And so it goes
Highs and lows of the week
Tuesday at São Gabriel, we celebrated International Women's Day early, and all of the women received a chocolate bonbon and a rose. On Tuesday night, a borrowed bedframe was delivered to my apartment and assembled by the handyman. No more mattress on the floor!
Thursday morning, I almost got run over by a horse and cart that were turning from a side street when I was walking from the bus stop to the community center in Liberdade. How many of you can boast that?
The kids at Liberdade were agitated and fighting on Thursday before they even entered the project, but I was able to have good knitting classes in the morning and afternoon. Thankfully, the weather was good so we could sit outside in the garden; otherwise, we would not have had a separate space. We broke them up into small groups, so I only had 5 or 6 kids at a time. Much more manageable.
Thursday night when I was returning from Liberdade and walking to my bus stop downtown, I was noticing how many women had received little gifts in honor of Women's Day and thinking about noting on the blog how Brazilians seem to be more observant of designated days like Women's Day, Earth Day, etc. UNTIL I ran into the traffic jam...
At my bus stop, I noticed that the traffic was backing up and not moving at all, so after waiting a while, I figured I'd be better off walking to the next bus stop further up so I'd have a better chance of getting a seat and would be able to wait out the traffic jam sitting inside the bus rather than standing at the bus stop. After a little while at that bus stop, the traffic was backing up there, too, and not moving at all. So I waited a while longer and finally walked to the next bus stop, continuing to head in a direction further away from downtown and also from my neighborhood. There, I encountered a number of military police, so I asked one of them if he knew what was going on. He told me there were two different demonstrations, one for Women's Day, and the other for homeless people, and that the women were just about to march down the street where we were. I waited a little while at that bus stop, watched the women march down and then walked up to a higher one, where I waited another 45 minutes or more. One of my buses passed by during that time without stopping because it was cram-packed full of passengers. The one that eventually stopped was also crammed, but the upside was the much-needed comic relief of a little girl (3 or 4 years old) who was flirting with the faretaker the whole way home. All-in-all, it took me an extra two hours to get home. My colleague who'd also returned from Liberdade with me but went to a different bus stop downtown eventually walked home.
It made me think about demonstrations. Obviously rush hour is the best time to get everybody's attention, but it's not necessarily going to be positive attention when you purposely impede people's journeys home. I'm still torn on that one.
Friday was much worse in terms of behavior at Liberdade. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with being one teacher short (it was the day when they took turns going to the bank downtown to cash their paychecks). In the morning, the kids pushed me to the point of tears (which is one of the few things that seems to get their attention). Friday afternoon was even more stressful (the afternoon kids are always more agitated for some reason).
They were supposed to watch a movie in one big group, but we had to separate out some of the rowdier kids, who I took down to the library. When snack time finally arrived at the end of the afternoon, there was a small dispute between one of the girl bullies and a skinny, effeminate boy who had earlier been cursing the other teacher who'd expelled him from the movie. [Normally, he brings flowers for the teachers everyday from his grandmother's garden.] The boy got up to look for his baseball cap when somebody took it and the girl was told by the other teacher to move and sit at that table. She sat in his seat, and when he came back, he asked/told her to move. Now I'd already learned from previous experience that this girl is one of the most stubborn in the bunch, so I and the other teacher were talking and pleading with her to move, and to my surprise, she eventually did, but threatening to beat the boy up after they left the project. And sure enough, when everybody left the project (late because of all the behavior issues), she got him outside the gate and was squeezing his arm so hard with both hands that I thought it might break. I was also well-aware that this girl bully is the same one whose family always comes to her defense and tries to fight everybody. I was trying to leave and catch my bus, and the other teacher and I were pleading with her to let him go, but she just continued to squeeze harder. I tried to reason with her and find out why she was so angry at him, and she said because he was gay (I responded, "That has nothing to do with you"), he'd taken her seat (which was really his seat to begin with and she knew it) and he'd made fun of her earlier on the street (bingo). Eventually, when it became clear she was not going to let him go, the other teacher went to call the boy's family to come escort him home, and I pried her hands loose, all the while imagining her entire family storming the project to burn me at the stake. [Note: I was surprised and disappointed to see that as much as I pray, I still forget to pray WHILE I'm in precarious situations.] It made me so sad to see how violent that girl is and to know that she has learned it at home.
I finally got to the bus stop, completely depressed and exhausted, only to hear from a passing friend that a young man I know in the neighborhood is not only drinking excessively (which I'd seen the previous day) but also using cocaine. He's had a hard life--both of his parents are dead, I'm not sure he finished high school and he's never taken to holding a job.
On Saturday, I was able to recuperate and spend a lovely day in the countryside at a luncheon for my former roommate's birthday. Sunday morning, I went to Sunday school, where the most exciting event was when the man who came to spray against dengue fainted in the driveway because he hadn't eaten breakfast. When I was returning to the metro station, I passed a man leaning in a doorway who said, "Passing right now is the daughter-in-law my mother asked for." Pretty catchy, but the beer in his hand before lunch killed any remote possibility there. :)
The rest of Sunday was spent grocery shopping, cleaning and reading. And so we arrive at Monday.
