Le Brésil
Riche et Pauvre
Blanc et Noir
Ceux qui ont de l'argent doivent s'enfermer derrière des murs et des grilles, faire garder leurs maisons par des gardiens.
Les employées de maison - Noires, les patrons - Blancs.
Les employées de maison sont priées d'utiliser la porte latérale.
Le Pauvre montre un couteau et demande de l'argent, alors le Riche a peur du pauvre et doit s'enfermer encore plus.
Et il renvoie le Pauvre dans sa favela, loin du quartier où habite le Riche.
Les enfants des Riches vont dans les écoles des Riches, les enfants des Pauvres vont dans les écoles des Pauvres.
Et le cercle continue pour toujours.
Ou pas?...
07 March 2010
Problem solving - Brazilian way
Rio de Janeiro still has a tram - a very old one, called Bonde, that goes to the historic district of Santa Teresa. It's mostly used by tourists but we took it anyway. It rides up the steep hills, around curves, and has to stop from time to time and the driver has to step off and fix something with some big iron tool. But then there was a car parked and the tram couldn't pass, just because of a couple of centimeters. The driver rang his bell for some time, without effect. Then somebody got off the tram and hit the car, hoping this would set off the car alarm (but it didn't). The driver continued ringing the bell and somebody entertained the passengers by suggesting the tram pass over the car. Fifteen minutes passed without appearance of the car owner. The tram driver phoned someone (I guess the traffic police or so), until somebody had a brilliant idea: to rock the car until it would move the 2 or 3 centimeters it took to make space. All the men instantly jumped from the tram with a big "wooohooo!" and started rocking the car to and fro. In less than two minutes the problem was solved, the car moved a few centimeters down the hill, it was out of the way and the Bonde moved on through Santa Teresa.
06 March 2010
The Sheep Keeper
I'm a keeper of sheep.
The sheep are my thoughts
And my thoughts are all sensations.
I think with my eyes and ears
And with my hands and feet
And with my nose and mouth.
To think a flower is to see it and smell it
And to eat a fruit is to taste its meaning.
That's why on a hot day
When I ache from enjoying it so much,
And stretch out on the grass,
Closing my warm eyes,
I feel my whole body lying full length in reality,
I know the truth and I'm happy.
Alberto Caeiro
The sheep are my thoughts
And my thoughts are all sensations.
I think with my eyes and ears
And with my hands and feet
And with my nose and mouth.
To think a flower is to see it and smell it
And to eat a fruit is to taste its meaning.
That's why on a hot day
When I ache from enjoying it so much,
And stretch out on the grass,
Closing my warm eyes,
I feel my whole body lying full length in reality,
I know the truth and I'm happy.
Sou um guardador de rebanhos.
O rebanho é os meus pensamentos
E os meus pensamentos são todos sensações.
Penso com os olhos e com os ouvidos
E com as mãos e os pés
E com o nariz e a boca.
Pensar uma flor é vê-la e cheirá-la
E comer um fruto é saber-lhe o sentido.
Por isso quando num dia de calor
Me sinto triste de gozá-lo tanto,
E me deito ao comprido na erva,
E fecho os olhos quentes,
Sinto todo o meu corpo deitado na realidade,
Sei a verdade e sou feliz.
Alberto Caeiro - O Guardador de Rebanhos
Alberto Caeiro
Mobile network in Brazil - a story
Like in several other countries we bought a SIM card to our mobile phone here in Brazil. Arrived to the airport in Belo Horizonte we asked a shop keeper where to buy and which network he recommended. We got a chip from Vivo.
We tried to call. Not possible, it was necessary to register the SIM card first. When tried, they asked for the "CPF".
Once we were with Lorenza, she phoned the hotline and managed to register the phone with her "CPF", which is the identity card number in Brazil. This already means no tourist can register on himself the SIM card. We try to call. No luck. Lorenza phones the hotline again and it seems that to buy the chip which includes 10reais in money is not enough, you need to buy extra credit.
We go to a kiosk and get the credit. The phone works now. A call costs 1.50reais, about 0.65euros.
