Aren't you glad you don't live in this country?
Where's Derick?
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Concert was a success!
The concert was great last night! Everyone had a great time! We had the kids singing words in engligh that have never spoken any English before so that was interesting. We recorded the entire concert do I can't wait to show you all. Now I am packing up my things and buying a few souvineers to bring back. My flight departs at 10 this evening and I should be back in la by 11am. Sunday. Can't wait to get back!!!
D
D
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Practicing for the concert
The practices for the concert tomorrow are going very well. We have translated one of my songs in portuguese so we can sing it directly to the people here. We have also translated a very popular current Brazilian song into English so we can surprise them with an English version. We think they're gonna love it!
Daniel is a good guitar player. His roots are in bossa nova. He adds a
Very cool flare to my music. All the songs will be on nylon string acoustic guitars with percussion. So it will have a very Brazilian sound to it.
We are recording the concert and it will be available for download on itunes when I get back.
On Sunday night, we saw gilberto gil. He was amazing andeveryone should google this artist and check him out. His latest album is a cross between jazz, bossa nova, rock and new age. It's very interesting. He is like a cross between bob marley and sting. I am excited to buy his music when I get back.
Only two more days and I come back!!! I can't wait. -D
Daniel is a good guitar player. His roots are in bossa nova. He adds a
Very cool flare to my music. All the songs will be on nylon string acoustic guitars with percussion. So it will have a very Brazilian sound to it.
We are recording the concert and it will be available for download on itunes when I get back.
On Sunday night, we saw gilberto gil. He was amazing andeveryone should google this artist and check him out. His latest album is a cross between jazz, bossa nova, rock and new age. It's very interesting. He is like a cross between bob marley and sting. I am excited to buy his music when I get back.
Only two more days and I come back!!! I can't wait. -D
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Posh apartment of PUC student in ipanema
To contrast my last post in favella life, here is a fancy apartment of one of the kids in Tiago's classes that we had a dinner party at this evening. The lights in the background are other high rise apartment complexes on the beach.
Food and Drink
So, I am proud to say that I have drank and eaten 100% authentic food from Brazil since I have been here and I feel great! Interestingly, the best tap water I have had since I've been here has been from Rocinha. haha.... however, the shower water is kind of strange.
So, a typical Brazilian has one meal per day. This meal is usually in the afternoon and is an all out binge. Most brazilians frequent what are called Chorrosquerias (spelling is definitely incorrect on that one), which is an amazing place where waiters with different meat on swords come to your table and cut off slices for you. The best part is, it never stops. You can eat there until you can't eat any more. We ate at one today, and it was one of the nicest in all of Rio at Copacobana beach and it was R$ 30 a person. This was awesome because this means it was only $ 12.50 with current exchange rates. I've had sandwiches in USA hat cost more than that.
In Rocinha, there are tons of "Salgado" stands where you can get various snacks. They are usually pastries stuffed with meat, cheese and spices. Very Derick friendly food. So as you can imagine, Brazilians aren't very healthy eaters.
Now, the higher class people have just started to get into eating healthy and eat organic foods several times a day. Acaí juice is very prominant here, which is basically a really cool anti-oxidant, 30X more powerful than Pomegranite or Grape juice. I think supplimenting my unhealthy Brazilian diet whith Acaí juice every day has helped to keep my stomach and liver happy processing all the random shit I have been throwing at it. (one little addition to "Salgados", they are stuffed with meat, but they never say what kind..... there are lots of wild dogs here roaming the streets.)
Last night, I made dinner for every one. I went to the market and bartered with the vendors to get produce, rice, meat, and the like... well I didn't really barter. They told me the price and I actually gave each one of them more. They all treated me like a king, giving me extra food and samples of other stuff I never wanted and told me I can come back any time. See, even after I bought enough food to feed 8 people dinner, it only cost me $15 USD, even after paying extra. I love spending money in Rocinha, and they love me! But I made fried bananas, a Brazilian equivalent of Carne Asada, Rice, Beans, and a little salad concoction. Brazilians love Eggplant here, so that is cool since I love it too.
Another thing, Brazilians don't like to drink much water. I think this is because everyone drinks beer here so much, that they get there day's worth of water in the beer.... just an observation... I haven't experienced this my self or anything....
