Rio from the Sky

A short yet breathtaking video of what you can see on a helicopter tour of Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian Elections Countdown

Just one more month to go before the Brazilian presidential elections on October 3!

Sunday Rio

Scenes from last Sunday’s bike ride to Leblon:  man running in sandals, Peruvians dressed as North American Plain Indians playing Andean music inside make-shift tepees.  Outdoor dogs happy to be outdoors.  Upscale residential buildings in Leblon, upscale hotels in Ipanema, study-abroad apartments in Copacabana, good deal-apartments in Leme,  commercial buildings in Botafogo.  Ipanema descends to Leblon.

Part-time Rio

During Carnival, a few friends of mine visited me in Rio.  One of them lived in New York City but worked for a law firm in Hong Kong.  The other one lived in Washington D.C. but worked as a consultant for a bank in Spain.   Since both of them worked off-site, they didn’t tell their bosses they were going to Rio for Carnaval.  They did, however, appear to be ‘available’ at all times—at least that was their status on their smart phones.

What was fascinating about this situation was that my friends were working for employers who were halfway across the globe, living on the East Coast of the United States yet vacationing in Rio.  Somehow, it all worked.   My friends were literally ‘on the clock’ in three different time zones!  To make this all work they had to sacrifice a few hours of beach and sun, sleep odd hours, wake up in the middle of the night to answer a few phone calls, and simultaneously be in three different places.  Even though they continued to work part-time, they were able to enjoy the best of Rio, at least part-time.

The Happiest Flight

A few weeks ago I was on a flight from Belo Horizonte to Rio de Janeiro and witnessed a one-of-a-kind celebration:  In the middle of the flight the pilot goes on the PA system and announces it was the birthday of the head stewardess.  But that’s not all.  He proceeds to sing Parabéns para você (Happy Birthday) and all of a sudden the entire cabin begins clapping and singing.  For a moment I forgot I was on a plane.  It was like being in someone’s kitchen or living room.  I had seen people clapping when a plane had landed but this was definitely a first.  Now this is what I call “flying the friendly [Brazilian] skies.”

Rio Under Water

It started raining yesterday (Monday, April 5) at 7pm and hasn’t stopped since.  Almost 24 hours of straight rain can do this to Rio:

UPDATE:  The rain finally stopped this morning (April 7) at 3am or so.  At one point, I actually started to think it would never stop raining.  Strange to see the sun this morning.  Even more strange is having to use a blanket for the first time in Rio.

The rains caused flash floods throughout the city and mudslides on several of the city’s hills.  More than 100 people lost their lives; two thousand people now find themselves without a home.  Most of the people who lost their lives were inhabitants of favelas (informal settlements) who lived near or on the hillsides.

Democracy in Favelas

Since November 2008, the city government of Rio de Janeiro has been placing special police forces inside favelas in the Zona Sul (the wealthiest region of the city) called Unidades de Polícia Pacificadora (UPP) or Pacifying Police Units.  This week Globo Online has a special series entitled Democracy in Favelas featuring interactive profiles of the five favelas thus far controlled by UPPs.

While I commend Globo for placing favelas ‘on the map’ (favelas are routinely left out of city maps), I find find it odd that the introduction of UPPs is being presented as a way of bringing democracy to favelas.  I also find it odd that such a ‘pacifying’ effort would involve guns, grenades, and patrol cars equipped like tanks.

Favela on a Bridge

A one of a kind favela on Pastor Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Rio de Janeiro:

http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/mat/2010/02/19/construcao-inacabada-sobre-rio-acari-invadida-por-pelo-menos-dez-barracos-915900035.asp

Rio in the Rain!

Finally a bit of a rain, which in Rio usually means coolness.  A drop of 10 degrees changes my life completely:  I can finally work at my desk in the living room; I don’t have to rush in and out of rooms that have AC; I can walk on Flamengo beach during the day without melting and I can even take hot showers.  Yes, Rio can be down-right miserable when it rains, but right now I’m loving Rio in the rain.

10 Things I’ve Fixed in Rio

For some reason, fixing things seems to be a lot easier and cheaper than back home.  What makes fixing things so convenient in Rio is that there are tons of tiny shops near my place that specialize in extending the lives of everyday objects.  Nothing seems to have a final end in Brazil.  Below is a list of several things I got fixed in Rio from places that were within 5 blocks of where I lived; in some cases, people from those very shops came to my apartment to give me a hand.

1. A suitcase zipper and handle.  There’s a shop in the Botafogo neighborhood that specializes in fixing suitcases, bags and purses.  They pick up your beat up suitcase from home,  rush it to their shop, and deliver it in three days looking like new.

2. Replaced the chords on the funky clothes line apparatus that hangs from the back corridor ceiling.  Found in most Brazilian apartments, these clothes lines are sustained by plastic hooks that often explode due overexposure to the Brazilian sun!  Avoid walking under these things.

3. Replaced the plastic shower curtain rod with a metal one.  Plastics in the tropics are a danger.  Try to use as little plastic as possible to prevent unpredictable explosions from happening.

4. A TV.  It took the repairman two times to finally fix it but it works now.  I try not to move it anymore.

5. Cleaned the boiler that stopped heating water.  Even though I live in the tropics, I need a hot shower once in a while.