The Indian Way (Caminho das Indias)

The Indian way. It’s the story of an Indian family in Brazil and an Indian family in India, somehow linked together and all speaking Portuguese (regardless of the fact that the Indians in India would speak another language…). To be honest, I never quite figured out the plot… but somehow this show entranced the nation of Brazil nightly for nine months. For the final episode, of every 100 T.V.s in Brazil, 81 were turned to watch the emotional last telenovela episode of Caminho das Indias. The closest thing to compare to that number in the U.S. was the 1970 Academy Awards (78%) and the 1978 final episode of M*A*S*H (77%).



So why was Brazil so smitten with “The Indian Way?” To be honest, it was a cheaply done telenovela with “Indian” Brazilian actors (some of whom somewhat pulled off looking Indian, and others of whom looked nothing close to Indian) and cheesy lines (the last of which was two people simultaneously saying “I love you” at the end of the episode).

Brazil was smitten…because it’s Brazil. And it’s a telenovela. Brazil LOVES its telenovelas, much like many countries in the world. However, in Brazil, these cheaply done telenovelas are different from those around the world. Until the 1970s, Brazil took telenovelas from Mexico and Argentina and changed them into Portuguese. However, in the 1970s, Brazil began to create its own telenovelas. It created telenovelas that starred and applied to the Brazilian people and the ups and downs of the Brazilians.

“But why in the world telenovelas?” we Americans ask as we sit in front of our well-produced, weekly shows like "Law & Order" and "Lost". The telenovelas are cheaply made with superficial, similar plots. However it offers something special to the Brazilian people. First of all, it is made by Brazilians, starring Brazilians, and totally Portuguese, something no show sent in from the U.S. can offer. Also, it is a show that is watched by people all over Brazil, all of whom are united in the evenings by the same t.v. program, regardless of social class, skin color or dialect.

And the telenovela, surprisingly, tries to recreate real life. The people in the telenovelas are often far from beautiful and of all colors and races. While there are a few gorgeous stars, the rest appear to be everyday people. The Brazilian telenovela is funny and easy to follow, something the hard-working people in Brazil look forward to after difficult days of work. And finally, as surprising as it is, telenovelas provide a way to confront political problems. They talk about controversial issues underneath the superficial scenes and drama and provide a way for Brazilians to begin talking about issues that are often skimmed over.



I often find myself watching the newest episodes of “Escrito nas Estrelas” (Written in the Stars) with the women I live with and am becoming hooked to the story. For a country that cannot invest in its movie industry like the American Hollywood can, the telenovelas are a fantastic way to unite Brazilians and provide them with Brazilian, prime-time showings that address the points the Brazilians want addressed in an inexpensive way.

The telenovela is a way to find something to talk about what anyone you meet. It’s a way to keep up with the newest clothing fashions. It starts new phrases and expressions. And, while to most of us, the cheesy drama and the terrible cinematography is a bit too much, to the Brazilian people, it provides a sense of pride, unity and reflection.

Trabalho Voluntario (Pronounced Truh-ball-you Vuh-loon-tar-ee-oo)

Sunday began my first day of volunteer work. I’ve been here nearly 10 months and finally realized how selfish I’ve been. Yes, I’ve given time here and there to help individuals I know or taken a bit of time out of my day to answer directions or help someone on the street, but never have I actually volunteered my time for an organization. Except perhaps infancy, I am sure this is the longest span in my life that I’ve gone without volunteering (since my parents are in fact ministers) and I feel a bit like something's missing.

So Sunday I went. I woke up early (for me on a Sunday!) at about 10:30, took a shower and prepared to leave. I met a couple of friends at my university about a 25 minute walk away from my house. We left at 12:00 for the bus stop, waited for the right bus to come, and then took a 35-40 minute bus ride to the end of the line.

From the end of the bus line, someone came and picked us up. Unfortunately, there were a lot of us and little space, so we crammed 5 people in the back seat and 2 people in the front. It was almost an hour ride to the destination… and a long, hot hour ride at that!

