It's already been one year and one month since I've been in Brazil. I had arrived full of excitement, apprehension, hope, fear. So many choices in life, how do you choose the right path? I went back to the 'about' section of the blog, to see exactly what my thoughts were when I set out for Brazil. So much has happened, since then. I have updated this blog every once and awhile. I was less frequent with my entries as Brazil became my home more than a travel destination. But now, one year living in Brazil, I'd like to give a bit of a recap on what's going on down here, and what might be next...
I came to Brazil with the intention of combining my two passions: education and sustainable development.
Education:
January 2012
-After a few months of joblessness, I decided to pick up the slack and look for work as an English teacher. I got a job at CNA (Cultura Norte Americana). I made good friends here, friends that I continue to see now that I have left CNA. I also, gained much experience using and exploring the potential of smart boards (or e-boards). But, working Saturdays, was not for me, and as I had predicted "things fell into place almost naturally". Through a staff member at CNA, I met Davida, who wanted to take private French classes with me. When I met Davida, she also told me that an International School happened to be looking for a grade 7/8 teacher to begin as of immediately. It was a job right up my alley.
March 2012
-For a few months, I kept up both my job at CNA and the new exciting job at the International School of Macae (ISoM). Admittedly, teaching all the core academic subjects for grade 7/8 was a challenge. But an awesome experience. By June, I had completed a full semester at CNA, and sent in my resignation letter. I was looking forward to having one job, and reclaim my weekends for travel.
July 2012
-In July, after an amazing 2 week trip back home and some travelling in Brazil, I returned to work at ISoM. However, thanks to a bit of rearranging, I was now set to teach only my subject area: Social Studies from grades 7-12. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Subjects included: World History, World Geography, American History, American Government, World Cultures and a Global Studies and Perspectives (where current events can be discussed in student-led course). While this has been challenging in and of itself, I am learning so much along the way. It has truly been a pleasure to work at the school, many times it doesn't even seem like work at all.
Sustainable Development:
Nov. 2011
-During my few months unemployed, I took advantage of the time off to do a one-month internship at TIBA (Intuitive Technology and Bio-Architecture). Here I was really hoping to see an example of a sustainable model, and learn and practice permaculture. The experience was inspiring, but I was somewhat disappointed upon leaving, somehow hoping to have seen more, to have witnessed something very different and inspiring.
June 2012
-Once I started working at CNA and ISoM, I had little time to devote to visiting other sustainable development initiatives, but I managed to take a few days off work to check out the Rio + 20 Earth Summit and join a delegation from Canada World Youth. While, it was inspiring to see civil society actors coming together, demanding change, I was disappointed that seemingly, nothing concrete, had really come out of the UN summit. It was a mere reaffirmation that heads of state are more interested in keeping the economy going then actually saving the very foundation (the resources) upon which the economy runs.
October 2012
-During a long weekend in October, I had a chance to go to another place I had wanted to visit, namely, Instituto Visao Futuro (Future Vision Institute), which is located in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo. Here again, I was curious to see the inner-workings of a sustainable community. I had amazing conversations with individuals here, and I started to get a glimpse of a path I'd like to embark on.
-All these experiences, gave me the inspiration to try to combine both education and sustainable development.
Combining Education with Sustainable Development:
July 2012
-My drive to combine education with sustainable development, has been met with mixed success. In my classroom, after weeks of showing my students documentaries, having discussions, and doing activities about environmental issues, I had hoped to awaken some sort of environmental engagement, but was disappointed when this wasn't achieved. But, I haven't given up hope yet...
October 2012
-I have got the green light to start a vermicomposting project at school. Taking in the school's organic waste produced by the cafeteria, and transforming it into fertilizer with the help of red worms. I've got the system up and running now, and it's been pretty exciting so far. Lot's of trial and error along the way. In the new year, I'm hoping to design lessons around vermicomposting. While I am starting small (only able to take in 150 litres of organic waste per month), I hope to eventually be able to take all the organic waste produced by the school and transform it back into soil.
January 2013
-The school (after 2 years of planning) will be investing in an 'outdoor classroom'. An area the size of a classroom with a table and seats, bushes, plants, trees and four garden plots for the students to plant. This is supposed to be constructed over the summer holidays (Dec/Jan). I'm not holding my breathe, but when it is eventually completed, it will end up being the final destination for the nutrient rich natural fertlizer that my worms are producing. If we can grow some foods that end up at the cafeteria, we will have completed the entire food cycle. Where food waste from the cafeteria is transformed back into food for the cafeteria. This would be an amazing achievement. I plan to get students involved in every aspect of this cycle.
Where do I go from here? I really am liking working with education. I want to bring in environmentalism into the school, one step at a time. I want to visit schools like the 'Green School' in Bali one day, to check out their initiatives. Who knows, maybe be a part of creating 'Green School #2' somewhere here in Brazil.
My recent trip to Visao Futuro, also sparked another interest. Checking out some more alternative education models. I listened to Jose Pacheco (who started a successful alternative school in Portugal). School with no classrooms, few teachers (and many volunteers), no bells, no official start and end times, student-driven curriculum. Taking in students that were deemed 'lost causes' and transforming their lives through this kind of education, seems almost too good to be true. How does this all really work practically? I'm really curious to know. I'm thinking of trying to volunteer sometime at one of Pacheco's schools he's been developing here in Brazil.
