Interlude

The last two weeks have been pretty busy around here. I have:

• Submitted a final "practice" research grant for a class I took in Pittsburgh (via AdobeConnect);
• Presented the grant with my project group via AdobeConnect, PowerPoint, and Audacity (audio recording software);
• Reworked an entire 30-page article to submit to a journal (still working on this, actually);
• Began writing my proposal defense (the 20-25 page document that "proposes" the dissertation topic I will "defend" next Spring);
• Am working my way through 40 pages of Portuguese to debate in my "Energy & Society" engineering class next week;
• Preparing an oral presentation of a scientific article related to the reading for the same class; and
• Am working on GIS calculations and policy analyses for a different article to also submit to a journal.

On the non-academic side of things, i.e. during the breaks from reading and writing, I am:

• Looking for an apartment in Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh) for the coming year and
• Planning a trip to [at least] Peru for July.

Oh, and did someone mention that Sunday is Easter? I haven't seen any Easter baskets yet, but I have seen plenty of hollow chocolate Easter eggs and some scary giant rabbits (see below). Actually, I'm kind of curious to see what Rio will be like on Easter morning; I predict either deserted or filled with nicely dressed people going to church. I'll be really happy when the stores stop stocking raw fish, unrefrigerated, on the shelves. (Apparently, salted and cured codfish is the traditional Easter dinner here. It smells sooooooo bad, as I can attest to since we've had fish drying in the kitchen for the past three weeks!)

Below are a few random photos I've taken over the past few days. I hope you enjoy them.

 I walked out onto the second-floor deck one night to find Eros sitting on the wall above the front door. I'm not quite sure how he got up there, but I have some theories:

  This morning's sunrise:

 There's this side of Easter ...

 ... and then there's this side:

 Here's Antonio giving me his best expression:

And Eros, either yawning or yelling at me to put away the camera!

Santa Teresa

Dani and I visited Santa Teresa yesterday.  Located next to Lapa--an area known for its vibrant nightlife--Santa Teresa is an artsy, bohemian district of Rio where the colonial influence on architecture is still quite visible today. The district has so much of an Old World atmosphere that parts of it could convince even the most discerning of travelers that they were actually transplanted into a European town. Only the sounds of people speaking Portuguese or the smells of tropical fruit trees could interrupt the illusion.

Since Santa Teresa sits at the top of a steep hill, Dani and I took a bondinho, or trolley/tram, to get there. Below is a picture from behind the seats and in the very back of the bondinho. All of the seats were full, but there was still standing room in the back, so we summoned our sense of adventure and rode standing up. You have heard me complain before about crazy bus drivers in Rio. Now extrapolate that out to a trolley driver, who is driving up and down on tracks laid on cobblestone, and who likes to slam the gas and break pedals (or whatever the trolley equivalents are) in alternating fashion. (We did have pictures of each of us inside the bondinho, but not surprisingly, they came out blurry from the lurching ride.) While we held tightly onto the wooden posts from inside the bondinho, some fearless people jumped onto the steps outside the bondinho and held onto the side for the ride up. I'm not sure if they just liked the challenge or didn't want to have to pay the R$0.60 ($0.38) fare. 

We eventually did make it to Santa Teresa in one piece. We began exploring the winding streets and came upon a tiny model of the bondinho. Of course I needed a picture:

As we wandered further, we came upon a house that is used as a small visitors' center today. Can you get any more picturesque than this?

We spent much of our time in Santa Teresa at the Parque das Ruínas, or Park of Ruins. The building shown below serves as one of the main features of the park and was the house of a woman named Laurinda Santos Lobo. For decades, she invited all of the artists and intellectuals of Santa Teresa to gather at her home for live music, wine, and conversation. She died in 1946, and in 1979, the house was inaugurated as part of the surrounding cultural center.

On the other side of the house is a large patio area that overlooks the city. We stopped at the café for sandwiches and ran into a group of travelers: some Brazilians, two Germans, and at least one person from France. (I'm only certain of the Dani-Carioca on the left.)

After sitting on the wall for a while, enjoying the view and the gentle breeze, one of the Brazilians decided she wanted to explore the much narrower wall and concrete path below. She didn't want to take the stairs, though, (which we discovered later), but instead jumped and balanced from ledge to ledge ...

...until she saw two park guards watching her. Then she lost her balance and fell into the bush, pictured below. She was extremely lucky to have barely scraped anything at all. As she started to stand back up, one of the guards grabbed his ladder to climb the wall and see if she was okay. She was quick, though, and started walking back up to where the rest of us were before he ever made it over the wall. 

So between park guards, trolley rides, and meeting random travelers along the way, we had quite an exciting day in Santa Teresa. Let's just sit here a while longer and enjoy the view.