When we arrived at the community of Copão Rodavante (or something like that...), we came to a church. There, the church gives space to the community to have English classes from 14:00-17:00 every Sunday. The people come, ready and eager to learn English because, though it’s required to be taught in all schools here in Brazil, the public schools have such poor funding and education that the students learn nothing. Most beginning students in the volunteer program can hardly introduce themselves in English let alone communicate graver issues and they have been "studying English" for years in public schools. Here is a picture of the church:



We arrived and set up for classes. They were short a volunteer professor today so I got to work with the Advanced Elementary Class! I teach English regularly here in Brazil, so volunteering to teach lessons certainly wasn't a problem. Since it's an 8 or 9 hour commitment in one day, the program works on a rotation basis, so the volunteers come once a month to teach. Each class has about five different professors that rotate through. My turn to volunteer will come again in a month! Here is a picture of a volunteer professor (who can be anyone who speaks English well enough to teach it) setting up for an Elementary Class:



I stayed in a class with two students, Maria and Amanda, who were both shy and struggling with English, yet eager to learn. Maria was very timid and hard to get to talk while Amanda was excited to talk but so nervous the words just couldn't come out. Their classmates did not make it to the class that day unfortunately. However, I had a great time with those two.

After the three hour class, I introduced myself to some of the other English students in some of the other classes who had never met a native-English speaker before. While most of them could only ask in English "How do you spell your name?" and "What is your favorite color?" since they were a very basic class, they took advantage of my Portuguese and soon began asking about my opinions of Brazilian men (a somewhat awkward topic...), the Iraq war, the death penalty and more. It was intense but they were so excited to meet an American and see what an American thinks. I really felt welcomed and appreciated.



After the classes, we piled back into the car to make the ever-long trip home. I was exhausted, but it was a good day.

Aparecida do Norte: Patron Saint of Brazil

I noticed it was a cloudy Sunday morning as I headed out early to Marginal Tiete, a bus/metro station about 45 minutes from my house by public transportation. I arrived there to meet up with a group of Americans heading out of the city of Sao Paulo. We were leaving to see the Festival of Sao Bento in the city of Aparecida do Norte, almost 3 hours from Sao Paulo.



We left on the bus and arrived at the city before noon. The town was named after “Our Lady of Aparecida,” the patron saint of Brazil. Legend has it that in the 18th century there were some fishermen casting their nets into the River Paraiba near Sao Paolo. They hauled up a headless statue with their catch. When they re-cast their nets, they brought up the head of the statue. After putting the pieces together, they said that it appeared to be a Black Virgin Mary. The legend continues that when the fishermen recovered the body, then the head, the slender figure of the Virgin Aparecida became so heavy that they couldn’t budge it. Since then, in the Brazilian religious tradition, the Virgin Aparecida, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is the Holy Mother, patron Saint of mothers-to-be and new-borns, rivers and the sea, gold, honey and beauty. This town, near where the statue was found, is named after the Patron Saint the Virgin Aparecida and houses the most important Marian shrine in the country, the point to which pilgrims from all over the country converge.



Once there, I saw people in the streets celebrating the festival of Sao Bento. While a bit confusing at first (especially since I'm not Roman Catholic), there were two main saints I learned about on this trip: Sao Bento (whose festival it was) and the Virgin Aparecida (who the city is named after). When I got off the bus, I saw a huge festival in the streets in front of the Church of Sao Bento. It seemed that in every direction and without much organization (as most Brazil events appear to be...) people were dancing in costumes, groups were parading about and bands were playing music. Everyone was there to celebrate the feast of Sao Bento.



After observing the festival, I went to see the Church of the Virgin Aparecida. The church was gorgeous. One of the largest, most beautiful churches I have ever seen. Here, you can see one of the five wings of the church, all equal in size:



After looking at the church (which literally has six or seven masses per day and therefore was currently in mass), I went to see the Sacred Image. There was a nearly ten minute line to see her, but after some time I was able to work my way through the crowd to see her. Here is her picture below:



After leaving the Sacred Image, I headed to the chapel of Candles. It's a huge room full of people lighting candles. Below is a picture. Then made the holy trek on the footbridge of faith where, supposedly, those who cross the very long bridge will be blessed with healing in their knees. Thousands of people were making the trek and one of the men was making it literally on his knees and praying the entire way!



