It's Official!

It's official, I am on the GREEN MY FAVELA website!

Rio de Janeiro - Open! (Tennis Tournament)

Sometimes I'm really caught off guard by how active and exciting this city is.

Today whilst I was eating breakfast at work, this lady mentioned how she hopes it doesn't rain because she is going to the game.

Soccer game, I assumed... but no, she was going to a game at the RIO DE JANEIRO OPEN 2014. It's a South American Tennis Tournament!! Wow!!! She told me that yesterday she saw famous players and took pictures with them... then she started to name a few popular tennis players, including NADAL.

Yup, international sports event, happening about 50 metres from my job. In order to cooperate with my job, I took it upon myself to create an advertisement for the few beds we have vacant..

Hopefully I'll develop better methods of advertising soon! haha!!

New Trend - Comparing Prices

It's very common for people in Rio to make price comparisons and talk about it. It comes up with everyone absolutely everywhere.

Whether it's the price of tomatoes, coconut water, carpets, clothes, or ice cream. 

People in Rio are constantly baffled at the price difference between things! 

They even made a Facebook page in order to bring attention to how crazy the differences are... 

Splitting a Bill

The most agonizing task in Rio de Janeiro is when you go out with friends to eat and drink, and then the bill comes! Ugh... why can't they just split the bills?? It comes as one large sum, so you have to spend atleast half an hour trying to determine if it's all right, then who had how much of what... It's simple if you've had only one or two glasses of beer, but when you have to split an order of fries, or pastels it get pretty ridiculous! It's even more annoying, when someone has to leave before the bill comes... it's like taking a shot in the dark! haha - I need to add, that there was about 25-30 people at the birthday dinner.
Take out your smartphone... "who had two or more glasses? who ate from the cheese plater? did anyone have any carne seca? who order agua com gaz?"

Pedra do Sal, Rio de Janeiro

I often get asked "how do you get to Pedra do Sal?"

Google maps can't find it, so it becomes pretty annoying to explain it to tourists.
Here is a map I made really quickly.

No Writing Skill

I have this little calendar beside my bed. I find it crazy how the days here just pass by so fast. I always have something to do.

This city makes me happy. This city makes me want to live.

Thinking back, I also wondered why it took so long for me to get inspired to do something... anything!

I used to sit at home and be depressed- really... without a purpose. Since I've been here, especially with volunteering, I feel like I should be doing something all the time. Creating and expressing and exposing and... and... and... 

I feel like I don't have enough skills or time to do all the things I WANT to do. 

One of the things I want to work on when I get back is writing. I want to be taught how to write properly again. It's a phenomenal skill, that to be honest, I've lost since John Abbott College. Concordia fueled my critical stance, but killed my writing skills.

From what I have known so far (in the last 2-3 weeks), I could be writing a billion freelanced articles a day. I speak Portuguese, I can get into the nitty-gritty topics, I can probe, I can research... but I just don't have the skills to bring it all together. I HATE myself for that.

There's at least 5 people I know and 15 sites that I could be writing for, but I just don't have the quality for it to be published and paid for!

Stay in school kids & always practice writing!

Manguinhos Community Garden - Jan 27th.

Our garden is really pulling through! It's so exciting to see the beginning of everything we planted really starting to grow! :)

On the photos there is one chilli pepper, and one quiabo - okra!

Awesome Day

I went to work. Nothing exciting happened until the last 30 minutes. A Japanese couple arrived. In their mid-30s. They carried a little whiteboard with them and a pen. The wrote to me that they are deaf. I was lucky they wrote English.

I checked them in, and had to explain the house rules to them. It challenged me to a whole new level. If I had written it, it could've taken hours, so I had to mime and use pictures and some key words. I felt so rewarded when they understood... especially explaining that they wont be getting a towel for 24hours, because the Laundry Service didn't bring back towels- that's I laughed internally (in shame), because that is something that in Japan, would NEVER happen.
I loved this challenge because they were so grateful.

As soon as everything was explained and I showed them into their room, I got changed and went to Ipanema. It is included in my bus-fare after all.
I arrived and asked some foreign girls to watch my purse while I took a dip. Why hadn't I done this before? It's so close to my work. Spending the afternoon at the beach... why not?? Why haven't I took advantage of that enough?? It's sooooo beautiful!!
I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

Whilst I was at the beach, I was watching Natalia - a professional beach tennis athlete in action. This girl is young, fun and very serious about the sport. She plays 9 hours a day on sands of Ipanema. I sat there and cheered her on (even considered a career in coaching)! She goes over her mistakes, she thinks of solutions, she is quite inspiring to watch!

After that I came home to find Pamela. I decided to make guacamole, so we went alllllll the way up to Bairro de Fatima to get vegetables, where we checked 3 stores to find coriander. We had a blast! She cracks me up! She takes my humor to the next level, with the same logic I use.

Now I'm going to have just a couple of beers with my hostel-working-friends.