The apartment
In terms of furnishings, my current apartment is the simplest that I've ever lived in, although it's pretty large for one person. I have:
MAIN BEDROOM
a twin mattress, a borrowed bed frame, a pillow and borrowed linens
a small, plastic chest of drawers that serves as my nightstand
a tiny, weak reading lamp
an armoire built into the wall that came with the apartment
kitchen curtains left by the previous owner closed in the top of the window (they are too short to hang from the ceiling)
SECOND BEDROOM
one chair that unfolds to become a narrow foam mattress
a plastic stool
my little MP3 player and travel speakers
KITCHEN
a small refrigerator (shorter than me), stove and propane tank that I bought
a plastic table, table cloth and two chairs (all borrowed)
4 plants that the previous owner left (in various rooms)
LIVINGROOM
my empty suitcases lined up
And I'm here to tell you that it's not about the stuff. I'm perfectly happy now that I don't have to get up from my mattress on the floor anymore. I'm waiting until I can earn some more money to buy pots/pans, a blender, curtains, and maybe, eventually, a sofa. I don't normally cook too much in the summer, so I've just been making sandwiches.
General observations
Brazil's relationship to the rest of South America is a lot like the United States' relationship to the rest of North America in terms of size (both are geographically dominant on their respective continents), economy (strongest on their respective continents) and culture (both countries are barely influenced by their geographic neighbors). I had somewhat expected to find here the solidarity and cultural cross-pollination that I'd seen among various Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, but like the U.S., Brazil is more a big island, with few of its inhabitants actually living close to other countries. I don't hear hardly any music from neighboring countries, for example. I'm sure the fact that Brazil speaks Portuguese rather than Spanish also contributes significantly.
After living in Brazil for one year, I can better understand my German friend's frustration at the lower quality of almost every product and service in the U.S. compared to Germany. Most products (and definitely the customer service) are of lower quality in Brazil than in the U.S. A million examples come to mind: scissors, tape, push pins, safety pins, plastic disposable cups, pots and pans, knives, paper towels, napkins, cars, etc. But just like in the U.S., that does not mean that you can't find higher quality goods if you spend enough time and money. Basically "luxury" quality here usually compares to "everyday" quality in the U.S. Because the average standard of living is much lower here, there is less of a market not only for luxury quality items but also for items that are generally considered luxuries by the lower classes (books, authentic CDs and DVDs, computers, napkins, tissues).
Time to go catch a bus...
Tuesday at São Gabriel, we celebrated International Women's Day early, and all of the women received a chocolate bonbon and a rose. On Tuesday night, a borrowed bedframe was delivered to my apartment and assembled by the handyman. No more mattress on the floor!
Thursday morning, I almost got run over by a horse and cart that were turning from a side street when I was walking from the bus stop to the community center in Liberdade. How many of you can boast that?
The kids at Liberdade were agitated and fighting on Thursday before they even entered the project, but I was able to have good knitting classes in the morning and afternoon. Thankfully, the weather was good so we could sit outside in the garden; otherwise, we would not have had a separate space. We broke them up into small groups, so I only had 5 or 6 kids at a time. Much more manageable.
Thursday night when I was returning from Liberdade and walking to my bus stop downtown, I was noticing how many women had received little gifts in honor of Women's Day and thinking about noting on the blog how Brazilians seem to be more observant of designated days like Women's Day, Earth Day, etc. UNTIL I ran into the traffic jam...
At my bus stop, I noticed that the traffic was backing up and not moving at all, so after waiting a while, I figured I'd be better off walking to the next bus stop further up so I'd have a better chance of getting a seat and would be able to wait out the traffic jam sitting inside the bus rather than standing at the bus stop. After a little while at that bus stop, the traffic was backing up there, too, and not moving at all. So I waited a while longer and finally walked to the next bus stop, continuing to head in a direction further away from downtown and also from my neighborhood. There, I encountered a number of military police, so I asked one of them if he knew what was going on. He told me there were two different demonstrations, one for Women's Day, and the other for homeless people, and that the women were just about to march down the street where we were. I waited a little while at that bus stop, watched the women march down and then walked up to a higher one, where I waited another 45 minutes or more. One of my buses passed by during that time without stopping because it was cram-packed full of passengers. The one that eventually stopped was also crammed, but the upside was the much-needed comic relief of a little girl (3 or 4 years old) who was flirting with the faretaker the whole way home. All-in-all, it took me an extra two hours to get home. My colleague who'd also returned from Liberdade with me but went to a different bus stop downtown eventually walked home.
It made me think about demonstrations. Obviously rush hour is the best time to get everybody's attention, but it's not necessarily going to be positive attention when you purposely impede people's journeys home. I'm still torn on that one.
Friday was much worse in terms of behavior at Liberdade. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with being one teacher short (it was the day when they took turns going to the bank downtown to cash their paychecks). In the morning, the kids pushed me to the point of tears (which is one of the few things that seems to get their attention). Friday afternoon was even more stressful (the afternoon kids are always more agitated for some reason).
