Adventures of a Gringa

the best gift of all

After the whole deal with the postal service gift program, I wound up being able to participate, since I didn´t have enough time before we left the city for the holiday. Luckily, Eli´s cousin had already picked up a letter in Juiz de Fora, and had picked a local child, and decided to hand-deliver the gifts. So I jumped at the chance to chip in.

The girl in question, aged 13, had written a painstakingly neat letter in cursive, and drew a picture of a gift and of a Christmas tree at the bottom. She asked for clothes, new shoes, and school supplies, as well as food. She explained that her mother had died of ovarian cancer and that her grandmother was raising her and her four brothers on the minimum wage. At the bottom of the letter, she wrote in big letters, "Merry Christmas!"

Eli´s cousin gathered a huge bag full of her daughter´s old clothes, a few pairs of shoes, and a bookbag, and then we headed out to shop. Between the two of us and our significant others, we bought a shopping cart full of food, including a cesta basica (with oil, rice, beans, and other essentials), a chicken, a bag of potatoes, soda, cookies, candy, bread, cake, and a bunch of school supplies. Since it seemed she liked to draw, I got her colored pencils and a watercolor set.

We all headed over to the girl´s house, in one of the poorest parts of the city. Eli´s cousin called for the girl, since there was no doorbell. Her grandmother and one of her little brothers appeared, and told us she was taking a shower and would be right out. We stood around a little awkwardly, but soon enough she darted up the stairs, her hair wet and her hands shaking. She looked like someone who had just found out they´d won the lotto. Tens of thousands of Brazilian children participate in the gift program each year, but not nearly all of them receive gifts, so in a way, she had.

We explained to her why were there and that we´d received the letter, and handed her the bags of gifts one by one. I could tell she was really nervous, and a little embarrassed, and she hugged Eli´s cousin and rushed inside. It´s not always the norm to open gifts in front of people here, but I think in her case she felt a little awkward. As an American, this isn´t quite as gratifying, because a la Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, part of the joy of giving is watching people´s reactions and taking in their gratification.

But in the end, I didn´t mind. As we drove away, I imagined her tearing through the bags, her face lighting up with each item, overjoyed to have received exactly what she wanted and more.

the most impressive Nutcracker

I'm feeling a little sad since I didn't see the Nutcracker this year, since the Municipal Theater is being renovated and they literally canceled the production. But Fantastico showed this absolutely amazing story about a Nutcracker production in Belo Horizonte, danced entirely by blind children and teens:

I wish I could have seen the whole thing!

Love, Santa

The Brazilian national mail service runs a special program each year where they encourage children to write letters to Santa Claus, and post the letters in local post offices for Brazilians to be able to send gifts to poor kids.

One of the major weekend news programs decided to participate in the program this year, and asked Brazilian celebrities to pick a child in need and to hand-deliver the gift (or make a video and send the gift), pretending to be Santa's helper. They sent news crews to show the celebrities delivering the gits, or the kids watching the videos and opening the presents, sometimes making the kids read their letters to Santa before they opened the presents.

Some of the kids asked for toys, like dolls, bikes, and rollerblades, but others asked for simpler and heart-breaking things: a hunk of cheese that the kid had tried once and loved, but couldn't afford; a basket of chocolates to share with his family, since his mom couldn't afford them; a girl who asked for a doll and a cesta basica, which is a sack of food given to poor families, and worst of all, a little boy who asked for a new pair of eyeglasses, since his had broken.

But here's the kicker. Even though the program only involved around 10-15 kids, the celebrities only brought the single gift the kid asked for (in the case of the glasses kid, they also brought him a soccer ball). The news network and most of the celebrities have money to burn, and instead of investing in making a substantial contribution to each kid, they showed up with a single gift. Though I'm not saying it's a nice gesture and a sweet idea, it seemed pretty measly and even a little lame to show up to a shack with nothing more than a skateboard and a smile to give to a kid who's family can barely afford food.

I thought of so many things they could have added to each kid's gift, which wouldn't even cost that much money: a cesta basica for every child's family, a set of school supplies for every child in the family, a set of pots and pans for each mom, and a little toy for the winner's siblings.

ABC, we really need you in Brazil (and not the local half-assed copied shows).

