Well this is the official and first of my blogs from Brazil !!!! :) I am in Rio!

Fact: I love Brazil, the language and the FOOD!

 

My first taste of Brazillian food was amazing, the  flavouring they put in there food is absolutely delicious no matter what restaurant i go to big or small, more higher class looking or a simple cafe, I think from my experience in eatuing everyday foods Brazil is in another class compared to England.

My preconceptions and knowledge of Brazil from films, books, TV and word of mouth has been altered dramatically, From the get go Brazil was so different to England, From the architetural differences to the food and behaviour. To me Brazil has already shown me how more open and friendly people are, when I look back at my life in England. Everything is very Vibrant, they are alot of amazing Graffitti artwork everywhere which make the whole area around it seem even more amazing (cant stop snapping them with my camera).From the get go me and  the 29 other fellows have instantly clicked (I think they feel the same) and I already believe we will be forever friends :D, The fellowship has only just kicked of oflearnign portuguese at Cultura Inglesa and I am throughly enjoying it! te amo Portuguese!

I have been enjoying the new experiences ijn Brazil, We have visted the Affro reggae Project, it was built using the goverments money to help out the surrounding favela which was made famous  in a way you would not waqnt. One of the sponsors is Natura and there dedication to help and support all the different projects has shown me a different side to gloabl companies. They are not all trying to Maximise as much profit as possible and thats it, I feel overjoyed that big companies are willing to part from  there large profits and give back to the community and change many lives for the better, and not just for publicity and trying to make there company have a better reputation. From the long term sponsor and dedication to actively know about the Afro Reggae project at all times I feel my visit to Natura for 2 weeks will be amazing and I hope I get to see alot more og the wonderful thigns they do got gor the community.

I cant wait to experience much much more and I am starting to see just how fast Globalisation in Brazil is.

I hope that through my eyes and blogging attempts, you reading this blog can help you see a little bit of Brazil and be just as excited as I am everyday!

till the next time Tchau! :)

 

Obrigado

Well, it's 2.20 am Chinese time and I am writing from my room in Beijing Normal University. The culmination of 27 hours of travelling has left a very tired, yet excited Jason. Stopping over in Dubai after a 6 hour, 30 minute flight and then embarking on another equivalent journey really showed us just how far away China physically is. One can really understand the value of video conferencing, cost wise but also travel wise, flying to China is a taxing journey! The airport was absolutely incredible, as was the humidity which was almost comparable to taking a hot shower in one's clothes. So what has surprised me about Beijing so far? Firstly, the reaches of globalisation is truly shocking, there is a McDonald's on the University campus, (not that I would ever eat there!) which is incredible, especially in the education sector which I thought would have been heavily protected. Second, I do not know whether it was humidity or air particulate pollution or a mixture, but the air was incredibly heavy, visibility was poor from the plane, not being able to see lights from more than 2 miles away. Furthermore, I could not see any stars, and the moon was an orangey yellow, obviously a result of the vast quantity of light produced by Beijing. Unfortunately, walking into my room, the bathroom was completely flooded so all four of the students at the University assigned to the programme stayed up until 1.30 this morning organising it being fixed (as there were no other spare rooms), all in an extremely welcoming and friendly way, giving me ample time to practice my Mandarin (as I believe fellows in India and Brazil have already pointed out, a little goes a long way!) The room is fantastic, the people amiable, and I cannot wait to wake up and begin a 2 week adventure in Beijing! I am seriously in need of some sleep (getting up at 8.15), will update my blog this evening after having spent a full day in China! 

 

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Today started with a dancing session at the British Council. Those who know me know that i can not dance and here was no different. The hardest thing was the balancing because the style of dance involved some awkward and difficult stances.

In the afternoon we had a meeting with Indian climate Champions and then went to an envioronmental place called Teri's reteat. Although what was being done there was great and extremely important for Indian development, the genral consensus was boredom. It was a bit like walking around a factory, with a hotel and alot of plants growing. I didn't really understand what exact work was being done there. I think it involved training companies and developers to incorporte environmental considerations to their builds. Wandering around i couldn't help feeling like i was in a 1980's bond movie. However there was no secret laires or dodgey going ons which was slightly dissapointing; just a lot of plants.

