parrisha's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries

parrisha's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member parrisha on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/parrisha en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:56:23 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Curitiba - Era Uma Vez — Curitiba, State of Parana, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1222826880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1222826880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1222826880/tpod.html Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:56:23 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Curitiba, State of Parana, Brazil

Era Uma Vez ...   Sept 27 - Saturday - Met Stef at the hostel while waiting to use a computer.   Sept 28 - Sunday - Daio met me at the Sunday Hippie Festival in Centro.  Great Street fair and to think, this event happens every Sunday.  I also had the great pleasure of meeting Daio's love, Anelise.  With Daio and Anelise I visited the Italian District.   Later that night I would catch a movie and upon exiting I would run into Stef.  After a warm conversation we planned to do the Sierra Nevada Express train together in the morning.   Sept 29 - Monday - Took the Serra Verde Express Train (see Serra Verde Express entry) to Morretes, then Paranaguá today.  Was late getting up and missed Stef at breakfast.  Was pissed about missing her but decided to do the Serra Verde Express anyway.  After the trains arrival in Morretes I decided to head to Paranaguá .  Paranaguá... wasn't much to see.  Although, I did have a great moment on a pier listening to some amazing music.  As the sun came down I returned to Curitiba, specifically to the mall for dinner & maybe a movie.  Ran into Stef again.  We had missed each other on the train to Morretes.  After a fun conversation we decided to do the tourist thing together tomorrow.     Sept 30 - Tuesday - After breakfast, I and Stef headed out together.  Stef started with a massage, while I did some light repacking of my bags.  Afterwards, we headed to the Parque in Centro, and then afterwards moved on to the Museu Oscar Niemeyer.  We laughed so much in the museum. Later we would take a long, but direct route to a highly recommended Japanese restaurant. So much food.  So good.  I was so full.   Oct 1 - Wednesday - Uma Era Vez ... Had an hour long conversation in Portuguese with my new roommate from Barcelona.  After 45 minutes into the conversation I realized he was from Barcelona, um ... SPAIN ... and asked, "are you speaking to me in Spanish or Portuguese."  He replied, "Spanish."  No way, I thought.  No one told me that if I learned Portuguese, sometimes I would be able to understand Spanish also.  I understood his Spanish and he understood my Portuguese.  Too cool. Later, I and Stef went to the TOWER, Chui restaurant for lunch, and then the mall for a movie ... Uma Era Vez was the title.  Really enjoyed the movie!  Later, we did dinner, and enjoyed beer with live music.  Oh, I forgot, had the best chocolate grapes earlier.   Oct 2 - Thursday - Did picnic at Jardin Gardens today (after breakfast).  Took bus back to hostel.  I would later go with Daio to his photography studio.  Great studio.  It was a shared space ... everyone is an independent doing their own thing, yet because it is a shared space, no one works alone. (For someone who is usually an independent doing my own thing aka working alone in front of a computer or keyboard, this situation was the ultimate answer.)  It was a pleasure to see a better way of doing things.  Thanks Daio!   Afterwards, I sat outside.  I played sax and conversed with the many people around us in the patio of the hostel.  That night I would enjoy a REALLY EXPENSIVE dinner.  Daio would meet us both at the restaurant once we were done and would take us to a special Jazz club in Curitiba.  I had the opportunity to sit in and play soprano saxophone with the band.  The band was absolutely amazing.  Not one for usually being intimidated, but these guys were playing at the highest level of jazz.  Their performance as a whole was absolutely amazing.  I was so impressed.  Curitiba really does have it going on.   Oct 3 - Friday - After Breakfast we set out. We hit the Opera House, Tingiu Park & Sushi.  By the end of the night (and after a couple of nights without a good nights sleep) I was exhausted, truly exhausted and I still had to pack to leave in the morning, oh, and the shower wasn't working.  Go figure. Oct 4 - Saturday - This morning we left early for our bus to Sao Paulo.  We slept on bus.  The ride through the Sierra Gaucha Mountains was beautiful amongst the light rain & mist.  Later on Stef would forget her camera as she was leaving the bus station for the airport.  Of which I would later find hanging off my right arm.  It was a very expensive camera.   I had to get it to her.  Decided to take a trip to the airport.  Once at the airport we would spend our last 45 minutes hanging out before her flight.  We said our goodbyes as she left for her home.   I then headed back to the bus station in Sao Paulo to board my bus heading to Rio.  I stayed in Curitiba 4 days longer than I had originally planned, but how could I leave.  Another great week in Brazil!!!