I've got some general bearings, we'll see where the wind takes me from here. But, that's all part of the excitement. And while, I'm missing family and friends back home in Canada, this adventure has been amazing and I have no regrets. I have been learning so much along the way. I have met some remarkable people. I have some freedom to bring alternative projects into education, projects, that I know would be met with much more bureaucratic red tape in a public school in Canada.
Oct
15
2012
CouchSurfing South America Video Contest
Hey y'all,
I'll be putting up a real update soon! But for now, be sure to check out this video I made back in 2010. I'm putting it into a contest to win a trip around the world! Check it out and click 'like' on YouTube.
Thanks again for all the hosts during this trip that offered me a bed/couch.
I'll be putting up a real update soon! But for now, be sure to check out this video I made back in 2010. I'm putting it into a contest to win a trip around the world! Check it out and click 'like' on YouTube.
Thanks again for all the hosts during this trip that offered me a bed/couch.
Jun
19
2012
Rio +20: What really needs to happen.
"We are on the threshold of a future with unprecedented environmental risks…The combined effects of climate change, resource scarcity, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem resilience at a time of increased demand poses a real threat to humanity's welfare…Such a future generates unacceptable risks that will undermine the resilience of the planet and its inhabitants."
This was a message to the Rio +20 Conference from 40 figures including Nobel chemistry laureate Yuan-Tseh Lee, Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Monica Vieira Teixeira and Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Norwegian prime minister who in the 1980s issued a landmark report on sustainable development.
Severn Suzuki, ‘the girl who silenced the world’ with her moving speech in Rio ’92, returns to Rio twenty years later and delivers the following message:
Over the years as I was going these [environmental] conferences, I sensed sustainability was an issue losing traction…and I slowly realized that the top level politicians were not going to change the world for us. I realized that if we wanted to change the world we had to find the solutions ourselves and implement them in our own communities and then go out and demand change from our politicians. I decided to focus on change from the ground up…on citizen engagement.
It is clear that the current global meta-strategy is to change everything from nature into profit at a blistering pace and on a scale and a budget that dwarfs its opposition…we need nothing short of a massive paradigm shift to a strategic way of living that will carry our human race forward to a future with dignity.
I work as a teacher at an international school and a few weeks ago, I had attempted to rally my students to make changes in their own lives and to push for changes at our school that would help the environment. After showing them documentaries and photos, outlining the dangers of the amount of plastic we consume. The pacific trash vortex, how we are destroying our planet,
I challenged them to think of how they could make changes in their own lives for a better world. The changes they came up with were all superficial, demanding little to no effort.
Beside our school’s water fountains there is a plastic cup dispenser. And students get a new plastic cup every time they get a drink of water. I pointed this fact out to my students. They agreed that something should be done, and for a few days tried to at least reuse their cups.
After a week they had returned to using new cups and throwing them away.
I thought that perhaps I should talk to the school administration and make a move to get rid of all the plastic cups. Students would adapt to the change and either bring a water bottle or simply go back to the customary way we drink from water fountains.
In many ways, these kinds of changes are what citizens keep demanding from politicians. Ban plastic bags! Tax high polluting vehicles! Fine those who do not recycle!
But, is this really the best we’ve got? I can go to the school’s administration and get those plastic cups removed. Students will adapt. But when they are faced with a choice, later on in their lives between an eco-friendly option and a non-eco-friendly option, I have done nothing in my role as teacher to inspire them to make an eco-friendly choice.
When these kids grow up to be the world’s lawyers, politicians, doctors, nurses, teachers, businessmen…they will only perpetuate the current dangerous mindset we see in today’s leaders.
Is making going green seem cheap really our only way of getting people to join this cause?
Many of the world’s leaders are not at the Rio+20 conference, some have chosen to stay home or are at the G20 conference in Mexico. Economy triumphs over our saving our home time and time again.
Give up waiting on politicians. For each ‘step forward’ by politicians responding to environmental demands, there are two steps backward somewhere down the line in response to defending business as usual. And should world leaders make changes, they would be in the form of economic incentives to be green (taxes, credits, subsidies, fines). These are only band-aid solutions so long as the population remains uninspired to change themselves and their own communities.
David Suzuki mentioned in a lecture once that it’s as though our society is in a car headed for a collision. The environmentalists are shouting in the back seat point to the brick wall ahead, trying to warn the driver and the others of the impeding danger, but everyone seems unmoved focused only on the piece of road directly ahead of the car.
If we can’t stop the driver, we need to call up friends to go ahead and start building a new car now. From the grassroots, we need to start building a well-designed society where such a collision will never be allowed to occur again.
This was a message to the Rio +20 Conference from 40 figures including Nobel chemistry laureate Yuan-Tseh Lee, Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Monica Vieira Teixeira and Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Norwegian prime minister who in the 1980s issued a landmark report on sustainable development.
Severn Suzuki, ‘the girl who silenced the world’ with her moving speech in Rio ’92, returns to Rio twenty years later and delivers the following message:
Over the years as I was going these [environmental] conferences, I sensed sustainability was an issue losing traction…and I slowly realized that the top level politicians were not going to change the world for us. I realized that if we wanted to change the world we had to find the solutions ourselves and implement them in our own communities and then go out and demand change from our politicians. I decided to focus on change from the ground up…on citizen engagement.
