This blog is about one of my favourite visits we have done so I thought it deserved a blog of its own where we went to Vigaio Geral to visit the AfroReggae project. It was so inspiring and enlightening in what they do. I have seen the documentary back at home but it is nothing like going to see them in real life! What a day. It took us some time to reach there but it was a beautiful drive in wonderful weather. Then when we reached it started with a proper bang, the AfroReggae bateria gave us a rhythmical feast from funk to reggae!! For about 15mins straight they played on oil cans, water barrels that have been adapted and tuned to make surdos, caxias etc. They played with so much energy, accuracy and movement . It was great to see them play full of happiness and really complex stuff!

We were then taken to a different part of the favela where we saw a play. This was done by a group of people who told the story of the favelas; of all the violence, romance, dangers, good and bad things that happen. It was hard to understand all the monologues as it was in Portuguese but then one could get the gist of the story from the acting and the few words we understood.  They used minimal props and instruments but their facial expressions and inventiveness was great showing you do not need loads of money, fancy setting, lighting to be effective but hard work and you could tell they had been practicing for months!!

We went to the main AfroReggae building that they have built, which is immense.  It has 4 floors of all different bright colours which have been sponsored by different companies.  For instance, Natura is a main investor in AfroReggae and they were the people who organised this trip for us which I am deeply grateful for!

We had lunch in a famous place called Mrs Dummy as the chef is famous for having a dummy in her mouth. The food was delicious and really tasted home cooked!

The highlight of the day for me was when we went to watch a rehearsal of the AfroReggae group going to perform in festival brazil in Soutbank in august!! After a couple of minutes of listening to the group I asked if I could play alongside them.  Luckily the guy said ok but a bit puzzled. But I picked up the timba as that was what was not being used and we then started playing a variety of songs to the rest of the fellows. I started a little quietly until I got a feel of the rhythm of the group and then really enjoyed myself. The feel was very different, recoginised a few songs but different variations to what I have heard which was interesting. What was nice was the way the group accepted me when they saw I could play and they gave me pointers in what they wanted me to play for different songs which was fun! I played a western snare drum as well and they asked me to play a different arrangement of the samba clave which was cool as they showed me simply first then a more complex version! Also during all of this one min I was playing to a sat down audience and the next moment everyone was dancing together! 

Unfortunately we had to leave but was definitely a good ‘cultural immersion session’.  We also saw some other groups, one played some funk on a stage outside and another group played african music.

We also had a inspirational talk by a guy who used to be a drug lord for nearly 10years since he was 19 and now he is part of AfroReggae.  He has even been to the US to give presentations on drug trafficking. He explained how when he was a child that being a drug lord was thought to be the ideal job as it came with power, prestige in the community and money! He talked about how they are trying to help children via this projects so to catch them before they get into the drug industry by giving them other opportunities to study get jobs!

Finally, we had a short lesson in samba reggae which was interesting but then we had to go back on the coach to Ipanema! However, this was definitely one of my favourite days and I hope I have been able to portray that through this blog! Tchau

The first thing I have learned about favelas in Rio is that I know very little about favelas in Rio.  They is far more to them than the "slums on hills" I learned about in geography lessons.  They have a community atmosphere to them completely different from anywhere else.

My first experience of a favela was visiting the AfroReggae project in the Vigario Geral favela www.afroreggae.org.br  The experience was unforgettable.  As soon as we arrived, we were met with an incredibly enthusiastic group drum performance, followed by a short drama piece, then more dancing and drumming.  The energy and talent was inspiring, as was the obvious enjoyment of the performers.  The enthusiasm was so infectious, all of the fellows joined in with dancing and drumming with the performers.  There was a talk on the project explaining its history, aims and plans for the future.  I was struck by the success of the project and how they had managed to reduce the level of violence in the favela through the use of music, art and drama.  I felt truly privileged to be allowed into the project, as very few people have the chance.

The next project we visited was Bola Pra Frente, a project set up by footballers for the children living in the nearby communities www.bolaprafrente.org.br  The aims of the project are to encourage children to stay in education by using sports as an incentive and learning tool.  In order to participate, children must attend school (the area has a high drop out rate, especially amongst teenagers).  The project provides a lot more than sport classes, they also provide classes improving "life skills" such as use of technology and citizenship.  The opportunities children are given through this project are potentially life changing.

