Final Week in Rio

I've just about finished up my time in Rio and all in all it has been amazing! Although my Portuguese isn't very strong I've managed to get by relatively easy throughout the city. Although most people in the Rocinha Favela don't speak much English, quiet a few people seem to when you get to the touristy center part of the city.

Last week was my final week of teaching and I think it went pretty good, with a few volunteers leaving; me and a few others had to take over a few more classes, but they all went well and the English teaching book that is used for the curriculum is solid. My shift from 3-8:30 goes by pretty quick as I do some English/ Math teaching early on and then help out with an after school club for a few hours and then around 7 I begin teaching the adults.

Something that I found interesting and didn't realize much until this past weekend was the general lack of math knowledge within the Favela especially with the older generation. When going to the grocery store I always wondered why there would be so many groceries just sitting in aisles and on the ground right before checking out. In the U.S. these areas are typically filled up with pop and candy right as we leave, however in Rocinha it consists of a wide arrangements of food, cleaning supplies, and just about anything you can think of. It wasn't until yesterday I realized from the volunteer coordinator that this happens so regularly because of the adults lack of education. Although education seems to be somewhat improving throughout the Favela the older generation has had hardly any formal education, so bad that some are illiterate in Portuguese, their own language. While it's difficult to think of someone being illiterate in English in the U.S. it does happen, it ultimately can depend on the environment growing up. Relating back to the grocery store topic a lot of locals at times will simply fill up their carts with foods and everything else they want or need and then without realizing or being able to read the cost of their goods will wait until everything is checked out and then figure out what they need and what they will just set back behind the scanners. This was a rather interesting scenario for me as I had not really seen anything like it before; however, as I've gone to the grocery store more in prime hours it is rather noticeable.

Another thing that I've noticed within my part of Rocinha is the large police presence. These aren't cops like you seen on the streets in America a lot of these cops are carrying full out assault rifles and are traveling in groups of typically four or more. Something interesting I've heard from locals is that quiet a few preferred the Favela before it became pacified by the police. The police pacifying within Brazil's Favela's has become something fairly new and recent as Brazil is on International Watch with the Olympics and the World Cup from last year. Either way it is very interesting hearing the differences between the Favela five years ago versus today.

As I've mentioned before my topic focused on income inequality and sustainability. The inequality part I've been able to see everyday as I travel throughout Rio. Only a few blocks away from Rocinha is the Sao Corvado Mall and by mall I mean it's a luxury mall. Most malls in America I've been to don't have Hublot and Rolex stores where watches cost over $2,000 USD and then there are multiple custom fit shops for shits and just about everything else. The mall's location is rather surprising as it is located right next to a Favela, but then again only a few bus stops away is Leblon one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Brazil.

The sustainability aspect of Rio has been rather poor so far, I haven't seen any sort of recycling system step up in the Favela's and there is quiet a lot of trash on the streets. I read that only about five years ago did Rio begin to initiate a fine for littering policy and I guess its only really enforced in Ipanema and Copacabana parts of Rio.

I'm sure I'll think of more things to blog about the next time I write. And in a few days I'll get to travel south to Curitiba I'm interested to see the similarities and differences of the two cities.

Tchau!

Santa Teresa

2nd week pictures in Rio

Second Week in Rio

Hello everyone everything has been going great within Rio. The children as well as the adults that I have been teaching has been great! Starting on Wednesday I will begin teaching a classroom of surfers with another volunteer. I've sat in on the class to get an understanding of where their English speaking is so that I will be able to expand their knowledge in English. As for working with the children it has been going good as well, they are all pretty young around 8-12, but they are really eager to learn whatever it is that we are teaching on a certain day. This week I along with a few other volunteers are taking a few of the students on a field trip to a park in the nearby neighborhood of Gavea. Finding the park was quiet the adventure as well because the taxi driver didn't even know where or what park we were talking about, but luckily we were able to find the park after exploring the neighborhood and Tuesday should be a fun day for the kids. 