It is clear that the current global meta-strategy is to change everything from nature into profit at a blistering pace and on a scale and a budget that dwarfs its opposition…we need nothing short of a massive paradigm shift to a strategic way of living that will carry our human race forward to a future with dignity.
I work as a teacher at an international school and a few weeks ago, I had attempted to rally my students to make changes in their own lives and to push for changes at our school that would help the environment. After showing them documentaries and photos, outlining the dangers of the amount of plastic we consume. The pacific trash vortex, how we are destroying our planet,
I challenged them to think of how they could make changes in their own lives for a better world. The changes they came up with were all superficial, demanding little to no effort.
Beside our school’s water fountains there is a plastic cup dispenser. And students get a new plastic cup every time they get a drink of water. I pointed this fact out to my students. They agreed that something should be done, and for a few days tried to at least reuse their cups.
After a week they had returned to using new cups and throwing them away.
I thought that perhaps I should talk to the school administration and make a move to get rid of all the plastic cups. Students would adapt to the change and either bring a water bottle or simply go back to the customary way we drink from water fountains.
In many ways, these kinds of changes are what citizens keep demanding from politicians. Ban plastic bags! Tax high polluting vehicles! Fine those who do not recycle!
But, is this really the best we’ve got? I can go to the school’s administration and get those plastic cups removed. Students will adapt. But when they are faced with a choice, later on in their lives between an eco-friendly option and a non-eco-friendly option, I have done nothing in my role as teacher to inspire them to make an eco-friendly choice.
When these kids grow up to be the world’s lawyers, politicians, doctors, nurses, teachers, businessmen…they will only perpetuate the current dangerous mindset we see in today’s leaders.
Is making going green seem cheap really our only way of getting people to join this cause?
Many of the world’s leaders are not at the Rio+20 conference, some have chosen to stay home or are at the G20 conference in Mexico. Economy triumphs over our saving our home time and time again.
Give up waiting on politicians. For each ‘step forward’ by politicians responding to environmental demands, there are two steps backward somewhere down the line in response to defending business as usual. And should world leaders make changes, they would be in the form of economic incentives to be green (taxes, credits, subsidies, fines). These are only band-aid solutions so long as the population remains uninspired to change themselves and their own communities.
David Suzuki mentioned in a lecture once that it’s as though our society is in a car headed for a collision. The environmentalists are shouting in the back seat point to the brick wall ahead, trying to warn the driver and the others of the impeding danger, but everyone seems unmoved focused only on the piece of road directly ahead of the car.
If we can’t stop the driver, we need to call up friends to go ahead and start building a new car now. From the grassroots, we need to start building a well-designed society where such a collision will never be allowed to occur again.
Apr
11
2012
Carnival: In Sao Paulo?
I grabbed a bus to Sao Paulo Thursday night and arrived early Friday morning. Here I stayed at my friend Flavia's place.
In Sao Paulo, carnival appeared to be non-existant. Partly, I suppose because carnival had technically already ended...but in Rio there were still lots of blocos happening at this time. Anyways, I had to satisfy myself with non-carnival events.
After visiting Liberdade (Japan town), checking out an interesting exhibition on urban slums. The exhibition examined the phenomena of urban slums in 7 six cities around the world: Sao Paulo, Rome, Mumbai, Medellín, Nairobi, Moscow and Baghdad. It's part of a conference, where city officials, experts and citizens from these various cities are to come together and discuss common challenges, solutions that have been attempted. Here was one of my favourite quotes:
"Most people who come to cities and make it their home, come with very little but manage to make the most of their time there. Favelas, urban villages or temporary shelters too – often collapsed in the catch-all word ‘slums’ – are actually an expression of their own efforts at making the city functional for them and for everyone else living there."
(http://www.saopaulocalling.org/more/mumbai-user-generated-city)
If you'd like to learn more check out this interesting manifesto of the project...and then browse around the website: http://www.saopaulocalling.org/about/manifesto
Afterwards I went out to meet up with one of Flavia's buddies: Julio. Julio had an extra bike kicking around and was also planning on heading to the 'bicicletada' AKA Critical Mass!
There were some 200 people who came together. We took over the roads and rode for a few hours covering some 28 km. Thanks Julio Beraldo for the map below of our route:
After cycling, I met up with my friend Maiara and Mariana. We went out to a club called Kitsch club. Another night of good company, and good music.
In Sao Paulo, carnival appeared to be non-existant. Partly, I suppose because carnival had technically already ended...but in Rio there were still lots of blocos happening at this time. Anyways, I had to satisfy myself with non-carnival events.
After visiting Liberdade (Japan town), checking out an interesting exhibition on urban slums. The exhibition examined the phenomena of urban slums in 7 six cities around the world: Sao Paulo, Rome, Mumbai, Medellín, Nairobi, Moscow and Baghdad. It's part of a conference, where city officials, experts and citizens from these various cities are to come together and discuss common challenges, solutions that have been attempted. Here was one of my favourite quotes:
"Most people who come to cities and make it their home, come with very little but manage to make the most of their time there. Favelas, urban villages or temporary shelters too – often collapsed in the catch-all word ‘slums’ – are actually an expression of their own efforts at making the city functional for them and for everyone else living there."
(http://www.saopaulocalling.org/more/mumbai-user-generated-city)
If you'd like to learn more check out this interesting manifesto of the project...and then browse around the website: http://www.saopaulocalling.org/about/manifesto
Afterwards I went out to meet up with one of Flavia's buddies: Julio. Julio had an extra bike kicking around and was also planning on heading to the 'bicicletada' AKA Critical Mass!
