Pre & during the World Cup 2014.

Leading up to the World Cup 2014, I visited London, England, and had the pleasure of hooking up with a friend that I met in Rio, Eileen.  She let me stay at her flat when I mentioned I wanted to connect with the Brazilian population in London.

Once their I spoke with Brazilians about the World Cup being in their country and the press leading up to the World Cup, and I got a wide variety of responses but in general most Brazilians were in favor of the demonstrations, and the fact that Brazilians were taking advantage of their moment in the spotlight.

I also spoke with a few people about the missed opportunities that occurred in London during the Olympics.  Most mentioned that the biggest missed opportunity was a culinary one.  At no place during the Olympics in London did the organizers feature local food, in fact local art and culture of any kind was absent because of the high price of Olympic sponsorship.  

This is something I later found was shared by the World Cup in Brazil, hot dogs, and coke, and hamburgers were the most readily accessible food.  It was only the local people smart enough to watch the games in bars and restaurants all around the city who really got to experience the local foods.

After leaving Fan Fest after the last game, I stopped in Ipanema for an acaraje, (local shrimp, and okra appetizer), and I then I went on to a barbecue at my hostel afterwards.

For the majority, western food and culture were what they experienced but for a select few that stepped away from the beaten path, there were some unique experiences. As are evidenced below, as a group of Doctors from Toronto, and Cape Town, South Africa took the time to tour Rocinha in Rio's largest favela with my friend Zezinho,.  There they experienced local cuisine and culture firsthand.

A Short Reflection...

When I'm in Brazil I can't worry about my friends in the same way I can as when I'm away from Brazil.  When I'm in Brazil each decision I make about taking my camera into controversial situations, seems like a big one when I'm making it, and an even bigger one when I get home, and allow myself to regret not having the footage.  One comfort is my accommodations in Rio.  There is a beautiful view of the beach, and each morning rain or shine, I can take a moment for reflection, and pray for guidance, just like I do in the peace of my own home.  Another comfort is that the empirical evidence that I bring to each viewer helps them to make more informed decisions about how they interpret the media, the politicians, the police, and the government in Brazil.

I go to a friend's house there and I initially "poo-poo" his decision to have his own personal bank in a cabinet, until I hear about "money laundering" crack downs in Rio.  I am a woman but I am still unbelievably naive about the world but I know that God watches over fools and children.

I am walking with my fear in one hand, and my camera in the other, and my eyes seeking to capture the p.o.v. of human to human.

Transition continues...

Everything is changing in Brazil right now, particularly in Rio.  As far as transportation is concerned the public bus system's almost two year reorganization has become fully accepted.  As far as actually getting around in the city, however the situation is far from organized as more and more newly middle-class citizens purchase cars, the traffic problems in Rio have surpassed traffic in Warsaw, Palermo, Marseille, Sao Paolo, Rome, Paris, and Stockholm, making Rio third on the list of world's worst traffic behind, Istanbul and Moscow.

What this will mean for the thousands of people coming to Rio is a daunting thought.  Brazilians have their own way of doing things, and as was experienced during the recent visit by the Pope Francis, when their systems break down, there are unique problems.  When trains went out of service visitors were left scrambling to attend his final mass which took place on Copacabana Beach.  One of the main problems remains the language barrier.  Unlike, China which prepared well in advance for their influx of tourist for the Olympics by installing information booths on street corners manned by university students and bi-lingual elders, which I found extremely helpful when I visited Shanghai and Beijing approximately 10 days before the Olympics.  Brazil, however does not seem to be fully prepared. Although free English courses are available in some areas, and made available through NGOs, there is often no time, and/or money for family members to attend classes consistently.  Instead more and more citizens are working multiple jobs, especially during the high tourist season to afford the recent increases in food, and other basic needs like electricity and water.  The repeated teacher's strikes resulting from a apparent lack of respect for education, also seems to present a major challenge for the population.  When children are out of school, Brazil's workforce is challenged to find dependable childcare, and this is in addition to the fact that school is already only a half day in Brazil.

Promises made...

One promise made that has become more than just an empty one is the demolition, of much of the urban blight in "Centro", the downtown area of Rio.

Urban blight is turned into...

 ...an art installation at the Museo de Arte de Rio,

to make room for the transformation of the port area.

Promises are being made last but not least is the Linhe 4 for the trains which will take you from the center of Rio, through the favela of Rocinha and into Sao Conrado...we shall see if this comes into fruition.