Couple days pass, we go to Rio de Janeiro and the sim card does not work anymore. We go to a shop and they say to call the hotline from the phone inside the shop. In the hotline they say the phone is not registered. I say that it is, that we got already some credit in it and did some calls. The lady in the hotline asks me to call some assistant in the shop. The assistant is clever. Aleluia. She says that the problem is the phone, that only quad-band phones work with Vivo in Rio de Janeiro. She was right.
Next day we needed to buy more credit. To receive a phone call in Rio de Janeiro costs 1.30euros the 1st minute, plus 0.65euros the extra-minutes! This with a Brazilian sim card. We go to a kiosk but the machine to charge says our number is not valid. We go back to the Vivo shop. There is a guy selling paper cards for charging the phone. The Vivo shops are always super busy. He says that as our chip is from a different state, only cards sold in the shop work.
We travel more, arrive to São Paulo, we need more credit (would be cheaper for us to use our foreign mobile phones). We go directly to a Vivo shop, they sold us the magic card but it does not work, says again "invalid mobile phone number". The lady says again: "Yes, there's a problem with chips bought in Minas Gerais, we cannot put money on them here"... How can we do? Then she gives us back the money and says: "Well, if you go to the other side of the road, to the lottery shop, there they can put money on your sim card". And she was right, the official Vivo shop cannot put money on their own sim cards, but the lottery shop can!
Already in Minas Gerais we inquired other operator to see if things would be easier. First to go and she said that in their official shop they do not sell their own sim cards, one needs to go to a kiosk. We inquired about prices, state roaming. Five minutes later we come back with other question about prices and another seller says completely different from the first. We gave up.
The only advantage of having a Brazilian sim card is that internet access on the mobile phone is very cheap and that we would be able to receive sms from any Brazilian operator without problems. Even if in Brazil people do not seem so much fun of sms.
We tried to call. Not possible, it was necessary to register the SIM card first. When tried, they asked for the "CPF".
Once we were with Lorenza, she phoned the hotline and managed to register the phone with her "CPF", which is the identity card number in Brazil. This already means no tourist can register on himself the SIM card. We try to call. No luck. Lorenza phones the hotline again and it seems that to buy the chip which includes 10reais in money is not enough, you need to buy extra credit.
We go to a kiosk and get the credit. The phone works now. A call costs 1.50reais, about 0.65euros.
Couple days pass, we go to Rio de Janeiro and the sim card does not work anymore. We go to a shop and they say to call the hotline from the phone inside the shop. In the hotline they say the phone is not registered. I say that it is, that we got already some credit in it and did some calls. The lady in the hotline asks me to call some assistant in the shop. The assistant is clever. Aleluia. She says that the problem is the phone, that only quad-band phones work with Vivo in Rio de Janeiro. She was right.
Next day we needed to buy more credit. To receive a phone call in Rio de Janeiro costs 1.30euros the 1st minute, plus 0.65euros the extra-minutes! This with a Brazilian sim card. We go to a kiosk but the machine to charge says our number is not valid. We go back to the Vivo shop. There is a guy selling paper cards for charging the phone. The Vivo shops are always super busy. He says that as our chip is from a different state, only cards sold in the shop work.
We travel more, arrive to São Paulo, we need more credit (would be cheaper for us to use our foreign mobile phones). We go directly to a Vivo shop, they sold us the magic card but it does not work, says again "invalid mobile phone number". The lady says again: "Yes, there's a problem with chips bought in Minas Gerais, we cannot put money on them here"... How can we do? Then she gives us back the money and says: "Well, if you go to the other side of the road, to the lottery shop, there they can put money on your sim card". And she was right, the official Vivo shop cannot put money on their own sim cards, but the lottery shop can!
Already in Minas Gerais we inquired other operator to see if things would be easier. First to go and she said that in their official shop they do not sell their own sim cards, one needs to go to a kiosk. We inquired about prices, state roaming. Five minutes later we come back with other question about prices and another seller says completely different from the first. We gave up.