There were some 200 people who came together. We took over the roads and rode for a few hours covering some 28 km. Thanks Julio Beraldo for the map below of our route:
After cycling, I met up with my friend Maiara and Mariana. We went out to a club called Kitsch club. Another night of good company, and good music.
Mar
15
2012
Carnival Day 5: Slacking off
All the food from Tuesday demanded I take another day of rest. So I went out to a beautiful beach in Niteroi called Itacoatiara. On the way I met a woman who has family in Toronto...we ended up chatting the entire bus ride and she introduced me to her friends at the beach.
Walking along the beach, I met this dude practicing Slackline.
His name is Enrico, he's a part of a crew that competes in national slackline competitions. Very inspiring to watch him on the slackline. And this guy makes slackline look easy. I tried getting up a few times, just standing up is difficult. It demands a lot of concentration, balance, strong knees, stabilizer muscles...I have to say it got me hooked. When I save up a bit of money, Im thinking of buying a line getting into this.
That evening I went back in Rio and went with Mariana and a couple of her friends to jazz bloco. Good company, good jazz, all-round good night.
That evening I went back in Rio and went with Mariana and a couple of her friends to jazz bloco. Good company, good jazz, all-round good night.
Mar
14
2012
Carnival Day 3: It's been a hard day's night
After spending Sunday restoring my energy from Saturday's long day of parading, dancing and singing, Monday I was ready for some more.
I met up with my friend Mariana and some of her friends and headed out to what ended up being my favourite 'bloco' of my first carnival of life.
Bloco do Sargento Pimenta (English: Sgt Pepper's Bloco). These guys started their bloco last year with a turnout of about 10,000 people (after they had expected only a few hundred people to show up). This year, they went to a larger space expecting around 20,000...however, it was more like 60,000!
Beatles songs all day long: some of them in Portuguese, many of them with a slighly samba rythm to them, but all of them amazing.
We sang along to Beatles songs all day. There was even a marriage done on their stage. Not a proposal, a marriage ceromony followed by: "love, love love".
After this bloco we went to another called: Bloco Cru. Here a band played a bunch of alternative and classic rock covers. Also, a great show....all for free.
Below I've posted a few videos from these blocos:
Listen to some of their recorded songs, high quality here:
http://pt-br.facebook.com/bspimenta/app_182222305144028 (Check out how they SAMBAFY the Beatles music!)
Wedding on stage:
Bloco Cru: Rage Against the Machine....Samba style
I met up with my friend Mariana and some of her friends and headed out to what ended up being my favourite 'bloco' of my first carnival of life.
Bloco do Sargento Pimenta (English: Sgt Pepper's Bloco). These guys started their bloco last year with a turnout of about 10,000 people (after they had expected only a few hundred people to show up). This year, they went to a larger space expecting around 20,000...however, it was more like 60,000!
Beatles songs all day long: some of them in Portuguese, many of them with a slighly samba rythm to them, but all of them amazing.
We sang along to Beatles songs all day. There was even a marriage done on their stage. Not a proposal, a marriage ceromony followed by: "love, love love".
After this bloco we went to another called: Bloco Cru. Here a band played a bunch of alternative and classic rock covers. Also, a great show....all for free.
Below I've posted a few videos from these blocos:
Listen to some of their recorded songs, high quality here:
http://pt-br.facebook.com/bspimenta/app_182222305144028 (Check out how they SAMBAFY the Beatles music!)
Wedding on stage:
Bloco Cru: Rage Against the Machine....Samba style
Mar
14
2012
Carnival Day 4: A hard day's night deserves a day of rest
I needed another day to reenergize again. I realized how important it is to plan carnival strategically. Decide on the blocos you really need to check out, decide when you'll get in some shut eye and figure out which healthy foods you plan to eat in order to counter act the beer and junk food you find at every bloco.
I spent the day with Mariana at the beach....it was sad to see the beach completely littered from carnival. Plastic cups and bottles, aluminium cans and glass beer bottles were everywhere....
That evening after our dispointment at being unable to purchase tickets for a Jorge Ben Jor concert, Mariana and I met back up with her friends and treated ourselves to a restaurant called 'Restaurante Broz':
The good: Pizza, Crepes and Sushi all under one roof. The pizza and crepes are served 'rodizio' style. This is pretty common in Brazil. If you've been to a Brazilian churrascaria...they are often in this style. Waiters continuously swing by your table and ask if you'd like a slice of a freshly baked pizza or crepe. The pizzas and crepes come out at random with different toppings/fillings. If you want a particular pizza, just ask the waiter and an order will be placed. Then there's dessert pizzas and crepes. Yum. Oh and there's a sushi buffet (pay by the kilo), just in case you're not feeling the pizza/crepe combo. And the pizza rodizio costs you only R$23 (dinner)...that's about $14CDN.
The bad: They didnt have my all-time favourite dessert crepe...doce de leite with coconut.
The ugly: with so many good options, and the fact that you don't even have to get up from your table to get your food...it just keeps coming....well I have to say its difficult not to surpass your limits. I defintely ate too much that night.
I spent the day with Mariana at the beach....it was sad to see the beach completely littered from carnival. Plastic cups and bottles, aluminium cans and glass beer bottles were everywhere....
