Meeting my Friends

Friday 13 dez, 

Ed’s house is simple but very comfy. Most of the family which consists of Ed’s mother, father and himself and his sister, spend conversing time in the kitchen/dinning room area, where there are two sofas, a TV, Sound system for stereo and a table for eating. This area is about 12x12 total..not so big but good enough. There is a room behind that where Ed’s mom and dad sleep. There is also a small bathroom with a shower off to the side. Up stairs there is two bedrooms for Ed and his sister. Both bedrooms are of equal size about 8x10. There is a small area which has a washer. In Brazil it is rare to have a dryer too. The third floor is the roof which is used as an entertainment area for parties or a place to hang clothes. I was very suprised to see that there are there 3 bathrooms in this house. Only one though I think is working and that is the one next to the dinning room area. This house is much bigger than the house I was raised in. 

I like the environment in his house as Ed’s family is a stable one. Everybody enjoys each others company and they have accepted me in to their family. Welcome to Rocinha! 

Saturday 14 dez, I am so used to doing everything for myself as this is the life I grew up in, always doing for myself without help. Being here staying with Ed is very nice but it is dificult accept always what they want to do for me. These are people who are worse off than me and I am poor too. I plan on treating them to a nice chicken soup meal tonight. Yes, I learned how to cook as most people do when you are poor. 

Rocinha has been very nice to me in the past and even now. I was raised here so there is lots of familiarities but also a lot has changed since I left. I still LOVE Rocinha and it lives in and on me (tattoos) everyday. I cannot say enough about how much I really love this place. It is a place that never sleeps! A Rocinha nunca dormir! 

Ed 

Ed is a shy but intellegent teenager who seems to be doing well in school and directed correctly in his life. I see Rocinha as a place that is inhibiting his potential talents as he has so much more to offer. Me being the simple person with little education, for me Rocinha is great. But for Ed it is a place of where he is worth so much more. I really think he needs to move on from here where he can really spread his wings and fly..favelas even Rocinha, do not have much to offer the youth who are truely talented. If he lived outside of Rocinha he would be in some top university with a bright future. I am not sure what will happen to him being here in Rocinha. Brazil does not treat favela residents as equals. The classism sucks here, if you are from a favela, basically your future is grim at best, especially if you are male. It is very rare to see a doctor, lawyer or anybody above that here. Most people from here work in the service industry as their education does not prepare them for University or higher education. Such a shame, but Ed has somehow educated himself to raise above what the norm has here. I will keep you updated on Ed. I would post his foto but he is shy and I need respect that many in the favela have shame of living there. I do not have shame anymore but used to have this so I understand. 

Maria 

The mother of the house is very nice and almost too much. I say this because I feel she is trying to always stuff me wth food. Hey, I like food but I do have dietary restrictions. I am lactose intolerant. There are many foods that just bother my digestive system and this is not limited to Brazilian food. I have the same problem with American or any other kind of food. She wonders why I eat so little. I told her when I first arrived that I had a problem in the department of the number 2 version if you get my idea as I had not been able to “go” for 3 days. Yet she still insists to want to stuff me full of food that just would make it worse like rice and potatos..I told her I need fruits like Acai and oranges, not heavy starchy carbohydrates, I hope she gets it, that this has absolutely nothing to do with her cooking. She is a great cook as are most women in the favelas. That being said last night I went to the farmacia and bought a natural remedy and I have to say that my digestive tracts is FREE and clear! ☺ 

Paulo 

Paulo the father is who I most connect to..All I can say is he is awesome! If you would meet him you would never think he was born and raised in a favela, A triathlete who is in great shape and has a positive attitude about everything. He is certainly not the normal favelado! He is like me, a “Favelado do Sucesso”. He is in the Brazilian Marines as a “fuzileiro”, which is somebody who is skilled at shooting guns..but he trains and competes in triathlons representing his military roots. I have walked so much with him and have gone to parties in the favela with him..I feel like he is like brother to me..He is a true FRIEND! I want to help him if I can because like his son, he is a cool intelligent guy! At this time I am trying to set him up with a guy Chris, a volunteer here in Rocinha, who is setting up kind of a exercise cross fit type training and offering it to people in Ipanema, where the rich people live. Chris, after he leaves Rocinha, wants to pass this training style to guys in Rocinha who are committed to trying to better their lives by offering this type of program. I really think this would be right up Percy’s alley as Chris is in the US Marines and is in shape guy. Both Paulo and Chris have much in common. Paulo is also a responsible guy and at about age 40 would be perfect for this type of thing. Plus I just plain like the guy! And as somebody living in a favela this guy deserves more..I will keep you posted on this.. 

Sunday 15 dez,.... Atividade The favela never sleeps, as I said before and this is so true. The transportation within the favela is so much. Moto taxis are these guys who take one passenger on the back of their motobike. They can go almost everywhere except the small alleyways or “becos” that cut through the houses. I prefer to walk everywhere as it is healthier and I get to see all the activity in the favela. But to be honest, I have fear of these guys as they drive crazy and with the uneven roads I have fear of getting into an accident. In Rocinha there are no lines on the street to seperate the traffic. It is common to see cars, trucks and motos driving on the “wrong” side of the road here. 

Again everywhere I go people stop me and ask about my tattoos. I am the pride and positive side of Rocinha. This place is so much more than trafficking of drugs. To the “asfalto” world, Rocinha is a dirty place where lower class people live and a place they fear. This is the classism that exists in Brazil. If you live in a favela, you automatically are seen as somebody who’s worth is much less. 

Monday 16 dez,... Police Invasion Just yesterday morning I was waken by the sounds of helicopters circling above. A black armored helicopter is representative of BOPE, which is the special forces (like SWAT). Just two neighborhods away a little down the hill from me in Cachopa was an exercito (Police action/invasion). Over 200 police from BOPE invaded the favela lookng for traficantes/drug guys. They invaded the lower part to find pirated Cds/DVD’s and other stuff and bust a few who had maconha/marijuna on them. They then proceded to the middle part of the hill to Cachopa to look for Antonio Francisco do Bomfim Lopes or “NEM” as he is called. He is the dono do morro or the head of the drug gang in Rocinha. 

Ok I need to backtrack a bit to let you know why the police invaded. A couple of days ago one of the banditos from Rocinha went outside of the favela and killed a Colonel in the police militar in an attempted roobery. Well, if you do stuff like that you are going to bring attention to your favela. This happened at the Sao Conrado Shopping Center which is a 10 minute walk down the street from Rocinha. When you do crime close to home, it is obvious that you will bring attention to your quebrada. And I believe this is why the police came. I do not understand why these guys do stuff like this. It causes problem mostly for the community in that there have been times where inocentes have caught stray bullets. This does not favor well in the community. More on this later...