Article
Doormen, even coming from the poorest regions (making merely 150 dollars a month for a 60 hour work week) come to know patrons, very very well. The occasion tip helps tremendously especially when dealing with "parcels from home."
The author found sanctuary in Rio de Janeiro for 200 dollars a month. It was a small studio, but in Rio de Janeiro, despite the interferences from all other 150 tenants it was more than worth the measly 200 dollars. He would hear their alarm clocks, their voices, and their vomiting.
He finally left, leaving his 30 dollar deposit with the landlord. Happily and hurriedly he left his apartment in Rio.
The landlord attempted to keep him there as long as possible and it was difficult to leave, but he did.
The only real aspect of this article that struck home is how the doormen controlled so much. For as much as their job description advised them to do (that is let people in and out) they did a lot more. Particularly the part aboutdealing with parcels from home rang clear a memory.
That is, 2 months after I had left my first host family I had returned to their gated community. I had returned not to see the family that introduced me to Brazil, but to see if I had received any mail from home. It turns out that I had. I received a package from home the day that I had left. My host parents, obviously done with me, had neglected to tell me that there was a package for me.
When my host brother drove to the booth in which the doormen stayed, they looked suspiciously upon the car. With questioning eyes they looked at my new host brother. When they saw me, however they exclaimed,
"ABIGAIL QUE VAI?! TEMOS UM PACOTE PRA VC!"- How are you Abigail? We have a package for you!
They had been keeping the package in storage for 2 month. They proudly passed it to me. I graciously accepted it.
My host brother turned around and scolded me on how informal I was with the help.
When I opened the package a burst of fire ants flooded from the box. My mother had sent me Halloween candies, that had already melted and been mostly consumed by the ants.
The only thing worth having, however, was a note that my mom had wrote. Her hand writing felt like a warm hug from home. It said all the normal things like "I miss you" and "I wish you could have seen....". It meant the world to me that the doormen had held onto it.
They were the nicest guys in the complex.
About Me
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Coke and Favelas
Article
The poorest people in Brazil live in favelas. I've talked about this already, but it deserves more than one mention.
70 percent of each favela's population consists of black people, or brown people. These people are the merchants selling ice cream or 'gucci' rings or sunglasses. The mulatto people, lighter brown skinned people, have jobs like security guards or secretaries and the majority make up the middle class. The mulatto people live in middle class communities. They don't have pools and don't live behind gates. The white people are the doctors, the engineers, the architects and the lawyers. The live behind gates and employ the favela-lites as gardeners, housekeepers and cooks.
The favelas are what I'm interested. The people that live in the favelas are what I am interested in. I, honestly, only got to know them as vendors or maids, but I somewhat regret that.
The author of this article tells us about the favela that was near his apartment on Ipanema. The first time he saw it he almost confused it for a used furniture dump and wanted to go ask if they had any nice tables. When he got closer though he noticed that young kids running wildly about. As he got even closer he could feel them eye him for anything of value. As he stood next to the favela they asked "Black? White?" (Weed? Cocaine?)
The author then goes on to explain a child, Paulo, whom he met on a bus and was complete strung out on glue sniffing. Out of pity he bought Paulo meat for his family and lectured him on the dangers of sniffing glue.
He saw Paulo many times after that. Often too strung out to move and sleeping in doorways or on the beach.
The author does raise an interesting point.
The poorest people in Brazil live in favelas. I've talked about this already, but it deserves more than one mention.
70 percent of each favela's population consists of black people, or brown people. These people are the merchants selling ice cream or 'gucci' rings or sunglasses. The mulatto people, lighter brown skinned people, have jobs like security guards or secretaries and the majority make up the middle class. The mulatto people live in middle class communities. They don't have pools and don't live behind gates. The white people are the doctors, the engineers, the architects and the lawyers. The live behind gates and employ the favela-lites as gardeners, housekeepers and cooks.
The favelas are what I'm interested. The people that live in the favelas are what I am interested in. I, honestly, only got to know them as vendors or maids, but I somewhat regret that.
The author of this article tells us about the favela that was near his apartment on Ipanema. The first time he saw it he almost confused it for a used furniture dump and wanted to go ask if they had any nice tables. When he got closer though he noticed that young kids running wildly about. As he got even closer he could feel them eye him for anything of value. As he stood next to the favela they asked "Black? White?" (Weed? Cocaine?)
The author then goes on to explain a child, Paulo, whom he met on a bus and was complete strung out on glue sniffing. Out of pity he bought Paulo meat for his family and lectured him on the dangers of sniffing glue.
He saw Paulo many times after that. Often too strung out to move and sleeping in doorways or on the beach.
The author does raise an interesting point.
The poverty in Brazil only stands out because it really shouldn’t be there. Brazil is a country overflowing with natural resources, occupies about half the East Coast of South America and has hue potential for tourism. What holds it back are the cycles of corruption, discrimination and lack of education that cripples the country before it can stand up.
Brazil Carnival - Falling in Love
Article
In this article the author highlights some of the escapades he sees at carnival and one of them he experienced.
I thought this article would have more about explaining Brazilian sexuality, but it actually just went into how he fell in love 'three day love' with one of the girls that he met at Carnival.
I guess this article/story spoke loads to the kind of passion you experience at Carnival. Its different than meeting someone on a vacation. Its different because when you find someone you are attracted to in a crowd of 1/2 a million people, by the way most of these people are Brazil's youthly and Brazil's beautiful, it sparks something more powerful. With this spark and the hell heat and the sweat pooring from everywhere and from everyone, well its difficult to turn away a feeling of lust especially if you are surrounded by strangers that are falling for each other the same way. He also describes some of the 'drugs' they used (aresol cans sprayed onto paper and then inhaled are lanas) and he also describes drama that sounded him (brazilian men tugging and pulling on the hands of all the women that they wanted and getting into fights with another).
The carnival that I went to was in a small town. It little towns in Brazil, the carnival is just as big, but the news that their is a foreigner in the mix is celebrated and not look on as an annoyance.
I was a little Madonna and had my pick of the guys and look upon them from my VIP spot on the caged off section, complete with couches and free drinks. Drama surrounds everything. From the spot we danced in I could see fights erupt, people kissing passsionately, and men dressed as women that were fooling the drunk men. It was such a blast. My friend Kristen and I had a couple hell of a nights!
In this article the author highlights some of the escapades he sees at carnival and one of them he experienced.
I thought this article would have more about explaining Brazilian sexuality, but it actually just went into how he fell in love 'three day love' with one of the girls that he met at Carnival.
I guess this article/story spoke loads to the kind of passion you experience at Carnival. Its different than meeting someone on a vacation. Its different because when you find someone you are attracted to in a crowd of 1/2 a million people, by the way most of these people are Brazil's youthly and Brazil's beautiful, it sparks something more powerful. With this spark and the hell heat and the sweat pooring from everywhere and from everyone, well its difficult to turn away a feeling of lust especially if you are surrounded by strangers that are falling for each other the same way. He also describes some of the 'drugs' they used (aresol cans sprayed onto paper and then inhaled are lanas) and he also describes drama that sounded him (brazilian men tugging and pulling on the hands of all the women that they wanted and getting into fights with another).
The carnival that I went to was in a small town. It little towns in Brazil, the carnival is just as big, but the news that their is a foreigner in the mix is celebrated and not look on as an annoyance.
I was a little Madonna and had my pick of the guys and look upon them from my VIP spot on the caged off section, complete with couches and free drinks. Drama surrounds everything. From the spot we danced in I could see fights erupt, people kissing passsionately, and men dressed as women that were fooling the drunk men. It was such a blast. My friend Kristen and I had a couple hell of a nights!
Brazil Travel Story - Servants, slaves and Unintentional Seduction
ArticleThe nannies, the cooks, and the gardeners in Brazil come from the favelas. They are paid enough to stay in the favelas. They earn enough money for their families to live in the favelas, to watch fuzzy television, to know college is worlds away from their own. The older ones generally accept their plight in life. Their skins tethered by sun and work and acceptance. They know they will work this way for the rest of their lives, old and ugly and poor. In Brazil, all three of these things are as offensive as the next. However, the younger ones dream of something better then servitude.