My final experience of a Rio favela was a trip to the Santa Marta favela, accompanied by the local press.  Of the three experiences of the favelas, I found this the most "real" and touching.  Santa Marta was the first favela to be involved in the UPP (Pacifier Police Division).  The program aims to reduce violent crime in the favela by installing a permanent police station within the favela.  What I found interesting was the way the police aim to improve the situation through communication with the community, rather than imposing the law.  Walking back through the favela was an unforgettable experience.  There was a huge contrast between the ramshackle buildings and the satellite TV dishes on the roofs.  As a local newspaper wrote, we were stared at as though aliens from another planet.

Talking to directors of the forthcoming film "5 times Favela" surprised me in that many people do not want to leave the favelas.  Having now been inside one myself, I feel I understand this better - the sense of community and atmosphere is unlike anything I have experienced before.

The netbook battery is going to cut short my hurried account of my favela experiences, blog more soon!

2 weeks in Rio de Janeiro have been truly stunning!

Since my last blog we have visited the eye-opening Santa Marta slum which is overlooked by the Christ the Redeemer statue. This juxtaposition of wealth and poverty is exactly what we´re here to study, but if I´m honest I felt quite intrusive walking through the favela. Sanitation was, as can be expected, quite poor. We saw an absolute monster of a rat whilst we were waiting for the ´train thing´ to take us up the hill, and once in the higher levels of Santa Marta there was a lot of animal poo lying around. However it is clear that either charities or the government has invested a large amount of money in the place- most notable are the two free (for want of a better expression) train things, which carry up to 20 people up the near-45 degree slope. More importantly however is the installation of an effective sewerage system, this will have immeasurably improved sanitation and saved many many lives.

The favela itself was really really interesting. From the top of it we could see for miles as the irregular sprawl of colourful buildings surrendered to more orderly blocks in the next district of the city. We could see an astroturf football pitch with teenagers playing on it... They had a little shout at us but it was all banter! The interesting thing about Santa Marta is that it is a UPP (Unidade de Policia Pacifidora) zone. This means that is has been recently ´taken back´ by police forces from the druglords who run most favelas. This is a violent and difficult process, especially with the irregular terrain of Santa Marta, and keen to stop drug dealers re-establishing themselves in the area there is a permanent police post at the top of the inhabitable part of the mountain which overlooks the entire slum. We paid a brief visit to this facility where two officers gave us a short talk, translated by our Cultura Inglêsa guides, and took a few questions before with dark approaching we had to set off back. We were privileged enough to be able to walk all the way back through the favela- something which would never have been possible if it were under control of druglords. All the same, I won´t lie, it was an intimidating walk. Dogs were barking and snarling, and people would hang out of their windows to gawp at us- and fair enough, there are very few, if any visitors to areas like this and we were walking through their back yards. The children offered us some respite however, as with when we visited Afro Reggae, they were keen to approach us and say ´hello´, and ´bye bye´. We also briefly visited a mosaic of Michael Jackson- in honour of when he shot parts of his video for ´They don´t care about us´ in the area. The locals seem to be very proud of this, as unlike most writeable surfaces in the favela, it is devoid of graffiti. The graffiti in other areas however is not offensive- the most common word used is ´Jesus´ which reflects the fact that despite the high violence rates, walls pockmarked with bulletholes and horrific past, the favelas are some of the most intensely religious (Catholic) areas in Brazil, which itself is a very religious country with around half of the country attending church, far more than the UK.