]]> Sao Paulo ... Centro Tour-Under Construction — Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224544260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224544260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224544260/tpod.html Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:53:40 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Centro Tour - lp
]]> Sao Paulo - Just another big city! — Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224198540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224198540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224198540/tpod.html Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:15:40 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Sao Paulo - Just another big city! I like travel days.  Three hours at the bus station, six hours on the bus, then a 30 minute cab ride to my stay.  You would think that it would be the exact opposite, but travel days gives me time to think, to process where I've been and where I'm going; to slow down, step back and get a fresh look at the big picture.  And the big picture is ... I have no idea what I'm doing.  No seriously ... this has become my mantra.  I'm a wolf following his nose, of course, with absolutely no idea where it's taking me. There's a point in any journey or decision where you cross some invisible line.  A point where you began to loose the reference of where you started, from where you come from.  It no longer exists.  Too much of the scenery has changed and you probably couldn't find your way back even if you tried ... even if you wanted to, which of course, you don't.  Your only response is to keep going.   Keep walking into the unknown ... ... and hope that some new reference point show up and point the way to your destiny.  If there is such a thing. Oct 16 - Thursday - Today I head to Sao Paulo.  Made apparent by my sluggishness was how very little I cared to leave Rio.  To start, I was late for bus, which created a 3 hour wait, then 7 hours in transit.  After my arrival I had the pleasure of meeting Tele & Luiz (great people).  They would be my hosts for the remainder of the week.  Not only were they completely awesome as people, they had style to boot.  Upon arriving we all went for a quick dinner and then to a nightclub to see a musical performance. Oct 17 - Friday - Went to the MASP - Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo, in Paulista.  I was quite impressed by the high profile works of art within the museum.  I actually enjoyed the Paulista district.  In fact, later I would return to walk to the mall (after heading out to get tourist info @ Teite (bus station)).  Later Tele & Luiz took me to the Bossa Nuevo Club where I would end up playing saxophone with the band all night.  Performing and hanging out with all the musicians in Sao Paulo was a very familiar place to be. Oct 18 - Saturday - Today was about music - all about music.  Went to Museu da Lingua Portuguesa ... Era maravilhoso.  Very impressive museum.  After a 45 minute wait to enter (fortunately it was completely worth it) I spent the better part of 2 hours walking its walls.   Afterwards I headed to Sao Paulo North for a movie.  Sao Paulo north is more walker oriented, less clean, more dangerous ... of course, I would find it to my liking, although I wouldn't recommend going alone at night like I did unless your coconuts are as big as mine. Oct 19 - Sunday - Went to the largest Park in Sao Paulo, Parque do Ibirapuera.  Museu Afro-Brasil, located inside the parque, was absolutely amazing.  So many works within its walls.  Spent 3 hours there ... so very impressed.  Equally so, I thought the Japanese Garden and the Museu de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Museum) also located in the Parque... was a joke.  So not impressed.  Talk about night and day.  Afterwards I decided to do a nice long scenic walk from Ibirapuera back to Santa Cruz Station.  Enjoyed an expensive dinner and in at 9pm. Oct. 20 - Monday - Did Centro today ... the tour (see Sao Paulo - Centro Tour.)  The Lonely planet information was very helpful in giving me the main landmarks and their history.  Walking Centro was a really good experience.  Street bums and hookers ... and I don't know why I am surprised, but the street hookers looked good.  No really, they didn't look like hookers; they looked more like pin-up girls or high price call girls.   Brazil, I was impressed.  In the US, walking the streets, they wouldn't look that good ...   and not only that, they were doing the walk at 4pm too ... Gives a whole new meaning to Happy hour. Afterwards, I took the subway to Liberdade (predominantly Japanese section of town.)  Anyone who knows me knows how much I appreciate Asian Culture and design.  10,000,000 Japanese live in Brazil; more Japanese live in Brazil than any other country outside of Japan.  I absolutely loved this neighborhood.  Made me want to go shopping for an apartment and that would include looking for the apartment.  After Liberdade, the sun was starting to go down, so I decided to take a good long walk back to Santa Cruz Station.  You can't really know a city unless you walk it.  After all this it would have been best if I had headed in for the night, but  noooooo ... I decided to top the day off with "the worst movie ever" at the Santa Cruz Mall.  Bed would have been such a better end to such an interesting day.
