Back to your regularly scheduled program
I’m writing this from home and not feeling too well, so we’ll see if it gets posted on Monday or Tuesday.
Both of my supervisors were finally back from their trip to the U.S. last week. It’s amazing how many individual lives they touch. As always after a prolonged absence, there were many people waiting to seek their help in resolving problems.
One of the cool things that I don’t think I’ll find anywhere else is such a beautiful work environment. Both of the projects where I work have lovely gardens, and I really enjoy sitting outside to appreciate them.
There are a couple of bus routes that I’ve been tempted to take just because of their names—“Blue Heaven” and “Happiness.” Who would guess that you could get to happiness for under US$1.50? :)
A couple of general observations...it’s interesting how we collectively decide as a society which animals/insects are scary and which aren’t. Clearly one guideline is something that can harm you should be considered scary. But why, for example, are we delighted by butterflies but disgusted by cockroaches? There are several things that, although I know they can’t hurt me, I do not like (e.g., the little lizards that are omnipresent at both projects). The other thing I was thinking about recently was how many cultures use the name of some type of female animal to insult women, but to insult men, you say something bad about their mothers.
On trash collection days, you always see people with varying levels of resources collecting recyclables to sell. For example, the most basic level is people who put things in plastic grocery store bags, then there are those that drag a huge bag behind them, and finally you work your way up to having a cart that you pull. Downtown there is a huge cooperative for buying recyclables, and there are smaller places in the neighborhoods that buy them as well.
And the official trash collectors are very interesting to watch. Trash collecting here is like a sport. The collectors spend most of their time running behind or in front of the garbage truck. They also enjoy playing around and yelling back and forth, so it’s quite entertaining to watch.
Burning season is upon us once again, when there always seems to be something, somewhere burning, whether by accident or on purpose. When it hasn’t rained in weeks, it’s very easy for cigarettes thrown out the window to start fires that are usually allowed to burn out. Because it hasn’t rained in so long (and also probably because of the smoke) there is a noticeable haze hanging over the city.
Brazilians are very provincial, and there is a lot of competition between the various states. There are a few commonly held stereotypes for people from different states. For example, the people from my state (Minas Gerais) are known for being more quiet, kind of country bumpkinish (particularly the ones from rural areas), not quick to make decisions and very family oriented.
I have previously mentioned some of the things that women do here in the name of beauty, but for the first time, I saw a woman dressed up to go out wearing shoes that were at least two sizes too small, and her feet were hanging off the back. Another first was seeing a shirt from my alma mater, Texas A&M University.
One interesting thing I pass on my neighborhood bus route is the residence of someone I have dubbed “the medal man.” The medal man has a room on the first floor where the window is almost always open with the light almost always on. He has an entire wall covered with medals and pictures of him participating in various athletic events. I have occasionally seen him in that room, admiring his medals and photos, perhaps reliving his glory days.
May is family month, and family has been the theme at both of the projects. On Saturday, it was Family Day at Liberdade, where the parents were invited to participate in the project to get a taste of what their kids experience. It was specifically stated that the kids were not to come because they didn’t want the adults to be distracted. The event was supposed to start at 2:00, but people were showing up as late as 3:00. Each child was invited to send up to two adult family members. There were mostly mothers, but also one step-father, one grandmother, a few older sisters and an aunt. There were three workshops—in art, literature, and mine was English. The participants were divided into three groups, and after 35 minutes, the groups rotated so everybody got to participate in all three workshops. Then all of the groups convened for a “recreation” workshop where groups of 4 had to throw a ball over a net using a sheet and the other group had to catch it in their sheet. Finally, they went to the cafeteria to have snack just like the kids do at the end of their time at the project. It was a fun afternoon, and I think the parents really enjoyed it, but by 5:00 I was exhausted.
At the end of the afternoon, I noticed that I had a headache and felt strange, which continued on and off through today. We’ll see if staying home clears it up or not. I definitely think twice about venturing out and taking the bus or metro when I’m not feeling well...if I get worse and need to go home, I have to walk, wait for the bus/metro and walk some more to get home.