Its hard to understand that a country, left winged enough to have a polite/dinner table word for a one night stand which is 'ficar', could so carelessly look the other way when it comes to the mistreatment of people who tend to them hand and foot.
This article highlighted the backwardness of how these passionate people, very generous and giving in other areas of their life, would treat their servants.
The author referred to one of his experiences in Bahia. He explained that he felt woozy from giving blood and the doctor offered, in exchange for his company, a place to stay that evening. It sounds odd, but it is not too uncommon for Brazilians to invite foreigners to their home for dinner and a night. They will often have guests on the night of your arrival and then trapes them around, much like you'd pass around a birthday cake. Some people would engage deeply in conversation and devour your concentration, while the next person will simply shake your hand and then pass the divulgence without a second look.
Anyway he went to the family's house. In the gated community that every doctor, architect, or engineer is expected to live in. Inside the house, was the servant Joseph that the rich are expected to 'own' just like the swimming pool that was in the yard.
Joseph set the table, refilled drinks, served the dinner he made, got to eat a little of the dinner in a back room, filled drinks, cleared the table, served the dessert he had made(there was none left for him), and washed the dishes after doing the laundry and serving coffee.
After the meal the author actually remembers Joseph's 'boss' asking of him to,
"Joseph, pass me my lighter. And turn the light on. Joseph, ashtray. Bring some fruit, Joseph – and buy some cigarettes."
The servants in Brazil are treated this way. They are objects. Objects, nonetheless, that can be disposed of at any time, no matter how long they have been working with the family they serve.
On a personal note my second host family in Brazil had four servants. One do to all the cooking and daily washing, like dishes and sweeping, her name was Sonya. One to take care of the youngest girl, Lala and her name was Neosa. One to garden their lawn in the back, a man that I never met formally, but I saw everyday. One that came in once a week and the back breaking work, again no one ever introduced me to her and when I tried to talk to her she'd smile and then coyly walk away.
One day I noticed I had something missing. I wouldn't be able to tell you what it is now. Maybe it was a make up bag or maybe it was my brush, I can't remember. Anyway, I asked my host mom if she had seen it and how I was a bit upset that I was missing it.
The next day, Sonya, the cook, was gone. Neosa was cooking our lunch. It turns out Sonya had been fired for stealing from me. It also turns out that I found whatever it was I was looking for in my little host sister's room. Dispensable human beings.
Its hard to understand that a country, left winged enough to have a polite/dinner table word for a one night stand which is 'ficar', could so carelessly look the other way when it comes to the mistreatment of people who tend to them hand and foot.
This article highlighted the backwardness of how these passionate people, very generous and giving in other areas of their life, would treat their servants.
The author referred to one of his experiences in Bahia. He explained that he felt woozy from giving blood and the doctor offered, in exchange for his company, a place to stay that evening. It sounds odd, but it is not too uncommon for Brazilians to invite foreigners to their home for dinner and a night. They will often have guests on the night of your arrival and then trapes them around, much like you'd pass around a birthday cake. Some people would engage deeply in conversation and devour your concentration, while the next person will simply shake your hand and then pass the divulgence without a second look.
Anyway he went to the family's house. In the gated community that every doctor, architect, or engineer is expected to live in. Inside the house, was the servant Joseph that the rich are expected to 'own' just like the swimming pool that was in the yard.
Joseph set the table, refilled drinks, served the dinner he made, got to eat a little of the dinner in a back room, filled drinks, cleared the table, served the dessert he had made(there was none left for him), and washed the dishes after doing the laundry and serving coffee.
After the meal the author actually remembers Joseph's 'boss' asking of him to,
"Joseph, pass me my lighter. And turn the light on. Joseph, ashtray. Bring some fruit, Joseph – and buy some cigarettes."
The servants in Brazil are treated this way. They are objects. Objects, nonetheless, that can be disposed of at any time, no matter how long they have been working with the family they serve.
On a personal note my second host family in Brazil had four servants. One do to all the cooking and daily washing, like dishes and sweeping, her name was Sonya. One to take care of the youngest girl, Lala and her name was Neosa. One to garden their lawn in the back, a man that I never met formally, but I saw everyday. One that came in once a week and the back breaking work, again no one ever introduced me to her and when I tried to talk to her she'd smile and then coyly walk away.
One day I noticed I had something missing. I wouldn't be able to tell you what it is now. Maybe it was a make up bag or maybe it was my brush, I can't remember. Anyway, I asked my host mom if she had seen it and how I was a bit upset that I was missing it.
The next day, Sonya, the cook, was gone. Neosa was cooking our lunch. It turns out Sonya had been fired for stealing from me. It also turns out that I found whatever it was I was looking for in my little host sister's room. Dispensable human beings.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Poverty, Poodles and Favelas
This article was written by a young man that used to live at the bottom of a favela in Rio on the beach Ipanema.
The favelas are illegal settlements built on the sides of hills considered too steep for safe construction. The joke is that for once the poor end up with the sea breezes and good views.
Favelas are the slums of Brazil. There there are things called 'cats', wires that are hooked around electric lines and used to pirate electricity. Because favelas are illegal settlements, no rent is paid. No electric bills are paid. No water bills need to be paid. However, the military police use the favela's inhabitants as target practice. Up until the early 90s the police got a bonus for every criminal that they had killed. If kids are born black, they are most deserving of the bullets.
The author compares the life of the impoverished to the lives of the wealthy. There is a vast disparity between both. He emphasizes the lack of knowledge about the poor amongst the rich. He states that the rich wear their wealth like a badge, rubbing it in the faces of the poor, much like the police rub their guns in backs of the same people. They tote around their poodles, step from BMWs, and wear the finest of fine clothing. While the world that the tote around and step into is a world that gives no nod to its poor.
I loved the title of this article. The article itself, up to now, has been the most compelling and interesting for me to read. As an exchange student, you see favelas, you see poodles, you see the extreme rich mixed amongst the beggers. To hear about it from such a real standpoint was facinating to me.
When he describes the poodles and the rich people, this is almost a hilarious/sad reality about it. Every rich person in Brazil has a poodle. I don't know why, obviously the author doesn't know why. Other than to show off their wealth there is no reason to have a poodle. I lived with very well off people the entire year in brazil. So did my exchange student friends. They all had at least one poodle, each family did anyway. I saw no other kinds of house dogs. Of course I'd see poor dogs on the street that belonged to poor owners, but poodles are a status symbol.
A very honest approach to seeing Brazil though a Brazilian's perspective. I couldn't read it fast enough.
When will I ever use Portuguese?
Native Brazilians on Learning English
The first section of this geocities (blog?) site has students of english write in english about why learning english is important to them. They state the most extreme importance under travel (being understood everywhere you go), and secondly for business(convincing americans banks to give them loans) and thirdly for education (reading articles in english).
I attempted to find an article on the difficulties of learning another language, but I was then bombarded by free trials of language learning software. This article (if you can call it that)/assignment was the most solid thing I could find on a personal approach to learning another language.
My personal experience with Portuguese could be summed up in one word: challenging. I got on my plane to go to Brazil, at the age of 16, with the same stereotypes that we all grow up learning. Well, all of us that attended Walker High School grew up learning. That is that "everyone around the world speaks english". Though this was the basis of my train of thought, I also thought it was essencial to learn a little spanish to smooth the edges of my Brazilian experience. Our highschool offered us German and Spanish. I opted for spanish, mistakingly thinking that it was probably very similar to portuguese.
When I arrived in Sao Jose do Rio Preto, I walked off the plane and was greeted by my first host family.
I had just gotten off a flight that was only supposed to be 8 hours. It turned into a 12 hour flight because of my inexperience flying and unreliable 'rides' and yadda yadda.
I started to unleash my apologies for being 4 hours too late. It was answered by blank faces. That was my first reality check. No one understood what I was saying.