So rare was our visit and so ground-breaking and contreversial is the UPP that we received local and national news coverage. Back at the hotel many of us jumped around over-hysterically as we saw ourselves, most notably Bintu who said a few lines in Portuguese and Dave (Lauren) who sang the chorus of a famous favela rap we´ve all listened to a few times this week. We were also featured in a newspaper the next day, and in true tourist fashion i´ve bought a copy- well i do look rather dashing ;)

Anyway, at the end of our time in Rio I´ll write a few high and low points-

The police station ´incident´, and resulting argument. Luckily this is all sorted now :)

Leo, one of our Portuguese teachers, having his car and all his posessions stolen at gunpoint during a visit to a favela- luckily, this was also sorted out, a call from the bosses of the centre we were visiting around the community meant the car was swiftly located and returned. It sounds odd, but it is presumably only due to the kingpin drug dealer in the area that this happened- his/her respect for the football youth centre project and whoever robbed Leo´s car´s respect, and undoubtedly fear, of reprisal meant the car was quickly returned. In the favelas there is very little in-fighting and robbery is usually only extended to visitors... who admittedly are fortunate to leave with their lives, forget posessions. Drug use is also frowned upon, which i was really surprised to find out, but apparently drugs are only really sold to the more affluent areas of the city, the lawless favelas are just an ideal hideout for drug lords.

And now for the high points! To be fair pretty much the whole trip has been a high point, but I´ll pick a few things out:

Visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue- I doubt i´ll ever see views like this again. The majestic statue towers above everything on the tallest mountain in Brazil, watching over Rio day and night. Yes, it is a touristy place to go but it was very special, with Aniqa and I paying a visit to the small chapel at the foot of the statue.

Maracana- absolutely huge football stadium, lots of legroom, and a pretty good atmosphere.

The beaches!

The people- this really is an absolutely top group. So many contrasting backgrounds, lifestyles and personalities yet I have made some really great friends and there is nobody in the group I wouldn´t feel comfortable spending time with.

Now off to a meal with the global changemakers, who i know very little about but they sound interesting from what i have heard! Then maybe a trip to lapa to see a live band, planning to stay up all night to watch the sun rise on our last day in Rio... sleep on the plane.

Global Fellowship Blog

We´ve been here nearly two weeks now, everybody’s properly settled in and we all get on so well, it’s fantastic. I’ve enjoyed the cultural phase of the project thoroughly and have really made the most of everything I’ve done. We’ve been so I’ve busy visiting many different projects that there is not much time spare to catch up with my diary and blog so sorry for not updating this as much as I would have liked. Here’s a little bit (well not so little) about my experiences so far and my thoughts about the issues here in Brazil.

While on the plane I wrote about my journey so far and my thoughts of my trip to Brazil.

Saturday - 17/07/10

 Now it feels that we have properly started our journey of discovery in Brazil. Only 1 hour till touchdown and it’s starting to sink in how much of an epic adventure this is going to be. 6 weeks exploring, understanding, appreciating and learning all about the culture, environment and geography of Brazil.

Looking at the map of Brazil on my journey map on the in-flight TV on the plane here you can really get a sense of the sheer scale of the country. The vast distances that must be travelled to reached the peripheral regions of the country is quite outstanding and something which us in the UK can’t truly appreciate.

I had a great couple of conversations with the people sitting next to me, ranging from the language and food to the culture and music of Brazil. When I asked them if there was anything that foreigners usually do that conflict the cultural norms in Brazil they said “Brazil is a happy country, Brazilians like foreigners”. It was clear even from my first conversation with a native Brazilian that Brazil is a relaxed nation who are not at odds with foreigners. Upon arriving in Rio this is immediately evident, everybody seems so relaxed and nobody ever seems to be in a rush. It will be interesting to see the difference between Rio and Sao Paulo, a city which is at the heart of Brazil´s economy – how similar will it be to the fast paced way of life in London?

Sunday - 25/07/10

Being in any country for 6 weeks is an amazing experience, but taking part in the Global Fellowship is something different. As Global Fellows we have had and will have the chance to visit some amazing places and meet some very important and interesting individuals. I have learnt so much so far, from the visit to Afroreggae in Vigario Geral to talking to the Secretary of Education for Rio about the education system in Brazil. I´ve been given the opportunity to see the bigger picture in Brazil and make comparisons with the UK.

We’ve undertaken an intensive Portuguese language course at Cultura Inglesa in Ipanema for the last two weeks. All the teachers at Cultura Inglesa are very helpful and extremely interesting, making learning a new language – which can be quite daunting, really quite exciting. Doing this for 3 hours each day is quite tiring but very satisfying, especially when you’re able to communicate and importantly, haggle with the local street vendors.

