BRAZIL!

BRAZIL

DAY 1

Okay, so after 6 straight days of class the MV Explorer finally docks at Salvador, Brazil. A brief history of Salvador: It is located in the Northeast part of Brazil in the region known as Bahia. Bahia is home to many Afro-Brazilians who take pride in their African roots. Their ancestors were brought to Brazil by the Portugese from Africa.

Alright, so once we get into port, pass our health inspections, go through immigration, and complete our briefing by the US Embassy representative we are let loose on the city. It was just in time too, because some of us were starting to get a bad case of cabin fever from being stuck on the ship for the last week. None of us had anything to do until later in the afternoon so about 5 of us decided to check out the Mercado Modelo, a huge folk art market located across the street from the elevator in the lower city. The elevator can take you up to the upper city more safely than it would be to walk. Going through the Mercado was crazy. Many of us had never been hounded and preyed upon by sellers so aggressively. You learn quickly to walk away, shake your head, avoid eye contact and repeat the phrase, “Nao, obrigata,” meaning No Thank You. There were soooo much stuff to buy in that market. It was hard to walk away from some things. I took a quick course in Bartering 101 which I plan to use for the rest of my stay here and hopefully, I’ll be even better at it during the rest of the countries I’ll visit.

During the afternoon I went on the City Orientation which was interesting because it focused on Architecture and Urban Development. I was finally able to use the stuff I had been learning in my architecture class, so that was cool. Salvador is a great city. It is full of history, culture, beaches, you name it.

With that said, however, Salvador is a city. There is still crime and dangerous areas that should be avoided. We went out tonight into the upper city, did some window shopping and saw the big festival that takes place every Tuesday night. It was great, we had a blast. We decided to walk by ourselves (there were about 5 of us girls) back to the port. We realize, now we should have taken a taxi since it was after 10pm. We got home safely, fortunately, but we found out that earlier during the day time two other girls weren’t so lucky. They were almost kidnapped and have the bruises to prove it. They managed to fight the men off, but still lost their cameras in the process. It was pretty scary to hear about it, but very important that we did. From now on we are being much more careful. Granted, they were in a shady part of town, but it probably could have happened anywhere. There have been some other incidents with stolen bags or cameras, but this has been the worst I’ve heard. Don’t worry though, even though we have been cautious the whole time, we are being even safer now.

I love Brazil. It is soccer. It is music. It is dancing. It is wonderful! And surprisingly, at a time when one of America’s greatest cities (New Orleans) is trying to find itself again, Salvador reminds me of New Orleans more and more. The mixing of ethnicities and the history that still permeates through every cobblestone street is reminiscent of the French Quarters. And although Brazil is facing many difficult issues throughout I have already found ways America can learn from the Brazilian people.

DAY 2

Today I awoke rather early to go to Calabar. Calabar is a favela (barrio, shanty town). However, the term favela is often received negatively. Calabar is a community where people from rural areas have found refuge in the city. The residents construct their own houses out of cheap materials. They steal electricity and their water supply is not in the best condition. However, while Calabar may sound like a difficult place to live for us Americans this community means a great deal to everyone who lives there. Calabar used to be in much worse conditions than it is today. We say today that they have their own stores, police station, and primary school. They still have a large problem with AIDS and teen pregnancy, but they are still at a better state than they used to be. We took a short tour around the town before spending the majority of our time at the school. Many of the kids showed us the Brazilian dance/martial art knows as capoeira. We then went outside into the courtyard where we were allowed to paint on their walls with the kids. We left messages showing our appreciation for letting us into their community. The kids were wonderful, adorable, and heartbreaking because unfortunately the majority of them, once they are finished with primary school will eventually become street kids. It is so sad to feel so helpless. Two percent will go to college. The main reason for this is the education they receive at the primary school is radically different than the education they will get outside Calabar for their secondary schooling. In the primary school, the education is focused on learning about Africa, the country where most of their traditions come from. In the secondary school, the children do not get to learn about their roots, and the teaching style is so different the kids often get discouraged and drop out.