This evening however was great. We went to an outside restaurant where we were performed to by a group of dancers. We then ate a meal which we had been hungry for for hours. Everyone devoured it before having a chance to meet a number of people from the british council, host companies and host schools

So this is my first official blog from China ! Well first of all I am going to say is what a journey that was to China. I left Plymouth in Tuesday at 12 noon to catch the train from Plymouth to Heathrow this journey was about 4 hours long though had great company I was with a China fellow Katie but also two of my friends came up to London to say goodbye to me which was ace, great moral support. Also saying by to the family in Plymouth was a bit emotional but I know it won’t be long until I am home again time is going to fly bye. So yeah after the train journey next stop was the flight from Heathrow to Dubai after waiting around in Heathrow Airport till around seven we were then met by the British Council who gave us our tickets which meant we could check in. So after the process of checking in forty very excited people and getting them through security and the duty free shopping we were on the plane. FINALLY! We boarded the Emirates flight with more than enough time and we all got to our seats to prepare for the 5 hour plane journey to Dubai. It was such a nice air line we had loads of free food and drink though a few of us didn’t have appetites for the food nevertheless we were on our trek to China. So a few films and sing songs later we arrived in Dubai stepped off the plane we was hit with heat of 40 degrees of pure sunshine. So we made a dash to the air conditioned airport and just relaxed until the next flight. Whilst in the airport a few of us decided to have a traditional Burger King well I say traditional hmm I asked for a chicken burger meal £8 later I got a burger, fries, a massive coke it was huge o and some strips which looked like chicken smelt like something I never smelt before and well I didn’t taste them but Katie said they were nice! So the last plane journey to China lasted for what felt like forever. But from the moment we took off to the moment we landed was pure rollercoaster of excitement, tiredness, homesick and whatever else everyone was feeling but when we stepped of that plane we new this was our home for the next six weeks. The Beijing airport was huge in fact I couldn’t honestly tell you how big it was I genuinely couldn’t see where it ended. The fact we had to get a train / tube to get taken to baggage collection might give you an insight into the size of the place! So after the 8 hour or so plane journey and the previous 5 hour plane journey I think I clocked up a lot of air miles to say the least. Finally we arrived at the Hotel met by the most polite and awesome students at the University which were so kind and friendly in welcoming 40 tired fellows and we checked in to our rooms. En-suite single rooms, TV, DVD, Internet, Phone and maid service was luxury. Last thing on the agenda SLEEP so night all hope you enjoyed my first blog.

First of all, I’m going to start with an apology for mashing four days of blogging into one- internet access is very limited and typing on Brazilian keyboards is a nightmare, given the lack of an apostrophe key (tragic!) Rio is beautiful- quite unlike anything you could possibly imagine. Huge metre-high sprawling waves crash against the near perfect yellow sandy shores of Ipanema beach, while the shanty-town lights flicker like tea lights on the outcrop of hill at the far end. We’ve been following a rigorous programme of Portuguese lessons and activities, which reminds me distinctly of the intensely action-packed schedule of my German scholarship experience exactly one year ago. Yesterday, we spent day in the heart of one of Rio’s most notoriously violent shanty-towns. It’s past dominated by the rule of drug lords and gun killing sprees, Vigario Geral is an area closed off to the world and even those living in Rio consider it far too dangerous to even contemplate visiting. After talking about avoiding crime like the plague, this certainly didn’t seem the best place to be venturing into. Descending the steps from the railway flyover bridge into the community, we were met by an altogether juxtaposed atmosphere. The organic pulsating sound of the beating of oilcans and drums manned by energetic dancing young men was part of project “AfroRegge”. Sponsored by the good will of multinational conglomerates such as Santander and Nestlé, it is slowly beginning to offer this impoverished community a choice to break out of the vicious circle of drugs and crime through drumming, dance and the arts. It was genuinely extraordinary to see how the community had begun to embrace a monumental shift in attitude. For lunch were treated to the famous home-cooking of a dummy-sucking, quirky, sixty-something-year-old in her extended kitchen, right in the heart of the Vigario Geral- check out the photo! Yesterday evening marked my own shift in attitude. The freedom from interview pressure, sixth form, exams and being in the Rio meant I could undergo a change of my own. Spontaneously grabbing the blondest colour hair dye from the shelf in the pharmacy next to the hotel, I’m still not too sure what came over me. Although I’ve turned more of a auburn / gingery/ red colour rather than blonde, it was still quite a shock waking up to the change this morning! After blitzing through types of shops, colours and numbers this morning in Portuguese class, we were privy to a fascinating presentation from Brazil’s biggest oil company, Petrobras. Izeusse Braga the Communications Manager’s presentation had only ever been seen by a handful of privileged individuals, as he discussed world’s oil demands, his company’s dedication to biofules and their commitment to a more sustainable world. Something I and others felt strongly was a fundamental contradiction and were not afraid to express. Very exciting day tomorrow!

Well, due to tiredness, I have left blogging to this morning before breakfast. Not sure how far I'll get. Yesterday we started the day, experiencing the infamous monsoon rains. At first, I thought ok- no worse than England. However, it progressively got worse and I now understand just how wet monsoon rains are!

