Oi! Obrigada Brazil, prazer.
In typical currynightmare fashion, here is my semi-annual post :) It's been quite a busy year, from entering Berkeley Business Plan competition (and getting into the semi-finals), having another successful Raas for a Cause SF (third year, thanks to amazing friends and family support!), and finally making the move from Fremont to SF (who knew?).
But I digress, this post is about one of the most amazing trips I've had thus far (and that says a lot, I've been extremely lucky in my life to have traveled many amazing places). Here goes the book, enjoy!
Salvador Brazil - October-November 2011
My first trip to Brazil was to Salvador, in the north eastern region of Bahia. Salvador has a rich, deep history rooted in African culture. From the influences within the amazing cuisine all the way to a rich city preservation, Salvador does not hide from the truth. Rather, the Bahians, embrace it.
Pelourinho ("Peh-lo-rinyo") is one of its most charming tourist cities, but the meaning of the word - the pole where the slaves were hung and beaten - clearly demonstrates the lack of fear and the abundance of courage in a society. At first this name/meaning disturbed me greatly. But then of course, why do what we normally do in history and cover the crap up. Let's recognize that evil took place, and let's celebrate the beauty that emerged, finally. With that in mind, the name is not so scary any more.
Condoble - or voodoo, is an African religion, and you'll see it practiced and preserved in Bahia. To see it celebrated, visit Cachoeira, about a 2 hour car ride from Graca. See a true African city, full of colorful bungalows and a vast African market. Plus, certain days, you can catch a Condoble ceremony. I was lucky enough, with 2 of my CCS friends, to meet a matriarch of the church, who let us into her 'church' house. She had to ask the Orixas (spirits) permission first. Everyone has an Orixa, but you have to speak with a person who has access to the spirits to tell you who your Orixa is (I asked the matriarch, she said she didn't have that access. Oh well).
Capoeira ("Cah-po-whey-rah") - not to be confused with caprinas :) - is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's basically a martial arts form. You can see performers in the main plaza on Tuesday nights or see an amazing performance at the Ballet Folklore.
Rakhi's Tips:
Learn some Portuguese. If you know Spanish, this will be helpful. But, first things first, you have to master the accent which is quite tricky. I must thank Carlos from the Portuguese Brazil School/Translation Services. Carlos, most folks thought I was fluent! It was crazy! I was able to do quite well, and felt really proud that my friends trusted me to help them. I nailed the accent, now I just need to practice more :)
Try Bobo, Moqueca, Acaraje and Caperinas. Check out the Ballet Folklore. And make sure you see the amazing drummers and rehearsals. Fantastic. Tuesday nights are the big music nights.
When booking hotels around Salvador, things are not as close as they seem. From Graca to Pelourinho, 20ish Rs. From there to Rio Velmelho, up to 50ish Rs.
Bring an umbrella. :)
MOMA is okay. The historical museums are much more interesting.
No tips for the tour to Cachoeira as I would not recommend the tour we had.
Go to Morro Sao Paulo!! It is a 2 hour catamaran ride out of Salvador. Do a bit of research before hand and book your hotel when you get there or by phone. Call the hotels directly, don't use an agency. The information you find on the internet is sufficient.
Volunteering
Through an organized program called Cross Cultural Solutions, a group of about 10 of us volunteered in the local community. The volunteers were from all over the US and of all sorts of amazing backgrounds - from a literary agent from New York to a Doctor from Ohio mixed in with those of us with typical day jobs to those who are still trying to figure it all out. Each group had a different placement - 2 friends and I volunteered at a local orphanage.
We worked from 8ish to noonish. Our meals were included in the package, however we of course ventured out in the evenings for dinner. Lulu, Vinny, Ivan took great care of us :)
We can't post pictures of the beautiful children, due to obvious reasons. But this orphanage was said to one of the best in Salvador, which was sad to me. Many kids cramped in a room with chances to play outside when the weather allowed them to. Their spirits never let up - they were normal kids. They wanted love, attention, and needed some good old-fashioned learnin'. Of course I had to bring my favorite game - Connect Four! Although, I never got anyone to properly learn it, the game turned out to be a hit somehow. The little ones migrated to me the most and in some strange way, gave me more than I believe I ever gave them. Although I understand that orphanages are everywhere, once you are face to face with a group of orphans, there is a part of you that dies knowing that people could discard such beautiful human beings without thought or worry. We will never know what their true stories are, but being with them for 1 week at least opened our eyes. I still remember all of their names and faces.
