a Kolibri, pre-Carnaval and a Gun
Door: Hilda Alberda
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Hilda
20 Februari 2006 | Brazilië, Recife
Boa tarde,
It's me again, after a some difficult/ lonely days, back in business. This week, while Marielle is back to Holland and my Brasilian friends were busy (uni has started again), I had loads of time (waking up very early +/- 6am and not getting much sleep at all) to spend on my own. While I am not used to being alone that much and not having much work/ goals in a day, I experienced these days as rather difficult. I never felt anything like this before while being abroad, so it was new to me... And I didn't liked it! Although, afterwards I can say that I have learned from it. I felt so sad and my mind kept on producing negative thoughts... so weird, I don't know myself like that! It is strange what being abroad, away from your family and friends and living in a different culture, can do to you! But, I survived and now I am feeling better!
Besides this there have been some other interesting experiences this week. A nice thing is that I saw my first Kolibri, I just spotted it here at uni, it's so small and amazing to see it 'kissing the flowers' as people say here. Furthermore, I saw my first bloco, a pre-carnaval party in Olinda. Two big trucks, all filled with boxes and with a band on top of these, were driving through the streets very slowly, followed by many people (of which many of them were dressed in a special orange shirt - carnaval 2006 in Olinda) dancing, drinking and having fun. Me and Alexandre only watched the bloc, we didn't walked along, but it was nice to see!
There were also some more serious/ violent experiences this week. The first was during the bloco, where I saw how the police handled pickpockets or other (little) criminals... well this is nothing like Holland. The police men are not to fool with here. They have wooden sticks with which they just hit into these people (one of them was a pregnant lady)... I saw about 3 boys and the lady who were being deported to the police bus and thrown into it. I couldn't see what happened insight, but I can imagine that they use force to control them in there as well. It appears to be neccesary to threat these people like this, but it is just very different from what I am used to in Holland.
Besides this, I was involved in my first (and hopefully only) armed rubbery myself... On Saturday night, Alexandre and I took the bus from Olinda to Boa Vista (the neighbourhood in Recife where Amanda lives). When we got out of the bus we walked to Amanda's house, it was about 9.30pm then. We were on the corner of Amanda's building when a guy parked his bike, turned towards us with a gun and asked for Alexandre's mobile phone (Alexandre was calling while we were walking, which was not such a good idea...). It all hapened really fast. I was ready to give him all my money, but he didn't asked for it... he only got Alexandre's cellphone and took off. We walked along, and when we were around the corner Alexandre told me to run. We were lucky a car was just entering the secured area, so we runned through the gate and only stopped running after we entered the building and stood behind the wall in front of the elevator. It was so strange! For some reason I stayed really calm, like I was just watching a movie. Alexandre stood there all shaking (and kept on shaking for like 15 minutes or so) which made me realise more what happened. Now, when I am walking on the street I realise that I am just a little more tense then I was before this. I knew this could happen, but now it happened I feel a little more insecure on the street. But, we were very lucky that only his cellphone was stolen and nothing happened to us. It is interesting to hear all the stories from Brazilians about the rubberies they experienced, because all of them have experienced at least one!
This morning I met my supervisor from the Vu, who is in Recife for 5 days or so. We met at Parque de Jaqueira, where I had never been before. Visiting a new place in Recife means finding out which bus to take, where to take it and where to get out... always an interesting experience, but I managed again! It is interesting how much you learn here everyday. I discussed my research and my 'life' in Brasil in general with her. It was nice to meet here and get a little feedback on how things were going, especially with my research. When arriving at the university again I tried some Guaraná do Amazonas, at one of the little shops (I don't know how to call it otherwise, it's one of the stalls (?) that you can find along each road in Brasil), which is really good! Hmmm, another addiction next to Açai. It is a drink containing guaraná, açai, banana and some kind of nuts (cashew or peanuts) blendered... hmmm! Interesting that after finishing my (big) plastic cup, I got another refill... for only R$1,70 (which is about 0,70 Euros). So good to have all these cheap, fresh, fruity drinks and food available! I think I will be going for some Açai when leaving uni... :).
Well, anyway, it was an interesting week for me, in which I got to know another side of me and some other sights/ sides of living in Brasil. I have also been busy arranging Portugues lessons and a letter which gives me entrance to the swimming pool of the university. Hopefully this all works out soon. I also met some new people here, spend an evening in Bar da Kelly with some girls from the pension, rejecting all these boys that approach me for a dance. :) The bar next to Bar da Kelly actually plays international music and I and the girls enjoyed dancing on that for an hour or so as well. Good to have a place close by to go on Friday nights. It is so different, being in the open air, dancing at night with temperatures like this!
Okay, I think I told you everything I was planning to...
Tchau, from warm and sunny Recife (on Saturday night, when we left Olinda I saw a sign saying that it was 29 degrees - at 9pm!).