Making a List. Checking it Twice.

This is another travel logistics post. I have nine weekends for short trips between now and July, and then I have the month of July for longer trips. (The university trimester ends June 30.) I leave Brazil--from the Rio airport--on July 30.

This is my current destination wish list:

Brazil
Rio de Janeiro:
Santa Teresa (maybe this weekend)
Tijuca Forest (after the rainy season)
Petrópolis, "The Imperial City" (haven't picked a date yet)

Other Brazilian destinations:

Salvador, Bahia (April 21-24, over Easter)

Iguaçu Falls / Itaipu Dam (haven't picked a date yet)

     (Falls between Brazil & Argentina; Dam between Brazil & Paraguay)

Manaus, Amazonas (looking for reputable eco-tours through part of the Amazon Rainforest; I can sense greenwashing from miles away!)

Blumenau, Santa Catarina - German settlement (haven't picked a date yet)

South America - other countries

Cali, Colombia (probably July, after the semester ends)

Machu Picchu, Peru (haven't picked a date yet)

Argentina - Buenos Aires and/or National Park of Glaciers(!)

   (Fun fact: Did you know Argentina owns part of Antarctica? Me neither.)

Somewhere in Ecuador ... ?  

Since Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador are all South American neighbors and Ecuador is [relatively] tiny, one possiblity would be to make a 2- to 3-week trip in July through all three countries. That would be an adventure! 

So now we've reached the audience participation segment of this blog show. I'd love to hear your suggestions on any of the destinations I've listed here. Do you know of good, cheap places to stay? Likewise, do you know of any easy ways of getting cheap plane tickets as an estrangeira in Brazil, without using a native Brazilian's CPF number? What places have you visited or heard about that you would definitely recommend? What have I missed? Thanks everyone!

Another School Shooting

Brazilian flags are flying at half-staff today out of respect for the 13 (or more) victims of yesterday’s school shooting in western Rio de Janeiro. People are in disbelief, saying things like, “School shootings happen in the U.S., not in Brazil.” Apparently school shootings are no longer a First World phenomenon. Even though Rio is known for its gang violence, this shooting is different. It’s darker than gang violence. There are more psychological unknowns. I am not going to repeat the details here because, frankly, I don’t think we need to hear them again. We are all asking the same question: When is the violence going to end?

Keeping Track of Travel

My time in Brazil is a little more than 1/3 over and I still have a lot of places in Brazil and South America that I want to see.

In Brazil, I want to visit:

• the Tijuca Forest (hiking in Rio)
• Santa Teresa (artsy bohemian district in Rio with a famous bonde, or trolley/tram)
• Salvador, Bahia (Northeastern Brazil)
• Manaus, Amazonas (largest city in the Amazon, with entry to the Amazon Rainforest)
• Blumenau, Santa Catarina (German settlement in Southern Brazil)

Other South American countries I most want to visit:

• Colombia (most likely Cali and not the more dangerous Bogotá, but I also just read about the fairy-tale-esque Cartagena)
• Ecuador (Galápagos Islands)
• Peru (Machu Picchu)
• Argentina (Buenos Aires)

With this list, I better stop writing my dissertation and start packing my bags! 

What do you all think? Are there cities or countries you have heard particularly good stories about or would personally recommend?  Leave me a comment and you might just influence my travel plans.

Cabin Fever meets Wanderlust

peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. (anonymous)

I have a refrigerator magnet with this quote on it and I've been thinking about it a lot lately. In a city that never sleeps, is bustling with people and traffic at least 20 hours a day, and is under perpetual construction, it can be a challenge to ever find a quiet moment in Rio. Add to that the stress of classes (both in Rio and, via Skype, in Pittsburgh), frustration with gathering certain data for my dissertation, and the daily effort required to learn a new language, and it becomes difficult to even imagine a quiet moment.  

Enter cabin fever and wanderlust. I began to feel a bit trapped in Rio and just wanted to get on the road and see something. Anything. At the same time that wanderlust hit, I also heard about a weekend meditation retreat that was happening at a Shambhala meditation center in São Paulo. (I already knew some people from Shambhala Pittsburgh, so this connection wasn't completely crazyrandom.) A few days later I decided I'd venture to São Paulo for the weekend and see what the retreat was all about. I just had to get a bus ticket and find a place to stay.

After a brief Internet search Wednesday night, I found the São Paulo Global Hostel and made reservations online. ($19/night? Yes, please.) The process couldn't have been easier. I had similar luck with purchasing bus tickets Thursday morning. I had been warned many times about Rio's Rodoviária bus terminal, where I needed to go to buy the tickets. Without a doubt, the Rodoviária is located in a seedy part of town--I purposely didn't wear any jewelry and was constantly aware of the location of my wallet--but other than that, it was fine.