And about beer: the popular beer here is Skol (pronounced Skull), and it's like the budweiser of Brazil. You can find it anywhere. When you drink beer, you have it from a large bottle and poor it into a little cup. This fact is very telling of Brazilian culture: Everything is shared. This is great for social settings becuase everyone has to constantly be pooring beer for everyone else and sharing the experience. It's also a great way to loose track of how many one has consumed, and with the triving Public transportation that is in place in this city, that's never a bad thing.
D
So, a typical Brazilian has one meal per day. This meal is usually in the afternoon and is an all out binge. Most brazilians frequent what are called Chorrosquerias (spelling is definitely incorrect on that one), which is an amazing place where waiters with different meat on swords come to your table and cut off slices for you. The best part is, it never stops. You can eat there until you can't eat any more. We ate at one today, and it was one of the nicest in all of Rio at Copacobana beach and it was R$ 30 a person. This was awesome because this means it was only $ 12.50 with current exchange rates. I've had sandwiches in USA hat cost more than that.
In Rocinha, there are tons of "Salgado" stands where you can get various snacks. They are usually pastries stuffed with meat, cheese and spices. Very Derick friendly food. So as you can imagine, Brazilians aren't very healthy eaters.
Now, the higher class people have just started to get into eating healthy and eat organic foods several times a day. Acaí juice is very prominant here, which is basically a really cool anti-oxidant, 30X more powerful than Pomegranite or Grape juice. I think supplimenting my unhealthy Brazilian diet whith Acaí juice every day has helped to keep my stomach and liver happy processing all the random shit I have been throwing at it. (one little addition to "Salgados", they are stuffed with meat, but they never say what kind..... there are lots of wild dogs here roaming the streets.)
Last night, I made dinner for every one. I went to the market and bartered with the vendors to get produce, rice, meat, and the like... well I didn't really barter. They told me the price and I actually gave each one of them more. They all treated me like a king, giving me extra food and samples of other stuff I never wanted and told me I can come back any time. See, even after I bought enough food to feed 8 people dinner, it only cost me $15 USD, even after paying extra. I love spending money in Rocinha, and they love me! But I made fried bananas, a Brazilian equivalent of Carne Asada, Rice, Beans, and a little salad concoction. Brazilians love Eggplant here, so that is cool since I love it too.
Another thing, Brazilians don't like to drink much water. I think this is because everyone drinks beer here so much, that they get there day's worth of water in the beer.... just an observation... I haven't experienced this my self or anything....
And about beer: the popular beer here is Skol (pronounced Skull), and it's like the budweiser of Brazil. You can find it anywhere. When you drink beer, you have it from a large bottle and poor it into a little cup. This fact is very telling of Brazilian culture: Everything is shared. This is great for social settings becuase everyone has to constantly be pooring beer for everyone else and sharing the experience. It's also a great way to loose track of how many one has consumed, and with the triving Public transportation that is in place in this city, that's never a bad thing.
D
Life in the largest slum in South America
So,
Rocinha is a very interesting place. If there was ever a place where the lost boys of Peter Pan were to actually turn their night time dreams into reality it would be Rocinha. The dominant age here is 20 years old or so. The shops and markets are run by kids, the drug traffickers are all kids, and there are hundreds of these motorcycle taxis called "moto boys" which is a kid with a motorcycle that you climg onto and they race you through the Favella at break neck speeds. It beats any ride at Magic Mountain by far!!
You can find a little bar around every corner where they are playing music and playing pool and hanging out. There are older people here, but not nearly as many as the kids. Interestingly, Rocinha is a place of economic opportunity. It is the largest slum in South America, which means that there are a lot of ways to make money here. People from other slums actually commute here to work here. It's very fascinating. As Tiago's sociology professor (who is an expert in Favella life) explains, there is no real incentive for these kids to move out of the slum and get a real job in the city. They have everything they need here, family, money, every convience they could want (although not nearly as nice as the city).
Every house has running water, electricity, internet. The only difference is all these utilities are stolen from the municipal grids. Right outside my window is an electrical pole with probably 200 different cables coming from it to who knows where. Needless to say, everything is.... how should I put it... Organic. Human life finds its way through the cracks and crevices much like a weed through cement. Rocinha is a brilliant example of how innovative humans can be.
The quality of life here is actually quite good. The food is super cheap (and the beer), and because no one pays for utilities or even rent really, you can live here comfortably on only R$ 2000 a year ($800 USD). This means that things can remain cheap, because there is a different bar set for the standard of living then the rest of Rio De Janeiro.
