Tchau, Catete! :(

Ok, so yesterday (after going to Falete to say bye to the kids) was a nightmare, but let me start from the beginning, with the good stuff first.
So I got to Falete at around 9:15 and Jacson was there waiting for me (as usual) and for the kids to open the gate to the center. The night before after finishing the kids' notebooks, I made him and Paulo thank you cards (because Ambar and I had a hard time finding ones that weren't associated with love and lifelong affection). So I gave him his when I got there. I think he really appreciated it, and even though I wish I could've gotten him something more I think he got the point that I really appreciated everything he's done for me since I started working in Falete. It was nice :). The kids got there a few minutes later, but it was only Kassie, Caio, Paula, Livia, Taciane, Marcelle and Libia. None of the other boys apart from Caio came (which is fine cuz Caio is one of my favorites anyway), but I did wish at least Vanessa had come so that I could've said bye to her. So we all went into the classroom and I told them that we wouldn't be learning anything new, but that I had a surprise for them. I was a little nervous about giving them the notebooks because I didn't even know if they'd like them, but I passed them out and they were all staring at them. I explained that each one had everything I'd taught them in English since I started teaching them and that everyone had their own with their names on the front. Although no one said anything (I think they didn't really know what to say), I think they really did like them which made me happy :).
Afterwards (since we weren't having class), I told them I wanted to take pictures with them so we all went outside. At first Livia (because she said her hair wasn't done; she's 6 by the way!) and Libia (I don't know why she didn't want to; she's 13) didn't want to take pictures, but eventually they gave in. I took lots and lots of pictures: with Jacson, with the kids, of the kids by themselves, etc., etc. Most of them insisted on being allowed to take some of the pictures themselves, so I let them. Surprisingly, some of them took some really good ones that I intend to keep (Taciane in particular). I also took pictures (from inside the gate) of the surrounding favela and of the center itself. The only bizarre/sad thing that happened was that Paula and Kassie actually got into a catfight (pulling each other's hair, smackign each other on the ground and scratching each other). To the point where I had to step in the middle and tell them to let go of each other (Kassie had bloody scratches on her arms, back and cheek from Paula :(. I never quite got to the bottom of why they were fighting (even though I asked them directly), but it seemed that Paula thought Kassie was talking about her. Typically teenage girl things I suppose (even though Paula's only 11, she looks like a teenager already). Within an hour of fighting, though, they were pretty much back to talking which was strange but I preferred it that way on my last day.
Paulo came about an hour later and I gave him his card. He seemed to really appreciate it too. He's such a great person and does so much for the kids (he's also Paula's father), when he doesn't even have to and the majority of people in the favela wouldn't bother. I really do want to keep in touch with him and with the kids, so I included my e-mail address in the card I gave him (in Jacson's too), and he gave me his e-mail address so I could write to them (which I intend to do). He said that they were planning to move the center further up in Falete (it's aparently a bigger house/center), and said he'd send me pictures of it. At around 11:30 I had to say bye (because Ambar and I had to leave Baron Garden to check into our hostel in Ipanema). It was really really hard. There were a lot of hugs, a lot of "i love yous," and a lot of begging me not to go. It was really difficult to leave them, because I do care about them individually so very much and I see the potential each of them has to to be something in this world and not let the favela they live in consume them. I gave each of them hugs and kisses (Paulo and Jacson included) and told them I'd write and to write to me. As sad as it was, I walked away feeling like I had had some kind of positive impact on their lives and that felt really amazing. I hope they don't forget me even if I never do het to see them again, because I will honestly never forget them.
So I got back to Baron Garden at about 12:20 and Ambar and I had Lia call us a cab. We said bye to her, Timmy, Jozelha and Fatima. That was sad too, because I had honestly come to feel like it was my home in Catete. Russell was there too, but we didn't say a long goodbye to him because we were meeting him and Anthonette for dinner at Anthonette's hotel in Copacabana. The cab ride to Ipanema didn't take long (about 20 minutes), but almost immediately you could see the difference between where we had come from (the favelas and Catete) and where we were going. It's no secret that no one lives on this side of Rio (Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Leme) unless they have money and it shows...in everything: the stores, the streets, the people, the restaurants. It's pretty shocking especially us coming from the humble and homely atmosphere we had been in for 2 weeks. Yes, it's beautiful down here (in terms of the beaches and the views) but there's a sense of materialism and impersonalness that you just can't shake. There's no saying "bom dia" to people randomly in the streets, because people will look at you funny and scoff at you. It's just a completely different dynamic that I wasn't prepared for after coming from Catete and Falete. It's sad that it isn't like that here, but it's something I'll have to adapt to in our final days in Rio. I guess I have to turn my "New Yorker" mode back on.
So we checked into the Mango Tree at around 1. The guy at the front desk asked where we were coming from, and we explained that we had been in Catete for 2 weeks. His reply was: "Oh, Ipanema is much better." What a snob! Actually it isn't, son. That comment alone left a bad taste in my mouth.
