Salvador has an energy and unadorned beauty that will remind of New Orleans in many ways. Once the capital of Portugal’s New World colony, the city has always been the Afro-Brazilian jewel. It's like a museum of 17th- and 18th-century architecture and gold-laden churches adjacent to decaying hostels and home that are covered in beautiful graffiti. More importantly, Salvador is the nexus of an incredible arts movement. The residents of Salvador (Os Soteropolitanos) are always close to reasons to have a festival and, as a result, they happen frequently, with drum corps pounding rhythms against the backdrop of colonial buildings almost daily. At night, capoeira circles form on plazas but they are pretty touristy and should be avoided; instead try find a capoeira club, "donate" and watch them practice. While the scent of acarajé (bean and shrimp fritters) and other African delights fills the air be wary!!! A lot of the cuisine is made with palm oil, not olive oil, which for many western digestive systems means a punishing experience within a bathroom during the morning after any festival. Elsewhere in town, Salvador is dream retirement and second-home location for many Brazilians; which means outside of the historic Pelhorinho, high-rise hotels and condominiums are sprouting everywhere.
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Let's start at the top - In order for public schools in Brazil to open their doors, they need funding from the State to pay its teachers, its staff, and order enough books and materials for its students to use in their preparation to become its country's future. That funding in the state of Espirito Santo, however, is withheld often because the quality of the State's future citizenry is not a priority.
During my visit at Aristobolo Barbosa Leao, I entered a school whose budget for paper had been cut off! Literally, there was no paper for teachers to hand out to students!!! So, of course, there was also no budget for hallways or classrooms to be decorated or painted. What little color there was in the school appeared indiscriminately as I walked up stairwells, through hallways, and into classrooms. Inside those classrooms though was a student body that made the most of their neglected status and filled their day (which ends at noon in Brazil) with laughter, conversation with friends, or their smartphones. But while I didn't witness any anger or fighting with the teaching staff, I didn't witness much education either. Often students spoke over teachers, teachers then spoke over students, who briefly quieted down for 15 minutes to listen until their attention waned again and the farce of education continued. Upon reflection, it is very difficult to cast blame because there so many things going wrong at the same time. At the bottom, students enter a disorganized world where the figures of authority and knowledge appear unprepared and impotent in their sincere desire to educate. As a result, these adolescents take advantage of their situation and approach their education as a cynical daily exercise that will not have any effect on their futures because their graduation is guaranteed so long as they "go through the motions." In addition, these students then go home to a family and society that "ranked second to last out of 21 countries on the Varkey Gems Foundation’s 2013 Global Teacher Status Index, which used surveys to compare teaching to other professions and gauges how much respect teachers get from the public." In the middle, many (not most) of the teachers I met approached their profession on an hourly basis. As employees of a state government that grossly undervalues their labor, these teachers will work for up three schools simultaneously to get the most out of their employment contracts with state. (Crazy, right?) What allows teachers to approach their job as they say in the states as a "hustle" is that Brazil's public schools are open from 7AM to 10 PM to make allowances for adolescents and adults who must work in the mornings or afternoons or evenings to support themselves and/or their families in the Brazilian economy. Unlike many developed nations, where education is valued enough financially to allow its citizens to not have to compromise their futures because of a economically precarious present, Brazil is still in flux...and that flux is very dysfunctional. As an analogy, I kept thinking about the American Post Office: a gigantic bureaucracy mostly employed with civil servants who did not need much preparation to apply and, once hired, are not given much much incentive to preform above a mediocre level. So, in many state schools across the country, the sincere desire to educate the future is often overtaken by the instinct to survive the present. And the result, most likely, is that what was unequally distributed yesterday will continue to be so tomorrow because in the 21st century what you earn is what you learn. These beaches are the best in Espirito Santo, but are going to disappoint to you have been Rio's beaches beforehand. However, Fernanado, Wheber, and I made the most of this excursion by exchanging stories about each other's past over beers on the beach. Due to a design error, the hotels and condominiums that line the beach are so tall that the beaches are all shaded by 1 P.M.; so if you are ever in the neighborhood, get to the beach early if you want some sun on a Sunday.