One of the highlights of the trip so far is the visit to Vigario Geral, a favela just outside the city centre. We visited a community project run by Afroreggae, an international NGO who aims to promote social inclusion through music, art and dance. By providing an open and safe environment for all in the community to use and enjoy Afroreggae offers a different route for young children and young adults who might have fallen into the violent drugs trade that often rule over favelas. Drug dealers often become role models for children in favelas that are closed off from the outside. Without further aspirations or opportunities they can easily fall into the drugs trade, limiting options for them in terms of education and job opportunities both in their teens and in later life. Afroreggae offers a different route for these children and allows them to make something more of their life. The enthusiasm and optimism given off by these children and others in the community despite the huge challenges they face is incredible. Their enthusiasm, desire to succeed and aim for a better life is pulled together by the work of Afroreggae and is underpinned by their aim to “build a better world”. I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to visit such an amazing project.  

The Afroreggae drummers performing for us as we arrived.

On Thursday 22^nd July we visited another NGO project called Bola pra Frente in Gandulupe. This project is focused around football and aims to encourage children to play more sport. Alongside this it runs classes, free of charge to children of the surrounding 6 communities, including English, Portuguese and IT as well as careers advice. All the children who use the facilities have to be registered at a school and attend classes at their school regularly. Not only is this project increasing the number of people in school but it is creating a central location for children of the community to meet up and enjoy playing sport together. The school dropout rate for children that attend this project is only 0.5% whereas those children who do not take part in the project the rate is 48%. This quite clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of this project as a means of encouraging school attendance. The children that use this project live in a very poor area of Rio de Janeiro controlled largely by drugs lords, this project allows them to gain skills to compete for jobs in an increasingly competitive labour market. Before this project the options available to these children were very limited but now they are given so many more opportunities to take advantage of. All in all a fantastic project.

Wednesday - 28/07/10

Visiting the Civil Police Academy (ACADEPOL) on Friday allowed all of us to get a different perspective on the current crime situation in Rio. Rio de Janeiro is often stereotyped as a city rife with crime and corruption. Talking to the Chief of Rio´s Civil Police that afternoon gave me a real insight into the current situation the Police are in, corruption is still a problem at all levels of the hierarchy, but is nowhere near as bad as it was or portrayed to be. The police are taking a different stance when it comes to fighting crime in favelas. As opposed to the old system of armed raids to flush out the drug dealers the police are now integrating themselves with the communities. The Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) is the new system adopted by the Police and currently operates in 12 different favelas across the city. By having a continuous police presence in the community it is hoped that the power of drug dealers will be weakened with the aim in the long term for the population of the favela to live without police or drugs, removing the stigma often associated with favelas and create a positive image for favela as a whole. Of course, the programme still has a long way to go but with the polices’ role now more focused on prevention, the idea of community integration greater acceptance of the police as a force for good it can be hoped that the UPP will remain a successful project. We visited a favela called Santa Marta on Wednesday 28^th July, the favela is subject to major investment in a project called Urbanizacao Na Comunidade Santa Marta  costing over R$22 million. The government has funded a railway in the favela to allow residents to get to their houses easier. Santa Marta is one of the steepest favelas in Rio and is a striking sight on the side of the hill. Walking back down through the favela after our discussion with the UPP was an amazing experience. It’s so difficult to imagine the living conditions and way of life of the people who live in favelas without visiting it, in the UK we have nothing like this and it really makes you think about the social inequalities that exist here in Rio. Yes, the government is doing something, with over R$22 million being spent in Santa Marta alone they’re not pushing the problem aside, but a lot more still needs to be done, both by the police and the government to firstly gain the trust and respect of the residents of the favelas and secondly improve the standard of living of residents. All too often people push aside favelas as problems that don’t really have a solution. Favelas are part of Rio and underpin the social fabric of the city, those in authority have to work with them and not against them in order to decrease inequalities and further social and economic development, thankfully this is what is being done but it is only the beginning.

The favela Santa Marta which we visited on Wednesday

A couple of us were interviewed by the local papers and TV station while at Santa Marta. I was on TV later that evening talking about the favela and how different it was to the UK which was very cool - my first ever TV screening and it was in Brazil, WOO! Below is the newspaper clipping about our visit but it is all in Portuguese. I hope you´ve enjoyed my first blog.