That evening after our dispointment at being unable to purchase tickets for a Jorge Ben Jor concert, Mariana and I met back up with her friends and treated ourselves to a restaurant called 'Restaurante Broz':
The good: Pizza, Crepes and Sushi all under one roof. The pizza and crepes are served 'rodizio' style. This is pretty common in Brazil. If you've been to a Brazilian churrascaria...they are often in this style. Waiters continuously swing by your table and ask if you'd like a slice of a freshly baked pizza or crepe. The pizzas and crepes come out at random with different toppings/fillings. If you want a particular pizza, just ask the waiter and an order will be placed. Then there's dessert pizzas and crepes. Yum. Oh and there's a sushi buffet (pay by the kilo), just in case you're not feeling the pizza/crepe combo. And the pizza rodizio costs you only R$23 (dinner)...that's about $14CDN.
The bad: They didnt have my all-time favourite dessert crepe...doce de leite with coconut.
The ugly: with so many good options, and the fact that you don't even have to get up from your table to get your food...it just keeps coming....well I have to say its difficult not to surpass your limits. I defintely ate too much that night.
Mar
11
2012
Carnival Day 2: Saturday Feb. 18th
6:30AM: The official start of Carnival begins with me waking up at my friend Cynthia's place. After eating breakfast and grabbing a coffee we head up to the beautiful neighbourhood of Santa Tereza. By the time we arrive, the party has already started.
By far, this parade is a whole lot better than Friday's. Nearly everyone is wearing a costume and you could tell that a lot of effort was placed in many people's costumes: Pac man, pirates, vikings, smurfs, insects, nurses, policemen, cavemen, babies, hippies, superheroes.
The music was also a significant improvement. There wasn't any singing, but instead people playing brass instruments: saxophones, trombones, trumpets...
A vendor asked me if I wanna buy a beer. I had only awoken some 2 hours ago. I had had a coffee not that long ago. And now, a beer? I couldn't bring myself to do it. But once I got into the crowd of people, well, you go straight into a party mode, and you forget what time it is and a beer seemed like a perfectly good idea.
A couple hours into the parade, I met up with my cousin who had dressed up as Jack Sparrow (to the tea). He and his friends had built a pirate ship out of cardboard and styrofoam. Six people fit into the ship! I made my way to the stern of the ship and enjoyed the rest of the carnival with a somewhat celebrity status. Everyone wanted to take pictures of the ship and the pirates, everyone wanted to get inside the ship, everyone giving compliments about the ship. Jack Sparrow particularly got a lot of attention. If my cousin didn't have a girlfriend, he could have easily kissed the most beautiful girls in the parade....and there were many beautiful girls in the parade.
After the parade had ended, we grabbed a bite to eat, and took a nap before heading over to the Sambodromo where we would parade with a Samba school.
At the Sambodromo:
I had never been to the sambodromo in my life. This is the avenue where the best samba schools in Rio (if not Brazil...if not the world!), parade down. And there I was about to walk down this avenue. We put on our costumes of 'beggars'. There were some 50 people dressed as beggars. The theme of the samba school this year was 'democracy in the park square'. The idea was to demonstrate a mix of all people from all walks of life together in one parade. In other sections of the school, people had ostumes representing different people in society: politicians, athletes, farmers (supposed to be representing the MST), merchants. There were huge cars with eleborate sets representing ancient Greece (for democracy), the park square, a huge set with a mother carrying her babies in a stroller.
We walked down the avenue for just over an hour. Singing the same tune over and over again. Smiling and dancing. Looking up to the crowd in the sambodromo and waving. Getting drenched in sweat underneath our heavy costumes.
By the time it ended, I was losing my voice. I have to say I am happy to have had this experience, but I have to admit that I think doing in once in a lifetime is enough for me. One day I'd like to go back to Sambodromo as a simple spectator to watch all the samba schools go by.
Below, I have included some photos of the entire day as well as a video from our samba school at the sambodromo.
By far, this parade is a whole lot better than Friday's. Nearly everyone is wearing a costume and you could tell that a lot of effort was placed in many people's costumes: Pac man, pirates, vikings, smurfs, insects, nurses, policemen, cavemen, babies, hippies, superheroes.
The music was also a significant improvement. There wasn't any singing, but instead people playing brass instruments: saxophones, trombones, trumpets...
A vendor asked me if I wanna buy a beer. I had only awoken some 2 hours ago. I had had a coffee not that long ago. And now, a beer? I couldn't bring myself to do it. But once I got into the crowd of people, well, you go straight into a party mode, and you forget what time it is and a beer seemed like a perfectly good idea.
A couple hours into the parade, I met up with my cousin who had dressed up as Jack Sparrow (to the tea). He and his friends had built a pirate ship out of cardboard and styrofoam. Six people fit into the ship! I made my way to the stern of the ship and enjoyed the rest of the carnival with a somewhat celebrity status. Everyone wanted to take pictures of the ship and the pirates, everyone wanted to get inside the ship, everyone giving compliments about the ship. Jack Sparrow particularly got a lot of attention. If my cousin didn't have a girlfriend, he could have easily kissed the most beautiful girls in the parade....and there were many beautiful girls in the parade.
After the parade had ended, we grabbed a bite to eat, and took a nap before heading over to the Sambodromo where we would parade with a Samba school.