The staff here was amazing too. You could see how much the children viewed each other and the staff as their true family.
Thank you to CCS for the opportunity.
and lastly..
I feel like I could write for hours and still not capture everything.
One thing I will not forget, is the hospitality of the people. I met strangers ready to help me - and I know, everyone says that. I met a great woman on my flight up, who gave me all sorts of great information, helped me with my broken Portuguese, and then made sure I got to the right terminal. On a trip to Morro San Paulo - I went on a very non-English tour, and got adopted by 2 couples, who made sure that I was always having fun, helping me understand what was going on, and kept including me in their plans. I got offered a ride to the airport! And to bring it back full circle, I helped a Portuguese lady from Rio to SF since she didn't speak any English - and her son and fiance, gave me a ride home in SF!
The new friends from 'Home Base' - you guys were awesome and it was a pleasure to meet you. I wish you all the best and am so touched to now be friends with you. Thank you for your support during the rough times and for your laughter and stories about your amazing lives. Each of you have a great story. Thanks for sharing it with me. You will always have a friend in San Francisco, love you!
And to close out, I am in love with Brazil. Special thanks to Leslie for kick starting the trip. This trip was a perfect blend of service and culture. It was also easy to figure stuff out on your own as I branched off the last few days. I hope in the future that I will combine a trip with Argentina and Brazil and hopefully visit the orphans again.
Thank you for reading :) Until 2012, my loyal currynigtmare followers :)
*For more details on the orphanage experience, please contact me directly, would love to chat about it, but did not feel comfortable going into details in a public forum.
But I digress, this post is about one of the most amazing trips I've had thus far (and that says a lot, I've been extremely lucky in my life to have traveled many amazing places). Here goes the book, enjoy!
Salvador Brazil - October-November 2011
My first trip to Brazil was to Salvador, in the north eastern region of Bahia. Salvador has a rich, deep history rooted in African culture. From the influences within the amazing cuisine all the way to a rich city preservation, Salvador does not hide from the truth. Rather, the Bahians, embrace it.
Pelourinho ("Peh-lo-rinyo") is one of its most charming tourist cities, but the meaning of the word - the pole where the slaves were hung and beaten - clearly demonstrates the lack of fear and the abundance of courage in a society. At first this name/meaning disturbed me greatly. But then of course, why do what we normally do in history and cover the crap up. Let's recognize that evil took place, and let's celebrate the beauty that emerged, finally. With that in mind, the name is not so scary any more.
Condoble - or voodoo, is an African religion, and you'll see it practiced and preserved in Bahia. To see it celebrated, visit Cachoeira, about a 2 hour car ride from Graca. See a true African city, full of colorful bungalows and a vast African market. Plus, certain days, you can catch a Condoble ceremony. I was lucky enough, with 2 of my CCS friends, to meet a matriarch of the church, who let us into her 'church' house. She had to ask the Orixas (spirits) permission first. Everyone has an Orixa, but you have to speak with a person who has access to the spirits to tell you who your Orixa is (I asked the matriarch, she said she didn't have that access. Oh well).
Capoeira ("Cah-po-whey-rah") - not to be confused with caprinas :) - is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's basically a martial arts form. You can see performers in the main plaza on Tuesday nights or see an amazing performance at the Ballet Folklore.
Rakhi's Tips:
Learn some Portuguese. If you know Spanish, this will be helpful. But, first things first, you have to master the accent which is quite tricky. I must thank Carlos from the Portuguese Brazil School/Translation Services. Carlos, most folks thought I was fluent! It was crazy! I was able to do quite well, and felt really proud that my friends trusted me to help them. I nailed the accent, now I just need to practice more :)
Try Bobo, Moqueca, Acaraje and Caperinas. Check out the Ballet Folklore. And make sure you see the amazing drummers and rehearsals. Fantastic. Tuesday nights are the big music nights.
When booking hotels around Salvador, things are not as close as they seem. From Graca to Pelourinho, 20ish Rs. From there to Rio Velmelho, up to 50ish Rs.
Bring an umbrella. :)
MOMA is okay. The historical museums are much more interesting.
No tips for the tour to Cachoeira as I would not recommend the tour we had.
