First off, how awesome is it that I attend a university as great as the University of Oklahoma that values education abroad as much as I love going abroad? It's seriously pretty great. One of our assignments for this trip was to keep a journal. My physical journal suffered some water damage (you'll hear all about it later on in the blog so bear with me...) so I'm going to try to recap my week, day by day, because we did so much. I will attempt to include pictures as I go, but I'm using airplane wifi so it may not function properly. On that note, for those of you who want to see more pictures, just check Facebook or follow me on Instagram (@doscleggis) to check them out.
Per typical Clegg-style, I had a blast and I was able to meet a lot of people. Brazil certainly was not Colombia or Ecuador, Portuguese is not as close to Spanish as they say, and even the men have butt implants. Yes, you heard me right. Butt implants. But let's move along to the actual trip.
I was lucky enough to be given the chance to take a course called Political Ecology with Dr. Theriault over spring break this year. I know, you're all thinking why in the world did you choose to take MORE SCHOOL over SPRING BREAK!? Well, how many times in your life are you given the chance to go to Brazil for something like this? The good news is that my visa for Brazil is legitimate for the next ten years. I also was able to travel with my best friend, Emily Kitchens, to complete the course so it was inevitable that I signed up for this.
We left OKC Saturday evening and landed in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning, around 10 AM. I got to sit by Brooke and Britney, so that was nice. However, there was a screeching toddler on our flight that screeched until about 3 AM. I'm not exaggerating. I should also mention that the same family/toddler is on my return flight and she is still screeching. We will see how it goes, I suppose.
Saturday
So we landed Saturday and it was great. Upon landing, we went through customs (probably the most relaxed customs experience I have ever had) and met up with our coordinators. It was incredible but it also started to pour rain on our way in--with that being said, the drainage systems in Rio de Janeiro are not very good, which causes a number of issues for both the drivers and for anyone walking in the streets. We arrived in Leblon (the Hamptons of Rio) at our hostel and had a quick tour of the area. Our coordinator, Caren, is incredible and introduced us to Acaí bowls (of which I consumed 2-3 a day afterwards...) then walked us to Ipanema which was only five blocks from our hostel. Later, we met up with Erika, the family-in-residence in Rio. We bussed over to the Botanical Gardens (which are incredible) and saw one of the only Brasilia trees left in the country. We followed that with dinner at Fogo de Chao--Brazilian style beef, all you can eat. Aka, I was in heaven. It began to rain that night as well and the streets were so flooded that our van was one of the only vehicles that could make it through without stalling out. You could see floating trash down the streets, water coming out of the manholes (aka, raw sewage), and the sanitation issue in Rio immediately became evident. We also had passed favelas earlier in the day that were surrounded by massive plastic barriers; the government claimed they were put in place to block the noise from the traffic for the residents, when in reality, they were built to try and hide the favelas from public view and protect traffic on the highways from what could literally be considered a "highway robbery" with some favela residents robbing people in traffic. Nonetheless, we waded home and showered immediately so that we could head to bed to look forward to Monday.
Sunday
Sunday was incredible. I'm not usually one to talk about going abroad and serving for only ONE day to a community, but it was great. We headed to Favela Organica to meet Regina. She is one incredible lady making a massive difference in Babilonia, her favela. She works to transplant different crops that are already in the community to other gardens, after the gardens have been cleaned out of trash and then revamped. By doing this, she hopes to create self-sustainability among the favela. She was actually offered the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch but said no because she feels that the Olympic Committee is not paying enough attention to the damage that they have caused in Brazil. After sweating (I mean that I have never sweated like that in my life) a TON and working in the gardens to clear out trash, de-weed the area, and plant new crops, Regina cooked lunch for us, we had all-natural popsicles, and then went to the Hippie Fair; afterwards, Kitch and I hit Ipanema for the last two hours of sunlight. There had been political protests ALL morning on Sunday against the government, with what the news outlets reported as having millions of people present and marching along the beach. Many of these protests were concerning the amount of corruption in the current government of Brazil and were asking for impeachment of the sitting President of Brazil.