I also printed a sign to put at the hostel, advertising my garden, I'll see if it'll work!  :)

Pedra do Sal - 18/01

By far, one of my favourite music events at Pedra do Sal.

https://soundcloud.com/zebrabeat

Manghuinhos Community Garden - GMF

Love It - A List

• Love living in Lapa.
• Love how it's almost always sunny (for about 10 hours a day) and warm.
• Love how beautiful the mountains are around the city.
• Love the friends I've met here.
• Love being here.
• Love knowing where things are in this city.
• Love showing tourists the sites/events that aren't in the LP.
• Love the flexibility of my job, which in turn lets me volunteer.
• Love skyping! Haha.
• Love to youtube whole albums of Brazilian music at work.

Six Month Mark

On the 27th, I will hit my 6 month mark of having left Canada.

I have done things my way. I chose to pack my things and come to Brazil.

I went to Itajai, SC to live with a friend to make my documents. I tried teaching and living in a small town. Not only was his company miserable, I was bored to death in that town.

I came back to Rio and began to look for apartments again. I got extremely lucky in finding Sheila and her place in LAPA. My room, although is not the biggest, it is aweomse and in a relatively safe place. Our apartment is clean and it always welcomes guests. I love the trust I have with her and the friendship we have of mutual respect. She is by far, the best room mate I have ever lived with.
She's a Firefighter and I have enormous amounts of respect for her in the career path she chose. She lives with integrity and has an amazing vibe.

I love living in this city. Even though I often wished things would be different and easier, I accept that it wont be. I have learned to navigate it and now through my job (as a receptionist at a hostel), I help others enjoy it too.

I have learned ALOT about dealing with people.
My friend from Itajai, my family pushing me in different directions, when trying to find a place to live, when finding a job, at my job (the tourists, national or international), the envinronmental minister, the Light company's CEO, other colleagues, the ladies where we eat at in Manguinhos... etc... many people!

About myself.
I still don't have discipline. I still run and give in, into my anxiety and doubt. I'm still insecure. I'm still angry at alot of things I haven't done. I still can't decide where to go. One day I look into studying Tourism, the next I want to pursue Environment studies, the next I want to do Public Relations... I'm constantly shifting my goals. It's not that I don't want to do anything, I just don't know what to do. I don't want to start something that won't give a concise end.

There are sooooo many things I should've done. There's so many things I want to do.
Majority of the time I doubt my dedication and often realize it's just desire out of impulse or desperation. I don't necessarily doubt my ability.

The heat.
I have to discuss the heat, because it's been a huge factor in my life. I have realized I am not comfortable in the heat. It gets too hot. I feel tired in the middle of the day. My body wants to shut down. I'm in a constant battle with myself in order to function. I sweat 24/7. I'm sticky and stinky. It's impossible to hold down a serious job, because that would require me to wear PANTS. It's impossible, I feel too uncomfortable and anxious.

My flavor palete is turning dull. In Brazil the only condiments are: onion, garlic, salt, pepper and spicy pepper sauce. This becomes incredibly dull. Even if I do try to make my own recipes as I did at home in Montreal, my dishes don't turn out the same. Given the terreau of all the ingredients I get, the flavour comes out entirely different. I miss flavours... I also miss crap like poutine, smoked meat sandwich, thai express, even WENDYs!!! I miss the PC brand sauces for meat too!! I miss peanut butter and multigrain bread... hehehe.. or CEREAL...
These are clearly things I'm living without and I'm doing alright... but I still miss it. I also miss having a microwave & a toaster.

I'm thankful I came alone to Brazil and I have gone through all I did. I am proud of myself. I'm happy about all the bonds I have made and will continuously make. I'm happy to be living here. I love this city!
I am having a fun time in my continuous search for... ways to evolve!

I live in Rio de Janeiro!

Things You Need to Get Used Too (2)

• Moskitos.
  IF you see them (because they are sometimes invisible!), they are fast and hungry. With time you do get better at swatting the motion though...
• Hearing about people getting mugged.
• Majority of the time, regardless of how the day starts, it'll be sunny and really hot at some point.
• The universal smell of garlic and onions. everywhere.
• Homeless people sleeping on the streets during the day. 
• Buses taking routes they want, rather than the bus route they are suppose to do.
• People yelling: at their kids, their significant others, from car to car, from across the street, anywhere really...
• Sometimes there's water shortages.
• 8-10 policemen standing at the same corner, drinking beers.

No Visits

I can't ever seem to find enough words to express how awesome I think this city is... The only thing missing is someone experiencing it with me. When I left, there were people that clearly told me that they couldn't come. They've bought houses, got married or had children. I understand all of those. 

Then there are others who choose things, rather than the experience of coming to see me... and that not only makes me angry, it makes me really sad!! Especially because I have a place where I can freely receive visits...

Thing You Need to Get Used To

When you live in Rio de Janeiro, there are some things you need to get used to:

• Lifting your feet when walking.
  This is to avoid tripping due to the floor being uneven. 
• Looking at where you're going to be stepping.
  It might be a puddle of urine.
• The noise of helicopters.
  They are everywhere.
• Getting mugged.
  When I lived at the hostel I'd hear about this all the time. People get robbed anywhere at anytime. 
• Not having easy access to healthy snacks.
  They have "juelhos" : ham and cheese pastries everywhere.
• Banks go on strike.
• There are line-ups for everything.
• The police are useless.
• Per/Kilo places aren't high in quality, but essential for a budget.