At the Sambodromo:
I had never been to the sambodromo in my life. This is the avenue where the best samba schools in Rio (if not Brazil...if not the world!), parade down. And there I was about to walk down this avenue. We put on our costumes of 'beggars'. There were some 50 people dressed as beggars. The theme of the samba school this year was 'democracy in the park square'. The idea was to demonstrate a mix of all people from all walks of life together in one parade. In other sections of the school, people had ostumes representing different people in society: politicians, athletes, farmers (supposed to be representing the MST), merchants. There were huge cars with eleborate sets representing ancient Greece (for democracy), the park square, a huge set with a mother carrying her babies in a stroller.
We walked down the avenue for just over an hour. Singing the same tune over and over again. Smiling and dancing. Looking up to the crowd in the sambodromo and waving. Getting drenched in sweat underneath our heavy costumes.
By the time it ended, I was losing my voice. I have to say I am happy to have had this experience, but I have to admit that I think doing in once in a lifetime is enough for me. One day I'd like to go back to Sambodromo as a simple spectator to watch all the samba schools go by.
Below, I have included some photos of the entire day as well as a video from our samba school at the sambodromo.
Feb
29
2012
Carnival Day 1: Friday Feb 17th
Friday Feb. 17th:
First day in Rio. My cousin Raphael, put together an awesome pirate costume for me to use during carnival. My cousin Guilherme puts together a Rambo costume complete with a six-pack.
We head off to what sounds like a promising first 'bloco': 'Vem Ni Mim Que eu Sou Facinha' in Ipanema. This pretty much means: "hit on me because I'm easy".
However, I think the marketing is all this bloco had going for it. Upon arrival, we realized that there wasn't a live band at all...instead just a few large speakers playing a variety of 'hit songs'. Around which hundreds of people had gathered.
First day in Rio. My cousin Raphael, put together an awesome pirate costume for me to use during carnival. My cousin Guilherme puts together a Rambo costume complete with a six-pack.
We head off to what sounds like a promising first 'bloco': 'Vem Ni Mim Que eu Sou Facinha' in Ipanema. This pretty much means: "hit on me because I'm easy".
However, I think the marketing is all this bloco had going for it. Upon arrival, we realized that there wasn't a live band at all...instead just a few large speakers playing a variety of 'hit songs'. Around which hundreds of people had gathered.
After kicking back a couple of beers, Guilherme and I decided to meet up with a couple friends of mine (Alice and Cynthia) who were at another bloco near a Pedra do Leme. However, by the time we got there, which wasn't very late (11:30PM), the band had stopped playing. No music...not even hit songs playing from large speakers.
Both Gui and I were somewhat diaspointed with carnival thus far.
Cynthia led us to a bus stop where we could catch a bus back to Niteroi (the neighbouring city where we were staying). It was already midnight and I was planning to wake up at 5AM in order to make my way to Saturday's bloco up on the hills of the Santa Tereza neighbourhood.
A series of events followed (I won't go through the details here) creating miscommunication and ultimately leading in us missing a bus back to Niteroi. These buses don't come very often, and when we missed the 12:30AM bus...I knew it would be about an hour til the next bus. It takes nearly an hour to get to Niteroi by bus...so when 1:30AM rolled around, and I realized that even if I caught a bus back to Niteroi at this stage, I'd get a maximum of 3 hours of sleep. This wasn't an issue for Guilherme since he hadn't at all planned on going to the bloco Saturday morning.
So I called up my friend Cynthia and asked to stay the night at her place (some 100 meters from our bus stop!). Gui said he would wait for the next bus. So we split ways. Cynthia and her mom were amazing hosts and made me feel right at home. The next morning Cynthia and I would head out to the bloco in Santa Tereza. My fingers were crossed, hoping that Saturday would bring a better taste of carnival...
Feb
24
2012
The Rio Carnival
This week I witnessed Carnival in Rio. I had mixed expectations. I met people who told me they absolutely despise the craziness of Carnival and take the time off work just to get away to a beach house. Some say it's their favourite time of the year...a time to go on the streets, wear whatever you want, do whatever you want...anything goes. Rio de Janeiro has hundreds of street 'blocos' going on all over the city. These are essentially street parties...attracting thousands...if not millions of people (such as the popular bloco: Bola Preta which has seen some 2 Million attendees in the past. These parties begin as early as 6 in the morning and can go on until late at night. However, I found that the most of the blocos happened during the day and rarely went late into the night.
If I were to compare Canadian festivals to carnival...I would say Carnival is where Halloween meets Toronto's Nuit Blanche meets Canada Day times at least 13 days.
Halloween because tons of people are dressed up in costumes at any moment of the day. On the subway, at 6AM, in restaurants, bars, walking on the streets.
Nuit Blanche: because of huge flux of people moving from one event to another...and the entire city appearing the be one big playground. Deciding on which events you want to check out and planning your adventure.
Canada Day: for the free concerts, street parties, fireworks.
Times at least 13 days: well Carnival is officially only Saturday to the Tuesday preceeding Ash Wednesday. Four days. But Rio has extends this party. Blocos begin in during weekends two weeks before carnival: so that's another four days. Then although, carnival 'ends' Ash Wednesday...there are still blocos going on Wedneday, Thursday night, Friday night, and the 'hangover blocos' Saturday and Sunday after carnival. So that's another five days.
In the next few posts...I'll describe my days of Carnival.
