And the volenteer work beings

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FIRST DAY OF WORK AT THE CRECHE, and what a draining day it turned out to be. Charlotte and I cared for the children under one years old, and upon arrival it’s was a crying, crawling, sleeping pit of over 20 babies. Luckily there are some ladies who already work there full time so we just help them out by trying to lull babies to sleep and end the whining of others by bouncing and patting them. (As weird as it sounds, it’s the only way to get them to stop whining) However there were two little bundles of joy in the group, two young boys who seem a little older than the rest and who smiled, played and amused themselves most of the time. They had me snapping away at their game of ‘pikaboo’ through the hole in this huge plastic cube. They really were a treat and even helped the other kids at times by handing them their dummies and bottles.

The area we work at is at least a 45minute metro ride north from Rio De Janeiro. I alternate between mornings with Charlotte on Mondays and Wednesdays, and then afternoons alone on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s a good walk through the suburb to get to the Crèche, which I enjoy because the area has its rustic charm to it. Everything is a little cheaper than in town because the area is visibly poorer. However, I wouldn’t say it was a Favela (poor ghetto). The parents of these children have jobs, but obviously they work hard to keep enough money coming in so the kids have to be cared for by us during the day.

Tuesday and Thursday, I worked with kids between 1 and 2 years. Even after my first experience with this bunch, I was in love! They are a much happier easier bunch, exploring, jumping, and running, throwing balls, dancing and clapping. They say the odd word to me but not too much so that I stare blankly back at them. (Sadly, my Portuguese isn’t coming naturally as I hoped and I struggle to understand or communicate much.) This is the group that lifts my spirits rather than drains my energy.

Work took a lot out of us but it didn’t stop the adventurous spirits. On Wednesday after work we got off the metro a few stops early to check out some sights. Our first stop was the steps of the huge National Library for a snack, but our curiosity dragged us inside. We were told we could only have a limited view of the library if we didn’t have a tour guide so we agreed and wondered in. But the closed doors were made to be opened, so we let ourselves into some rooms unaccompanied. It’s a huge library with billions of books and scripts, but not as jaw dropping as some pictures make it out to be. Maybe the tour guide would have spiced up the silent sacred store rooms… Next stop was the Modern art museum known as MAM. En route I got my first cup of refreshing Acai (a berry from the Amazon) made into an icy/slushy drink. Although at times the after taste reminded me of a kiddie’s medicine, it was a sweet and refreshing drink. The museum was an unexpected experience. Amongst the art on the walls, there were visual displays of objects compiled by artists, and some picture clips running over music in certain rooms which were artistic yet not for the eyes of anyone under 18. All in all the modern Rio artists pushed boundaries and expressed themselves is original yet artistic means.

The next morning I dragged Matt off to Christo Redentor, the one person in our room who hadn’t yet been yet. This is one of the 7 wonders of the world, and the statue is of Christ with its arms open peacefully looking over all of Rio. To get up there, we had to take an old train ride which travelled through the Tijuca rainforest to get the top. There we faced a staggering 360 degrees view of Rio and all its magic, which made me feel a bit faint at first until I got over the height of where I was standing. Okay, I did the embarrassing touristy pictures but it was worth all the snapping because the view around there is breath taking. I wasn’t so taken aback by the actual statue, I can’t say I walked away thinking that was one of the 7 wonders. But it was a must-do for Rio!

Day off on Friday, yey! We felt like another adventure, so off we headed to a famously beautiful beach all the way past the neighboring city Niteroi. It took a bus ride to the station, a ferry ride across to Niteroi and a long and bumpy bus ride of 50mins to get to the beach, but we did it! I was expecting white sand to clear water, but as i have said, this is Rio. The beach had nice sand and was surrounded by two rock faces, but the water was a greeny-brownish color. The beach is best known for its waves which are perfect for surfing, and once we had heated up to the max, we found out just how much fun the surf was. We even got out friend Kenny in who can’t swim as well but he was helped out, over and under the waves which rose and broke with an unpredictable force. It was a top beach day!

As tired as we were once again from a day’s excursion, it was Friday night and we had to go out. Originally we planned something different but once we got back we were all settled to save money and check out a different club in Lapa. The glories of being a ‘Chika’ is we get in for free around here, and the club we found played some pretty decent music. There was house music going on, but every now and then some Brazilian funk or pop would remix in to the familiar tunes. It made much more sense to save cash AND fit in to the Brazilian scene by sticking it out at Lapa for what always is a good night out!

Saturday we slothed around till eventually someone came up with an idea that was affordable and do-able: a trip to the Cinema! Hugo had recently just won about 5 Oscars so we walked down a few blocks to our local cinema and got ourselves 3D tickets to Hugo –IN ENGLISH- with Portuguese subtitles!

Sunday was more exciting, at least for a few of us who decided to be active. We headed off to the other side of Rio so that we could take a hike through Tijuca forest on what turned out to be a grey dribbley day. we were told most of trails were too dangerous to walk but that just added to the whole temptation and fun. we set off on what we thought was the right trail and continued onto some more, through the beautiful tropical greenery and over rivers. somewhere allong the way we hit a fork in the road - uhoh! we took one way and landed up on a road where we could ask where we were, turns out we werent too lost. We hiked around some more till we were hungry and tired, only to land up down wind from a brazilian barbeque happening next to a waterfall. Next thing you know, one of the brazillians guys came up to charlotte and me and asked us to join them because they had brought too much food and it was his frineds birthday! Kenny came round the corner to see us getting served up drinks from their cooler box and they gave us all a feast of an afternoon! There was a constant supply of beef, chicken and pork along with rolls and sauces going round. the smaba music joined in with the solo guitarist and the party vibes of brazilians got swining. I realize all of them can sing and dance and cook, what more does one need to be happy! we explored a nearby cave with them before a couple offered to drive us to a metro station so we could get home. All that we could possibly wish for with a cherry on top! what a week!

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