This is what went on for the next 3 months of my experience. Though I was learning, I felt like the biggest idiot. I was communicating in english, portuguese, and spanish. I obviously didn't starve to death, but it was frustrating to only be fully understood... once a week. That was when I made a call home to my parents. My parents would have to endure a bawling child, pleading with them to take me home from the backwards country of Brazil. For three months my brazilian experience revolved around those 'once a week' conversations.
I started to learn, but it proved to be a lot more tasking than I had planned for it to be. After the 3 months of hell, I began to become more confident about Portuguese. I was beginning to have mini conversations with fellow students. I learned that their curiousity with me was virtually out of this world. I began to be confident in words and sentence structure. People began giving me compliments. I couldn't believe it.
The weekly conversations started to become bimonthly chats. I realized that I had learned portuguese fully when I entered the home of my third host family. Denise, my host mother. I had entered her small home with the same dumb look on my face that I had entered all the other homes. I felt, again, like a special education child that this family was going to have to take care of for another 3 months.
Denise asked my host brother if i knew any portuguese. I spoke up and proclaimed,
"Eu fala com fluencia, se tem otras perguntas, pode pedir me." I speak fluent portuguese, if you have other questions, you can ask me.
She seemed a little taken aback, but it proved a very positive experience. My third host mom, I can honestly say, was the only one that treated me with the respect and love of anything close to a real daughter.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Beyond Shelter
Beyond Shelter
In Recife, Brazil a new plan is being inacted to help out the poor people. Habitar Brazil is the name of the charitable organization that is providing people with low income housing. The city of Recife is one amongst the poorest in Brazil. Actually all of Northeast Brazil is dead poor. What keeps Recife alive is its tourist industry. Recife lays on the coast and is very popular amongst Brazilian travelers as well as international travelers. It is absolutely gorgeous. From the crystal blue water to the white sand its an extremely charming place to visit. However, everywhere you turn, there children begging and fathers begging and mothers begging. Much like the rest of Brazil Recife has a massive poverty problem. The northeastern part of Brazil draws many homeless people, mostly because it is hotter and it is more convenient to be homeless when you are not freezing to death..... That sounded bad, but there are a lot of poor people.
The Habitar Brazil program was started after a study was conducted in some of Pernambuco's (state in northeast Brazil) favelas. They found that 97.9 percent of the residents in these slum areas made, on average, roughly 240 reais a month. That is only 80 american dollars a month. The study also showed that 63.3 percent of the heads of house hold were women, and that 90 percent of the heads of household hadn't completed more than a high school education.
The program is not only providing housing for these people, but also it is providing health care, education and jobs too. They are hiring the people to build their new homes and new schools.
I didn't read about the requirements to qualify for this program. I am thinking that the rich people in Brazil are pretty pissed about giving their tax dollars to the poor people. Their mentality is a little backwards when it comes to that. I guess though when you see people begging all the time, it hurts your heart a little less each time. Hmmm just a thought to ponder.
In Recife, Brazil a new plan is being inacted to help out the poor people. Habitar Brazil is the name of the charitable organization that is providing people with low income housing. The city of Recife is one amongst the poorest in Brazil. Actually all of Northeast Brazil is dead poor. What keeps Recife alive is its tourist industry. Recife lays on the coast and is very popular amongst Brazilian travelers as well as international travelers. It is absolutely gorgeous. From the crystal blue water to the white sand its an extremely charming place to visit. However, everywhere you turn, there children begging and fathers begging and mothers begging. Much like the rest of Brazil Recife has a massive poverty problem. The northeastern part of Brazil draws many homeless people, mostly because it is hotter and it is more convenient to be homeless when you are not freezing to death..... That sounded bad, but there are a lot of poor people.
The Habitar Brazil program was started after a study was conducted in some of Pernambuco's (state in northeast Brazil) favelas. They found that 97.9 percent of the residents in these slum areas made, on average, roughly 240 reais a month. That is only 80 american dollars a month. The study also showed that 63.3 percent of the heads of house hold were women, and that 90 percent of the heads of household hadn't completed more than a high school education.
The program is not only providing housing for these people, but also it is providing health care, education and jobs too. They are hiring the people to build their new homes and new schools.
I didn't read about the requirements to qualify for this program. I am thinking that the rich people in Brazil are pretty pissed about giving their tax dollars to the poor people. Their mentality is a little backwards when it comes to that. I guess though when you see people begging all the time, it hurts your heart a little less each time. Hmmm just a thought to ponder.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Herb Power
Catuaba is Brazil's Viagra: The Power of Herbs
Catuaba is an herb grown in the Northern most regions of the county. Most is found in the Northern Amazon, which most of the world’s medicines are found. It is commonly known at the Viagra of Brazil, in fact the Brazilians have a saying that goes,
“up to sixty years old, a father’s children are his own; after sixty, they come from the Catuaba.”
As well as being the Viagra of Brazil it serves many other purposes. It is used as an aphrodisiac, an antioxidant, as an energy enhancer and in pain relief. Many stories of its healing powers have bled through the minds and flipped from the lips of all the locals in regions such as Pantanal, the swampland of Brazil that is located about 5 hours, plane ride, from the Amazon.
It comes from the bark of the Cantuaba tree. It comes in either capsule form or as a straight extract. When you add the extract to hot water it turns it dark red. Many Brazilians believe that the color of a remedy directly link it to the parts of your body of which it most effectively remedies. According to this dark red is to help your circulatory system, your liver, and your blood.
Brazilians love their natural remedies and this is a great example of one. Another is called, Acai, and it is a calorie packed energy fruit that is found in the Amazon as well. They boast unproved stories that it helps with fatigue and once kept a small child alive for the month that he was lost in the Amazon.
Catuaba is an herb grown in the Northern most regions of the county. Most is found in the Northern Amazon, which most of the world’s medicines are found. It is commonly known at the Viagra of Brazil, in fact the Brazilians have a saying that goes,
“up to sixty years old, a father’s children are his own; after sixty, they come from the Catuaba.”
As well as being the Viagra of Brazil it serves many other purposes. It is used as an aphrodisiac, an antioxidant, as an energy enhancer and in pain relief. Many stories of its healing powers have bled through the minds and flipped from the lips of all the locals in regions such as Pantanal, the swampland of Brazil that is located about 5 hours, plane ride, from the Amazon.
It comes from the bark of the Cantuaba tree. It comes in either capsule form or as a straight extract. When you add the extract to hot water it turns it dark red. Many Brazilians believe that the color of a remedy directly link it to the parts of your body of which it most effectively remedies. According to this dark red is to help your circulatory system, your liver, and your blood.
Brazilians love their natural remedies and this is a great example of one. Another is called, Acai, and it is a calorie packed energy fruit that is found in the Amazon as well. They boast unproved stories that it helps with fatigue and once kept a small child alive for the month that he was lost in the Amazon.
Fueled Country
Ethanol is the bomb, and Brazil Knows It!
With the new uproar about using ethanol and other alcohol-based fuel, this article examines Brazil’s place in the mix. Since they are not an oil producing country it is impossible for them not to depend on other countries for their goods. Brazil, however, is predominantly farm country. Particularly, in the south, in Sao Paulo, their main exports are cattle and oranges.
The biggest problem for making the switch to ethanol-powered vehicles is the lack of enthusiasm in an uncertain market. In Sao Paulo, however, they are already making etho-friendly vehicles and making them available to the U.S. via an agency in Alabama. They have already brought in 1000 cars, 1981 Chevrolets, to prove to the governor of Alabama that ethanol friendly cars DO work.
Funny thing is though that I didn’t see one environmentally friendly car the entire year I lived in the state of Sao Paulo. Other than the mule drawn carts.
With the new uproar about using ethanol and other alcohol-based fuel, this article examines Brazil’s place in the mix. Since they are not an oil producing country it is impossible for them not to depend on other countries for their goods. Brazil, however, is predominantly farm country. Particularly, in the south, in Sao Paulo, their main exports are cattle and oranges.
