Hello, again! It's Day 2 but today hasn't really been that interesting, not compared to last night!!
A massive group of us headed down to Lapa district, renowned to be the party central of Rio - and it certainly was! There were hundreds of people just dancing in the streets to the samba bands. We had an amazing time, especially being taught how to samba by an old(ish) sweaty man. I think his main point was that it had to come from your heart, although with neither of us speaking a word of the other's language, this may be completely wrong!!
It's too hard to describe what an amazing night it was. We only had a few beers (I did buy one Caprianha (sp?) but it was farrrr too strong for me to drink, so I gave it to Brian who gave it to Danni who gave it to someone else...!)
Today we have just had our orientation by Felipe. Turns out that Danni and I and a girl called Stevie have had our project changed because of a problem with the other co-ordinator, but the one we are on sounds pretty similar and is run by 3 ex-volunteers who managed to buy the house where its run when it was on the verge of closing. It's still in the favellas and still community work. We start on Tuesday morning at 9 :O but definitely looking forward to it (although very apprehensive about visiting the favellas!)
Not entirely sure what's happening tonight. We've been told about a samba school rehearsal in a club somewhere but after last night's festivities and our vague plans to visit a 'hippy market'in Ipanema tomorrow morning we may decide to have a more chilled out night in the bar down the road with Felipe.... who knows....
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Hah, Lapa is fun! Watch the caipirinhas - once you've had a couple, they go down worryingly easily! Don't worry too much about the favellas though - the drug lords actually keep better order up there than the Rio police. It's bad for business to have wealthy foreigners scared off!
ReplyDeleteI finally got word back from my friend, and if you still need a place to crash they'd be happy to find you some space on their floor whenever you need it. Sounds like you're pretty sorted for accommodation, but you should get in touch anyway - they're great people, and they'll have some excllent Rio tips for you! Email Michel ("mee-shell", not Michael) at mgrois AT uol DOT com DOT br.
Definitely go check out the street markets if you get a chance, although anything in Copacabana or Ipanema is going to be pretty crappy and touristy. Get Michel to tell you about the amazing food market near his place!
Good luck, and stay in touch! My email's fbrann AT gmail DOT com if you need any help or advice :)