During the afternoon, I went out into the upper city again and did a little shopping before calling it a night. Right now I am exhausted. I need sleep desperately, and hope to get enough to be refueled for my visit to the Cortejo Afro tomorrow. Read on to find out what that’s about…

DAY 3

So, just in case you were wondering, Cortejo Afro is a group that participates in Carnivale, a celebration sort of like Mardi Gras. It’s actually a group consisting of mainly young kids drumming. Then there are dancers as well. It was so awesome to hear the drums. The rhythms were infectious. These kids were extremely talented. Some of us tried to drum, although we weren’t nearly as good. It is very clear that they have practiced a lot to become as good as they are. The dancers were also pretty amazing. It was ridiculous just how in shape they were. They used their entire bodies and were able to dance for such a long time. I can’t even describe it. I’ll show y’all the videos and pictures when I get back.

Then, tonight I went to Bahia By Night. It was another drumming performance much like the one by Cortejo Afro, but complete with costumes and the orixas (Candomble deities). There was also some insane capoeira dancing as well. After the performance we went to a restaurant called Villa’s. If you like meat, you’ll love this place! They just keep bringing you meat after meat, then some more meat. They will only stop if you turn the little circle on the table to red. If it is green, they will continue to offer you more. It was pretty ridiculous and very good!

Alright, well, I’m coming down with a cold, so I’m going to end this day summary here. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll feel better.

DAY 4

Ok, well, it’s tomorrow and no, I don’t feel better at all. I’m going to try and not let this cold ruin my last two days of Brazil.

This afternoon I went with a group to an Afro-Brazilian museum and to a Candomble house. We learned all about the various deities and just about the Candomble religion in general. I got through it, although I did feel like I was going to pass out at one point. I’m okay now though, not over the cold but over the whole light headedness thing. Sorry I’m not going into a lot of detail, but it’s extremely hard to put all these things I’m experiencing into words. Hopefully, when you all see the videos and pictures it will suffice.

Tomorrow’s our last day, aka shopping day! I get to use up what little reals (Brazilian currency) I have left buying souvenirs and gifts. Right now, my room smells like sulfur because they are emptying the sewage tanks or something. This cold is actually good for something though. My sense of smell isn’t all there right now, so I’m extremely glad about that. See, there’s always a positive to be found. I’m going to go watch a movie now and then pass out!

DAY 5

So, today? Yeah, feeling a little better. I got more sleep last night so that’s good. We started off our day by taking a taxi to Barra Shopping Mall. After walking around the mall for a bit we took in a movie entitled 2 Filhos do Francisco. Even though I understood practically none of the Portugese spoken in the film I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It was mainly about these 2 brothers who played the accordion and guitar when they were young and became a pretty popular act. Okay, so maybe from that description it doesn’t sound very enjoyable at all, but I’m trying not to give anything away just in case any of you have a chance to actually see it. Think Selena, only with two brothers? I don’t know. All I know is that I liked it.

After the movie we went to a grocery store nearby before taking a taxi to the Pelourihno, located in the upper city. We were pretty hungry so we found a pizza restaurant called Carpaccio and Pizza. It was great. It looked right over the square down on a huge group of Brazilian drummers and dancers. The waitor was really nice and the pizza was absolutely delicious. Note: If ever in Salvador, Brazil go to Carpaccio!

We continued our day with a little more souvenir shopping around the upper city and then later down in the Mercado before heading back to the ship and saying Ciao and Obrigato to Brazil.

And now we are sailing away from the port with Archbishop Desmond Tutu somewhere on board. Maybe I’ll see him tomorrow. Next stop beautiful (I’m assuming) Cape Town, South Africa!

Lauren

PS-Nora, thanks soooo much for the postcard! I loved it! I didn't get the one in Venezuela though.