The biggest problem for making the switch to ethanol-powered vehicles is the lack of enthusiasm in an uncertain market. In Sao Paulo, however, they are already making etho-friendly vehicles and making them available to the U.S. via an agency in Alabama. They have already brought in 1000 cars, 1981 Chevrolets, to prove to the governor of Alabama that ethanol friendly cars DO work.
In short, the ACFA group is one of many organizations interested in doing something about the energy situation in this country ... and, if the firm's efforts can help the smallscale farmer as well, the least we can do is spread the good word.There you have it the friendly nation of Brazil has steer headed the project and continues to spread the good word.
Funny thing is though that I didn’t see one environmentally friendly car the entire year I lived in the state of Sao Paulo. Other than the mule drawn carts.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Homosexuality
Preaching Gay Sin!
Brazil is presenting a bill that would convict any pastors that openly forbid homosexuality in their teachings. In fact if the religious leader is convicted of preaching the forbiddance of homosexuality they could potentially face anywhere from 2-5 years in prison. If the bill passes into law the different Christian sects are to be amongst the hardest hit.
Supporters of the bill have even approached the United States about making homosexuality a universal excepted sexuality. It didn’t say, but I’m sure that went over like a led balloon. The biggest con that they face if they pass this bill is the interference with religious freedom.
It is widely known that the Brazilian are amongst the most sexually open of nations. It doesn’t surprise me that they are trying to pass a bill as left winged as this. Their feelings of acceptance reach from the high schools to older aged adults. For example, one in Brazil is what they call ‘Ficar’. Directly translated it means ‘to stay’. At discos and club parties girls and men or men and men hook up early in the night, say 10 p.m. They then ‘stay’ with each other the rest of the night. Either kissing and talking or having sex they stay with each other until 6 or 7 a.m. If they like each other then they begin dating.
Also, it is common and expected, in Sao Jose do Rio Preto that the boys should experiment with this life style and they do. They do so in a promiscuous nature just as they would with another Brazilian girl.
That being said, this is a nation of exteme freedom fighters. I think it is very unlikely that they will pass this bill. They encourage other opinions and, I think, get a kick out of challenging them.
Brazil is presenting a bill that would convict any pastors that openly forbid homosexuality in their teachings. In fact if the religious leader is convicted of preaching the forbiddance of homosexuality they could potentially face anywhere from 2-5 years in prison. If the bill passes into law the different Christian sects are to be amongst the hardest hit.
Supporters of the bill have even approached the United States about making homosexuality a universal excepted sexuality. It didn’t say, but I’m sure that went over like a led balloon. The biggest con that they face if they pass this bill is the interference with religious freedom.
It is widely known that the Brazilian are amongst the most sexually open of nations. It doesn’t surprise me that they are trying to pass a bill as left winged as this. Their feelings of acceptance reach from the high schools to older aged adults. For example, one in Brazil is what they call ‘Ficar’. Directly translated it means ‘to stay’. At discos and club parties girls and men or men and men hook up early in the night, say 10 p.m. They then ‘stay’ with each other the rest of the night. Either kissing and talking or having sex they stay with each other until 6 or 7 a.m. If they like each other then they begin dating.
Also, it is common and expected, in Sao Jose do Rio Preto that the boys should experiment with this life style and they do. They do so in a promiscuous nature just as they would with another Brazilian girl.
That being said, this is a nation of exteme freedom fighters. I think it is very unlikely that they will pass this bill. They encourage other opinions and, I think, get a kick out of challenging them.
In Brazil, a Trend Away From Super-Young Models
After Anorexic Death, Fashion Week Closes Catwalk to Those Under 16
This article, touching upon on of my favorite subjects about Brazil: beauty, talks about what one agency and one special modeling event are doing to combat the effects that are taking a lethal toll on young models.
Every year Sao Paulo holds a fashion week. Like the Fashion Week in New York it showcases the new and upcoming designers and it also boosts unknown models to top model status.
In Brazil, the article emphasizes, the little boys dream of becoming soccer players while the girls have their hearts set on being models. The sooner they can get into the business the better. Many of the smaller, more poverty ridden cities located through out the state of Sao Paulo are made of families that are more than willing to send their children away in search of happier, healthier, and wealthier lives. Before Fashion Week put this age limit on its models, it was common for 13 year olds to be starting their road to success by moving to the big city and being housed by their agency with a couple other aspiring 13-year-old models. In the last couple weeks the fashion industry has been forced to face the repercussions with the anorexic deaths of six young models.
They believe that taking underdeveloped children, too quickly, from their homes and making them live with strangers in a big city aren’t necessarily recipes for success. Therefore, they’ve implemented the 16-year-old criteria for Fashion Week. The homes that the young models go and live in are now home to nutritionists and life coaches as well.
The most honest line in the article was
"All the girls I grew up with wanted to be models, just like all the boys wanted to be soccer players."
That’s the way it is in Brazil. Not saying that little girls shouldn’t want to be models, who wouldn’t, but what family would allow their 13 year old to go do it? Maybe it just wasn’t the way I was raised, but it just doesn’t seem right. In fact it seems greedy and wrong.
This article, touching upon on of my favorite subjects about Brazil: beauty, talks about what one agency and one special modeling event are doing to combat the effects that are taking a lethal toll on young models.
Every year Sao Paulo holds a fashion week. Like the Fashion Week in New York it showcases the new and upcoming designers and it also boosts unknown models to top model status.
In Brazil, the article emphasizes, the little boys dream of becoming soccer players while the girls have their hearts set on being models. The sooner they can get into the business the better. Many of the smaller, more poverty ridden cities located through out the state of Sao Paulo are made of families that are more than willing to send their children away in search of happier, healthier, and wealthier lives. Before Fashion Week put this age limit on its models, it was common for 13 year olds to be starting their road to success by moving to the big city and being housed by their agency with a couple other aspiring 13-year-old models. In the last couple weeks the fashion industry has been forced to face the repercussions with the anorexic deaths of six young models.
They believe that taking underdeveloped children, too quickly, from their homes and making them live with strangers in a big city aren’t necessarily recipes for success. Therefore, they’ve implemented the 16-year-old criteria for Fashion Week. The homes that the young models go and live in are now home to nutritionists and life coaches as well.
The most honest line in the article was
"All the girls I grew up with wanted to be models, just like all the boys wanted to be soccer players."
That’s the way it is in Brazil. Not saying that little girls shouldn’t want to be models, who wouldn’t, but what family would allow their 13 year old to go do it? Maybe it just wasn’t the way I was raised, but it just doesn’t seem right. In fact it seems greedy and wrong.
Anarchy in Rio: Carnival of Death
Anarchy in Rio
Violence in Brazil, particularly in its bigger cities, carries true through the worries of its populous. This article identifies violence in Rio de Janeiro. Rio is the heart of samba in all of Brazil. There are tons of samba schools in the area and they compete with one another in a two-day bash of all out partying.
At the most recent Carnival, the parade, was held up by a couple minutes of silence for Joao Helio, a small boy that was the latest victim popularized by the Brazilian media. He was riding shotgun next to his mom when her car was jacked at a stoplight. He attempted to get out of the passenger side window while the carjacker was fleeing the crime. He ended up suffocating himself while he struggled to get out of the window.
The article assumes that he was probably the latest victim of the ripple effect from the drug world of Brazil. Which, around carnival, is at its peak. All around carnival stadiums, where the schools go to dance in a kind of parade like fashion in front of bundles of on lookers, there are drug dealers infiltrating the populous. The many police officers assigned to the Carnival often get a chunk of the money the dealers make because they tend to look the other way. Apparently many of the Carnival dancers will do lines of cocaine just to keep them dancing through out the night and onlookers can pay about 10 reais to suck up some nose candy themselves. The article said that drug dealers could make in 2 days what they would regularly in 2 months.