The only advantage of having a Brazilian sim card is that internet access on the mobile phone is very cheap and that we would be able to receive sms from any Brazilian operator without problems. Even if in Brazil people do not seem so much fun of sms.
27 February 2010
Literary Travel Companions
This is what I've been reading during the trip (in reverse order), and what I thought about it.
18. East of Eden (John Steinbeck). Another great American classic, read with gread pleasure in the trains that carried us through Texas and then up north through the snow.
17. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee). For our trip through the US, I thought I should read an American classic, which it is. A great story from the American South.
16. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami). As I'm writing this, I'm not even halfway through the book, but it's fantastic. Could read it for hours at a time (long train trip coming up tomorrow!). Well written, mysterious, makes me think about things... Great.
15. Riding the Iron Rooster (Paul Theroux). Another travel account, this time about Theroux' train travels in China, in the 1980s. I had been waiting to read this since we were in China, but couldn't find the book until we were in Thailand. Now there were some points where I disagreed with his views (not about China but about Poland), but it was an interesting and entertaining book to read. A lot of things have changed in China since then, but some things haven't changed that much (the spitting, for instance...).
14. Surviving the Killing Fields (Haing S. Ngor). This is an autobiography of a survivor of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. It made me finally understand what happened exactly in Cambodia and why, and how peoples minds work in this country. Before going to Cambodia and doing a bit of reading, I knew about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, that they had killed people, that the country was still poor and terribly corrupt, but nothing more. Everybody in the west knows about Vietnam, but Cambodian history is still not very much talked about. This book is a must-read if you want to have an insight about what happened there, and why, and what went wrong.
13. The End of Poverty (Jeffrey Sachs). This book opened a whole new world for me, the one about development economics. It's extremely well written and easy to understand. It was interesting to read while travelling through still developing countries. It got me very interested in development and how it all works, and angry at the rich countries (especially big USA) for not doing more and just talking all the time. I will for sure do some further reading as soon as I can.
12. Catfish and Mandala (Andrew X Pham). Well written travel book about a Vietnamese-American going back to Vietnam to find his roots. Great to read while in Vietnam.
11. The Old Patagonian Express (Paul Theroux). A favourite, of course. Theroux keeps my spirits up and makes me feel normal if I don't find everything beautiful and great.
10. One Man's Bible (Gao Xingjian). Good book to read while in China, it gives an interesting picture of the Cultural Revolution. It's not an easy read and sometimes a bit "strange" but still interesting. Had to hide it deep down in my backpack because it's banned in China...
8. Midnight Children (Salman Rushdie). A more difficult read than the other books, but excellent.
7. Animal Farm (George Orwell). Bought back in Russia when we were happy to find a bookshop with a few English books, but I only read it (or re-read it, had already read it back in my school days) between Japan and South Korea. Always great, a classic.
6. Underground - The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche (Haruki Murakami). I bought this book because it was mentioned by Paul Theroux and because we were in Japan. He collected stories from people who experienced the sarin attack by Aum in Tokyo. It reveals a lot about how the Japanese "work". It made a big impression on me.
5. Meister und Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov). I was very happy to receive this book from Juergen, who had brought it from Austria but when he heard that I had run out of reading material and that it was just impossible to find foreign-language books in Ulan-Ude, he very spontaneously offered it to me. Thank you very much! A great book by a great russian writer, definitely worth reading (I would recommend you buy it in a translation in your native language).
4. Die Nacht von Lissabon (E. M. Remarque). I bought it because that's what they had at the bookstore in St. Petersburg. Interesting book and very well written.
3. Die Apothekerin (Ingrid Noll). Very entertaining. Lasted for one 24-hour train trip.
2. Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (Paul Theroux). An excellent travel book, a must for train lovers and independent travellers. Miguel read it as well (after remarking that it was "too big", he read it all in one go...) ;-)
1. Von Sibirien nach Japan (Klaus Scherer). The making-of (and a lot of background information and photos) of a TV programme about Siberia (Kamkatchka and Sakhalin) and Northern Japan. Very entertaining, and a good preparation for our trip!