]]> Rio de Janeiro — Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223259240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223259240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223259240/tpod.html Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:40:04 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Oct. 5 - Sunday - Rio de Janeiro - Was unsure about my visit to Rio.  So much has been said about Rio that I found myself with foreboding and expectation, the two things I don't want to have before any new experience (especially upon arriving in a new city.) For all its professed and promoted intensity, I found Rio to be quite relaxed, creative, artistic, energetic, young, friendly and engaging.  I'm sure that arriving on a Sunday didn't hurt this perception. I arrived in Rio at daybreak on Sunday morning and straight off the bus, one thing became immediately apparent to this African-American who grew up in a world of black and white ... this city definitely had a lot more color than I had ever seen before.  In the faces and all the beautiful skin tones around me, it was immediately apparent that something was missing ... and that was a majority, a common theme or a division of color.  Everyone here was Brazilian and that was pretty much the end of it.  At that moment, I realized how American it was of me to have this thought, to be so sensitive to such a thing.  It said a hell of a lot more about me than Rio. Once at the hostel I decided to explore the Bairro de Ipanema (neighborhood of Ipanema).  After strolling down the beach, I headed to Park Osório.   Every Sunday they have an outdoor Hippie Art Fair. I figured that if it was anything like the one in Curitiba, then I was in for a treat. The fair was friendly, warm, colorful and quite impressive. About 250 vendors filled the large square. On two of the corners there were street musicians.  One of the musicians was so impressive in playing a small wooden flute that I spent the better part of an hour drinking Caju juice from the corner stand listening to him play. There were many different types of arts, crafts, and merchandise in the park, but the big winner was the two-dimensional art. The quality of the artwork was so high, and being an event producer of art festivals, I have some experience in this field. There were so many pieces that I personally, seriously wanted to buy.  Knowing that I needed to stay travel-light was, once again, my saving grace.   My poor wallet screamed in fright just being in that park.  It would have been a shame to spend all my money in Rio ... ohhhh ... but, I sure did want to.  The colorfulness, culture and soul of Rio and Brazil was everywhere in the artists works.  It all completely lived up to what would be expected in Rio. In one day in this park, I could have decorated an entire house with works of art that would astound for very, very little cost. The vendors were talented, friendly and (surprisingly for Brazil) a lot of them could speak English.  Obviously many Americans and Europeans have already figured out this wonderful art market exists here, the one that I was just now discovering, and over the year, the artists here have adjusted to their market. (If I ever have a house of my own, I'm flying to Rio to decorate my walls.) Many times I talk about the rules of travel like 1) arrive during the day 2) procure your hotel before 2pm, noon if possible. But I don't think I have yet to mention rule number 3.  If you really want to know the heart and truth of a city, procure a really good guide and my dear friend Marcio was just that. After taking me to his beautiful home in Rio, meeting his fun and lovely wife and family, and having a great dinner at one of their local favorite restaurants, Marcio then proceeded to educate me on the cities nightlife.  He showed me the neighborhoods and gave me the basics (what to know) about each.  Copacabana (Marcio's wife's favorite), Leblon (his favorite), Lapa, Centro.  Where to be and where not to be; always important ... and yes Parrish, those are not girls. They make look like girls, but they are not girls.  Marcio also introduced me to my new favorite drink; Erbe Matte (tastes like a really strong sweet tea.)  After a while, I could start to get a sense for the differences of each neighborhood in South Rio. And for all of Rio's tourism, these neighborhoods really are real neighborhoods, with all the warmth and personality that comes with the name. Even as I write this entry, I find Ipanema is already starting to grow on me. I sit in Garoto de Ipanema, the restaurant where Jazz Great Tom Jobim wrote the song Girl from Ipanema (I know, sooo touristy ... what can I say.)  Anyway, so the story goes, Jobim was watching a girl walk in from the beach which can be seen from my table.  As I write this journal entry, I feel nothing but delight to be here. Rio has a way of breaking down reservations and touching your heart and spirit with raw color and life.  After a day or two you suddenly find, you never want to leave.  I wouldn't have expected such an idealistic view of this city ... not from me, but this seemingly tourist town is in truth quite quaint, connected, comfortable, friendly, warm and alive that even I, never want to leave. Oct. 6 - Monday - Favala - Did the Favala Tour today (see next blog entry).  Very interesting indeed.  Really got to get a motorcycle.  Afterwards I went back to the restaurant Garato de Ipanema for dinner.  Really like this restaurant, although it is not cheap.  Took a night walk around Ipanema then headed for bed.  Big day tomorrow ... a lot to see! Oct. 7 - Tuesday - Christ, Tijuca, & Lapa - Did the tourist thing today.  