So, I think it was about time I blogged again. My time so far has been unbelievably amazing. I apologise for not blogging enough, there is very rarely any time to do so and when there is time, my hotel bed unfortunately is more inviting.

I can't believe that it's been two weeks and phase 1 of our trip is pretty much over. Already I can say that I am not the same person that stepped on the TAM plane to Rio on the 16th of July. I've made lifelong friends and experienced a culture that has made me think... as I knew it would.

These 2 weeks have pretty much turned into one big blur but there are a few things that have stuck in my mind.

1. Brazil's sense of identity - their art and culture defines them.
2. The people in Rio are very very friendly - you can't help but be happy. Happiness is most definitely contagious. They will go out of your way to help you - which is something that you just don't find in th UK. I've met some lovely people here in Rio, from my portugese teachers to random people in restaurants and bars. A couple of days ago, I wasn't feeling too well, my voice pretty much went and I felt a pang of homesickness. That feeling was short-lived because of how nice everyone was to me: some of the fellows bought me food, our portugese teacher bought me sweets for my throat and so many people showed concern that by the end of the day I was back to normal; their care was my medicine, (quite a cheesy line eh).
3. Income disparities. Looking over the landscapes you can easily distinguish the richer areas from the favelas and poorer communities. British people should be grateful for the help that is given as I don't think that we can ever truly hit rock bottom - the government will be there to pick us up.
4. Brazilians recognise their country needs - organisations fill in the gaps the government leaves. We had the opportunity to visit Afro Reggae and and Bola Pra Frente - both organisations that provide opportunities for kids and people in "poor" communities. These particular visits touched my heart in a major way.

But this a quick note, the next blog will be more detailed and hopefully will have pictures.

Chow =) x

Ola!

What can I say Brazil is amazing! Rio is an amazing city and I can´t believe how fast time has gone. It has been go go go and I have loved every second of it. There have been moments however that will stay with me forever; the first of them was visiting Afroreggae. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the project and was enlightened to see how it helps young people within the community by providing education and equipment as an attempt to divert them away from crime.  The initiative was superb and was encouraged by a previous drug dealer which I found added depth to the project. They could look to him as a positive role model who has experienced a life of drug dealership but as someone who has got himself out of crime and is now helping others.

Another highlight was meeting the under secretary of education for Rio, Rafael Parente. I found him inspiring. He had a vision for the future but accepted that the challenge of getting young people into schools and to stay in schools was not going to be easy. A new form of education was proposed, something that would not necessarily be accepted in the UK was the divide in ownership of education. The proposition that that state owned the majority, whilst private investors also owned part of the system was put forward. I wasn’t sure at first but as his speech continued I became truly memorized in his vision and my confidence in him grew a great deal.  I felt really enthused by how business and education could really work to secure Brazil’s youth a future. It would encourage a positive form of globalization and would help to improve education a great deal.

I loved visiting the Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain! It was incredible to spend some time on Ipanema beach and learning Portuguese with some amazing teachers at Cultura Inglesa. The past 2 weeks in Rio have been incredible; my blog entry really does not do it justice at all. We have met some great people that I really hope I keep in contact with. I’m looking forward to the next 4 weeks in Sao Paulo! Bring it on!

Today being one of the last days in Rio, it has made me reflect on my time here, I have learnt so much and I have become increasingly more open minded. Minus the beautiful brazillian bodies and the amazing sandy beaches Brazil is still so beautiful. It was hard for me at first to understand the culture here and the way in which things are dealt with but I am slowly understanding the reasons for this and how amaxing this country is. Already I am comparing England and Brazil and the comparisons are minute.

Two days ago we visited Santa Marta which is a police pacified unit in one of Brazils many favellas, that trip turned my opinions and views upside down. What I thought was going on in the favellas and what actually is reality is two different things, that personally made me feel proud of these communties that they are so determined to make something of themselves and their communities. It was inspirational to see the impact that some of the these projects like Affro Reggae can do to such a run down environment.

