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.