I headed from the church and went to see a bit of the rest of the city. I went to a huge Sunday Market. I bought great shoes for 12 R (7 USD) and a purse for 15 R (9 USD). Afterward, I was out of money to purchase any more souvenirs, but I was happy with my purchases since they were both things I needed. I wandered through the market alone for the next couple of hours, taking in the sights and smells. There, I saw some of the best counterfeit shoes (Nike, Adidas, etc) I have ever seen. I wish I would have had more money to pick up a pair! I also saw numerous items commemorating the festival of Sao Bento and the Virgin Aparecida.



I finished out the day meeting back up with the Americans to watch the parade that was passing by the churches in the area. The parade was for the Cavalary of Sao Bento and included more than 2,000 horse riders! I’ve included a video below for you to see. However, while the parade was interesting, after about the 1,000 horse-rider, I was ready for something new…



Suddenly, the sky burst open and an unstoppable rain drenched everything in its path. The horse riders scurried off as the people dashed for cover anywhere they could. As it was only about 20 minutes from the time my bus had to leave, I thought, “Perfect!” and ran to the bus station for cover, along with anyone in near sight of the bus station...it was packed! However the rain poured. And it poured. And it poured. The open garden inside the bust station was absolutely flooded with a foot of rain; no one could leave. It was a terrible rain. My bus couldn’t leave for 2 hours.

When my bus finally left and arrived in Sao Paulo, I headed home with some friends, taking the metro and then splitting a taxi. It was a great day… very interesting to see one of the holiest and most well known sites in Brazil.

This is a picture of some of the costumes warn at the Festival of Sao Bento:

What the “Rodízio” says about Sao Paulo

Today (Tuesday) was my rodízio. I normally get up for work at 5:30 am and leave the house at 6:30 am, but because of rodízio today, I had to get up 5:15 and leave at 6:15. I hate rodízio days! I lose those precious 15 extra minutes of sleep…

Now what exactly is the rodízio? Rodízio (pronounced Hoe-Gee-Zee-Oo), means "rotation" in Portuguese. It is often used in the Brazilian steakhouses, where there are unlimited meats rotating around the restaurant. However, this "rotation" is different. It’s something we don’t have to worry about in Chicago. It’s the one workday a week that you can’t drive between 7am-10am or 5pm-8pm. During rush hour, 20% of Sao Paulo’s cars are required to be off the streets.

Well, how do you know that today is your day of rodízio? And what happens if you don’t follow the rodízio? Well, Sao Paulo is strict about the rodízio. It is no laughing matter here. There are 10 possible numbers that can be the last number of your license plate (0-9) and each day two of those numbers have rodízio. For example, on Monday, numbers 1 & 2 follow the rodízio while on Tuesday, numbers 3 & 4 are on rodízio. If your number happens to be in rodízio, or in the "rotation," it is advisable to not be driving during rush hour because the rodízio is well-enforced and you will most likely be fined.

Because I work at DHL in Lapa, a bairro of Sao Paulo (bairro, pronounced buy-who, means neighborhood in Portuguese), I have begun catching rides with another worker javascript:void(0)there. She has the same schedule as me so she picks me up every morning and drops me off every evening. DHL is about a 10 minute drive from my house… but by bus takes me nearly an hour to get there, making it somewhat impractical. However, on rodízio days, we have to leave by 6:45 am and can’t leave the office until after 8pm… it makes for a LONG day!

What’s interesting about rodízio, though, isn’t that I lose sleep or time at home (while I find that a bit annoying… it probably doesn’t interest most of you…) but instead that it shows a lot about Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is HUGE. Sao Paulo is crowded. And most of all, Sao Paulo is changing... "modernizing" if you will. Streets that were once satisfactory for the modes of transportation are being so overcrowded now that cars have to be prohibited from driving. According to www.cityfix.com, 800 new cars enter Sao Paulo’s streets each day. In a city of millions, this doesn’t seem like many, but it adds up quickly.