My teaching schedule usually goes from about 3-8:30 leaving the morning and early afternoon for exploring the city of Rio as well as the Favela I am staying in. Exploring the Favela it is really interesting seeing the comparison of those living in what is considered the middle class versus the lower class. Just within the Favela you can tell the difference, where I'm staying the Favela is considered the middle class neighborhood their is underground sewage and plenty of restaurants and shops to explore. However, the higher up the hill you go in the Favela the more easy it is to see the large amount of poverty. Making my way up the hill, I can see above ground sewage everywhere. Walking around you here what appears to be a waterfall, but in reality all it really is, is the sewage flowing down stream in rat and disease infected waters. A lot of children and adults walk around these streets in no shoes and with very little clothing. However, the sense of community among these people is remarkable. Walking past people, nearly everyone is happy to say Boa Noite (Good Evening) when people pass by. Although a Favela is considered a slum, simply seeing the difference in the Rocinha Favela was quiet interesting especially since such a larger population of Rio lives in Favela's. Although Rocinha is the largest Favela in Rio, I am eager to see the living standards throughout the other Favela's in Rio that are home to over 1 million people within the city of Rio alone. Something also interesting to see is that only a few minutes from the Favela is the Rio district of Leblon, which is considered on the nicest places to live in Brazil, the homes and condo's are huge with sky-rising apartment buildings that look over the Rocinha Favela.  

Also, this past week I started playing Soccer daily within the Favela. The field is somewhat small so it is typically 7 Vs. 7 when we play, but it has been a lot of fun. This has been the first time I've played soccer in a few years so my first time back on the pitch was a little disturbing to say the least. However, soon enough I began to gain back my form. The kids playing soccer typically are students that have just graduated high school or are getting ready to graduate. A lot of them speak relatively good English and organization that runs everything helps provide the kids cleats as well as food and drinks when playing. I've been playing each morning Monday- Friday getting my cardio up as well as picking up some Portuguese words and slang. 

The past weekend was a good time as well. Saturday I went to see a match in Maracana where the Olympic opening ceremony will take place next year and it was home to the world cup final last year. This stadium is one of the world's most popular and largest, today it seats about 80,000; however, in 1950 when it was built for the 1950 World Cup it once hosted a game that drew a crowd of over 199,000 people. The stadium had been much bigger until the World Cup renovations were added, taking out seats to put in large suites (Thanks Fifa)! However, the place was amazing we seen a match between Flamengo and Gremis. Flamengo is the home team and is the most popular team within Brazil. Since the Brazilian league is right in the middle of the season this game was quiet full, I'd estimate about 55,000 people were their which is quiet a lot considering the city of Rio has four professional soccer teams. The atmosphere was electric as the home supporters stood up most of the game and screamed and chanted the whole ninety minutes. It brought me back to my roots when I get to go to Ohio State football games. Flamengo ended up winning and overall it was definitely  worth the experience. The neighborhood the stadium is in, was rather interesting because it is right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, similar to that of Wrigley Field in Chicago. Walking to and from the stadium their are food stands as well as people selling all sorts of Soccer gear and jersey's for the fans. To put it simply, I loved it. 

Sunday was another exciting day as well. Coming home from the soccer game I went straight to sleep as I woke up a 5:00AM to go to Angra. Angra is about a 2 hour drive south of Rio and consists of over 350 small islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Upon arriving we hoped on the boat and were off into the see. After about an hour we stopped and could snorkel around the water. I took the plunge into the water and it was amazing there were fish everywhere and all different types, the water was pretty clear and the waves were tame. The next stop was a beach island where we got to swim as well and the same goes for the third stop. These islands were beautiful with each one appearing as a tropical paradise with vast amounts of trees and private docks for those living on the islands. The larger islands are also car less so that provides for a few great hiking trails. The trip to Angra took up most of the day and by the time we got back it was dark and time to go to bed. It's hard to believe I only have a little over a week left in Rio with still so much to do. I'm planning on visiting the site of where most of the Olympic's will be next year in a neighborhood far west called Barra Da Tujica. Also, this next weekend I'm planning on going hiking in the Tujica forest and visiting the Santa Teresa neighborhood of Rio. Also, visiting the beach is a must as well. 