Christ Statue, Parque da Tijuca, visited the Streets of Lapa  (now that was both cool and unique ...(see the photo of me with the artist),  had an excellent lunch in the neighborhood of Santa Teresa, so much creativity and character there.  I really liked that neighborhood. Oct. 8 - Wednesday - Pao de Açucar - Went to Pao de Açucar with my hostel roomy Mark (British Bloke).  Great guy, although later I would call him the devil incarnate.  He continuously had a way of getting me to do things I hadn't planned on doing, like hang-gliding, seeing a soccer match in Maracaja Stadium. We had so much twisted fun.  Evil, he was ... pure evil ... LOL (just kidding).  The views from Pao de Açucar were absolutely amazing.   I, at first, balked at the R$44 (US$22) price tag for a trolley car lift to the top of a big rock ... well that's what it is, but once there ... WOW ... it was worth every centavo. A definite to-do on a clear day ... It was just amazing ... until the clouds came in and let me tell you, they came in fast.  You should have seen the droves of people trying to get off that rock and yes ... I have pictures.  Afterwards we would find a really good bar in Leblon to eat and drink the night away.  All in all a great day with my new British mate. Oct. 9 - Thursday - Centro - Explored Centro(downtown) today ... now that's what I am talking about.  That's the Brazil I know and love.  What I'm saying is that Rio isn't like the Brazil I have seen thus far.  The stunning beauty of the beaches and popularity of Rio has given Rio's beach areas a different landscape and culture than what I am used to thus far.  But Centro ... now this is usual Brazil.  I absolutely loved my time there.  The mercados, the street vendors, the markets ... now this is Brazil.  This central component takes Rio over the top in my book of cities in Brazil. While in Centro, I, by chance, walked upon this awesome Choro band performing in an outdoor bar.  All the musicians were over 60.  They were obviously the real deal and the music was absolutely awesome.  I was so trying not to be in Centro after dark, from what I have heard, Centro is not a place you want to be after dark, but I couldn't help it and I wasn't the only one.  They band was so good.  Oh, and the singers ... man could they belt it out.  Such a lucky find to stumble upon. Later that night I went out with Marcio and his wife.  Met some fun and interesting people.  Met Ela.  Ahh, beautiful Rio ... we danced, we kissed, we talked about Hip hop (an integral part of all the best romances).  All in all a great night, only, somewhere in all this partying, I lost my cell-phone. Oct. 10 - Friday - Lapa - Attempting to go Hang-gliding today ... didn't happen due to rain clouds.  Now, it didn't really rain.  In truth, the rain clouds strolled up to the mountain and just hovered there as if to say, "Try me." After an hour of waiting for something, anything to happen either way, everyone just gave up.  We will try again tomorrow. Afterwards, Mark and I went out for lunch. Later that night I and Ela went out to Lapa via the bus.  Lapa on a Friday night is the shitz for any party-goer!!!  The streets are closed to traffic, filled with wall to wall people, street vendors everywhere (food and merchandise), and club after club after club.  Saw a really good band at a place called Momo's then stopped in a Hip-hop club for late-night dancing.  Returned around 5am (which was obviously too early for most everyone else.) Oct. 11 - Saturday - Hang-gliding, Maracaja Stadium and OMG!!! - Okay, it just doesn't get any better than this.  Went hang-gliding in the morning.  Absolutely fantastic experience. My goodness, as soon as I hit the bottom I was ready to pay the porter to take me right back up the mountain to do it again.  No seriously, I almost did ... then this little voice of reason said, "Have a Caipirinha and calm down before you go spending more money." After a calming Caipirinha on the beach where we had landed, I realized that there were other experiences to be had in Rio and I should get to them.  Ahhh, but it was so much fun!  At 1pm I and Mark did the beach thing in Ipanema.  Ahhh ... Rio's beaches.  The water, the sand, the walking vendors and, of course, beautiful women in bikinis.  So relaxing!!! 4pm - Maracana Stadium - Flamingo (Rio's Premier Soccer Team) versus Atlantico (from Curitiba).  Now that place was intense.  70,000 people.  The energy was unlike anything I have experienced before and seriously electrifying.  Another must do in Brazil.  Afterwards, Copacabana for a late night dinner. And Later, much later ... spent the most amazing time with Ela - OMG!  AMAZING!!!  OMG!!!! So good, crazy good! Oct. 12 - Sunday - Missed my friends Marcio's visit this morning, but did get my cell phone back.  Spent day at the beach with Ela.  Too much sun.  Got a little burned.  Afterwards went for sushi ... mmm sushi.  Then I took a nap with plans for us to get together later that night.  This girl is absolutely adorable.  Sunburned, but adorable.  PS - my eyes have almost healed (long story). Oct. 13 - Monday - Okay ... still in Rio!  Spent day on the beach in Ipanema, just lounging around.  Met Ela for dinner. Oct. 14 - Tuesday - Today was all about Ela.  Met at her place around 3pm and let me tell you ... the fun began.  We hung out and played and played and played!!!  So much fun.  Eventually she kicked me out, all the while flaunting her sexuality (ah, such sweet torture). Oct. 15 - Wednesday - Today I slept hard, really hard.  I've fallen in love with the open window of my dorm that overlooks the street below.  Feels like a place I never want to leave.