This huge separation causes problems though: people of higher classes don't understand the Favella people. They automatically think they are criminals and dirty, just because of where they live. Many higher class people are deathly afraid of the Favellas, but if they were to come here for just one day, they would see something truly amazing: they would see a self sustaining society centered around trust and family values.... sound contrary, but it's true. In Ipanema beach, just a few miles away, and home to the most expensive real estate in Rio De Janeiro, people don't trust each other and families are virtually non-existent.
I had an amazing opportunity a few days ago to be invited into the home of a family in Rocinha. We had a traditional Sunday afternoon meal which is a feast with the whole family. The father told me that when I am in his house, I am his son, and proceeded to give me a big hug. The mother told me that whenever I need anything, she would be there in a moment's notice to be there for me. I found that Rocinha, is actually like a time capsule: it is an undisturbed place where the traditions of the people of Brazil are truly alive and live on.
The big city is exciting and beautiful, but it is stale and dead culturally compared to the Favellas. The only challenge is assimilating favella people with the higher classes. This is where Brazil has the greatest work to be done. I had the chance to meet a handfull of the brightest students at PUC, Brazil's "Harvard", and we spoke about the Favellas. Unfortunately, these kids were too comfortable in their nice clothes, jobs and cars to care about assimilating. Some of these people had lived just hundreds of feet from favellas their entire lives and had never actually seen one in person except for the slides the professor showed on a screen in their posh classroom.
I hope the documentary I am making can represent the favella people in a way that allows America and the rest of the world to see a different side of the largest slum in South America.
D
Rocinha is a very interesting place. If there was ever a place where the lost boys of Peter Pan were to actually turn their night time dreams into reality it would be Rocinha. The dominant age here is 20 years old or so. The shops and markets are run by kids, the drug traffickers are all kids, and there are hundreds of these motorcycle taxis called "moto boys" which is a kid with a motorcycle that you climg onto and they race you through the Favella at break neck speeds. It beats any ride at Magic Mountain by far!!
You can find a little bar around every corner where they are playing music and playing pool and hanging out. There are older people here, but not nearly as many as the kids. Interestingly, Rocinha is a place of economic opportunity. It is the largest slum in South America, which means that there are a lot of ways to make money here. People from other slums actually commute here to work here. It's very fascinating. As Tiago's sociology professor (who is an expert in Favella life) explains, there is no real incentive for these kids to move out of the slum and get a real job in the city. They have everything they need here, family, money, every convience they could want (although not nearly as nice as the city).
Every house has running water, electricity, internet. The only difference is all these utilities are stolen from the municipal grids. Right outside my window is an electrical pole with probably 200 different cables coming from it to who knows where. Needless to say, everything is.... how should I put it... Organic. Human life finds its way through the cracks and crevices much like a weed through cement. Rocinha is a brilliant example of how innovative humans can be.
The quality of life here is actually quite good. The food is super cheap (and the beer), and because no one pays for utilities or even rent really, you can live here comfortably on only R$ 2000 a year ($800 USD). This means that things can remain cheap, because there is a different bar set for the standard of living then the rest of Rio De Janeiro.
This huge separation causes problems though: people of higher classes don't understand the Favella people. They automatically think they are criminals and dirty, just because of where they live. Many higher class people are deathly afraid of the Favellas, but if they were to come here for just one day, they would see something truly amazing: they would see a self sustaining society centered around trust and family values.... sound contrary, but it's true. In Ipanema beach, just a few miles away, and home to the most expensive real estate in Rio De Janeiro, people don't trust each other and families are virtually non-existent.
I had an amazing opportunity a few days ago to be invited into the home of a family in Rocinha. We had a traditional Sunday afternoon meal which is a feast with the whole family. The father told me that when I am in his house, I am his son, and proceeded to give me a big hug. The mother told me that whenever I need anything, she would be there in a moment's notice to be there for me. I found that Rocinha, is actually like a time capsule: it is an undisturbed place where the traditions of the people of Brazil are truly alive and live on.
The big city is exciting and beautiful, but it is stale and dead culturally compared to the Favellas. The only challenge is assimilating favella people with the higher classes. This is where Brazil has the greatest work to be done. I had the chance to meet a handfull of the brightest students at PUC, Brazil's "Harvard", and we spoke about the Favellas. Unfortunately, these kids were too comfortable in their nice clothes, jobs and cars to care about assimilating. Some of these people had lived just hundreds of feet from favellas their entire lives and had never actually seen one in person except for the slides the professor showed on a screen in their posh classroom.
