Sambaland

Commentary on my life in Brasil

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Election Fever

Elections are upon us here in Brazil, and the lead-up has been very entertaining....
Candidates are advertising in creative ways following a ban on posting images on public structures. The poor have been enlisted en masse to ride bicycles around town with posters mounted on little trailers; some are standing on corners waving massive flags & obstructing vision of the road ahead; others merely doze while holding a crude wooden post with an image on it. Massive balloons float above buildings and parks as well.... but some of the campaigns are downright puerile! One group advertises their candidacy with a crude and playful puppet show. Another candidate poses lovingly holding two dogs, claiming he is the guardian of animals. WHAT? There are people living in slums here, remember? How about taking care of THEM first???? And my personal favouite: A two storey high paper mache bust of a female candidate towed around town behind a big car. Unreal. Lots of music blaring, traffic jams, and of course judements made without real thought. Lula didn't even show up to the last debate - because he gets thrashed? Or because he knows he' s got it in the bag? Who knows. We shall just wait and see what happens tomorrow!

Friday, September 22, 2006

Sao Paulo projects....

In January of this year I joined the St. Andrews Scottish Society of Brasil. It is a fantastic group of expats and Brasilians who are eager to promote Scottish culture in Brasil, dance a bit, drink a lot, and generally have fun while raising cash for charity. This society urged me to join up with the Canadian Women's group here in order to build relationships, and I eventually and somewhat reluctantly did. I decided to get involved with one of their charity projects. Here is the building which contains the project I am working on:

It is a community centre in one of the larger favelas (slums) in Morumbi. Morumbi also happens to be where many of the super-wealthy and well-connected people of Sao Paulo live. The location of this centre, however, does not see that kind of traffic. I was stunned to find out on the day of my first meeting that as elections are coming up (in fact they are next weekend), the local government has forceably taken away ALL funding the centre had been given to operate. They are a crucial part of the local community, providing health care, dental care, a soup kitchen, as well as classes and other necessities such as a barber etc. The Canadian group had secured funds to open a library there, and this is what I am helping out with:

A girl from the neighborhood has been hired to help and works 20 hours a week for the royal sum of 175 US$ per month. Just think about that. Kind of puts it all in perspective, doesn't it? But where will her job be and where will the community go for the basics if the government does not re-instate the funding? A grim thought. Updates to follow post-election....

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Unreal...

Last night, (which happened to be a Saturday night) we took Jasper to YET ANOTHER Birthday party. Perhaps I dwell on this too much, but it continues to blow my mind. His classmate was turning 4, and the party took place at a very posh party place and started at 6:30pm. I thought i had read the invite wrong....
Seven o' clock is when we usually start to wind down for the day, give Jasper his bath, choose a few books to read for bed-time, and, well, you know - the usual routine.
We arrived at the "buffet" party place at 6:45 and the place was rather empty. But oh boy, that gave us time to sample (ad nauseum) the monorail elevated train (which circled the venue and went outside as well), the pseudo chair lift swing ride (also suspended from the roof of the building), the drop and spin ride (made me want to puke), and numerous other funland frenzies. Video games, play pits, deep fried food from hell, and of course, champagne, beer, wine, and soft drinks. I have given up asking for juice....
We did our best to talk to the augmented, toned, and styled big people present, but it takes a concerted effort to get into the mind-frame necessary. We waited, and waited, and ate and drank, and waited, and waited. When? When were they going to sing happy birthday so we could get home to bed? At 9:30pm we breathed a sigh of relief as we saw things were getting organised. Alas, a troupe of dressed-up, made up "actors" arrived to give us a Portuguese rendition of "The Little Mermaid". By 10pm we gave up, just as the lights dimmed and the Birthday girl (who looked wired and exhausted) got behind the banquet table (decorated elaborately with little mermaid toys, brigadeiro, and other special effects) and posed becomingly. We raced out the door to the sound of " Parabens para voce! Nesta data querida! Muitos felicidades! Muitos anos que vida!"
In bed at 10:30 with purple circles under his eyes, our little man said he had a wonderful time. Well - at least one of us did!
The question I am still asking myself is.... What time did everyone else leave? What kind of social life is normal for 4 year olds here? And - in two weeks time - what will be the expectations for Jasper's party? Stress......