]]> Saying Goodbye!!! — Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1221424440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1221424440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1221424440/tpod.html Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:58:44 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil

These photos are of me preparing to start heading North ...Update: November 12, 2008 - How could I ever say goodbye.  Not going to happen. These are pictures of my family in Brazil.  Never will I ever say goodbye!!! I will see them again!
]]> Serra Verde Express — Paranagua, State of Parana, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223172360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223172360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223172360/tpod.html Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:38:07 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Paranagua, State of Parana, Brazil

Photos from the Serra Verde Express Train from Curitiba to Paranagua ... this is a photo entry.  Enjoy the photos!!! :)
]]> ... I Hate Oxford — Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224717180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224717180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1224717180/tpod.html Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:24:55 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

I HATE OXFORD ...   To those that know me, what I am about to say is nothing new ... I HATE OXFORD.   I HATE the (*%¨&) of a city that birth me.   Yes, I consider it a pisshole.  No really, I consider it a black hole with the destructive gravitational force of a screaming two-year old doped up on coco-pops!   As my sister would say, I have issues ... which in all fairness is completely true.  Even so, 9 times out of 10, when there was an interruption of life or a great pain was initiated that would have to be overcome this city was somehow involved.  The other thing that was involved comes from the back end of a bull.   How is it that a pissant little town of less than 10,000 can hold so much negative and foreboding presence for any one person, I will never understand.  And we wonder why I have never felt at home or at ease anywhere or with anyone in my adult life.  (Rio maybe the first exception) and yet, my time with her is being taken away all too soon.   Unless I can see a solution, soon I will be returning back to the hole from which I came.  And quoting Luke 4:24 "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. "   If only the prophets words weren't so true.   I wasn't finished.  I wasn't finished with my journey.   I wasn't finished with the story. Things were just started to click, but it would seem the negative pole (the bane) of my existence has called me back once again to die more silent deaths within its prison walls.   No public transportation whatsoever, no arts or music to speak of, no natural beauty, no culture, with little to see and nothing to do but live in the protected and socially-maintained bubbles of work, walmart, junkfood, and the emotionally mind-numbing yet necessary self-medication of cable TV and CNN.   In embarking on this journey, I tried to give myself to the fates.  To ask that they show me what I needed to see.  To let them guide me.  Maybe this is part of the story.  Maybe the story doesn't end here.  I hope not.  Maybe I get to return and finish what I started ... I hope so.  Maybe there is a point to all this (although, believing that anything has a point is more difficult when I am in that town ... it would be nice if there were!) ... and I wonder why I wander.
]]> Favala — Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223259600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223259600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223259600/tpod.html Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:18:31 -0500 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Favala   This morning I decided to do the Favala Tour in Rio. Favala is a specifically Brazilian word for a shanty town .  If you are American ... think ghettos or the projects (similar, mmm yet different.)   I would later end the day with a plate of Bolinho de Bacalhau and a glass of Brazilian wine.  God, I love Bacalhau.   Disclaimer: This journal entry is more of a personal rant than necessarily about the favalas.  In fact, this entire blog is about my personal journey outward and sometimes inward.  And it would seem that, as I arrive to this particular subject, I have a lot to say.   A Music Education (what good is it?): When going to an Arts School, what they usually forget to tell you is that ... if you don't go into the area of music education or intend to stay in school until you have your Doctorship in Music, your chances of working professionally in the field of music for a decent salary are pretty much slim to none.  Only in the best schools like Julliard, Berklee, NC-School of the Arts (my alma-mater ... it really is a great school, world-known) do they make this clear.    Only 1 of 3 of you will actually be working in your artistic field 5 years from graduation and only 1 in 10 after 10 years. (This from the best music schools in the country.)  Yet, schools continue to pop up in droves promising that if you pay for tuition they will give you the skills to do? ... (to do what, I ask?!)  Exactly!!!  Either become a high-school music teacher or to pursue professorship at just another college teaching young, wanting musicians how to be unemployable after graduation.  Hell, after college, I couldn't buy a job that I didn't create.   A music degree is about as worthless as the paper it is written on.  Even in socially "sanctioned" musical society (big words for music education with a bent towards classical or the traditional jazz idiom.) you better be a straight shooter and at the top of your class.  Being creative is usually not an option.  The harsh reality is that, outside of the fields of education are corporations, and a musical performance degree fits into neither world.   For more information see the attached article: Reshaping Dreams   Oxford , NC - Many times I've talked with hatred and dislike for the city of which I come from.  