Brasilia part 2

View from Priscilla's uncles' house


Backyard soccer action


Priscilla's family and me


For the 2nd half of my stay in Brasilia I stayed at my friend Priscilla's place. I know her from when she spent a year in Sydney. I has also met her sister Polly last year in Rio de Janeiro. It was really nice to see them again. Priscilla and her whole family were extremely nice. Her parents don't speak any English which was good practise for me! Her mum used to be a Portuguese teach and helped me out with some things. Her dad seems quite funny, but spoke at "full speed" with me so I often couldn't quite work out what he was saying.

On my first day with their family I went with them to Priscilla and Polly's uncle's house for a barbecue. I joined them for some soccer. It may have been backyard soccer (3 on 3 or 2 on 2), but they took it pretty seriously - the women and children were confined to the sidelines to cheer us on. Although they did get to join in volleyball later on… I had some nice chocolate type food there. I'm not exactly sure what it was but when translated the name is "boy's foot"…

Polly's boyfriend speaks English very well - he's an English teacher. I went along to a couple of his classes and spoke to his students. Some of them had never spoken to a "gringo" (someone from outside Brazil) before, so this was kinda fun.

I had a really good time in Brasilia. I got to just about finish the Rosetta Stone Portuguese software course I was doing. I got to meet some new people as well as catch up with old friends. Both the families I stayed with were extremely hospitable.

But now I'm in Palmas (about a one hour flight from Brasilia)- I'm a bit behind in my blogs as I've been here for a week. Another friend (Angela) has organised things for me to stay here for a few weeks, I'm studying more Portuguese here and getting to meet lots of new people. More on that next time…

Taboo

I'd like to announce that this blog now has ten official followers! Of course that's just a small representation of the thousands of you readers out there that do read my blog but aren't "official" followers.

Trying to communicate in a language you aren't fluent in can be a bit like playing the game Taboo. You can't say the specific word you want to say, so it helps to be creative and something close to what you're actually trying to say. I like Taboo. Just like with Taboo it doesn't just come down only to the creativity of the person speaking, but the people trying to work out what you're trying to say have to realise that you can't say the actual word you want and and need to be a bit creative in guessing what you're actually trying to say - some people are better at this than others...

At the language school I was at in Maceio one American guy complained that being able to only communicate with people in Portuguese meant it was like his whole personality was suppressed. All these things he wanted to communicate but couldn't.

Fortunately in my case I have a fairly simple sense of humour, so my jokes are already making it through! I was told by Priscilla's family (who I'm with at the moment) that unlike most gringos (people outside Brazil) I'm very funny. I guess its a good thing that I'm leaving soon - before they realise I've only got a handful of jokes I just reuse :)

Brasília

Davi and his mum Cintia

Nara, Aaron, Priscila

Livia's dad

Me outside fancy looking cathedral

My friend Livia (in Sydney) has been kind enough to organise for me to stay at her family's place while I'm here in Brasília. They are really nice. Her dad is very friendly and seems quite funny from what I can make out. Her mom is a fantastic cook. She makes some great meals - especially for lunch - which seems to be the main meal of the day here. Her brother Célio isn't working at the moment due to a futebol (soccer) injury and has been kind enough to show me around the city during the week. Likewise her sister Priscila gave me a tour when I first arrived and has introduced me to some of her friends. Priscila seems to have a good knack for picking up when I'm pretending to understand what someone is saying but don't really get it… Priscila's friend Nara also lives with the family and likewise has been very friendly.

The family doesn't speak English which has forced me to practise what Portuguese I've learnt so far. They do know a few English words, but more than not I feel that those words are ones I already know in Portuguese - a first for me!

One can't really expect a family to take a stranger into their home and treat them so extremely well. But they have done just that. Something I feel blessed for and am very grateful for. In fact on my second day here, they took me on a two hour drive to another city called Goiânia where Livia's other sister lives with her husband and two year old son Davi - when I first met him he was quick two inform me that his age is dois (two) :) We stayed there overnight.

I initially planned to be with this family for my whole 17 day stay in Brasilia. But there has been a slight changed of plans whereby Livia's parents had go back to Goiânia this week. So I'm staying with the family of another friend - Priscilla (different from the Priscila with one "l" mentioned above). Her family is just as nice and generous - more on that next time.

Its been nice to have warm showers nice I arrived in Brasília - especially as the weather is a little cooler here. Actually I really like the weather here. Its warm enough during the day that I can walk around in shorts and a tshirt - without breaking into a sweat. In the evening there's generally a gentle breeze. Brasília is a nice city. Perhaps a bit like Canberra in that it was built to be the capital (Rio used to be the capital). Brasilia was built in 1960. It has some quite impressive buildings. It all seems quite well designed, the roads are nice and wide with multiple lanes which minimises traffic jams - quite refreshing having been to Rio and Sao Paulo!

With over two million people, Brasília was the largest city (by population) in the world at the close of the 20th century that didn't exist at the beginning of the century. lt is the only city in the world built in the 20th century to be awarded (in 1987) the status of Historical and Cultural Heritage. I was warned before I came here that its not a great touristy place. Being inland there's no beaches - although there is an artificial lake which is very nice. While it may not be the best place for tourism, I think overall the city is quite impressive and strikes mean as being a good sort of place to live.

Here I've even observed cars stop at pedestrian crossings without the pedestrian having to take a "step of faith" onto the road first - all quite civilised really. I don't believe I've previously observed this sort of behaviour outside of Australia!

Observations here

Locals playing Footvolley


This is my last day in Maceio and I thought I'd reflect on what I've observed here. I'll take a moment to compare an aspect of Brazil to the Philippines (another "developing country I've been too). I recall in the Philippines a time that Ricardo and I went for a jog on the beach. We got people looking at us and even a few taking photos - felt a bit like celebrity status.
Its not like that in Brazil. For the most part I feel like people don't give me a second look really. A lot of countries seem to "look up to" the West, and - while they certainly have their degree of western influence here with translated movies, books, magazines etc - I get the feeling that Brazilians are really content in their culture here.

One thing I was looking forward to in the north of Brazil was that I was told that the people are really friendly. Although I haven't really observed that here, just in general people seem to keep to themselves and go about their business (nothing bad a bit like Australia really). I've heard that may be an exception for the particular area I'm in… That said, if you do talk to people they do seem pretty friendly. Like when guys let me join in their game of beach volleyball last weekend.

Another game they're into here is "Footvolley" sort of a mix of volleyball and soccer. Where you've got to hit it over the net, but can't use your hands. Its incredible how good some of the locals are. I didn't dare attempt this one…
Here's a short video clip (unfortunately a Facebook login is required)
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=412858087436

Also, in my last couple of weeks here I started going to a different church. I really liked the feel there and have made some friends. I like meeting new people and making new friends.

There are 26 states in Brazil, apparently the one I'm currently (Alagoas) in is the poorest. But compared to some other countries I've been to it doesn't seem all that poor to me. That said, it certainly would be nice to be able to use a toilet where I'm allowed to flush the toilet paper rather than have to throw it in the bin… Don't get me wrong, there are certainly a lot of poor people in Brazil. Particuarly in a place like Rio - although it is richer overall than here, the higher cost of living can be hard on the poorer people - Rio is known for having a lot of favelas.
But economically speaking, overall I get the feeling that this country is on the rise. I'm told that the current president - Lula - has done a lot to get rid of corruption at the highest levels in the country over the last few years and is really popular.