I hope the documentary I am making can represent the favella people in a way that allows America and the rest of the world to see a different side of the largest slum in South America.
D
Monday, October 20, 2008
Finally found a place with consistent internet
Hi everyone.
So, I apologize for not writing more posts sooner. It had been difiçile to find two things: consistent internet, and TIME.
So much has happened in the last few days I am going to do a little summary:
-Friday: arrives in Rocinha, and I was scared out of my mind. It reminds me of the streets of Disne´s Alladin movie; brick and mud buildings, lots of hanging wires with sheets and clothes hung, no order to anything, and lots and lots of people. Within the few square miles that consist of Rocinha, there are an estimated 400,000 people there. This is an amazing number! I met Tiago´s roomates, Mateo from Equador, Amir from Sweden, and Rudoulf from Romania. Our little apartment is the closest thing to the United Nations Rocinha will ever get. Later, I meet Daniel, who is the Bossa Nova artist I will be playing the concert with on Friday. We transposed the words to the Chorus of my song "Love Will Save Us All" into Portuguese and we will be singing this song together on friday.
-Saturday: we explore the Favella (slum) more and discover some of the best food I have ever tasted in the world! There are tons of little shops that have what are called "solgadas" which literally means "salty thing" and they are amazing. Also on saturday, we meet the people at the institute Tiago volunteers at and I play soccer with the little kids. That night, Igor, one of the locals, takes us to a Baile Funk, which is the craziest, most insane dancing you will ever see. It is a sub cultural movement among the youth here, and if you are interested in knowing about it, google it. haha.... I had fun observing and not partaking in the dancing.
-Sunday: I set up a new computer lab of Apple computers for the institute, some of which I smuggled into Brazil... hehe. The institute now has the more apple computers and more importantly the most technology of any establishment in Rocinha. We had lunch with one of the locals families, who gave all the exchange students and I a great meal and dessert in the Brazilian tradition. That evening, we saw Gilberto Gil, who is like the "Sting" of Brazilian music. He was awesome! He is so popular here, he is actually the minister of culture for the country. Afterward, we went for Pizza at a really cool pizzaria in Impanema Beach.
-TODAY: we went to Tiago´s university PUC, (pronunced "Pookie") and I sat in on a sociology class. Afterward, I interviewed his sociology professor about her research on life in the Slums of Rio De Janeiro. By the way, the whole time during this trip we have been filming most everything we do. Now, I am sitting in a computer lab at the university. the kids here look just like newport beach it is really funny. The OC is the favorite show down here. PUC is the most expensive university in the country, so mostly rich kids go here.
I will add more postings when I can. I will try to expand on the basic synopisys I provided for each day.
All in all though, it has been a great trip so far. I have met people here from every continent on the globe except for antarctica. The Brazilian people are the kindest, more passionate people I have met, and they have been very excited to meet a guy from California.
One last thing, Brazil has a message they would like me to pass on to all americans: VOTE FOR OBAMA. They said he is the hope that will make America great again in the eyes of the world. This view is also supported by an overwhelming majority of the people of Sweden, Romania, England, Equador, Spain, Argentina.
Well, that's all for now:
Tudo Bem!
D
So, I apologize for not writing more posts sooner. It had been difiçile to find two things: consistent internet, and TIME.
So much has happened in the last few days I am going to do a little summary:
-Friday: arrives in Rocinha, and I was scared out of my mind. It reminds me of the streets of Disne´s Alladin movie; brick and mud buildings, lots of hanging wires with sheets and clothes hung, no order to anything, and lots and lots of people. Within the few square miles that consist of Rocinha, there are an estimated 400,000 people there. This is an amazing number! I met Tiago´s roomates, Mateo from Equador, Amir from Sweden, and Rudoulf from Romania. Our little apartment is the closest thing to the United Nations Rocinha will ever get. Later, I meet Daniel, who is the Bossa Nova artist I will be playing the concert with on Friday. We transposed the words to the Chorus of my song "Love Will Save Us All" into Portuguese and we will be singing this song together on friday.
-Saturday: we explore the Favella (slum) more and discover some of the best food I have ever tasted in the world! There are tons of little shops that have what are called "solgadas" which literally means "salty thing" and they are amazing. Also on saturday, we meet the people at the institute Tiago volunteers at and I play soccer with the little kids. That night, Igor, one of the locals, takes us to a Baile Funk, which is the craziest, most insane dancing you will ever see. It is a sub cultural movement among the youth here, and if you are interested in knowing about it, google it. haha.... I had fun observing and not partaking in the dancing.