We visited one of the samba schools in Rio when I was staying there. It was the only place in Brazil that I had traveled to in which our little tour group was escorted by four armed cops. The tour guides told us about keeping out valuables on the bus or tucking them into somewhere safe. I never saw anything, other than the occasional smell of weed that would have made me suspicious of drugs.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Brazilian Beauty
Brazilian Beauty
Reporter Ilana Rehavia’s audio presentation describing, for the BBC, Brazilian beauty and what it means to her was fascinating. She interviewed the girl sitting next to her on the plane to Rio who was formerly an anorexic, little girls at the school she used to attend, a lady and her child in ‘poor’ north east Brazil, her sister in Rio, her mother, her grandma, editors, and doctors. She claims that there is a certain mentality about Brazilian women. A certain deeper insecurity about their weight and outward appearance that is more severe than in the rest of the world.
The Editor of Boa Forma magazine, Cecelia Hayes, “97% of Brazilian women associate beauty with happiness”. The doctor that she interviewed commented on his discovery of the growing level in eroticism in relation to younger and younger children. Therefore, there is a need for woman to maintain that little girl shape. In addition he comments on how pop music exposes very young children to worries about sexuality, and physical appearance.
Ilana goes to her old school in Sao Paulo. She remembers how unattractive and fat she felt. There she interviews 11 and 12 year old girls. They tell her it is important to be thin and that that is what the boys like. The boys don’t tell them that that’s what they like, but they know it.
She goes on to report that the issues start at home. This is the first generation of girls whose mothers actually take care of themselves and consequently the daughters have a heightened sense of awareness about their own bodies. This in combination with a vane culture makes it difficult to find happiness within one’s self. This is, after all, a culture where most girls come out of the maturity ward with their ears pierced. Other than their Mom’s there are plenty of other role models. In the Sao Paulo region there are countless billboards portraying half naked models in lingerie or bikinis.
One of these role models is Anna Rikman whom is blonde with blue eyes and long legs. None of which characteristics are the Brazilian’s famous for. She wants us to understand what its like growing up close to Rio, the fit capital of the world.
I love this article and that’s why I went into such in-depth summarization. The way she described growing up in Brazil was how I felt while I was there. You notice and remember every thing that you eat. Then feel guilty about it. Heat makes you wear less clothing and the combination of exposed skin and people makes people irrationally self-conscious. She didn’t even touch upon the approving hoots and hollers that you get from men when you walk down the street. They’ll call you fat too.
Reporter Ilana Rehavia’s audio presentation describing, for the BBC, Brazilian beauty and what it means to her was fascinating. She interviewed the girl sitting next to her on the plane to Rio who was formerly an anorexic, little girls at the school she used to attend, a lady and her child in ‘poor’ north east Brazil, her sister in Rio, her mother, her grandma, editors, and doctors. She claims that there is a certain mentality about Brazilian women. A certain deeper insecurity about their weight and outward appearance that is more severe than in the rest of the world.
The Editor of Boa Forma magazine, Cecelia Hayes, “97% of Brazilian women associate beauty with happiness”. The doctor that she interviewed commented on his discovery of the growing level in eroticism in relation to younger and younger children. Therefore, there is a need for woman to maintain that little girl shape. In addition he comments on how pop music exposes very young children to worries about sexuality, and physical appearance.
Ilana goes to her old school in Sao Paulo. She remembers how unattractive and fat she felt. There she interviews 11 and 12 year old girls. They tell her it is important to be thin and that that is what the boys like. The boys don’t tell them that that’s what they like, but they know it.
She goes on to report that the issues start at home. This is the first generation of girls whose mothers actually take care of themselves and consequently the daughters have a heightened sense of awareness about their own bodies. This in combination with a vane culture makes it difficult to find happiness within one’s self. This is, after all, a culture where most girls come out of the maturity ward with their ears pierced. Other than their Mom’s there are plenty of other role models. In the Sao Paulo region there are countless billboards portraying half naked models in lingerie or bikinis.
One of these role models is Anna Rikman whom is blonde with blue eyes and long legs. None of which characteristics are the Brazilian’s famous for. She wants us to understand what its like growing up close to Rio, the fit capital of the world.
I love this article and that’s why I went into such in-depth summarization. The way she described growing up in Brazil was how I felt while I was there. You notice and remember every thing that you eat. Then feel guilty about it. Heat makes you wear less clothing and the combination of exposed skin and people makes people irrationally self-conscious. She didn’t even touch upon the approving hoots and hollers that you get from men when you walk down the street. They’ll call you fat too.
Looking Good is a Spiritual Necessity
Looking Good is a Spiritual Necessity
“Looking good is not a luxury, but a spiritual necessity”
This article is about how being beautiful is never enough in Brazil. The former Miss Brazil 2001, for instance, has had surgery 23 times. Everything from nose jobs, liposuction, to cheek implants. She just recently turned 22 years old. Plastic surgery over the last five years has more than doubled in Brazil. The excuses the article shows to flag acceptability in Brazil is that they spend a lot of time outside and on the beaches.
It talks about how, in Brazil, looking good is a spiritual necessity. The vainness of this is incredible. This article shows a very one-sided approach to an aspect of the Brazilian culture, which makes me angry, however, it does make sense.
When I was in Brazil I would hear, daily, that I needed to start a ‘regime’ to loose weight. They said this like it was the first time I had been hearing it and they said this every single day. Total strangers would say it to me on the street. My family would discuss it at cocktail parties and at the lunch table. Thinking of it as a spiritual necessity and as the only way of being spiritually fulfilled helps me to think of these taunts, as I saw them, as “Awe” moments. You know, the kinds of moments that change your life from that point on. Oprah coined the term. People were trying to give me an ‘awe’ moment. Isn’t that special of them.
“Looking good is not a luxury, but a spiritual necessity”
This article is about how being beautiful is never enough in Brazil. The former Miss Brazil 2001, for instance, has had surgery 23 times. Everything from nose jobs, liposuction, to cheek implants. She just recently turned 22 years old. Plastic surgery over the last five years has more than doubled in Brazil. The excuses the article shows to flag acceptability in Brazil is that they spend a lot of time outside and on the beaches.
It talks about how, in Brazil, looking good is a spiritual necessity. The vainness of this is incredible. This article shows a very one-sided approach to an aspect of the Brazilian culture, which makes me angry, however, it does make sense.
When I was in Brazil I would hear, daily, that I needed to start a ‘regime’ to loose weight. They said this like it was the first time I had been hearing it and they said this every single day. Total strangers would say it to me on the street. My family would discuss it at cocktail parties and at the lunch table. Thinking of it as a spiritual necessity and as the only way of being spiritually fulfilled helps me to think of these taunts, as I saw them, as “Awe” moments. You know, the kinds of moments that change your life from that point on. Oprah coined the term. People were trying to give me an ‘awe’ moment. Isn’t that special of them.
Culture of Vanity
Culture of Vanity
This article emphasizes the fall of unique culture to ‘Americanism.’ Brazilians have long been worshippers of the ‘guitar physique.’ That is slender on the top and fat on the bottom. It was once a sign of beauty and health. The shift in mentality, as of the last 30 years, is now that only poor people are fat and rich people can afford to be skinny. The article sites such Brazilian beauties as the lady of Ipanema, who in the English version is ‘tall, and young and healthy’ where in the Portuguese version it talks about the sweet sway of her butt. Now the ideal is Gisele Bunchen. Gisele, according to the article, is a Barbie. Her body is proportionate and nothing like a guitar.
The article sites how there was a correlation between the arrival of Barbie and the increased consumption of diet pills. Barbie arrived in 1970 and Brazil is now, as of 2007, the biggest consumer of the pills. Women claim 80 percent of the sales. When Gisele earned her international model status she also became the new ideal among young women.
The article then went on to discuss plastic surgery. It talked about how the idea of breast implants used to be ridiculous. It wasn’t, of course, inline with the guitar shape mentality. It was inline with the American models. Surgeons would even take soft tissues from ladies breasts and put it into her butt/hips. That isn’t the case anymore. The biggest craze in plastic surgery lately is to get your toes liposuctioned so that your feet can more easily fit into cute shoes. Thinness is now a sign of wealth and not poverty.
