Rio! :o)

Hey everyone!!

Been in Rio for 5 days now and was actually planning on leaving today but the weathers been so bad so havent really been able to see much as sights like sugarloaf are apparantly only worth seeing when the weather is good! So I was thinking about staying longer as the weathers supposed to get better starting tomorrow but wasnt really sure if i could afford to stay here as Brazil is sooo expensive that i decided a while ago id get out of Brazil asap! But ive found a cheaper alternative... im going to slum it! :o) literally!! im going to live in the slums! :o) Basically, I did the fevela (shanty town) tour on Monday, which was absolutely amazing and the tour guide took us to see a childrens day care centre which relies solely on donations and volunteer workers! He said you can volunteer there at short notice for a minimum of 2 weeks and stay with a family in the fevela so ive decided to do that!! :o) Starting tomorrow... no time like the present! :o) It costs 100pounds for the 2 weeks - 50pounds goes towards accomodation and 50pounds is a donation to the care centre! Lunch etc is included too so it will work out cheaper than if i stayed here in the hostel and im doing something good! :o)

The tour was really amazing! We got driven to the bottom of the biggest fevela in Rio (200,000 people live there!!!) and there were a line of men on motorbikes waiting for us and we just jumped on one of them and then clung on for dear life as they sped up to the top of the shanty town (its on a big mountain), beeping their way around corners to let people know we were coming round so they didnt have to slow down!! scary mary!! my hands really hurt by the time we got to the top from holding on so tight! hehe! :o) luckily everyone made it up to the top! at one point i couldnt see anyone else from group and started to worry that my motorbike man was abducting me hehe! Then we walked down through the fevelas, stopping in some shops and in an art shop/gallery - nearly bought a painting until i realised id have to carry it around for a year! :o) Most of the houses now have running water which they pay for but for those who cant afford that, the water board switches on the water and sends it down to the fevelas for 3 hours each day and then people can go to the tap points, get water and take it back to their houses!

Everyone we met was so nice and friendly and seemed genuinely pleased to see us, quite a few people insisted on shaking all 12 of our hands! (12 peoples hands! i dont have 12 hands hehe!) There was a blonde girl in our group and quite a few men seemed quite fascinated so maybe its a good thing i dyed my hair, even if it is starting to go ginger!! :o( Apparantly theres no crime whatsoever in the fevelas, the only time there are problems is either when a rival gang tries to take over the fevela so they can promote their business there (drugs and guns!!) or if the police come into the fevela! There are always watchers at the bottom on the fevela and if the police or rival gangs come in then they set off fireworks to warn everyone! So fingers crossed that doesnt happen in the next 2 weeks! Most of the gang leaders can never leave the fevelas because theyre wanted by the police etc! They live in houses which look like all the rest but apparantly inside theyve got loads of flat screen tvs etc! Suppose when youre a billionaire but cant go anywhere then theres not really that much else to spend it on!! So if i start missing any home comforts i might just go knocking on one of their doors!! hehe! just joking mum!! ;o)

Im trying to learn a bit of Portugese at the moment so i can talk to the kids but its not going very well! :o( Really excited about tomorrow though.... hope the family im staying with are nice! The kids at the centre were soooooooooo cute, i might try and fit a few of them in my rucksack when i leave!! :o) also saw the tiniest cutest puppy in the world so need to find him again! :o)

Apart from the Fevelas tour I really havent done much since being here! On the first day (Saturday) we had really nice weather so went to Copacabana beach which is just a few blocks away! Went to the street party in Lapa on Friday night which was really cool! Saturday night we went to a big club which was cool apart from the fact you got given a card when u went in which you put your drinks on and paid at the end, and when we left the guy at the door tried to rip us off, telling me and one of the guys we had to pay 200reals (65pounds)!! we had both only bought 2 drinks! in the end we didnt have to pay that much but was still soo expensive so going to try and avoid those kind of clubs in the future! Sunday night we went to the fevela funk party - its a big warehouse club around the corner from the fevela where the film City of God was filmed! It was an amazing night, some young brazilian girls were trying to teach us how to dance Brazilian-stye! which is just lots of bum-wiggeling! :o) The guys there made me laugh - theyre soooo polite, instead of just coming up to you and trying to dance or kiss you, they politely tell you they like you and ask if they could possibly please kiss you! lol!

Anyway Im hoping by my next entry I will have seen a lot more of Rio and will have more to report!! I might even be able to write my entry in Portugese! :o) I think I saw tiny internet stands in the fevelas so im sure ill be in touch again soon to let you know im still alive!! :o)

Lots and lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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