Well, Maya came in clutch and found me a place to stay. 300 reals for a week, Ipanema, two blocks from the beach and one block from the Metro station, and right where a huuuge bloco started yesterday night, breakfast included. What a great deal for me...a bed in a dorm hostel with 5 other people would be like $500 US. Its cruelty here now for rooms, but theres some shining souls. My remarkable good karma continues on this trip.
I forgot to explain the other instance. I lost my wallet on a bus. Just kind of stood up and it mutinied and stayed on the seat. I realized as soon as the doors closed. I had just pulled out a lot of Reals, figuring its better that way since the ATMs rob you blind. Bad luck, I guess, over 300 US. Shit. Next day, after I cancelled my ATM card, someone calls. They found my wallet and want to return it. Wait, am I still in South America? Really? Are you sure?
Ok, theres no money in it, they jsut want to give a traveller back their ID, I think.
I meet up with them later, and all the money is there. What luck! Amazing! I will pass on the favor, i promise the world.
Strangely, my international phone card is the only thing missing. Weird, i think. But who cares!
Life is beautiful...
Anyway, a huge bloco started a block from my house, transvestites came out of the woodwork (oh right, its Ipanema) with crazy Brazilians and tourists to get sprayed by foam and streamers and covered in glitter and sweat and excitement. French maid costumes, men wearing dresses (even the straight men), beer and meat skewers, and thousands and thousands of people in the streets following the drums and music, dancing, loving, screaming, laughing
and having a ball.
Just think, the whole city is like this. Miles and miles of drunk happy people comandeering the streets and all the alcoholic beverages and shiny things they can muster.
What a great event. Let´s make regular life like this! Cmon guys, lets bring more bubbles, more glitter, more excitement into the world on a daily basis. No more suits and briefcases hurrying to your job, DON A MASK and save the world from corporate corruption through SIN and MAYHEM!
haha and thats the word we live by...
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Fazenda
The farm, or fazenda, as the Portuguese call it, is situated outside the city of Mogi das Cruzes, near Sao Paulo. The farm is off of a pothole ridden dirt road, often completely muddy due to the monsoon rains that strike nearly daily and send torrential waves of rain down on Brazil. On the muddy days, and sometimes the not so muddy ones depending on the driver, the bus doesnt come here.
The farm is focused on building permaculture, there are no crops yet. We have built a compost, seed planters, we fixed doors on for the front and back doors, and mesh for the moscas, the flies on the windows. The house is simple at best, but at least there is light, hot water for the shower, and an angering and tempermental internet connection.
A big fierce black dog named Delicado (Delicate) prowls the house and farm, and a smaller brown dog named Laika just gave birth to seven (!) puppies, 5 girls and 2 boys. There is a cute black and white kitten, a horse who sticks his head in through the kitchen window above the sink to much whatever you~re cooking (until we fixed the mesh), and a strange small blonde dog named MalMal (maomao), which means bad-bad, after a card game the people were playing when they first saw him at the farm. He generally lurks in the garage far away from the house, and you only see him running away with his head turned back to look at you. Slowly, he has gotten more and more comfortable with the people at the farm, and not sometimes will make raids on the food lying around the kitchen or beds, until someone sees him, then he runs out of the room and disappears into the vapor.
The work is hard but rewarding, and the days either incredibly hot or full of torrential thunderstorms.
The food is simple and vegetarian, a lot of rice and beans and lentils...tons of tomatoes, some avocados, mangoes, papayas, goyabas, and other obscure fruits. But its all quite delicious.
The farm is focused on building permaculture, there are no crops yet. We have built a compost, seed planters, we fixed doors on for the front and back doors, and mesh for the moscas, the flies on the windows. The house is simple at best, but at least there is light, hot water for the shower, and an angering and tempermental internet connection.
A big fierce black dog named Delicado (Delicate) prowls the house and farm, and a smaller brown dog named Laika just gave birth to seven (!) puppies, 5 girls and 2 boys. There is a cute black and white kitten, a horse who sticks his head in through the kitchen window above the sink to much whatever you~re cooking (until we fixed the mesh), and a strange small blonde dog named MalMal (maomao), which means bad-bad, after a card game the people were playing when they first saw him at the farm. He generally lurks in the garage far away from the house, and you only see him running away with his head turned back to look at you. Slowly, he has gotten more and more comfortable with the people at the farm, and not sometimes will make raids on the food lying around the kitchen or beds, until someone sees him, then he runs out of the room and disappears into the vapor.
The work is hard but rewarding, and the days either incredibly hot or full of torrential thunderstorms.
The food is simple and vegetarian, a lot of rice and beans and lentils...tons of tomatoes, some avocados, mangoes, papayas, goyabas, and other obscure fruits. But its all quite delicious.
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