My personal experience of this was first hand. I lived with a couple different families during my year stay in Brazil. I stayed with families from the Rotary Club http://www.rotary.org/. They are generally, in any town, an organization of wealthier individuals. In Brazil the families I stayed with were very wealthy and all had beautiful children. Their children were also extremely thin.
My pre-Brazil assumption was that, like in the article, Brazilian women had thicker thighs and thinner tops. I wasn’t shocked by my realization, but I figured it was just an assumption that I had made.
Anyway, I learned that the girls that I hung out with often went on diet coke, pineapple diets. For 2 weeks at a time all they would eat was pineapple and all they would drink was diet coke. They were all very very thin and this sprung feelings of inferiority. I was quite a bit fatter than they were and I realized that they were judging me for it. So I attempted to do the same bit, then failed, then attempted my diet again, and then failed. I realized that these rich girls with fridges brimming at the edges and maids preparing huge lunches were all, in a sense, starving themselves.
This article shed a little knowledge on to my own insight.
This article emphasizes the fall of unique culture to ‘Americanism.’ Brazilians have long been worshippers of the ‘guitar physique.’ That is slender on the top and fat on the bottom. It was once a sign of beauty and health. The shift in mentality, as of the last 30 years, is now that only poor people are fat and rich people can afford to be skinny. The article sites such Brazilian beauties as the lady of Ipanema, who in the English version is ‘tall, and young and healthy’ where in the Portuguese version it talks about the sweet sway of her butt. Now the ideal is Gisele Bunchen. Gisele, according to the article, is a Barbie. Her body is proportionate and nothing like a guitar.
The article sites how there was a correlation between the arrival of Barbie and the increased consumption of diet pills. Barbie arrived in 1970 and Brazil is now, as of 2007, the biggest consumer of the pills. Women claim 80 percent of the sales. When Gisele earned her international model status she also became the new ideal among young women.
The article then went on to discuss plastic surgery. It talked about how the idea of breast implants used to be ridiculous. It wasn’t, of course, inline with the guitar shape mentality. It was inline with the American models. Surgeons would even take soft tissues from ladies breasts and put it into her butt/hips. That isn’t the case anymore. The biggest craze in plastic surgery lately is to get your toes liposuctioned so that your feet can more easily fit into cute shoes. Thinness is now a sign of wealth and not poverty.
My personal experience of this was first hand. I lived with a couple different families during my year stay in Brazil. I stayed with families from the Rotary Club http://www.rotary.org/. They are generally, in any town, an organization of wealthier individuals. In Brazil the families I stayed with were very wealthy and all had beautiful children. Their children were also extremely thin.
My pre-Brazil assumption was that, like in the article, Brazilian women had thicker thighs and thinner tops. I wasn’t shocked by my realization, but I figured it was just an assumption that I had made.
Anyway, I learned that the girls that I hung out with often went on diet coke, pineapple diets. For 2 weeks at a time all they would eat was pineapple and all they would drink was diet coke. They were all very very thin and this sprung feelings of inferiority. I was quite a bit fatter than they were and I realized that they were judging me for it. So I attempted to do the same bit, then failed, then attempted my diet again, and then failed. I realized that these rich girls with fridges brimming at the edges and maids preparing huge lunches were all, in a sense, starving themselves.
This article shed a little knowledge on to my own insight.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
The Sounds of Brazil
Article:Mika Kaurismäki Introduces His Spiritual Home
We are lucky in the United States to hear music similar to the lusty latino beats when we turn on the television around the last week of February. Catching the end of a news report on Marde Gras. When you are in Brazil you live Marde Gras for 2 weeks straight.
This article is about a Finnish filmmaker and his fixation on Brazil. It began when he was only fifteen years old and he's been claiming it to be his spiritual home ever since. For the last ten years he has been living, on and off, between Helsinki and Rio. He was implored by a French channel called 'Arte', he agreed to make a documentary film on Brazilian music. Namely, the most popular of Brazilian music, The Samba. He explored the samba and its connection to people all over Brazil. He found that the Samba meant something different to all parts of Brazil. To the folks in northeast Bahia the Samba serves as a connection to the Brazilian people that lived there before African and European explorers came to their country. For the black people in Bahia it serves the purpose of connecting them to their ancestors ceremonies. For persons in bigger cities like Rio, Sao Paulo, and Pernambuco it shows that the woes of poverty are beaten down and danced away in celebration.
The article goes on to tell about how this Finnish man opened a club for the musicians he met, but chose to continue being a filmmaker.
The Samba ties itself to Marde Gras to the umpth most degree. When I said earlier that you live 2 weeks of Marde Gras, you literaly get up, breathe, eat and shower in Samba. Their are parades all the time displaying beautiful floats with tons of dancers surrounding them. Each one of the floats and group of dancers represents the different dance schools that are around the area. In smaller towns the parades are little, but in the bigger ones, like Rio, the parades last for hours. At the end of the parade they schools are judged on presentation and they either win or doesn't win.
But other than this 2 weeks a year the Samba has fixed itself firmly in Brazilian culture. When I was in Brazil I had the opportunity to travel all over Northeast Brazil. Watching them dance Samba struck me interested.
They danced with a different and deeper passion than the samba dancers in Sao Paulo. Now I know that the persons in Bahia are dancing to celebrate their ancestors ceremony. This wasn't a dance that they learned in school, they were actually brought up learning this dance as a ritual. Like saying a prayer before you go to bed. The people around the state of Sao Paulo get drunk and dance Samba. It is a celebration over poverty.
This article cued me in to some interesting concepts.
Other Link to Samba History
AIDS/HIV in Brazil
Article: AIDS/HIV in Brazil
This article explained why the Brazilian government refused a 40 million dollar grant for AID/HIV prevention in Brazil. The grant was coming from the United States and Brazil had already accepted 8 million dollars of that money. When the US discovered that it might be going to aid commercial sex programs they called a conference. The US offered an ultimatum stating that they would fund the money as long as Brazil ensured it wouldn't be given to any commercial sex industries. They didn't want to support 'prostitution' in Brazil.
In response, although some programs promote abstinence the majority support the use of condoms. Brazil officials stated that the commercial sex industry is amongst the biggest advocates of condom use and they will not refuse funds from them. Instead they refused the money from the United States and will increase government spending in the programs to make up for the lost funding.
From a personal perspective, sex is everywhere in Brazil. I actually learned that, second to South Africa, it had the highest populous of AIDS in the world. I learned that, according to the journal, that there were only 660,000 people infected as of 2005. That was a shock to me.
The article did refered to Brazil's openness about sex.
There are hookers working the streets at night, pornography stores on every back alley, and the exchange of needles in bathrooms. You see these things when you go to Brazil. I even lived in the small city. I am suprised to learned that they are doing things to combat the AIDS epidemic.
If Brazil went with this policy to only fund abstinence agencies then it would go against everything Brazil a big part of what Brazilians pride themselves on: that is their openess with sexuality.
This article explained why the Brazilian government refused a 40 million dollar grant for AID/HIV prevention in Brazil. The grant was coming from the United States and Brazil had already accepted 8 million dollars of that money. When the US discovered that it might be going to aid commercial sex programs they called a conference. The US offered an ultimatum stating that they would fund the money as long as Brazil ensured it wouldn't be given to any commercial sex industries. They didn't want to support 'prostitution' in Brazil.
In response, although some programs promote abstinence the majority support the use of condoms. Brazil officials stated that the commercial sex industry is amongst the biggest advocates of condom use and they will not refuse funds from them. Instead they refused the money from the United States and will increase government spending in the programs to make up for the lost funding.
From a personal perspective, sex is everywhere in Brazil. I actually learned that, second to South Africa, it had the highest populous of AIDS in the world. I learned that, according to the journal, that there were only 660,000 people infected as of 2005. That was a shock to me.
The article did refered to Brazil's openness about sex.