This city (at the time of my growing up there) was a racist little backwards city of 9,000 and unfortunately is and will always be a part of me.  Of course, I despise this little fact to no end.  Way too many of the people that I grew up with now look 10 to 20 years my senior, completely burnt out by lack of opportunity, impoverishment of dreams, despair and more often than not, drugs.  They exist on the street corners doing whatever they can to both entertain themselves and get them through another day.  From others, who disdain their presence, they tell them to get an education, but they can't afford an education and so then they are told to get a job, but there is very little work to be had.  And then what is left, but survival (the selling of drugs being the common means to an end).  Eventually they go in and out of jail and find themselves in the all too common cycle of death that is our judicial system.   Now, they really can't get a job, not with a record, yet everyone continue to tell them, down the bridge of their nose, of course, to stay clean, stay out of trouble and get a job ... and so what is it for them to do besides be where they are, the way that they are.   ***No public transportation either*** - Your only chance, when you actually get a job (any job), is to hold onto it for dear life with no thought of rising or fear of falling.  20 years from now you will be there and that's the way that it is.  Accept it and live.  Deny it to your peril.   This cycle of slow death kills the spirit of a majority of young men from this little town and to look into their eyes is to see a soul burnt through the core from the despair of life.  When you can't even obtain the basics, how in the hell can you find the courage and strength to dream and work for more.  They have neither support nor recourse.   Many times I've shared a beer (40oz) on the corner with some good ole catch-up conversation; both I and old friends sharing in the fact that we come from the same place and all the while knowing that I am not one with them now.  Each day of my life I feel both their pain and the fear of that which creates it.  No matter how far I go, I always feel its presence, waiting for me to slip and fall. Waiting for me to fail.  Hunting me, like a demon in the dark.   Europe:   When I was 18 I had the pleasure (good fortune) of being among 102 graduating high school musicians in the country (1 of only 2 selected from my state) invited to represent the USA in a 5 week Concert tour of Europe.  I wore the emblem on my tux and I enjoyed champagne dinners each night after each performance with dignitaries from 8 different countries.  (Okay, a slight exaggeration, not every night, but close enough).  Many similar experiences in my life sometimes allow me to seem "more than" in some peoples eyes, but with time they see what I already and always know.   For all we have in common, we are not the same.   *Those who judge eventually find me a fraud from who they first thought I was.   Sometimes it's easy to forget, but with time, I am almost always reminded. (No matter what side of the fence I am on; the side with the haves or the side with the have-nots.)     Brazil - Society always finds a way to divide itself.  It's how the haves protect themselves from the have-nots and the have-nots protect themselves from each other.  What's always interesting is where that particular line is drawn.  More times than not, I stand with one foot on both sides.  When people realize that I might be more or less than what they originally thought me to be, you should see the confusion come across their face.  They are suddenly disturbed and being disturbed never is good.  It's a very particular look.  I see the results of whispers and subtle questions, and after years of experience and out of sheer spite, I usually choose not to aid in giving someone the answers they need to relive their own issues of social order.   Human instinct tells us to embrace what is like us and reject (protect yourself from) that which isn't. So, what happens when you both ARE and NOT?! Hmm!  The reaction to that question is always quite telling of the person that stands in front of me.   I don't think my experiences are unusual. Actually, I think it's quite common of any African-American males that came from a small-town, lower-middle class family in the States. Even those who chose to outright reject where they had come from for a better life and those who equally choose to reject the golden ladder of social climbing in order to keep it real still know all to well of what I speak.   Vestibular:   All the world has ways of dividing its people.  America has many lines (party lines, racial lines, culture lines, etc., but most if not all can be bent, broken, changed, or obscured with money or the ability to create money (the ability to produce results - the very means through which I have crossed many a line).  In Brazil, to its credit, I so far see only one, yet all important dividing line and everything else seems to be built around that.   In Brazil, its name is the Vestibular (written exams designed independently by Brazilian universities where students are tested for entry into university.)   This is how (as I see it) Brazil (equal among the rest of the world) separates its society.  How the halves separate themselves from the have-nots. *There is much I want to say about this subject.  I haven't had the words before, because I hadn't felt ready.  I still don't feel ready or worthy to speak on the subject.  Even so, the subject has come up and today is as good as any.   The haves divide themselves from the have-nots.  The educated (those with degrees) and the workers (service folk).  And of course, surrounding the Vestibular is almost always ... money.  You need money to take the test.  You need money to prepare for the test.  You need money to not go to a public school so that you have enough education to even consider taking the test and afterwards (unless you pass with one of the highest scores that allows you entry into a Federal University) you have to pay for the University Education after the test.  Again ... the haves and the have-nots.   To have a degree is to be a part of a membership with certain privileges and opportunities that are not allowed to the service workers of society.  The pay divide between the educated class and the service workers is much more exaggerated in Brazil than in the States.  