They were supposed to watch a movie in one big group, but we had to separate out some of the rowdier kids, who I took down to the library. When snack time finally arrived at the end of the afternoon, there was a small dispute between one of the girl bullies and a skinny, effeminate boy who had earlier been cursing the other teacher who'd expelled him from the movie. [Normally, he brings flowers for the teachers everyday from his grandmother's garden.] The boy got up to look for his baseball cap when somebody took it and the girl was told by the other teacher to move and sit at that table. She sat in his seat, and when he came back, he asked/told her to move. Now I'd already learned from previous experience that this girl is one of the most stubborn in the bunch, so I and the other teacher were talking and pleading with her to move, and to my surprise, she eventually did, but threatening to beat the boy up after they left the project. And sure enough, when everybody left the project (late because of all the behavior issues), she got him outside the gate and was squeezing his arm so hard with both hands that I thought it might break. I was also well-aware that this girl bully is the same one whose family always comes to her defense and tries to fight everybody. I was trying to leave and catch my bus, and the other teacher and I were pleading with her to let him go, but she just continued to squeeze harder. I tried to reason with her and find out why she was so angry at him, and she said because he was gay (I responded, "That has nothing to do with you"), he'd taken her seat (which was really his seat to begin with and she knew it) and he'd made fun of her earlier on the street (bingo). Eventually, when it became clear she was not going to let him go, the other teacher went to call the boy's family to come escort him home, and I pried her hands loose, all the while imagining her entire family storming the project to burn me at the stake. [Note: I was surprised and disappointed to see that as much as I pray, I still forget to pray WHILE I'm in precarious situations.] It made me so sad to see how violent that girl is and to know that she has learned it at home.
I finally got to the bus stop, completely depressed and exhausted, only to hear from a passing friend that a young man I know in the neighborhood is not only drinking excessively (which I'd seen the previous day) but also using cocaine. He's had a hard life--both of his parents are dead, I'm not sure he finished high school and he's never taken to holding a job.
On Saturday, I was able to recuperate and spend a lovely day in the countryside at a luncheon for my former roommate's birthday. Sunday morning, I went to Sunday school, where the most exciting event was when the man who came to spray against dengue fainted in the driveway because he hadn't eaten breakfast. When I was returning to the metro station, I passed a man leaning in a doorway who said, "Passing right now is the daughter-in-law my mother asked for." Pretty catchy, but the beer in his hand before lunch killed any remote possibility there. :)
The rest of Sunday was spent grocery shopping, cleaning and reading. And so we arrive at Monday.
The apartment
In terms of furnishings, my current apartment is the simplest that I've ever lived in, although it's pretty large for one person. I have:
MAIN BEDROOM
a twin mattress, a borrowed bed frame, a pillow and borrowed linens
a small, plastic chest of drawers that serves as my nightstand
a tiny, weak reading lamp
an armoire built into the wall that came with the apartment
kitchen curtains left by the previous owner closed in the top of the window (they are too short to hang from the ceiling)
SECOND BEDROOM
one chair that unfolds to become a narrow foam mattress
a plastic stool
my little MP3 player and travel speakers
KITCHEN
a small refrigerator (shorter than me), stove and propane tank that I bought
a plastic table, table cloth and two chairs (all borrowed)
4 plants that the previous owner left (in various rooms)
LIVINGROOM
my empty suitcases lined up
And I'm here to tell you that it's not about the stuff. I'm perfectly happy now that I don't have to get up from my mattress on the floor anymore. I'm waiting until I can earn some more money to buy pots/pans, a blender, curtains, and maybe, eventually, a sofa. I don't normally cook too much in the summer, so I've just been making sandwiches.
General observations
Brazil's relationship to the rest of South America is a lot like the United States' relationship to the rest of North America in terms of size (both are geographically dominant on their respective continents), economy (strongest on their respective continents) and culture (both countries are barely influenced by their geographic neighbors). I had somewhat expected to find here the solidarity and cultural cross-pollination that I'd seen among various Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, but like the U.S., Brazil is more a big island, with few of its inhabitants actually living close to other countries. I don't hear hardly any music from neighboring countries, for example. I'm sure the fact that Brazil speaks Portuguese rather than Spanish also contributes significantly.
After living in Brazil for one year, I can better understand my German friend's frustration at the lower quality of almost every product and service in the U.S. compared to Germany. Most products (and definitely the customer service) are of lower quality in Brazil than in the U.S. A million examples come to mind: scissors, tape, push pins, safety pins, plastic disposable cups, pots and pans, knives, paper towels, napkins, cars, etc. But just like in the U.S., that does not mean that you can't find higher quality goods if you spend enough time and money. Basically "luxury" quality here usually compares to "everyday" quality in the U.S. Because the average standard of living is much lower here, there is less of a market not only for luxury quality items but also for items that are generally considered luxuries by the lower classes (books, authentic CDs and DVDs, computers, napkins, tissues).
Time to go catch a bus...
posted by Christine Piggee at
3:36 PM
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