Brazil has been a "model" for combating HIV/AIDS with its "accepting, open" policies toward commercial sex workers, injection drug users, men who have sex with men and other "high-risk" groups
There are hookers working the streets at night, pornography stores on every back alley, and the exchange of needles in bathrooms. You see these things when you go to Brazil. I even lived in the small city. I am suprised to learned that they are doing things to combat the AIDS epidemic.
If Brazil went with this policy to only fund abstinence agencies then it would go against everything Brazil a big part of what Brazilians pride themselves on: that is their openess with sexuality.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Zero Hunger Project
"The top 20 percent of the population earn 60 percent of the country's income, whilst the lowest 20 percent survive on less than 4 percent."
FAO, this FAO article is addressing the poverty in Brazil and how its extreme effects are causing the malnutrition of some 44 million persons in Brazil. What is FAO? It is a food and agricultural organization that is part of the United Nation. One of their main interests is to defeat world hunger. They were working together with past president Lula in an attempt to feed the nation of Brazil. To do this they enforced the Zero Hunger Project. In this project they would allow funds (via cash cards) to persons in Brazil that could prove they fell at or below the required poverty status. These people were the ones that are surviving on about 1 US dollar a day. Namely people in the state of Bahia in North Eastern Brazil. The poorest region in all the country. The recipients of the card would then have to prove that the money they spent was on basic food essentials. In Brazil it would be rice and brown beans.
On a personal note, the poverty in Brazil is apparent everywhere you go. The hunger is not. You have to look a little bit deeper. When I visited Bahia we were brought to the most lavish of areas. Salvador, in praticular, was the perfect combination of crystal clear water and poor. THIS photo describes what its like. When I see this picture I think nothing but utter happieness. Its hard to get a Brazilian down. However, look at the tires that are on the stairs. This is not a wealthy neighborhood. It makes me wonder if these boys have school or anything else. Anyway, from my experience in Bahia I learned that this is the place to be wary of everything. People steal constantly just to keep their heads above the water. We went to a very prestigeous beach and some children stole not only my backpack, but my friend's candy bar and french fries. They are in need of not only money, but FOOD!This is the first time I learned of there being a program to help the poverty class in Brazil. I do have hard time believing that this'll work. A lot of children are trained to steal so that they have food for their families at night. When we were finished looking through an open market in Salvador, the entire group of exchange students was bombarded by gypsies. Actual gypsies, can you believe that? After we had gotten through the 30 ladies dressed all in white we discovered wrist watches missing and wallets with no money. It was incredible. This leads me to believe that handing out money is not the answer. When the goverment gives out money instead of food, well, I think it'll be in the pocket of someone other then its benefactor by night fall.
FAO, this FAO article is addressing the poverty in Brazil and how its extreme effects are causing the malnutrition of some 44 million persons in Brazil. What is FAO? It is a food and agricultural organization that is part of the United Nation. One of their main interests is to defeat world hunger. They were working together with past president Lula in an attempt to feed the nation of Brazil. To do this they enforced the Zero Hunger Project. In this project they would allow funds (via cash cards) to persons in Brazil that could prove they fell at or below the required poverty status. These people were the ones that are surviving on about 1 US dollar a day. Namely people in the state of Bahia in North Eastern Brazil. The poorest region in all the country. The recipients of the card would then have to prove that the money they spent was on basic food essentials. In Brazil it would be rice and brown beans.
On a personal note, the poverty in Brazil is apparent everywhere you go. The hunger is not. You have to look a little bit deeper. When I visited Bahia we were brought to the most lavish of areas. Salvador, in praticular, was the perfect combination of crystal clear water and poor. THIS photo describes what its like. When I see this picture I think nothing but utter happieness. Its hard to get a Brazilian down. However, look at the tires that are on the stairs. This is not a wealthy neighborhood. It makes me wonder if these boys have school or anything else. Anyway, from my experience in Bahia I learned that this is the place to be wary of everything. People steal constantly just to keep their heads above the water. We went to a very prestigeous beach and some children stole not only my backpack, but my friend's candy bar and french fries. They are in need of not only money, but FOOD!This is the first time I learned of there being a program to help the poverty class in Brazil. I do have hard time believing that this'll work. A lot of children are trained to steal so that they have food for their families at night. When we were finished looking through an open market in Salvador, the entire group of exchange students was bombarded by gypsies. Actual gypsies, can you believe that? After we had gotten through the 30 ladies dressed all in white we discovered wrist watches missing and wallets with no money. It was incredible. This leads me to believe that handing out money is not the answer. When the goverment gives out money instead of food, well, I think it'll be in the pocket of someone other then its benefactor by night fall.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
RANDIDIUM
Lastly <-Link
This page displays a journal/filter. A filter of things that the host deems necessary to have on her page. The purpose of this page for full self expression. Scrolling down the page you are able to discover all the randomness that would clutter a panic attacked brain. Either completely confusing to the untrained eye or utterly in depth to the trained mind.... I've been looking at it for ten minutes and I'm still not quite sure what to think. Boasting the number of people that have 'tasted the rainbow' for her 'comments' list this skittles character shines unique in every aspect of her blogspot. One of her blog footers shows the number of blogs within the last 30 days that contain the word skittles (her blog name). I am still not 100 percent certain that this blogger speaks English though I just found a picture of a middle aged white lady.
I liked this blogspot the best.
The insanity kept my attention! The hampster story kind of grossed me out, but the allowance of this 'payperpost' ad on her blogspot was kind of interesting and lifted an eyebrow.
Cheers!
This page displays a journal/filter. A filter of things that the host deems necessary to have on her page. The purpose of this page for full self expression. Scrolling down the page you are able to discover all the randomness that would clutter a panic attacked brain. Either completely confusing to the untrained eye or utterly in depth to the trained mind.... I've been looking at it for ten minutes and I'm still not quite sure what to think. Boasting the number of people that have 'tasted the rainbow' for her 'comments' list this skittles character shines unique in every aspect of her blogspot. One of her blog footers shows the number of blogs within the last 30 days that contain the word skittles (her blog name). I am still not 100 percent certain that this blogger speaks English though I just found a picture of a middle aged white lady.
I liked this blogspot the best.
The insanity kept my attention! The hampster story kind of grossed me out, but the allowance of this 'payperpost' ad on her blogspot was kind of interesting and lifted an eyebrow.
Cheers!
CRIMINALS BLOGS
America's Most Wanted <-Link
This was just a brief history into some of America's most wanted. The site feature Sam Giancana, Bonnie (and Clyde), and Al Capone.
The main idea was to get a just a general understanding on the backrounds of these criminals. Each article started off talking about where they were born in the United States. Giancana in Illinois, Bonnie and Clyde in Texas, and Al Capone in New York. Then it talks about their downward spirals.
The blogspot depicts photos of these criminals. It portrays a notebook more than any of the other blog identifications. It is very focused and the posts are longer and more essay like. I think the serious tone that the blogger has taken makes a journalistic and reputable blogspot.
This blog is worth a read for the quick overview of the lives of these criminals. It's clear and concise writing take you right to the point.
This was just a brief history into some of America's most wanted. The site feature Sam Giancana, Bonnie (and Clyde), and Al Capone.
The main idea was to get a just a general understanding on the backrounds of these criminals. Each article started off talking about where they were born in the United States. Giancana in Illinois, Bonnie and Clyde in Texas, and Al Capone in New York. Then it talks about their downward spirals.
The blogspot depicts photos of these criminals. It portrays a notebook more than any of the other blog identifications. It is very focused and the posts are longer and more essay like. I think the serious tone that the blogger has taken makes a journalistic and reputable blogspot.
This blog is worth a read for the quick overview of the lives of these criminals. It's clear and concise writing take you right to the point.
BLOGGING ON OTHER'S BLOGS
Celebrity Gossip <-Link
This gossip queen is telling all thanks to her online notebook at blogspot.com. She shares all the juicy details of celebraties: including Anna-Nicole Smith's tragic death and Justin Timberlake recently turning 26 years old. Congrat J-Lake! This 30 year old Conneticut lady combines sources such as eonline.com and her own opinion to bring you the most timely celebrity gossip!
