About a week ago, I managed to find a book with really interesting statistics concerning racism and social inequalities in Brazil, so I wanted to share those with you today. The book is called "Miséria da periferia. Desigualdades raciais e pobreza na metropole do Rio de Janeiro", by André Augusto Brandão (Pallas, 2004). The book looked pretty serious so I assume the statistics are reliable. Firstly, according to the author, about 45% of the Brazilian population is black. Wikipedia (so reliable, obviously) seems to disagree with him, but I think it largely depends on how you define black, as [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday was the Dia da Festa de Yemanjá, so I thought it would be appropriate today to descibe that event and introduce you to Candomblé. In reality, I am not myself entirely clear on the matter and if someone thinks I am mistaken about anything please do not hesitate to tell me. Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion which is extremely present in the North of the country. It was brought by African slaves during the colonisation of Brazil and is based on the belief in Orixás, gods which represent the forces of nature. Naturally, it was soon outlawed by the Portuguese [View Full Entry]

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Today, more pictures of Morro de São Paulo. I went on a little excursion that involved swimming around with tropical fish. I dont have a waterproof camera, but I think a couple of the pictures I took convey how amazing that experience was. Otherwise, this has been a very restful weekend. Morro de São Paulo is an extremely small and safe place, in which most things are with easy walking distance. I didn't have to worry about security, which made a world of difference compared with Salvador. I will sorely miss those clear waters. [View Full Entry]

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Today, I shall compensate the until now lack of photos. I am in the island of Morro de São Paulo, and (if you get away from the touristy bits) it is really really nice. The beaches are superb, and I have never been in such a warm sea! The sea is so hot it's almost a relief to find a cooler current. I hope not to make too many people jealous. No comments today, pictures speak for themselves. [View Full Entry]

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I must apologise for not having written anything recently, however it is harder when one stops travelling and has a fairly simple routine. However I suppose I can share a few observations and, of course, give some news. Firstly, the latter. I am now in my second week of Portuguese classes, and I am greatly enjoying them. It is challenging but satisfying to be confronted not only with the more basic vocabulary but also with more complex grammatical constructions of the language, which allows me to express myself more fully. I have now been joined in my classroom by Mathias, an [View Full Entry]

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I have now been in Salvador for 4 days. I do not know the place that well yet, and I am cautiously exploring it, so updates may become scarcer whilst I am here as there will be less travelling, and more studying. A few remarks: _ It is hot. Very hot. And extremely humid, too, as Salvador is only a few hundred kilometres away from the equator and the Amazon jungle. _ From the very evening I arrived I was confronted with the unique logic of my street's numbering system. The building I live in is number 299, but is located [View Full Entry]

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"Black Gold": this is what Ouro Preto stands for. Not petrol, though. The name derives from the first time gold was discovered in 1694 in the area by a slave of a group of explorers: it was covered with oxidated carbon (oxido do carbono in Portuguese, so not sure exactly whether my translation is correct) and thus looked black. Today, you're in for a bit of history. Ouro Preto, situated in the State of Minas Gerais, is a city of great historical importance to Brazil. Since gold was discovered there, it became centre of great political, economic, and artistic influence. It [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday, I said I would write about Ouro Prêto and upload some of my pictures, however, I shall have to renege on that promise, as my sprained ankle has been a bit worse. I have decided to take it easy (after all, I have 7 months) and stay at the hotel to rest my foot. As I was not really capable of moving around too much, I simply stayed on the hammock on the hostel terrace this morning, read a bilingual edition of portuguese short stories, reading out loud so as to get used to speaking the language. Also, as I [View Full Entry]

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I have now left Rio de Janeiro, my visit there having been tarnished by an unfortunate event. Yesterday being my last day in Rio, I decided to go into the centre for a visit. Little did I know that the centre is not actually inhabited and simply contains businesses which are closed on Sunday, naturally. Whilst I started walking in some fairly empty streets, a young man, probably younger than myself, walked towards me from bahind and grabbed my bag, pulling me down. As I turned around, his drugged-up face nodded towards a sharp knife he was carrying. Naturally, I let [View Full Entry]

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I have just come back from one crazy party. It is extremely difficult to describe what Lapa looks like on a Friday evening. It is simply the biggest street party one could ever imagine. I went out to this area of Rio with a bunch of Argentinians. We enjoyed dinner together first during which I managed to convince them that Peronismo was indeed a populism, and impressed them with my detailed knowledge of Argentinian politics. Anyway, I had the strongest Caipirinha in the world. It turns out that Capirinha come in many different flavours, not just lemon. Maracuya caipirinha is extremely [View Full Entry]

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