If I were to compare Canadian festivals to carnival...I would say Carnival is where Halloween meets Toronto's Nuit Blanche meets Canada Day times at least 13 days.
Halloween because tons of people are dressed up in costumes at any moment of the day. On the subway, at 6AM, in restaurants, bars, walking on the streets.
Nuit Blanche: because of huge flux of people moving from one event to another...and the entire city appearing the be one big playground. Deciding on which events you want to check out and planning your adventure.
Canada Day: for the free concerts, street parties, fireworks.
Times at least 13 days: well Carnival is officially only Saturday to the Tuesday preceeding Ash Wednesday. Four days. But Rio has extends this party. Blocos begin in during weekends two weeks before carnival: so that's another four days. Then although, carnival 'ends' Ash Wednesday...there are still blocos going on Wedneday, Thursday night, Friday night, and the 'hangover blocos' Saturday and Sunday after carnival. So that's another five days.
In the next few posts...I'll describe my days of Carnival.
Feb
14
2012
Carnival. Phil gets in the parade.
So carnival is fast approaching here. In Rio, Carnival started at the beginning of February. I just came back from a weekend in Rio, and people are going out dressed up in a variety of costumes. Every weekend there are street parties in different parts of the city.
But the REAL carnival will begin this weekend. From Friday until Tuesday, the entire city will turn into one massive party zone. Every hour of the day there will be something happening somewhere.
And of course, there is the famous parades by different Samba schools competing in the Sambódromo. Some 30,000 people gather to watch these samba schools who have an hour each to dazzle both the audience and judges. Huge elaborate floats, beautiful costumes, pounding drums, singing and dancing are all part of the parade.
Thanks to my aunt, I'll be participating in the parade of one of the samba schools. It's been my aunt's dream to get into a parade with one of the schools, and hers managed to get her, me and her two sons in on the Rocinha's Samba School parade...I have to say, that I never in my life thought I'd be doing this!
I will be dressed as a beggar...but the costume is quite elaborate for a beggar. I've memorized the theme song...and so on Saturday I'll be dancing and singing for an hour straight as the school walks down the Sambódromo.
I went to a practice sessions over the weekend. It was a blast, the energy of just being with a huge group of people singing the same song and dancing was amazing! Although, I do have to say that at some points, it was getting tiring singing the same song over and over again for over an hour!
But when Saturday comes...everyone dressed up, and a crowd of 30,000 people...I really don't think I can run out of energy!
Wish my school luck! Below you can watch the school's performance last year!
But the REAL carnival will begin this weekend. From Friday until Tuesday, the entire city will turn into one massive party zone. Every hour of the day there will be something happening somewhere.
And of course, there is the famous parades by different Samba schools competing in the Sambódromo. Some 30,000 people gather to watch these samba schools who have an hour each to dazzle both the audience and judges. Huge elaborate floats, beautiful costumes, pounding drums, singing and dancing are all part of the parade.
Thanks to my aunt, I'll be participating in the parade of one of the samba schools. It's been my aunt's dream to get into a parade with one of the schools, and hers managed to get her, me and her two sons in on the Rocinha's Samba School parade...I have to say, that I never in my life thought I'd be doing this!
I will be dressed as a beggar...but the costume is quite elaborate for a beggar. I've memorized the theme song...and so on Saturday I'll be dancing and singing for an hour straight as the school walks down the Sambódromo.
I went to a practice sessions over the weekend. It was a blast, the energy of just being with a huge group of people singing the same song and dancing was amazing! Although, I do have to say that at some points, it was getting tiring singing the same song over and over again for over an hour!
But when Saturday comes...everyone dressed up, and a crowd of 30,000 people...I really don't think I can run out of energy!
Wish my school luck! Below you can watch the school's performance last year!
Feb
07
2012
Weekend @ Buzios
Decided to enjoy the last weekend in Buzios which sits on a peninsula with some 17 stunning beaches and surrounded by small islands. It's truly a little paradise 3 hours away from Macae by bus. I stayed at my cousin's place there. A ten minute walk from the beach, I couldn't have asked for more.
I also had the pleasure to meet up with my good friend Flavia. Since she has been living in France for the last year and a half, it was really awesome to be able to meet up with her in Buzios during her visit to Brazil.
After spending Saturday walking from one beach to another and witnessing a beautiful sunset, Sunday was spent on a schooner tour of several of Buzios' most beautiful beaches with crystal clear waters.
Thank you Flaviana and Allan for letting us crash at your place! I definitely hope to go back soon!
I also had the pleasure to meet up with my good friend Flavia. Since she has been living in France for the last year and a half, it was really awesome to be able to meet up with her in Buzios during her visit to Brazil.
After spending Saturday walking from one beach to another and witnessing a beautiful sunset, Sunday was spent on a schooner tour of several of Buzios' most beautiful beaches with crystal clear waters.
Thank you Flaviana and Allan for letting us crash at your place! I definitely hope to go back soon!
Feb
02
2012
It's raining students
So, I was stressing out before due to the lack of work. Now I'm beginning to wonder how much free time I'll have left with everything that's been coming my way.
Because I'm coming from Canada, (from what I've heard) CNA will be trying to get me to take on as many classes as possible.
Meanwhile, I've picked up another student for private French classes twice a week. A couple friends of one of my current students are interested in classes. The son of my other student wants conversational English classes. My cousin has asked me for classes, so has a relative next door and a friend has asked for French classes. My capoeira instructor has expressed some interest. And a lady who did a health assessment on me has also called me asking to setup some classes.