Beijos, Hil.
It's me again, after a some difficult/ lonely days, back in business. This week, while Marielle is back to Holland and my Brasilian friends were busy (uni has started again), I had loads of time (waking up very early +/- 6am and not getting much sleep at all) to spend on my own. While I am not used to being alone that much and not having much work/ goals in a day, I experienced these days as rather difficult. I never felt anything like this before while being abroad, so it was new to me... And I didn't liked it! Although, afterwards I can say that I have learned from it. I felt so sad and my mind kept on producing negative thoughts... so weird, I don't know myself like that! It is strange what being abroad, away from your family and friends and living in a different culture, can do to you! But, I survived and now I am feeling better!
Besides this there have been some other interesting experiences this week. A nice thing is that I saw my first Kolibri, I just spotted it here at uni, it's so small and amazing to see it 'kissing the flowers' as people say here. Furthermore, I saw my first bloco, a pre-carnaval party in Olinda. Two big trucks, all filled with boxes and with a band on top of these, were driving through the streets very slowly, followed by many people (of which many of them were dressed in a special orange shirt - carnaval 2006 in Olinda) dancing, drinking and having fun. Me and Alexandre only watched the bloc, we didn't walked along, but it was nice to see!
There were also some more serious/ violent experiences this week. The first was during the bloco, where I saw how the police handled pickpockets or other (little) criminals... well this is nothing like Holland. The police men are not to fool with here. They have wooden sticks with which they just hit into these people (one of them was a pregnant lady)... I saw about 3 boys and the lady who were being deported to the police bus and thrown into it. I couldn't see what happened insight, but I can imagine that they use force to control them in there as well. It appears to be neccesary to threat these people like this, but it is just very different from what I am used to in Holland.
Besides this, I was involved in my first (and hopefully only) armed rubbery myself... On Saturday night, Alexandre and I took the bus from Olinda to Boa Vista (the neighbourhood in Recife where Amanda lives). When we got out of the bus we walked to Amanda's house, it was about 9.30pm then. We were on the corner of Amanda's building when a guy parked his bike, turned towards us with a gun and asked for Alexandre's mobile phone (Alexandre was calling while we were walking, which was not such a good idea...). It all hapened really fast. I was ready to give him all my money, but he didn't asked for it... he only got Alexandre's cellphone and took off. We walked along, and when we were around the corner Alexandre told me to run. We were lucky a car was just entering the secured area, so we runned through the gate and only stopped running after we entered the building and stood behind the wall in front of the elevator. It was so strange! For some reason I stayed really calm, like I was just watching a movie. Alexandre stood there all shaking (and kept on shaking for like 15 minutes or so) which made me realise more what happened. Now, when I am walking on the street I realise that I am just a little more tense then I was before this. I knew this could happen, but now it happened I feel a little more insecure on the street. But, we were very lucky that only his cellphone was stolen and nothing happened to us. It is interesting to hear all the stories from Brazilians about the rubberies they experienced, because all of them have experienced at least one!
This morning I met my supervisor from the Vu, who is in Recife for 5 days or so. We met at Parque de Jaqueira, where I had never been before. Visiting a new place in Recife means finding out which bus to take, where to take it and where to get out... always an interesting experience, but I managed again! It is interesting how much you learn here everyday. I discussed my research and my 'life' in Brasil in general with her. It was nice to meet here and get a little feedback on how things were going, especially with my research. When arriving at the university again I tried some Guaraná do Amazonas, at one of the little shops (I don't know how to call it otherwise, it's one of the stalls (?) that you can find along each road in Brasil), which is really good! Hmmm, another addiction next to Açai. It is a drink containing guaraná, açai, banana and some kind of nuts (cashew or peanuts) blendered... hmmm! Interesting that after finishing my (big) plastic cup, I got another refill... for only R$1,70 (which is about 0,70 Euros). So good to have all these cheap, fresh, fruity drinks and food available! I think I will be going for some Açai when leaving uni... :).
Well, anyway, it was an interesting week for me, in which I got to know another side of me and some other sights/ sides of living in Brasil. I have also been busy arranging Portugues lessons and a letter which gives me entrance to the swimming pool of the university. Hopefully this all works out soon. I also met some new people here, spend an evening in Bar da Kelly with some girls from the pension, rejecting all these boys that approach me for a dance. :) The bar next to Bar da Kelly actually plays international music and I and the girls enjoyed dancing on that for an hour or so as well. Good to have a place close by to go on Friday nights. It is so different, being in the open air, dancing at night with temperatures like this!
Okay, I think I told you everything I was planning to...
Tchau, from warm and sunny Recife (on Saturday night, when we left Olinda I saw a sign saying that it was 29 degrees - at 9pm!).
Beijos, Hil.