I must say, I'm not very impressed with the hostel itself (which is really surprising given the top-notch reviews this place has received online from people who have stayed here). Yes it's bigger than Baron Garden, but it's not necessarily nicer. And the people suck. There's no casual conversations with strangers or anything like that. No one stops to ask where you're from or what you've been up to while you've been in Rio. I must say that staying in Leah's house spoiled me, because we had a sense of purpose and connection. Here, none of that exists. Everyone is just here for themselves and keeps to themselves, and some people were downright rude but I'm trying to get used to it. I guess this is what a "typical" hostel is like.
So we ended up having to spend last night in a shared room (not just with chicks, but with guys too) of 4 bunkbeds. The room was about half the size (and more narrow) than the room we shared with the other 6 girls in Baron Garden: it's in the back of the hostel and up a flight of stairs. I was not pleased at all. We were told we could move into the private room we had originally booked today because it was still occupied when we arrived. The bathrooms were also a ways away (at the bottom of the stairs). So not only could I not (because of a lack of room and because there were dudes sharing our room) change in the room we were sleeping in, but if i had to pee really badly I had to rush down a flight of stairs just to get to the bathroom. Ridiculous. I was so heated. Needless to say, we spent as little time in there as possible. We basically put down our stuff and went to look for something to eat and to look around Ipanema.
We ended up going to this place not too far from our hostel called "Delirio Tropical," because it looked good from the outside and one of our guidebooks said it wasn't too pricey. Big mistake. I don't know if it's just that we ordered incorrectly or if everything is just ridiculously priced there (there was a menu on the wall and we had decided what to order, but then we were told to go to a line where people behind the counter served us things from a buffet-style line; it was really confusing), but our meals came out to an exorbitant amount. For example, I got a can of Coke Zero, a small cup of fruit salad, about a cup of chicken ceasar salad and a piece of girlled chicken and it came out to $21.30 reais ($14.20!)!!! Even by New York standards, that's a bit ridiculous. The chicken was less than the small portion of salad I received ($6.50 reais vs. $7.20 for the salad)!! I could not believe it! And yes, the food tasted super fresh and was good, but to be honest it definitely was not worth all that money (the portions were not sizeable by any means), and I was still hungry afterwards. I was so pissed off. That on top of the hostel debacle was not helping my mood either.
After that, we walked around for a while to calm down. We walked along the Ipanema beachfront in search of Havaianas (which we didn't say any traces of). We did end up buying a few things, though. Ambar bought a really pretty painting for her apartment, and then we spotted a woman with some beautiful handmade dresses on display. It was the most beautiful sunflower yellow I've seen. She also had a lavender colored dress of the same design. She said they were $35 reais each (I felt bad haggling with her sicne they were handmade), which I just couldn't afford. So I was getting ready to walk away, but Ambar asked how much she'd charge us for both (the yellow one for me, the lavender for her) and the woman said 50 (which was really awesome of her). So, we ended up getting them ;). After that, we took out some money, bought some gray Havaianas (which I've never seen before, and had to get) and came back to the hostel to change and get ready to meet Russell and Anthonette for dinner at 6.
We ended up taking a cab from our hostel to Anthonette's hotel because it seemed really far on the map (which it was). We got there at around 6:30 (rush-hour/weekend traffic) and Russell was already there. Her hotel was phat and you could tell it cost quite a pretty penny to stay there. We looked through our guidebook and decided on a place that didn't look too far away, and especially after the whole lunch fiasco I was eager to get it out of my mind with a good--and economical--dinner experience. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. We ended up walking for about 25 minutes, and when we finally reached the place it seemed pricier than anticipated. So, we stopped at few more places, but Anthonette was dead set on having some pasta, so the places we stopped that Ambar, Russell and I were down with she didn't want because they didn't have pasta. Finally, we randomly stopped in the place that looked like a large bar that served food (it was completely empty, by the way; bad sign) called "Winners" (ironic), and Ambar stopped in to ask about pasta. We ended up staying there and Ambar and Anthonette ordered pasta, and Russell and I ordered pizza. Anthonette took about 10 bites total of her pasta and said she didn't want anymore. Russell's and my pizzas took about 25 minutes to even come out to us (by this time it was like 9:30) and they weren't even that good. I ended up only eating three small slices (they're more like small pizzas they make in Italy than pizzas from New York or Pizza Hut, etc.), and giving the rest of it to Russell to take back to Baron Garden. I was soo mad. And on top of that, my food (plus a Guarana Zero) came out to $16 reais!! Yesterday was just not my day.
We walked Anthonette back to her hotel, took some pictures and said bye to her and then walked Russell to the metro station (which was directly in front of Anthonette's hotel). We decided we'd see him Monday on Ipanema Beach, since that's where he works til about 4. Ambar and I took a cab back to the Mango Tree (at around 11) and vowed that we're pretty much eating at Big Nectar (since it's a chain, there's quite a few in Ipanema) for the rest of the time we're here since we wasted so much money on ridiculousness yesterday.
That pretty much sums up the weird and aggravating day that was yesterday. I'm going to write about today in a different post. Ate logo!