Vitoria and Serra are like other advanced Western cities in many ways. Serra, for example is an industrial hub comprised of a steel mill, a busy port, and a mining company. These three markets provide the majority of jobs in the town and a gritty veneer of concrete that mixes with the smell of burning. Below is the view from my hotel room. But here are some anyway. After a long 2 and a 1/2 hour drive (made longer because Brazil has speed bumps even on highway roads!) with Wheber, his wife, Bea, and, my partner, Fernando, we arrived at Pedra Azul. Towering dramatically above the surrounding green hills, this rock outcropping made for a great hike with a friendly and intelligent staff. On the hike, we meet a fascinating guide who was born in Brazil to Japanese parents but only meet his Brazilian wife when he returned to Japan during Brazil's hyperinflation crisis in the early 90s!!! Aside from the immaculate views are hidden natural pools that many visitors choose to swim in. All in all, it was a great way to spend a Saturday. Thanks Wheber and Bea.
After dinner, make sure to walk across the street and have a drink at Chiquita Bacana; a great place to drink outside and remind yourself that while Brasilia is not the best city in Brazil, it is also not the worst.
For the purposes of adding some tonic to my last post, I must admit that while I was underwhelmed by Brasilia's mall culture, most people were happy to be there but...no one was as joyous as the people at Universal Diner. Nothing about this place smelled of the modernist pretensions the dominated downtown Brasilia. Every inch is literally covered with decor that won't let you take yourself too seriously. The food, however, is seriously delicious! Perfectly cooked steaks and rich risottos that have the comforting effect of being wrapped in a blanket from the inside out. But if the food and ambiance isn't enough then Mara Alcamim, its owner and chef, will surely complete your experience. She is a gregarious fireball whose personality, somehow, is louder than the decorations (that she amasses from her travels) but not to the extent that you don't want to have a drink with her. And so, here is a rough translation of what I want to believe is the restaurant's motto: "It's not important what everyone says! The people are beautiful...and they are: HAPPY!!!" Here was how I escaped Brasilia's idea of fun: hanging out at the mall. The palm trees were nice, the heat made the beer taste refreshing, but I all alone. I can't judge too much though; Brasilia was designed for people to be in cars not on sidewalks. And so, without any clear public spaces (other than the park) to people-watch or chat among friends over drinks, the mall services many purposes beyond the commercial. But my American opinion finds this fact depressing because while the Internet thrives in Brazil it has not begun its commercial assault to make malls obsolete and a thing of the past. Saúde! Ok, so a lot to report and reflect on after two eventful days in Brasilia. Where to start??? I guess the most logical place is with this man: The memorial roughly translates into "Juscelino Kubitschek, who blazed through the savanna and raised Brasilia with audacity, energy and confidence as a tribute to the pioneers that helped in this giant adventure." One of those pioneers was Oscar Niemeyer, whose architectural imagination produced these otherwordly creations: And much of Brasilia is otherworldly in not having one building older than 1960 and, since being granted Unesco World Hertiage status, ossified its aesthetic details by prohibiting any new construction in the downtown area that contradicts or clashes with the visions and dreams of Kubitschek's modernist pioneers. As a result, when Brasilia's futebol stadium was constructed a mere two years ago for the World Cup the architects had no choice but to conform to a 50 year dream. See below:
So Brazilian "winters" don't really live up to seasonal expectations (Texas in January is definitely colder) and that is not a problem at all for me! Most of today was devoted to rest and preparing for the upcoming busy schedule TGC has planned. But one very winter like quality Brasilia retains is that the gorgeous sunset below happened at around 5:30.
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Adrian AntaoI have taught High School English in the South Bronx for the past four years and have been a teacher for ten years. |