Both of my supervisors were finally back from their trip to the U.S. last week. It’s amazing how many individual lives they touch. As always after a prolonged absence, there were many people waiting to seek their help in resolving problems.
One of the cool things that I don’t think I’ll find anywhere else is such a beautiful work environment. Both of the projects where I work have lovely gardens, and I really enjoy sitting outside to appreciate them.
There are a couple of bus routes that I’ve been tempted to take just because of their names—“Blue Heaven” and “Happiness.” Who would guess that you could get to happiness for under US$1.50? :)
A couple of general observations...it’s interesting how we collectively decide as a society which animals/insects are scary and which aren’t. Clearly one guideline is something that can harm you should be considered scary. But why, for example, are we delighted by butterflies but disgusted by cockroaches? There are several things that, although I know they can’t hurt me, I do not like (e.g., the little lizards that are omnipresent at both projects). The other thing I was thinking about recently was how many cultures use the name of some type of female animal to insult women, but to insult men, you say something bad about their mothers.
On trash collection days, you always see people with varying levels of resources collecting recyclables to sell. For example, the most basic level is people who put things in plastic grocery store bags, then there are those that drag a huge bag behind them, and finally you work your way up to having a cart that you pull. Downtown there is a huge cooperative for buying recyclables, and there are smaller places in the neighborhoods that buy them as well.
And the official trash collectors are very interesting to watch. Trash collecting here is like a sport. The collectors spend most of their time running behind or in front of the garbage truck. They also enjoy playing around and yelling back and forth, so it’s quite entertaining to watch.
Burning season is upon us once again, when there always seems to be something, somewhere burning, whether by accident or on purpose. When it hasn’t rained in weeks, it’s very easy for cigarettes thrown out the window to start fires that are usually allowed to burn out. Because it hasn’t rained in so long (and also probably because of the smoke) there is a noticeable haze hanging over the city.
Brazilians are very provincial, and there is a lot of competition between the various states. There are a few commonly held stereotypes for people from different states. For example, the people from my state (Minas Gerais) are known for being more quiet, kind of country bumpkinish (particularly the ones from rural areas), not quick to make decisions and very family oriented.
I have previously mentioned some of the things that women do here in the name of beauty, but for the first time, I saw a woman dressed up to go out wearing shoes that were at least two sizes too small, and her feet were hanging off the back. Another first was seeing a shirt from my alma mater, Texas A&M University.
One interesting thing I pass on my neighborhood bus route is the residence of someone I have dubbed “the medal man.” The medal man has a room on the first floor where the window is almost always open with the light almost always on. He has an entire wall covered with medals and pictures of him participating in various athletic events. I have occasionally seen him in that room, admiring his medals and photos, perhaps reliving his glory days.
May is family month, and family has been the theme at both of the projects. On Saturday, it was Family Day at Liberdade, where the parents were invited to participate in the project to get a taste of what their kids experience. It was specifically stated that the kids were not to come because they didn’t want the adults to be distracted. The event was supposed to start at 2:00, but people were showing up as late as 3:00. Each child was invited to send up to two adult family members. There were mostly mothers, but also one step-father, one grandmother, a few older sisters and an aunt. There were three workshops—in art, literature, and mine was English. The participants were divided into three groups, and after 35 minutes, the groups rotated so everybody got to participate in all three workshops. Then all of the groups convened for a “recreation” workshop where groups of 4 had to throw a ball over a net using a sheet and the other group had to catch it in their sheet. Finally, they went to the cafeteria to have snack just like the kids do at the end of their time at the project. It was a fun afternoon, and I think the parents really enjoyed it, but by 5:00 I was exhausted.
At the end of the afternoon, I noticed that I had a headache and felt strange, which continued on and off through today. We’ll see if staying home clears it up or not. I definitely think twice about venturing out and taking the bus or metro when I’m not feeling well...if I get worse and need to go home, I have to walk, wait for the bus/metro and walk some more to get home.
posted by Christine Piggee at
10:46 AM
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