Go to Morro Sao Paulo!! It is a 2 hour catamaran ride out of Salvador. Do a bit of research before hand and book your hotel when you get there or by phone. Call the hotels directly, don't use an agency. The information you find on the internet is sufficient.
- There are no cars on this island! Buggys (dudes with wheelbarrows, will help you transport your stuff. Negotiate the price with them. I was able to get to second beach with $15ish Rs.) And you just walk everywhere, it's fantastic!
- If you get motion sickness, bring meds. You will need them on the catamaran. On the way back, don't drink or eat 2 hours before, especially if you have a weak stomach. If you don't have a weak stomach, this can still be rough.
- $45 Rs One way. You can buy a ticket day of, but pay attention to the hours. Each tour company is different.
- There are tons of just amazing beach tours that last all day. Wear your bathing suit all day long - this is a town of beach villages and no one cares how they look in a bathing suit. Men, your chance to wear those speedos! You can book these through agencies - about $50 Rs each and all day long. Completely worth it. And if they talk about a 'hike' take it. It is not difficult, our guide did the tour barefoot, and we saw a preserved beach. It was unbelievably beautiful.
- Shopping - you can basically buy some cool jewelry and a ton of random swimwear on the main beach islands. There is no shopping on the tours. If you need clothes, buy them before you go on this trip. There are tons of restaurants, a pharmacy, etc, so you're good there.
Volunteering
Through an organized program called Cross Cultural Solutions, a group of about 10 of us volunteered in the local community. The volunteers were from all over the US and of all sorts of amazing backgrounds - from a literary agent from New York to a Doctor from Ohio mixed in with those of us with typical day jobs to those who are still trying to figure it all out. Each group had a different placement - 2 friends and I volunteered at a local orphanage.
We worked from 8ish to noonish. Our meals were included in the package, however we of course ventured out in the evenings for dinner. Lulu, Vinny, Ivan took great care of us :)
We can't post pictures of the beautiful children, due to obvious reasons. But this orphanage was said to one of the best in Salvador, which was sad to me. Many kids cramped in a room with chances to play outside when the weather allowed them to. Their spirits never let up - they were normal kids. They wanted love, attention, and needed some good old-fashioned learnin'. Of course I had to bring my favorite game - Connect Four! Although, I never got anyone to properly learn it, the game turned out to be a hit somehow. The little ones migrated to me the most and in some strange way, gave me more than I believe I ever gave them. Although I understand that orphanages are everywhere, once you are face to face with a group of orphans, there is a part of you that dies knowing that people could discard such beautiful human beings without thought or worry. We will never know what their true stories are, but being with them for 1 week at least opened our eyes. I still remember all of their names and faces.
The staff here was amazing too. You could see how much the children viewed each other and the staff as their true family.
Thank you to CCS for the opportunity.
and lastly..
I feel like I could write for hours and still not capture everything.
One thing I will not forget, is the hospitality of the people. I met strangers ready to help me - and I know, everyone says that. I met a great woman on my flight up, who gave me all sorts of great information, helped me with my broken Portuguese, and then made sure I got to the right terminal. On a trip to Morro San Paulo - I went on a very non-English tour, and got adopted by 2 couples, who made sure that I was always having fun, helping me understand what was going on, and kept including me in their plans. I got offered a ride to the airport! And to bring it back full circle, I helped a Portuguese lady from Rio to SF since she didn't speak any English - and her son and fiance, gave me a ride home in SF!
The new friends from 'Home Base' - you guys were awesome and it was a pleasure to meet you. I wish you all the best and am so touched to now be friends with you. Thank you for your support during the rough times and for your laughter and stories about your amazing lives. Each of you have a great story. Thanks for sharing it with me. You will always have a friend in San Francisco, love you!
And to close out, I am in love with Brazil. Special thanks to Leslie for kick starting the trip. This trip was a perfect blend of service and culture. It was also easy to figure stuff out on your own as I branched off the last few days. I hope in the future that I will combine a trip with Argentina and Brazil and hopefully visit the orphans again.
Thank you for reading :) Until 2012, my loyal currynigtmare followers :)
*For more details on the orphanage experience, please contact me directly, would love to chat about it, but did not feel comfortable going into details in a public forum.
posted by Curry Nightmare Personified at 2:57 PM
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