 

'Laughter is Internal Jogging.'- It was then off to our first session of laughter yoga! Those of you who know me will realise that this was ideal for me! However, it became clear before we had begun, just when we were sitting around in a circle, that we didn't need luaghter yoga! In fact we probably laughed more beforehand than during it (especially when people watched my poor atempts at a teddy bear roll.) The session involved two Indian men trying to explain why laughter was so good for you and exercises to force ourselves to laugh. To be honest it was slightly strange. Most people were laughing but I can think of three reasons why I was,: watching everyone else was hilarious, I laugh at most things and I sort of forced myself to. We then ventured off to our next destination- A disabled children's rehabilitation centre. The journey was fun, trying to take pictures of the monsoon rains (which I'll upload at a later date.)

 

As soon as we arrived, I felt so amazingly happy. We were welcomed by so many children smiling, waving and wanting to shake our hands. It was such a fantastic atmosphere. The children then performed for us. It was a wondeful, colourful and happy performance of both disabled and non- disabled children. Towards the end, they all came to take us ont o the stage to join thema nd I couldn't have wiped the smile of my face if I tried.

 

The centre itself is really special. It was set up in 1981 with 30 students. It now has 450 students- 60% disabled, 40% non-disabled. Just the integration aspect of it alone is something which we could learn from in the UK. But it's definitely not just a school. It has a medical centre (not just with physiotherapy facilities, but even an operation theatre!), a centre to train teachers to work with children with disabilities, vocational training courses (including crafts, which we bought some of and computer repairing) and a centre which makes prosthetic limbs.

 

'Personality means person in reality.' We were lucky enough to look around the whole centre and everyone was happy- both fellows and children. The centre is working towards the development of personalities and they explained why through the quote above. For me, it was amazing seeing the change in other fellows. To be honest, previously when we've talked about our aspirations, I've felt intimidated when many of the fellows tell me what they're doing at Uni and what they hope to become in the future- business people, politicians etc. When I've replied saying I think I want to work with disabled children, although I hate feeling this way as I could think of nothing more fulfilling, I feel average. However, now I think and I hope that the other fellows do understand at least to a certain extent what I feel. The change is beginning to happen...

 

'The best investment is the investment in people.' I saw so many amazing things at this centre. Having worked with disabled children previously, I had begun to think that I was prepared to deal with this outing and it wouldn't affect me in the way it affected other people. However, I now realise I was being completely naive and yesterday, I felt exactly the same as I did in my very first experience of working with disabled children. One of the most inspiring things I saw, and it was truley inspiring, was when we were visiting the visually impaired classroom. We were in the way but most of the students made their way to their seats fine. However, one really young boy was confused and couldn't find his seat. He began to cry, which really made me want to cry but then another blind boy stood up and made his way to the other boy and guided him to his seat. I was so touched and amazed. Even though I know I'll see so many amazing things during 6 weeks in india, I know not many things will beat that.

 

Unfortunately, I'm aware that a centre like this isn't your average Indian special school. It is really quite unique and although other facilities do exist for disabled people, there is a general feeling of pity towards people with disabilities. I hate this. But, this centre is one to be valued and praised and hopefully the country will go in this direction too.

 

Although I had had such an amazing morning,t he middle of my day was slightly worse. We went on a heritage walk. This, we had been told was a walk through a bustee. It certainly wasn't what i expected. Having studied big, recent bustees, such as Dharavi in Mumbai, I was a bit shocked by this one. It was extremely well established- it had been there since Independence. Essentially it was just really old housing. There is no denying the fact that the conditions were horrible- the smell of sick and excretion was disgusting and it was so so muddy. But if that was the case here, I dread tot hink what Dharavi is like.

 

What shocked me the most wasn't the conditions, but how we were treated. It was a muslim area and I felt constantly uncomfortable as every time we stopped, we'd become gradually surrounded by angry looking Muslim men. At first, I was sympathetic because we were intruders, using their poor conditions as tourism. but then at the end I was told these Heritage Walks happened regualrly, and they were used to westerners walking through their streets. I then felt angry because we truley had been treated terribly by these men.

 

In the evening, we had the option of going to Akshadham Temple. Only 10 of us actually went but we were so glad we did. The architecture is simply amazing. We then found out that it was only built 5 years ago so we were truley shocked! The detail was so intricate and it was set in such beautiful grounds. It was extremely interesting to visit a Hindu Temple, I felt I was finally getting a small look into the role religion plays in Indian culture. We decided to stay for a 'singing fountain' show. We watched a fountain played to beautiful coloured lights and a story with the stunning back drop of the temple. A wonderful evening, I really wish I could have captured that moment.

 

I'm afraid it's breakfast time- more to follow!

I will update again asap. Went to Community yesterday where they had an awesome project. Had talk by Petrobras today, which was very good. Language going well! Ed and I played footie with some Brazilian lads the other day - really good.

Will update with photos and more info asap...about to get kicked out of the internet cafe!

Ian