It's Christmas in July

OK, so it's not July, but I noticed Christmas decorations going up in late October around town. These, at our local mall, are just the tip of the iceberg, and helped me explain the word "tacky" to Eli:

Reveillon recap

Last night me, Eli, his fam, and some of his friends went to the beach in Copacabana for the New Year's festivities. Another 2 million people came too. The 20 minutes of fireworks were so beautiful, and we were standing right in front of the main boat setting off the fireworks. It was really really beautiful. I was excited to find that the mini champagne bottle I'd bought had a straw inside that popped up when I opened it. After the fireworks, the mainstage, which was broadcasted all over the beach, had live bands playing funk, and then the samba schools did a little show.

After the fireworks, I went down to the ocean and threw some flowers in along with a ton of other people. Some people had set up little shrines on the beach by digging holes in the sand and putting candles in them. My favorite one had dozens of white candles in the center and had huge white flowers stuck on the border of the hole. The whole beach was littered with flowers.

On the other hand, not everything went well. A lot of people passed out from drunkeness, there were a lot of traffic accidents, 40 children got lost from their parents, and 6 people were shot in Copa and Ipanema, and one person died of their wounds.

So even though I didn't have the best night, I was grateful that it was for the large part, uneventful.

Happy New Year to all!

Reveillon!

Rio's New Year's Celebration is akin to its Carnaval celebration: it's a big deal. Tonight, millions of people will flood the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to ring in the New Year, with an electronic music concert in Ipanema and various performers in Copacabana. Last year, Eli and I went to Ipanema, where the Black Eyed Peas had a show, but this year we are heading out to Copacabana, as is everyone else I know.

So, according to Globo, thousands of police officers will be on duty, transportation will be functioning to support the zillions of people heading into the city, and there will be 25 minutes of fireworks, which we will be able to see from Copa.

White is the color of the New Years celebration in Rio, because of the Festa da Iemanja, when everyone wears white. It's funny how a Candomble ritual has become so influential in a Brazilian New Year's tradition! Also, apparently, some carioca women pick out their underwear (g-strings, in particular) and bras in special colors for the evening to bring different types of luck: red for passion, yellow for money, white for peace, and pink for love. Don't believe me? Click here.

It's still insanely hot, with no signs of clouds on the horizon.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Nightmare (After) Christmas

I don't know what it was with the past twenty four hours but it feels like the nightmare before Christmas, except after...

Last night, I was dozing off when I felt something prick my leg. I thought an earring or something might have someone gotten into the sheets and then it pricked me again. So I turned on the light, and to my immense horror, it was a huge, black bug. It looked kind of like a hornet, which I assumed it was because it stung me. I gingerly brushed it off the bed and then whapped it with my Haviana and then slid it into the trash. There are many horrible things that can happen to you in Rio. Finding a stinging, horrible bug in your bed is one of them. I called Eliseu who was coming back from work and when he got back, he was like, "Let me see the bug." So he looked in the trash and he was like oh that. oh hey it's not quite dead yet. That's an ant, by the way. They sting you here. (Awesome). But at least it's not a centipede because if that bites you, you'll get a really bad fever (Thanks). So I finally at one point managed to sleep, terrified another bug would attack me. I'm not a super girly girl who's afraid of bugs, but I also love my bed as my place of sanctuary, and to find a horrible bug there...it disturbs the sanctuary.

Then, this morning, on a break between classes, I was walking through Centro and noticed an ambulance parked next to a huge group of people. So I went over to be nosy, like a Carioca, and saw a man lying in the middle of the circle of people. He was surrounded by a bunch of cops and ambulance people, who were just standing around talking. The guy looked like a poor guy, but not homeless, like he had just gotten to work at a stall or a juice bar. He wasn't old; he was probably in his 50s. He was lying flat on his back, his arms laid at his sides, his eyes closed, like someone had laid him there. It didn't look like he'd been shot or received any sort of trauma, but he was definitely dead, since no one was making any effort to revive him and his chest was definitely not moving. And everyone just stood there and gawked, and the cops and the paramedics just stood around. It was weird. And bad.

Someone at the oil company today was complaining that her flight out of town over Christmas was delayed because there was an alligator on the runway, and they had to remove it before takeoff. Only in the tropics?

The Metro has installed ads at the major stations instructing Cariocas in proper Metro etiquette: move to the center of the car, don't block the doors, don't wear a backback, the usual. They even have a map of a subway car with arrows to show you where to go. It's pretty hilarious.

Today I met up with my friend's mom who gave me a package of stuff from my mom. Thanks Mom! It's really funny because growing up, this girl was the only Brazilian I knew (and Carioca) and now she lives in NY and I live here. It was cool, and hopefully we'll hang out later. It's always nice to see people from home.

Speaking of which, my GW/Baiana friend is back in town with another girl from her program and it's good times!!! I love having gringas in town.