-Sunday: I set up a new computer lab of Apple computers for the institute, some of which I smuggled into Brazil... hehe. The institute now has the more apple computers and more importantly the most technology of any establishment in Rocinha. We had lunch with one of the locals families, who gave all the exchange students and I a great meal and dessert in the Brazilian tradition. That evening, we saw Gilberto Gil, who is like the "Sting" of Brazilian music. He was awesome! He is so popular here, he is actually the minister of culture for the country. Afterward, we went for Pizza at a really cool pizzaria in Impanema Beach.
-TODAY: we went to Tiago´s university PUC, (pronunced "Pookie") and I sat in on a sociology class. Afterward, I interviewed his sociology professor about her research on life in the Slums of Rio De Janeiro. By the way, the whole time during this trip we have been filming most everything we do. Now, I am sitting in a computer lab at the university. the kids here look just like newport beach it is really funny. The OC is the favorite show down here. PUC is the most expensive university in the country, so mostly rich kids go here.
I will add more postings when I can. I will try to expand on the basic synopisys I provided for each day.
All in all though, it has been a great trip so far. I have met people here from every continent on the globe except for antarctica. The Brazilian people are the kindest, more passionate people I have met, and they have been very excited to meet a guy from California.
One last thing, Brazil has a message they would like me to pass on to all americans: VOTE FOR OBAMA. They said he is the hope that will make America great again in the eyes of the world. This view is also supported by an overwhelming majority of the people of Sweden, Romania, England, Equador, Spain, Argentina.
Well, that's all for now:
Tudo Bem!
D
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
DC
Looks like I'm stranded in DC for a few more hours. I found a cool way to kill the time though.... Watch all the funny people here.
From the smoking lounge.... Which is basically a 20X20 ft glass room full of carcinegenic goodness, to the crazy DC business people who can never seen to make it to their plane flights on time... To my new friend, veronica who needed a charging extension cord for her macbook. I just happened to have every conceivable connector known to man in my bag. :)
Veronica is a cool lady, she works for a law firm in DC and is working on an act to lobby to congress. See Natalie and brian, in DC, they use macs too...
Anyways the funniest thing I saw here is there are Obama and palin sweatshirts for sale here. I'm thinking about picking up a palin sweatshirt for brian, it's pink. I k is he wants to show his support for the GOP. :)
I'll let you know when I get to rio!
D
From the smoking lounge.... Which is basically a 20X20 ft glass room full of carcinegenic goodness, to the crazy DC business people who can never seen to make it to their plane flights on time... To my new friend, veronica who needed a charging extension cord for her macbook. I just happened to have every conceivable connector known to man in my bag. :)
Veronica is a cool lady, she works for a law firm in DC and is working on an act to lobby to congress. See Natalie and brian, in DC, they use macs too...
Anyways the funniest thing I saw here is there are Obama and palin sweatshirts for sale here. I'm thinking about picking up a palin sweatshirt for brian, it's pink. I k is he wants to show his support for the GOP. :)
I'll let you know when I get to rio!
D
At the airport.
So I'm just waiting to board the plane right now. Looks like we'll be flying a 767. Travel looks light at the airport, probably due to the economy. Neither of my flights are full today. The exchange rate with brazil is good though, about 2.3 to 1. Brazil's stock market crashed just as ours did the past week or two. Good or me considering just 3 weeks ago, the exchange rate was 1.6 to 1.
This trip marks the first time I will be in a country that doesn't speak English. That one time in tia juana doesn't count.... Haha.
I am very excited but also just a bit nervous.... Not about rio, about my luggage. You see, the attendent up tagged it at the counter probably had an iq of 80, he was a nice guy though. So, we'll see what happens!
Talk to you when I get to D.C.
D
This trip marks the first time I will be in a country that doesn't speak English. That one time in tia juana doesn't count.... Haha.
I am very excited but also just a bit nervous.... Not about rio, about my luggage. You see, the attendent up tagged it at the counter probably had an iq of 80, he was a nice guy though. So, we'll see what happens!
Talk to you when I get to D.C.
D
On our way!
We're driving to the airport. I am taking only a backpack. Hope I didn't forget anything!!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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