When it rains it pours. The power of word of mouth. The problem is that everyone wants evenings and weekends. And I want a life!
*cough cough* any Canadians want a job??
Because I'm coming from Canada, (from what I've heard) CNA will be trying to get me to take on as many classes as possible.
Meanwhile, I've picked up another student for private French classes twice a week. A couple friends of one of my current students are interested in classes. The son of my other student wants conversational English classes. My cousin has asked me for classes, so has a relative next door and a friend has asked for French classes. My capoeira instructor has expressed some interest. And a lady who did a health assessment on me has also called me asking to setup some classes.
When it rains it pours. The power of word of mouth. The problem is that everyone wants evenings and weekends. And I want a life!
*cough cough* any Canadians want a job??
Jan
20
2012
Michel Telo...Go Big or Go Home?
In case you haven't heard of Michel Telo...he's pretty much the biggest thing in Brazil right now because of the following hit song.
He's trying to make it big internationally (so far with quite a bit of success in Spain from what I hear...)
I'm not sure how far he'll get with English speaking audiences...but you can judge for yourself with his English version of the song:
Jan
20
2012
Cha Ching Cha Ching
Today, my bank account grew. Not much. But it went up for the first time since I've been in Brazil. Got paid from my student who's taking private French classes with me.
I'm looking forward to having some growth in my bank account giving me freedom to travel around a bit.
I'm currently doing a training with CNA (Cultura Norte Americano), a private English school. This week we trained on an e-board (aka Smart Board). I have to admit that Brazil was the last place I imagined I'd be doing a paid e-board training. Awesome!!
Looking forward to working at CNA...the staff are awesome and the boss is really supportive of his employees. The school is all about finding creative ways to teach real language. Very excited about it.
The only down side is that I haven't been able to go to the beach all week. But tomorrow I plan to spend a solid few hours there soaking up the sun in my 'sunga'!
Sending you lots of warmth Canada.
-PhilBrazil
Jan
15
2012
If you don´t mind, we´ll be skipping your English interview
Arrived back in Macae after a great time in Niteroi and Rio. Getting back to Macae, meant I´d be getting back to business.
Seeing my bank account decrease in funds was enough motivation for me to leave my resume at every English language school within walking distance from my place.
Had three interviews. While there´s normally an English component to the interview. Two interviewers felt too embarassed to speak to me in English, and the other was questioning his choice of vocabulary every 10 words.
I was offered all three jobs (on the condition that I pass their training). The pay range was considerable. As low as about R$11/hr ($6.50CDN/hr) to as high as about R$30/hr. I say ´about´ because here everything is calculated as a monthly rate rather than an hourly rate.
So I accepted one of the positions, I´ll read all the fine print on Monday, and if all is kosher, I´ll sign the contract and begin a two-month paid training (seems a bit long, I know). I see it as getting paid to take a TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. Not complaining.
It´s been a relief to get a job, I have to say, too much free time, even when a beach is close at hand, can drive you nuts.
Seeing my bank account decrease in funds was enough motivation for me to leave my resume at every English language school within walking distance from my place.
Had three interviews. While there´s normally an English component to the interview. Two interviewers felt too embarassed to speak to me in English, and the other was questioning his choice of vocabulary every 10 words.
I was offered all three jobs (on the condition that I pass their training). The pay range was considerable. As low as about R$11/hr ($6.50CDN/hr) to as high as about R$30/hr. I say ´about´ because here everything is calculated as a monthly rate rather than an hourly rate.
So I accepted one of the positions, I´ll read all the fine print on Monday, and if all is kosher, I´ll sign the contract and begin a two-month paid training (seems a bit long, I know). I see it as getting paid to take a TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. Not complaining.
It´s been a relief to get a job, I have to say, too much free time, even when a beach is close at hand, can drive you nuts.
Jan
14
2012
Busting out the ´Sunga´
As one girl kindly told me: only fat people and surfers where boardshorts. ´Sungas´ (speedos) are the swimwear of choice.
So, as I´m attempting to re-intergrate to my own culture. I made my way to several shops, looking for speedos.
"Do you have anything bigger than this?" I´d ask. Tried one on. My white thighs are such a contrast to the rest of my body´s colour. I have to say I felt embarrassed with this thing on. haha.
But two days ago, I gathered the courage to bust it out on the beach. One small step for Phil, one giant leap for his re-integration to his Brazilian roots.
So, as I´m attempting to re-intergrate to my own culture. I made my way to several shops, looking for speedos.
"Do you have anything bigger than this?" I´d ask. Tried one on. My white thighs are such a contrast to the rest of my body´s colour. I have to say I felt embarrassed with this thing on. haha.
But two days ago, I gathered the courage to bust it out on the beach. One small step for Phil, one giant leap for his re-integration to his Brazilian roots.
Jan
08
2012
I'm afraid to update.
Im afraid of updating this blog. The task seems enormous, and it appears to grow daily. Since my last post, so much has happened. There is so much I want to say about Tiba, and then news since I've been back in Macae. My family in Canada came down and visited. And now I'm enjoying Niteroi (Rio's neighbour). I'm going to work backwards, starting with the latest updates, then going back in time all the way to Tiba. I'll try to give the highlights and insights from my experiences while avoiding writing a novel on here. New updates for 2012 to come...
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