Fortunately I have been able to be a tourist and visit the sugarloaf mountains and the christ, it was amazing the feelings that I had when I was stood at the top of them were sensational, once again I just felt so priviliged to be here. Satnding at the top made me realise that Í have so much more to learn and Brazil has a lot more to show me :)

Lauren xx

Last night then, well the foam party didn’t happen because when we got to the club the machine was broken :( This did mean that for a while I had gone out clubbing in Crocs, something I am deeply ashamed off, but things did look up when we found that there was a pool party in the bar that was upstairs! When I say pool, I mean paddling pool, but still, it was water, there were water guns and the climate makes it perfect for late night water fights, although we overlooked the fact that we needed to then get taxis back! We overcame this by having the money ready, paying and then getting away quickly before the driver’s noticed we had leaked all over their cars! I had a brief scare in the middle of the night when I though I’d contracted Cholera from the pool water, but it was just late night confusion and paranoia, and when I woke up this morning I was fine!!

The day started with the usual tai chi, and then language lesson, today looking at time and days of the week; it seemed less hard and frantic then usual which was a nice way to end the week! We performed Beijing Huan Ying Ni for Steve (our teacher) and although he’s not coming to the village with us this weekend, in his own words “class D will be champions!” We had take away lunch from The Green Place, which we managed to order in Mandarin, albeit with a lot of confusion! This afternoon we had our first workshop run by the British Council, I think they’re due to be held every week in order for us to have a chance to reflect on what we’ve done, think about how we can get more out of the trip, and also make plans for our final projects. The workshop, which was led by other fellows, focused on stereotypes and perceptions, initially with us looking at art work by a man who was born in Japan, but then lived in Germany for 30 years. In the works he depicted differences between the culture, and we had to work out what they were saying and which was Japan and Germany. We then had to produce our own related to China and England, some of which led to some lively debate! Finally we had chance to share ideas for our final project, and I think I have a plan, but I’m not totally sure yet, so I’ll wait to write down what it is!

After the workshop our classes got together to practice our songs for tomorrow, and by the looks of things, it has grown from just singing a song to Global Fellowship’s Got Talent! Hopefully we’ll manage to pull off our show stopping plans which include acrobatics and Kung Fu.... Once we were rehearsed out most of us just lazed around, I think everyone is feeling shattered from the week, a group of us went for dinner at the local cafe/bar; and once I’d managed to negotiate the washing machine (that is, got Katie and Sierah to do it for me) it was just a quick late night visit to McDonalds before bed! I can hear it calling me now.......

P.S.- No blog tomorrow, we’re out in the sticks!

Well it wasn't quite mayonnaise, more like a Marie-Rose sauce but with a slightly more saccrine taste to it. And the fruit was mainly melon with a couple of pieces of banana and apple.

It was in the salads section of the menu, as apose to the deserts section, so it would be interesting to see if the same sauce is served on a leaf salad. Actually when I think about it we ate there 2 nights ago and a very similair looking sauce was in a dish next to the salads. I suppose it makes sense - it is a salad.

The bread is a similair story. All the bread here - loaves, rolls, sausage roll bread etc are sweet, not disimilair to the French brioche.

The Western food chains (Pizza Hut, Subway and MacDonald's being the 3 near to us) incorperate Chinese elements in their food e.g. Pizza Hut use a spicy tomatoe sauce and serve noodles along side the pasta menu.

These are single food customs that the Chinese have interpreted as the rule for all food of that type. But by far the the strangest concept for them is putting milk in tea. Milk is relatively expensive over here, so when I indulge in an Earl Grey from MacDonald's at £1.20 for a regular, to add milk would cost an extra £1.20. The waitress had obviously never made a cup of Earl Grey in her life as she sniffed the packet the tea bag had come out of, giggled like a little school girl and passed it to her friend. I have always thought of Earl Grey as one of the more delicate teas however to the Chinese it must have an overpowering flavour as their Green tea is extremely weak, more like scented water. So I have come to appreciate black tea.

The lesson to be learnt is that when in China, eat Chinese food. Western food is always dissapointing and will just augment the desire for familiarity. Chinese food is nothing like you have ever experienced in England, so don't have any preconceptions or expectations. Embrace all elements of the culture (but maybe draw the line at eating live scorpion?!?)