This week should be a good one as my classes with the children and adults will continue to progress and I hope to gain a better understanding of the Brazilian education system and how that is affecting the larger inequality gap especially within Rio.  

  

First Week at Project Favela

The first week and weekend has been excellent so far in Rio. Visiting Christ the Redeemer and the Sugar Loaf Mountains were a lot of fun. I'm really starting to get my bearings around the Favela as I travel around the place. The last few days I have begin taking the Rio bus line and let me tell you these bus drivers scare the crap out of me. They drive on the wrong side of the roads at times and break the speed limit, it is quiet the thrill ride for the equivalent of $1.00. Now that I have google translated a lot of the food around here I'm getting used to the supermarket and I'm not eating just fruit and frozen chicken and pizza anymore. My cooking skills are somewhat of a toss up, but it is working itself out. Anyway working with the children has been going well. Quiet a few of the Brazilian school children speak pretty decent English and I've been truly impressed by one student who is excellent in math. At only 12 years old he has managed to master long form multiplication, division, and finding the area, perimeter, and volume. It is quiet impressive and especially since he knows all the terms in English as well.

Monday and Wednesday nights I am shadowing someone teaching surfers English lessons. In about a week myself and my Italian room mate will be leading the class once the teacher leaves. The surfers also speak English well and are eager to learn since they know it will help them when getting customers for surfing lessons.

Thats about all I have to update as of now the tour to Christ the Redeemer was excellent it was extremely windy and very crowded, but was awesome! So many people would literally drop on the floor and steps to take a picture with the statue, rather annoying, but it was an excellent view. The sugar loaf mountain was fun as well it was dark when we got there, we got to see an excellent view of Rio. The tour itself provided transportation to and from each location and entrance to each place for a total of only about 60$. Then came the beach on Sunday, Ipanema beach was amazing the sun was shining all day as I sat on the beach and enjoyed a coconut water then I went to the Ipanema hippie market where they have ton of smaller shops. It's been a great experience.

Trip to Christ the redeemer and sugar loaf

Favela Living

So I've completed my first few days with the Project that I am working for and its been going great. During the day I have a lot of free time until about 3 in the afternoon then I start volunteering. From about 3-6 I help out with an after school program where the kids do arts and crafts and dance. Also, from 3-4 the students work on subjects such as geography, math, and science. Once these programs are done the night english classes begin at 7. Yesterday I along with another volunteer led our first class teaching english. Since this was the first night class being offered on Tuesday/Thursday nights there were only two adults that showed up, but the other volunteers said it typically takes a week for more people to start showing up. On Wednesday night I sat in on another volunteers english speaking class that is full of adults that teach surfing. Seeing as Rio is very touristy speaking english is extremely helpful to those working within the tourism business.

As I've gotten to learn my way around the Rocinha Favela I am still amazed at how this place is setup there are side streets everywhere and everywhere we walk seems uphill. It really looks like when these were first being built they chopped down trees on a mountain and just threw concrete on top of it and built shacks. Fortunately my flat is pretty nice and is close to the center of the Favela. The large amount of free time in the morning has been nice as I've gotten situated I've began looking for things to do seeing I have all morning and some of the afternoon to plan things. This weekend I along with some other volunteers are planning on taking tours of Christ the Redeemer and the Sugar Loaf Mountain. I've been long anticipating a selfie with Christ so hopefully that will be coming true. Besides that the weather has been great about the mid 80's the whole time I've been hear. I guess its a good thing i came in the winter for Brazil because I'm told during the summer its over 100 just about everyday and I haven't seen one place yet with AC so I'd say I pick a good time to come. Anyway that's about all I have to report as of now its been fun so far and the other volunteers have been great to work with, I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Tchau!  