Monday
Monday was another day full of craziness. I think it was a mix of eye-opening and wild. We visited UÇA, a local organization that is working to clean up and re-introduce species to Guanabara Bay. Guanabara is one of the dirtiest things in Brazil--it is also the site of a number of the Olympic competitions scheduled for the summer Olympics. It is incredibly polluted, but this organization has cleaned up a major portion of it and re-introduced mangroves to the area. We loaded up into a boat and toured some of the bay, a portion of the mangroves, and so forth. It's pretty incredible that an organization like this one has had such an impact--although it remains very small and there is still work to be done, I would hope that some of the good that is being done will be shared soon rather than solely the negative news of Guanabara. We headed back to the hostel after that, where Kitch and I headed back out to the beach for a while and then prepared for "Pedra do Sal", a Samba street fair in Rio. I don't think any of us were prepared for what was ahead of us. ANY kind of person you would expect to see at something like this, was there. The sketchy ones, the tourists, the backpackers, and then there was us. Like a wolfpack of gringas. I slowly realized that the attitude towards gringas was even stronger for men in Brazil than it was when I was in Ecuador or Colombia. They are touchy, they make situations awkward and uncomfortable, and you have to completely remove yourself from the area in order to eliminate the discomfort. Later in the night, which I think was one of the highlights of the trip, we met a huge group of guys from Argentina who were a BLAST. I have to admit that I was partial because I could finally speak to someone in a language that both groups of people could understand. What began as a night of complete and total discomfort turned into one of my favorite stories of the trip. So shout out to all my new friends from Argentina, y'all are great!
Tuesday
Tuesday was an early day and we headed out to Ilha Grande. There are no cars allowed on the island, so we had to take a ferry from Angra to see it. We checked in once we arrived, headed to lunch/dinner, wandered around a little bit, and then I had an Acaí bowl for dinner--post nap. When I got back to the hostel, I was buying water and met another guy from Argentina. I went upstairs to shower then went back downstairs to chat for a little bit. We talked about my major for college and I told him about my interest in the security issues that much of Latin America continues to face--corruption, drug trafficking, scandal. You name it. Nico pretty much entertained me for two hours at the hostel along with his friend, Jefferson, who was the waiter/bartender that rain the little restaurant, since we were on a deserted island where I knew no one and all of my friends were passed out from exhaustion of the day. I learned a little bit more about the island, since he lives there, and then went to bed.
Wednesday
Talk about a busy day. We woke up early and began our hike to one of the cleanest, prettiest, and most deserted beaches that I have ever experienced. It was tough, I feel like I sweated out about 800 lbs and I'm still sore. Ilha Grande began as a penal colony, similar to that of Alcatraz. Our guide, Carlos, spoke to the fact that the island was used for criminals at first--killers, rapists, etc, then was later used for those who were political activists opposing the government. Whenever the activists were sent to the island, they taught the criminals how to organize, and now, Rio has an issue with gangs and drug trafficking. Carlos correlates that issue with the fact that the penal colony was later turned into a tourist attraction and those who were held on Ilha Grande returned to Rio. We had sun for about ten minutes while we were on the beach, followed by a massive thunderstorm. Have you ever been stranded on a deserted beach (literally, no inhabitants...) during a thunderstorm? It's hard. Nonetheless, it was warmer in the water than on land during the storm so once the rain lightened up, we were able to snorkel and see a ton of fish, a sea turtle, and so forth. We began our hike back to the boat, road the boat in rain, and then had another massive downpour hit us when we arrived at our original beach. I don't think I have ever been so happy to see a hot shower in my life. We went to dinner as a group, where the entire staff at the restaurant was drunk, had an interesting experience there, and then I went back to the hostel. Everyone went to bed, but I stayed up to chat with Nico some more. I decided that I wanted to see more of the local-lifestyle, so I went out and we hungout with a ton of locals in the streets (it was a Wednesday, on a deserted island, so this was normal...) for a bit. I learned more about Argentina, the island, and really just enjoyed good company. Once again, I have another reason to visit Argentina!
