Maya in Bahia: Just to Get By

Dec 18th to Dec 23rd
My next week in Rio was chill. Con and Susan, the couple I was staying with, took me to their Country Club for lunch one afternoon. The club was sweet with a great pool and awesome view. Ironically enough, Rocinha, Rios largest favela was located right next to it, which made for an interesting contrast. One of the reasons I love Rio so much is that no matter where you are you can’t overlook the social economic disparities of the city. Many of the slums are located up in the hills, which make them fairly visible from no matter where you are. From afar, they’re actually quite beautiful to look at and many even safe to visit, but in general there is a lot of controversy in and surrounding their existence (I´ll talk more about this in a later blog entry).

Golf Course of Country Club

Country Club Pool

Rocinha - over 150, 000 people reportedly live here

Con and Susan were great hosts, but on their way to Canada for the holidays so I needed to find somewhere else to stay. Luckily, I had met a woman (also named Susan) through my friends in Sao Paulo, who would be staying in Rio for the next week. Susan is a professor at the International School of Business at North Western and was doing research in Sao Paulo and Rio. She had offered me a place to stay with her and her 4-year-old son, in exchange for my babysitting services while she was conducting some interviews. It turned out to be a pretty sweet gig because I was able to stay with them at the Sheraton on Barra beach!! Susan was also a great roommate and friend. I learned at lot from her regarding grad school, career choices and family.

The rest of my week was divided between babysitting, eating, sun tanning on the beach, sun tanning by the pool and sight seeing. I visited Corcovado (the big Christ Statue that overlooks the city), Rocinha and Vila Canoas (two famous favelas up in the hills), and Santa Teresa (a very cool bohemian neighbourhood). I also tried surfing for the first time and absolutely loved it! On my first try, I was able to stand up on the surfboard, which definitely impressed my teachers! I think if I have the chance, I will take up surfing in Bahia and make it a regular pastime of mine.

Dispelling certain Brasilian myths
- Contrary to popular belief, Brasilian women do not run around bare breasted on the beach. Although their bikinis cover little, it is actually illegal for women to be topless in Brasil.
- Brasilian food is NOT the greatest in the world. Although I was led to believe this in the beginning, I quickly learned once in Rio that most Brasilian restaurants are no appetizing. The only place one will find fine cuisine is Sao Paulo, which explains my original disillusionment. Generally, Brasilian food is fatty, over-cooked and tasteless...except for homecooked meals and fruit, which is always succulent!