A University Education almost guarantees you a certain/different type of lifestyle.  Not having an education guarantees you another.  Most service workers make very little pay.  The bottom of this social stratum is people that don't even have the means to find opportunities to work.  If you don't have access to personal contacts, clean (nice) clothes, shoes or convenient means to have a shower, then how are you going to find a job.  Therefore, most of the educated live inside the city's walls, pay their taxes, and dreams of a big house in the countryside while most of the service community live on the outskirts of the city or in the favalas, but as my own personal experiences have taught me and I would later learn on the tour, the favalas are not always what you think they are...   Rochina - Daniela picked me up at the hostel.  She was the perfect host for this tour.  Cute, experienced, savy, yet possessing a sense of dangerousness about her.  Our group of 9 arrived at the bottom of Rocinha (the favala where we would spend the next 3 hours getting to know.)  Motorcyclists awaited us at the bottom ready to take us to the top.  The morotcycle ride alone was worth half the cost.  (Man, I got to get a motorcycle.)  At the top is where our tour began.  The electrical pole was the first example of this dual reality.  Everyone in this favala has access to FREE internet, electricity, and of course, cable TV.  Now, no one actually pays for it.  If you want it, then you (or someone else, for a small fee, of course - gotta love commerce in the hood) just hooks you up to the wayyyy over-accessed electrical pole and Walla ... Free shit!  One of the guys on the tour happened to be an electrician and laughingly, yet with all seriousness responded, "do you know how dangerous that is!"  Of which I thought ... 'figures'.  I once had a friend (one of the most intelligent people I've ever known) who hooked up everyone in the projects where he lived with free cable (HBO, Cinemax, the works) all so that if the company ever figured out that HE had free cable, they wouldn't know it was him that hooked it up.  His kids thought it was genius ... I did too!   So Daniela proceeded to tell us that there were basically three places where we couldn't take photos: the guys with walkie-talkies, the guys with guns, and pictures of the graffiti artists works.  The guys with walkie-talkies and guns were stationed at the beginning and end of the favalas.  These were the security and traffic control inside the favela.  No one enters or exit without passing them and if they don't know you from the neighborhood, you probably won't get in, unless you are with someone who is.   ***A little history*** It seems that when Rio, the city, was building itself it needed cheap labor.  A lot of people from the North East moved down for jobs.  The workers couldn't afford to live in the cities but needed to be close to work, so in a performance of what we call "squatters rights" in the US, they went into the hills, found a square of unoccupied land, and built them a house out of whatever they had or could afford.  After many, many years of this process, you get what you see today.  In fact, some houses are built on top of other houses (sometimes they can get up to 4 houses high).  A person sells his roof and so another house gets built on top.  In many ways, the favela is similar to any drug-run neighborhood in the states with some important differences.  If you are of or live in the neighborhood the favela is safer than being in the city (they have their own law and that law is a lot more serious than city prison.)  The major difference is that in the states, neighborhoods are loosely controlled, if at all - there are usually multiple entries and exits, and the residents are usually against the control.  The favela is different in that it has one or two major entrance and exit point.  This particular favela has over 300,000 living in its walls and there are at least two more major favelas located in the city.  Out of the 7,000,000 people in the city, 2,000,000 lives in favelas.  This particular favela is a city unto itself, with its own with grocery stores, clubs, hotels, you name it.    At around the half-way point of our tour we stopped for lunch at a little groceria.  Mmmm ... they had some amazing sweet breads.  We saw the nursery and orphanage financed by Favala tour funds.   The city (favela) pretty much manages itself.  It seems to only get dangerous when their are confrontations with police and bullets start flying.    As with most drug centers, the favela is neither the producer, nor point of sale buyer of the drugs.  The drugs come in from others who live in big houses in really well-respected neighborhoods ... and the majority of buyers are the same.  (Sounds familiar).  The favela is just the middle ground - the point of sale.  A cog in a wheel created by others to exploit a specific populations need to do whatever is necessary to survive.   By the end of the tour, I found the whole place quite comfortable and most friendly.  Everyone appeared a lot more genuinely accepting and friendly in a different way than the outside world where a many interchanges are based on appearance, status and commerce.   Upon leaving the favela on the way to the hostel, I saw an advertisement where you can pay to go and train for the vestibular.  These training centers are all over the place and I really think makes up around 10% of the marketing you see in and out of a city.  The all powerful vestibular, where it will be decided whether you get to live in one world or the other.  If you join the ranks of polite society or if you will live in or near the favela.   As I have been told, things are changing.  President Lula has been part of that change, but his time is short and it will be interesting how Brazil will proceed into its future without him.   Disclaimer #2: Although I am not Brazilian, this is my observation through my very American eyes and my particular experience of Brazil.  If I offend anyone in anyway you have my apologies.  I probably don't know what I am talking about anyway.  For an opinion on the matter I would recommend that you look for yourself.  As for me, in my very short 4 months this is as I see it and yes, I love Brazil.