I took a bus from Gávea that dropped me off right in front of the main building, where I went in and bought my ticket in five minutes with no language difficulty whatsoever. When I left the Rodoviária, I walked around the corner and caught another bus to the university campus. I was on campus by 9:30 am, and considering most graduate students and faculty arrive between 9 and 10, I was right on time.

The process was even simpler on Friday--I took the same bus to the Rodoviária and was on the road to São Paulo by 11:30 am. The plush seats and curtains on the bus were a welcome change from the bare bones buses I usually depend on to get around in Rio. (Is it so difficult to add shock absorbers to public buses?! Really now.)

The scenery between Rio and São Paulo was incredible: open fields and rolling hills, often with mountains in the background. For some reason, we had huge lowlaying clouds all the way out to São Paulo. You can see some of these clouds in the picture below (left).

We also passed several favela settlements. Favelas can be broadly described as Brazil's shantytowns. Many favelas have no running water, no electricity, and until the recent addition of police stations, were run strictly by druglords. Tourists are always told NEVER to enter a favela without a community guide, and even then, safety is a reasonable concern. Of course, some favelas are more dangerous than others, but none of them are clean, safe places to hang out. (Nor are they tourist attractions; they're people's homes.)

Much of the scenery between Rio and São Paulo consisted of a combination of the two features above: favelas and open spaces. Being a good tourist, though, I still took pictures at every opportunity. You can see many of these on my Picasa page here. 

My first impression of the city of São Paulo was the same as my first impression of Rio -- it's so colorful! Houses painted in bright oranges and blues with white trim. Bold colors against concrete sidewalks and patchy asphalt roads.

The traffic in São Paulo is supposed to be even crazier than the traffic in Rio. However, I didn't see much of it because that traffic occurs mostly during the week when all of the Paulistas, as the people of São Paulo city are called, are hard at work. This is in contrast with the Cariocas of Rio, who are known for their great skill of enjoying the beach and enjoying life in general. (These are stereotypes, of course, though I do wonder if the act of enjoying your work is a concept in either city.)

When I arrived in São Paulo, I went straight to the hostel.  I was originally skeptical about the hostel, largely because it's website is full of glowing "testimonials" from former guests (all of which could be completely fake), but I took a chance because it was cheap and convenient. It turns out that I had no reason to worry.  The hostel was clean (minus a small bathroom renovation project), safe, and full of friendly world travellers. There were two Danish girls backpacking through South America for four months, two Brazilians who were visiting São Paulo for a Magic tournament, an Australian semi-professional Poker player (did I miss the card game memo?), a few people from Fortaleza in Northeastern Brazil, and an adorable kitten named, "Tutti," pronounced "TOOH-chee."

The hostel managers were great, too. Maria organized activities each night and Rafael, the owner, took care of the behind-the-scenes operations. Rafael also told great stories and one night serenaded us with Spanish-Gypsy music on his guitar. (Never believe someone who says they only play a "little bit.")

The nights at the hostel were lively without venturing into the "out-of-control party" territory. They were actually really nice. The mornings started fairly early since everyone wanted to make the most of their days in São Paulo (and avoid the intense midday sun.) On Saturday and Sunday morning, I headed over to the Shambhala center, which was barely three blocks away from the hostel.  As people were arriving at the center, there was breakfast with tea and coffee set up on the back porch and we all soon fell into conversation.

There were about 15 participants for the weekend at the center. The majority of people were born and raised in Brazil, but a large minority of the people were of Japanese descent, which makes sense since São Paulo is the largest Japanese "settlement" outside of Japan itself. There was also one person from England, one from Australia, and two people, including myself, from the U.S. I was really surprised to see such an international group and I learned so much from people telling their stories about where they came from and what brought them to São Paulo.

To make a long story short, we ended up having a great weekend together, and over cups of tea and conversation, over guitar melodies and Portuguese-Spanish-English translations, I began to realize what I had been missing in Rio. I have been spending the past two months primarily around Brazilians (obviously), but talking really only about the day-to-day stuff and maybe current events and other such topics. In day-to-day interactions at school or work or home, people don't really talk about travel, much less about their own travel experiences. I then spent this past weekend completely surrounded by people who had traveled to São Paulo from other cities or, in the cases of the ex-pats, from other countries. We immediately formed the traveler-to-traveler bond. We could all assume we had been living "on the road" for some period of time and we all knew, to a certain extent, what that way of life was all about. We could then bring out the food and the drinks and just wait for the stories to materialize. They always did.

All in all, I'm so happy I ventured out to São Paulo for the weekend. The travel time and arrangements were fully worth the effort. Now I'm just thinking about where I want to go next: maybe Colombia or Argentina or Peru ... ?