Brazil is still a third world country, yes. Or, I could call it a “developing country” to be politically correct. However, the actual city of Sao Paulo is quickly changing. It brings in the largest amount of income to the country of Brazil and internet, computers, cell phones and other technologies are by no means uncommon to find. While much of Brazil doesn’t have the same “modernizing” patterns as Sao Paulo, the rodízio is just the tip of the iceberg to show how Sao Paulo has been changing. It's a great way to see how another country in the world is attempting to deal with the advantages and disadvantages of modernization.

Better Late than Never... Easter in Sao Paulo

Easter in Sao Paulo? What is an Easter like outside of the United States? Nothing like an Easter I've ever celebrated before.

Well, first of all, although I live in a "Catholic Country" now, most of the people I know do not go to church. Therefore, for the first time in my life, Easter consisted of no church. My host family doesn't go to church and my friends don't go to church, so my host family had Easter plans for the entire day already... consisting of no church...



I started off the Easter celebrations on Maundy Thursday. Contrary to my usual tradition of going to Maundy Thursday church service, this Maundy Thursday celebration was a big party at a night club known as "The Week." Everyone dressed up and went to the club to somehow start off the Easter celebrations, beginning at midnight and ending at about 8am. While it was fun, I missed the usual church service I am accustomed to.



On Good Friday, my friend Lowell and I decided to follow an American tradition... painting eggs. Painting Easter eggs and doing Easter egg hunts are traditions not found here in Brazil so we decided to reminisce a bit. My mother had brought me an Easter egg dying kit from the states when she came, so we had a blast!



Then, I heard some beautiful music that night. I looked out my window and saw a procession. The Catholic churches process through the streets with lit candles and a statue of the Holy Mother. It was beautiful and I almost cried. I wish I would have known so that I could have participated.



Holy Saturday, The Final Four was on. Lowell and I went to one of the few places in town to watch the games... the Irish Pub. After paying to get in (almost 15 USD!), we ate dinner and enjoyed the games while meeting and chit-chatting with other Americans. Above the bar on the next floor was a live band and then a DJ, so we ended up staying out until about 6am. I left in time to see a sun rise... such a beautiful sight to see on Easter morning.

I got home in time for a quick nap. When I woke up, there was an Easter Egg in front of my room. No, not a normal Easter Egg, a giant one. A giant chocolate one in fact! The Easter tradition here is, instead of Easter baskets and Easter bunnies, they give giant chocolate Easter Eggs. My host mom had gotten one for me for my first Easter... and it was delicious!

I quickly dressed for the day. I was leaning toward a light, flowered dress to wear. After some thoguht, though, I picked a white dress instead. Easter is a time to remember new life! However, when I walked out of my room, everyone was in dark clothes. Odd, I thought about why no one was in whites or pastels. Then I remembered, Easter is in the spring in the United States. Easter signifies new life and new birth; we have bunnies and chicks and eggs as our secular symbols because of the time of year. Here, Easter is in the fall. The same ideas of rebirth don't quite match up with the season and the cycle of birth, so the colors and symbols are different. Wow! Something as important as Easter seems to have a somewhat different meaning because the idea of birth and new life just isn't as strong here in the fall! I never thought about that before.

After getting ready, we quickly headed to my host mom's father's house where we cooked lunch everyone. It was a lunch of sausages and spaghetti... not what I think of as a "traditional Easter meal," but certainly good. We ended to day chit-chatting and enjoying each other's company. It was a rainy day, so perfect to stay inside.

I enjoyed my Easter. It was certainly different than my traditional Easter, but I enjoyed it. However, I felt something was really missing. I really missed preparing with Lent services. I felt something was missing when I didn't attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. And finally, when I didn't celebrate the resurrection of Christ at church, I really felt something was missing. I realized this year how important my faith in Christ is and how important it is to be a part of the body of Christ and be able to be at communion with other believers at church.