Thursday
Thursday we left to return to Rio. I met a couple of Germans and one French guy who were all traveling together on our boat ride back to the mainland in Angra. I love traveling because I love people. The highlights of my trips are the people I meet along the way. They all have different opinions about Americans, the United States, and so forth. We arrived in Angra, had Acaí again, and loaded the bus for home. Upon arrival back at the hostel, we prepared to go visit another NGO in Rocinha--the largest favela in all of South America. Tio Lino's is an NGO that gives children a place to go before or after school so that they can stay out of trouble; kids in Rocinha only attend school for four hours a day, either in the afternoon or in the morning. So they have a lot of extra time on their hands to get into trouble while their parents are at work. Can you imagine now, how so many children get drawn into gangs and drug trafficking and so forth at such a young age in communities such as this? Tio Lino's was a blast though; I took my Polaroid with me and snapped a few with the kids, played duck, duck, goose, and drew pictures for a bit. We returned to Leblon, headed out to dinner, and then out to celebrate St. Patty's Day! It's safe to say that Brazil is a blast and there are so many people from other countries touring the place that it's a melting pot for culture. I also met a man with a t-shirt that said "I drink for diabetes". I think it's one of those situations that you don't really understand, but it's a shirt in English and it makes no sense. It was still funny, nonetheless.
Friday
I lied. Friday was fun too. We visited another favela. Vila Autodromo was an incredible community that was torn down because it was considered an "eyesore" for the Olympics. In other words, the Olympic stadiums are in the backyard of this favela so the government bulldozed the community. There were three remaining homes when we arrived on Friday and two of the three properties were scheduled for demolition. We spoke with a woman who's home had been bulldozed while she was still living there--she had her nose broken by the police but she was helping another man, Francisco, move out. While she was speaking, Francisco began hugging her and speaking to the empowerment of the community that was once Vila Autodromo. I don't think I have ever cried in a situation like that before, but I definitely was touched. Along the way, I met a little boy named Tomas who hung around me all day. His family was the other family that was relocating to a new area, as their house was scheduled to be demolished. At six years of age and with Rogeiro translating for me, Tomas tried to explain (keep in mind, he is six years old experiencing this...) the impact of the Olympics, how the police in the area were, and even spoke to the horribleness of those who were demolishing his home. Despite all of that, he was as happy as ever--he just wanted a playmate, to wear my sunglasses, and to take more polaroids. He ate brunch with us, hugged me a billion times, and then left to go with his family to their new place. I only cried more. But it was eye-opening to see the impact of the Olympics on the local communities. Later, we headed to Sugar Loaf which was beautiful, then to visit my friend and the Consul General of the US in Rio, Jimmy Story. Jimmy was as incredible as ever and shared his experiences with my classmates and I about his career with the Department of State. Later, Caren and Erika took us to dinner for a typical Brazilian meal, then typical Brazilian dessert.
SATURDAY
Our final day and what marked our one full week in Rio! Naturally, we went to the Christ statue, enjoyed the steps at Selaron, and visited the Museum of Amanha. Today has been a sort of blur for me personally and it is almost one in the morning on my flight back into Houston. At least, 1 AM on Rio time. The screaming child has stopped for the time being, but I think that's because a passenger said something to the child's mom. I guess that's good news. Today was a blast, but I'm definitely sad leaving Rio. I can't help but be attached to little Tomas, who I think had the largest impact on me and my time in Brazil.
Nonetheless, I learned a lot from this trip. I readjusted to a culture where I did NOT speak the language, I ate a ton of fruit, I made new friends, met some incredible people, realized the horrors of a city that is split politically and does not have access to proper sanitation, and spent time in favelas where the sense of community includes each and every member of the favela. Ecologically, Brazil is covered in forests, oceans, bays, and even deserted islands, but politically, it is a mess that will take a number of years to fix. Although the Olympics are incredible and will bring money to the city of Rio and the country of Brazil, I ask you all to think about those who have been negatively affected by the changes happening in the country due to the decisions of the Olympic Committee and city officials. I'm happy to have marked another country off of my Latin America list but I'm even more thankful for the experiences I now have under my belt. Tourism is interesting, but service learning is the best thing I have experienced. So I leave you all with a solid quote to sum up my trip and consider a trip to Brazil. For now, onto Washington, D.C.!
Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.
-Gustave Flaubert
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