Chegou (Arrived)

I arrived in Brazil yesterday and making my way out of the airport I found my ride nice and easy. The airport was packed with taxi drivers as well as limo drivers offering rides luckily my driver was one of the first people I seen and soon enough were are on our way. The part of the city I am staying in is called the Rocinha Favela its was about an hour west of the airport, but it was quite the scenic route on the ride to Rocinha we seen all the touristy things that Rio is known for the first thing we drove past was the grand Maracana stadium where the world cup final was and where the Olympic ceremony will be in a little over a year. After seeing that I seen glimpses of the Christ the Redeemer statue as well as the Sugar Loaf Mountains and Copacabana beach. I'm hoping to visit all these sights within one of the free weekends that I have available while I am here. Upon arriving at my home for the next three weeks I was greeted by other volunteers working with Project Favela. The NGO Project Favela is ran by an American and it has close to thirty volunteers at any given time. Just yesterday I met people from all parts of Europe as well as a few Americans. 

After dropping off my bags in the flat I went to take a tour around the Rocinha Favela and Project Favela where I will be spending a lot of my time. The Favela streets are some of the narrowest and steepest streets I've ever seen in my life. Luckily, I got the slipping and falling out of the way on the first day, no bumps or bruises to show for it luckily. As we were walking around I could really feel a since of community within the Favela, from the books I read about Favela's before coming to Rio a lot of these families here have spent decades living within the Favela's and many of their grandparents still live in them. Also, with all the narrow streets and homes all looking very similar it is easy to get lost walking around in the Favela, managed to do that as well on the first day, but fortunately I retraced my steps and figured out where to go. 

For Wednesday, I along with a few other volunteers will be taking some of the students on a field trip to the planetarium for part of the day and the rest of the day I will start helping out with some of the English classes later on in the day. I'm every excited and also I've been on the lookout for monkeys.. apparently the balcony to our flat has trees in it and often times a monkey will swing by. I've been on the lookout to snap a quick picture if one swings by. I wasn't able to take many pictures yesterday, but I will be sure to post some soon! 

Up Up and Away!

Today I will finally be embarking on my trip to Brazil. It's been quiet a long time coming as I've been anticipating this day since I got the Brueggeman Fellowship that allowed me to go to Brazil. As I've watched other fellows take off to their destinations time has been moving really slow. However, the time is almost up I will be leaving for the airport in only a few hours and by tomorrow morning will be in Rio De Janeiro. Most of my itinerary within Brazil is almost set. While Rio I will be working for an NGO called Project Favela. There I will be working with children and adults helping them with their English speaking while also helping the adults with their business skills. I was really surprised when I first found out that in Brazil just about 20% of the economy is informal meaning that most businesses are not registered and typically are not taxable. After leaving Rio I will be traveling south to a city called Curitiba, this city has won awards for its sustainability projects with the help of the cities former mayor Jamie Lerner. While in Curitiba, I will be working with another NGO that is similar to the one I be volunteering at in Rio. After about two weeks in Curitiba I am planning on embarking on a trip to the Amazon. I've been in contact with some hostel's and tour guides there, but nothing is official. Anyway that about sums up my itinerary so far. I recently made a quick stop to the book store to pick up some reading materials. I got one from my brother that I am eager to read discussing the past eight world cups in the eyes of an American Soccer journalist who has attended last eight world cups and he discusses his journey throughout. Another book I got is titled The Gold Stantard. For those of you that don't no I love the HBO show Entourage and this book is about the one and only Ari Gold from the show. Anyway I will at least try to update this blog every few days. I also have an instagram that is simply my name without any spaces (daltonimwalle). My next blog will be when I am in Brazil. I'm feeling confident about Portuguese speaking and am eager to begin my journey in Brazil. Tchau! Tchau!