Jeannine's purpose on her dirty laundry sight is not only to dish, but to sucker in all the latest advertisement. The purpose behind this blog seems to be to give information about all the hottest celebs.
According to Yang I suppose this blogspot would fall under the educational genre. It is bringing up-to-date news. Even if it is of the lamest kind.
I think she might be trying to build her reputation by using direct quotes and sources. However, how much 'props' do Teeny bop magazines ever get?
What I thought was interesting, as well, is that there are no comments on any of her daily postings... with the exception of 2 that are from the same person, whom is obviously trying to exploit starlets, too. I am not quite sure that this is drawing the kind of fan base that would make her blogspot reputable.
I googled the creator's handle and just got about ten pages of blog sites. I don't know if that does very much for her credit.
Just my 2 cents!
This gossip queen is telling all thanks to her online notebook at blogspot.com. She shares all the juicy details of celebraties: including Anna-Nicole Smith's tragic death and Justin Timberlake recently turning 26 years old. Congrat J-Lake! This 30 year old Conneticut lady combines sources such as eonline.com and her own opinion to bring you the most timely celebrity gossip!
Jeannine's purpose on her dirty laundry sight is not only to dish, but to sucker in all the latest advertisement. The purpose behind this blog seems to be to give information about all the hottest celebs.
According to Yang I suppose this blogspot would fall under the educational genre. It is bringing up-to-date news. Even if it is of the lamest kind.
I think she might be trying to build her reputation by using direct quotes and sources. However, how much 'props' do Teeny bop magazines ever get?
What I thought was interesting, as well, is that there are no comments on any of her daily postings... with the exception of 2 that are from the same person, whom is obviously trying to exploit starlets, too. I am not quite sure that this is drawing the kind of fan base that would make her blogspot reputable.
I googled the creator's handle and just got about ten pages of blog sites. I don't know if that does very much for her credit.
Just my 2 cents!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
WORK SUX yah yahh
Now now now
I've been a waitress, a deli clerk, a banquets employ, dishwasher, tour guide for the fisherman's hall of fame, and a waitress.
I can solidly say all suck. Don't ever do them.
I was talking to my friend Stevie this evening and she said something about some well off grad student that wrote a book... her thesis... based on an entire year of working at McDonalds. She found that the people working in type of service industry were amongst the hardest working and dedicated person's she's ever worked with...
If anyone could cue me into this book, I'd like to read it!
I've been a waitress, a deli clerk, a banquets employ, dishwasher, tour guide for the fisherman's hall of fame, and a waitress.
I can solidly say all suck. Don't ever do them.
I was talking to my friend Stevie this evening and she said something about some well off grad student that wrote a book... her thesis... based on an entire year of working at McDonalds. She found that the people working in type of service industry were amongst the hardest working and dedicated person's she's ever worked with...
If anyone could cue me into this book, I'd like to read it!
Monday, February 5, 2007
SUPERBOWL XVLIXXLXLLVVVIII
Superbowl Sunday went off without a hitch. We (my boyfriend and myself) attended the superbowl at the Squirrel's Nest in Hubbard County. We entered the bar and were enveloped by a hurl of cigarette smoke. Ahhh, this made my little smoker's heart skip a charred beat.
For no cover charge, the Squirrel offered us free beer everytime our team scored, free food, and all the second hand that our lungs could bare. This made me smile.
I, unfortunetly, consumed only 2 and 1/2 beers. I chose the Bears to win superbowl number XLI. We came nearing the end of the 3rd quarter so all the beer was bought by my friend Kia. She drank the last of my 3rd beer. Anyway, disappointed and unawed we walked away and went to bed too early.
For no cover charge, the Squirrel offered us free beer everytime our team scored, free food, and all the second hand that our lungs could bare. This made me smile.
I, unfortunetly, consumed only 2 and 1/2 beers. I chose the Bears to win superbowl number XLI. We came nearing the end of the 3rd quarter so all the beer was bought by my friend Kia. She drank the last of my 3rd beer. Anyway, disappointed and unawed we walked away and went to bed too early.
Friday, February 2, 2007
BLOOD
It was a pretty good reading..... I wish I had more to say about it but I also think/know that (for me) doing is the best experience. Like on monday when we were in groups found the notebook and the blog. I thought that that was the most helpful. I am just more of a doing-learner, but I appreciated the book for its insight.
Cheers,
Abi
Cheers,
Abi
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Living At Home
I am 21. A junior in college. A waitress. And I live at home.
It has become part of my identity. Gross.
It wasn't so bad when I was younger. I was actually best friends with my mom, but when I turned 15 I made a decision that would effect my living situation for many years to follow. I decided to be a foreign exchange student. When I returned home from my year abroad. I was more worldly, more mature, and more willing to yell at everyone. I had entered my teenage angst years at 17.... I've been living at home ever since then. With the exception of 9 months living with my friend and then going on Eurospring, but now I'm back home with my parents. I am 21. We fight and fight and fight. Then have a laugh. Then fight and fight and fight. Now, I know that they always will me with provide food, constant bitching, and a warm place to shit, shave, and sleep... They even seem happy, sometimes, to do so, however,
at what age is it inappropriate to live at home?
My living situation is starting to feel a little awkward, but between work and school there is 'seemingly' no way around the financial aspect... except of course credit cards....
and *bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch
It has become part of my identity. Gross.
It wasn't so bad when I was younger. I was actually best friends with my mom, but when I turned 15 I made a decision that would effect my living situation for many years to follow. I decided to be a foreign exchange student. When I returned home from my year abroad. I was more worldly, more mature, and more willing to yell at everyone. I had entered my teenage angst years at 17.... I've been living at home ever since then. With the exception of 9 months living with my friend and then going on Eurospring, but now I'm back home with my parents. I am 21. We fight and fight and fight. Then have a laugh. Then fight and fight and fight. Now, I know that they always will me with provide food, constant bitching, and a warm place to shit, shave, and sleep... They even seem happy, sometimes, to do so, however,
at what age is it inappropriate to live at home?
My living situation is starting to feel a little awkward, but between work and school there is 'seemingly' no way around the financial aspect... except of course credit cards....
and *bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch
You've got MAIL
YES! I finally got something in the mail for my birthday. I was worried it wouldn't happen this year, but then good old aunt guilt sunk in when I talked to her this weekend. Now i'm sporting a check for 25 dollars. Now i'm obliged to write a thank you later, pain in the ass, but I am so happy to get something from anyone but FirstMark services.
Why is it that real mail is so damn appreciated. For my birthday I did receive countless facebook comments wishing a happy one, but all just bittered my taste for the particular sender.
That sounds a bit nasty, but blogging a birthday greeting or sending an email, to me, has almost no personal connotation connected to it.
Anyway back to the mail. That is the only way that my grandma communicates with people. Everyone from bill collectors to family. I wonder if getting a card from me feels as impersonal as getting a birthday greeting via the web.
Oh hoe hum
Why is it that real mail is so damn appreciated. For my birthday I did receive countless facebook comments wishing a happy one, but all just bittered my taste for the particular sender.
That sounds a bit nasty, but blogging a birthday greeting or sending an email, to me, has almost no personal connotation connected to it.
Anyway back to the mail. That is the only way that my grandma communicates with people. Everyone from bill collectors to family. I wonder if getting a card from me feels as impersonal as getting a birthday greeting via the web.
Oh hoe hum
Monday, January 29, 2007
Annual Car Cleaning Day
Yes i figured it was about time to start cleaning the old car when my driver seat was hard to find under all the crap.
I shoved it all into 3 garbage bags and went in the house to sort.
Among the list of rediscovered essentials: ipod shuffle, accounting book, and my W-2 s.
I shoved it all into 3 garbage bags and went in the house to sort.
Among the list of rediscovered essentials: ipod shuffle, accounting book, and my W-2 s.
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