates) some of the dynamics of Rio (i.e., how it can be dangerous, how there are rich sections and poor sections like the favelas, etc.) most of which I already knew but it was interesting to hear it from someone of the city itself. He explained how he works because he needs to make money and when I told him I was American, he said that it must not be hard to make money there. I disagreed though and told him that it was, and also explained that dynamics in the U.S. are different (especially where race is concerned) unlike here in Brasil. His response (if I can remember it correctly) was: "We don't have that problem here in Brasil. We're all friends. There's barely any issues of racism here." I agreed and said it was better that way. To explain how race relations here in Brasil are is difficult, but to be brief each person here regardless of color is regarded as quintessentially "Brasilian." Divisions here are more based on economic means and wealth than on race. No one asks where you're from expecting to get an answer of some distant country or where your parents, grandparents, etc. were born. They all share a common bond of being Brasilian and it's a truly beautiful thing. It's a shame not more countries in the world can be like that, but it's something so unique that I love about Brasil :).
Well, it's been a long day so I'll end here. More to come! Boa noite!
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