]]> Curitiba - Ahead of the Game — Curitiba, State of Parana, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1222567020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1222567020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1222567020/tpod.html Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:15:44 -0400 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Curitiba, State of Parana, Brazil

Curitiba - Ahead of the Game   So when I planned my travels through Brazil, Curitiba wasn't originally on the list of cities to visit.   Later when I found that Curitiba is considered to be Brazil's most functioning cities and has a model transportation system that is considered one of the best, not only in Brazil, but in the world, I thought ... that's definitely worth a look ... I'll give it 2 days.   I have been in Curitiba a week now, but the city can't take full credit for that [see Era Uma Vez].   Sept. 27 - Arrived in the early morning with some time before check-in, so I put my bags in guarda malas (bag storage) at the Rodoviaria (bus station) and went for the tourist information office nearby and most importantly to the train station where I could get information on the Sierra Nevada Express train to Morrettes.   Afterwards I went to the Mercado Publico.  All of which were located close to the Rodoviaria (bus station).   When I take on a new city, I usually do so by map areas to make the most economy of my time and travel within a city.   Lonely Planet has pretty good maps and since I was near the Rhodavaria and had time before check-in, I thought that I might as well do everything of interest located in the general area.   I usually make a copy of just the map and start walking hitting all the highlights, knowing that you can´t truly know a city unless you walk it.   I absolutely love all of the Mercado Publicos I have visited in Brazil, but there was a new twist to this one and the city of Curitiba in general ... "Asia" ... There was a lot of Asian influence in the city and the Mercado Publico in general.   My new friend Analise would later tell me of a Japanese group of 30 that she once showed around Curitiba.  They were amazed to meet so many Japanese-Brazilians who, of course, were speaking Portuguese.   Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.   After check-in, I met in with some new friends for brunch and café.   My dorm-mates were Everton (Brazilian) who speaks Portuguese and Spanish, but no English and Elijah (French) who speaks French and English, but no Portuguese and of course me (the American) who speaks English and Portuguese, but no Spanish.  You should have heard the 3 way conversations made possible by my recent induction into the world of the multi-linguals.   Afterwards I and Everton went for some light-hearted shopping, chopp (draft beer), and bachayal.   Everton proceeded to educate me on the colorful names of women's skin tones in Brazil.    Loiras (blonds), Morenas (brunettes with some color), Mulatas (coffee or brown-skinned), and Negras.   And how the Loiras really like the Negros, which I found interesting in that, so far (from my own personal experience here in Brazil) the stereotype seemed to be living up to the hype.   Lucky me, right!.   He also told me that he wouldn't consider me Negro but Mulato because of my skin tone.   This I found fascinating and maybe a little hard to believe, but Everton just smiled and said that I would see what he meant when I get to Bahia where the majority of the population is much darker than me.   Now for you Americans who have never been to Brazil, what you have to understand is that from Everton's point of view (and probably most Brazilians) this all has nothing to do with race or any of the attachments of race that come with the concepts of race that Americans would normally think of.   This was all just about skin-tone.  Money is green and her eyes are blue and my skin tone is Mulato or negro or whatever.  And to think we were doing all this conversing in Portuguese.   It still amazes when I can communicate in this other language.   Back to Curitiba - True to form, the city seems to run like a well-oiled machine.  Every sidewalk was tiled in these interesting designs and around every corner the tile patterns would suddenly change.   After a few days I was trained to wonder and anticipate what new tile design the next turn would bring.   Ahhhh ... the tiles!!!    If you look at the recycling systems used in Curitiba, the reuse of normally unusable spaces (like all the old granite quarries that were turned into ecological centers and parks), the well designed bus system (and I hear they are already planning for a transit system), Curitiba was definitely ahead of the curve and not just in Brazil.   For some recommended articles on race in America and Brazil see the following: http://www.afrigeneas.com/forum-world/index.cgi?noframes;read=95  
]]> Sao Paulo - Heading to Rio — Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223171700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223171700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/parrisha/1/1223171700/tpod.html Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:19:05 -0400 Diferença mas Similar: My journey through Brazil

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Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Heading to Rio
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