Converted to Catholicism?
Yesterday we arrived in São João del Rey, a town with a nice old centre and lots of nice baroque churches. As the afternoon was spent with getting a haircut (Miguel), going on-line (Miguel) and sleeping (me), we only walked around town in the evening when most churches were closed.
But in the evening, after the 7 pm mass, there was a procession to celebrate Lent (Quaresma in Portuguese, the 40th day before Easter), during which a Jesus on the cross was carried through the streets and everybody followed praying the Rosary. We walked with them. We didn't pray the Ave Maria though, but we looked at the churches and chapels where the procession stopped and a group played music (which was nice, except for the trumpettist who was off-tune...).
So, no, we haven't converted to Catholicism, but we just took it as an occasion to visit the town!
But in the evening, after the 7 pm mass, there was a procession to celebrate Lent (Quaresma in Portuguese, the 40th day before Easter), during which a Jesus on the cross was carried through the streets and everybody followed praying the Rosary. We walked with them. We didn't pray the Ave Maria though, but we looked at the churches and chapels where the procession stopped and a group played music (which was nice, except for the trumpettist who was off-tune...).
So, no, we haven't converted to Catholicism, but we just took it as an occasion to visit the town!
26 February 2010
Getting tired
When you cannot anymore count with the fingers the number of the days you had to wake up before dawn to catch a bus/train, travel unconfortavel, arrive to a new city check three hotels and have to decide which was is the least bad.
The good thing is to confirm more and more that the best of the travel is the less turistic cities/villages where you are treated as a normal person and not a walking ATM.
The good thing is to confirm more and more that the best of the travel is the less turistic cities/villages where you are treated as a normal person and not a walking ATM.
Contemporary Art in Brazil
Is in Inhotim, MG
It is a huge space suitable for huge installations (usually one per building). Big names are already there. All this is in a amazing garden partially planned by Burle Marx.
It is a huge space suitable for huge installations (usually one per building). Big names are already there. All this is in a amazing garden partially planned by Burle Marx.
21 February 2010
Season change
Few days ago we were with one meter of snow packed in the sidewalks, almost impossible to get out of home and we were obliged to drive for 2000km to get our plane in time.
Now we are in summer, t-shirt and shorts (or skirt or dress) all the time in Brazil. We are visiting Lorenza, my brazilian friend from the time I lived in Finland. So, for me back in Belo Horizonte and for Eva a first visit to the brazilian culture.
Also, this season change obliged us once more to re-arrange the backpack, from winter mode to summer mode. A big deal, the backpack which was just 10 or 11kg in winter mode (we were dressing the rest of the weight) is now with 14kg, as the jacket, fleece, shoes, long-sleves are all inside. We have also decided not to carry anymore our winter clothes that we bought and got offered in Chicago (thanks Hannah!). Just that there is no space and we are affraid we will not get again to as cold as it was in North of the United States. So, this just to tell that like at home, we too have to move winter and summer clothes from one place to another. Just that in the backpack is only inverting the stack.
Brazil, here we go.
Now we are in summer, t-shirt and shorts (or skirt or dress) all the time in Brazil. We are visiting Lorenza, my brazilian friend from the time I lived in Finland. So, for me back in Belo Horizonte and for Eva a first visit to the brazilian culture.
Also, this season change obliged us once more to re-arrange the backpack, from winter mode to summer mode. A big deal, the backpack which was just 10 or 11kg in winter mode (we were dressing the rest of the weight) is now with 14kg, as the jacket, fleece, shoes, long-sleves are all inside. We have also decided not to carry anymore our winter clothes that we bought and got offered in Chicago (thanks Hannah!). Just that there is no space and we are affraid we will not get again to as cold as it was in North of the United States. So, this just to tell that like at home, we too have to move winter and summer clothes from one place to another. Just that in the backpack is only inverting the stack.
Brazil, here we go.
14 February 2010
Passing through Switzerlad
On our 2000km drive down the East coast of the US we passed by two "Switzerland" villages. Was a bit like going home in a flash of time.
10 February 2010
New activities
Since Friday, when we arrived to the area of Washington DC that a couple of historic snow storms is changing the life of people, including ours. We are staying with a nice couchsurfing family in Alexandria, state of Virginia, just couple metro stations away from downtown Washington. Since Friday that school is closed and since Saturday that museums and public transport do not operate outside downtown Washington. Today is Wednesday and wind is blowing very strong, together with a good amount of snow (25cm?), which is going above the 60cm of snow that fell down during Saturday. Here in Alexandria not every year there is snow and when there is, usually it falls just couple of centimeters, that are cleared out in a couple hours. This means that people do not have winter tires neither there are many snow clearing machines. On the sidewalks all the snow is cleared with shovels.
So while Eva did a nice bread yesterday and today she is solving a puzzle, I helped out to shovel in front of the house and to remove the accumulated snow over their greenhouse which roof was starting to feel the weight of 70cm of snow.
On Monday we went to downtown, mostly walking, but sidewalks were full of snow and wet snow, making walking an horrible activity.
Maybe I should go back and ski like on Saturday...
ah, and hopefully we will be leaving Washington tomorrow... by car. No trains operate, half of airplanes do but are fully booked. Without other solution, three days of driving is what expect us. We expect that few hundred miles south the snow here was just rain there and roads are clear!
So while Eva did a nice bread yesterday and today she is solving a puzzle, I helped out to shovel in front of the house and to remove the accumulated snow over their greenhouse which roof was starting to feel the weight of 70cm of snow.
On Monday we went to downtown, mostly walking, but sidewalks were full of snow and wet snow, making walking an horrible activity.
Maybe I should go back and ski like on Saturday...
ah, and hopefully we will be leaving Washington tomorrow... by car. No trains operate, half of airplanes do but are fully booked. Without other solution, three days of driving is what expect us. We expect that few hundred miles south the snow here was just rain there and roads are clear!
06 February 2010
Couchsurfing reenconter
In New York City we met Liuba, our Couchsurfer host in Yaroslavl, Russia. In June 2009 she was at her family place to renew her passport and hosted us. We did not forget her and now we made to meet Liuba again at her new city. Just like this. She could not host us this time, but we visited two art galleries.
Snowstorm paralyses Washington DC and eastern US
Basically... we are there!
News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8501246.stm
And our photos (today taken during a walk and a cross country ski ride on the roads):
Eva skiing on the street of our hosts
A car is hidden in the snow!
News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8501246.stm
And our photos (today taken during a walk and a cross country ski ride on the roads):
Eva skiing on the street of our hosts
A car is hidden in the snow!
The Washington Post, February 5th 2010, Movie Reviews
The Last Station
Contains a scene of sexuality and nudity.
From Paris with Love
Contains nearly constant violence, pervasive obscenity, drug use and brief sexuality.
Fish Tank
Contains profanity, smoking, teen drinking and some sexuality.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: the squeakquel
Contains mild crude humor and slapstick violence.
Broken Embraces
Contains sexual content, language and drug material.
Creation
Contains intense thematic material.
Journey to Mecca
Contains brief swordplay during an attack by bandits.
When in Rome
Contains some mildly naughty still photos and suggestive art work.
The Princess and the Frog
Contains nothing objectionable.
The United States
Contains pervasive obesity, extensive bag-controlling, nearly constant pollution by paper cups, and presence of gun material.
Contains a scene of sexuality and nudity.
From Paris with Love
Contains nearly constant violence, pervasive obscenity, drug use and brief sexuality.
Fish Tank
Contains profanity, smoking, teen drinking and some sexuality.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: the squeakquel
Contains mild crude humor and slapstick violence.
Broken Embraces
Contains sexual content, language and drug material.
Creation
Contains intense thematic material.
Journey to Mecca
Contains brief swordplay during an attack by bandits.
When in Rome
Contains some mildly naughty still photos and suggestive art work.
The Princess and the Frog
Contains nothing objectionable.
The United States
Contains pervasive obesity, extensive bag-controlling, nearly constant pollution by paper cups, and presence of gun material.
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