First, thank you to all those following my blog and research in Rio!
The flight from Seattle to Houston was four hours. From Houston to Sau Paulo was 9 hours. From there to Rio was another 30 minutes. So as you can guess, I was jetlagged once I arrived at my hostel. Yet me being me, I went to the imfamous Copacabana beach and later Ipanema shortly after my arrival. The weather is a sweltering 27-30 centigrade (75-85 degrees) but the air is relatively dry given it's next to a beach. So what is my first impression?
As a non-Portuegese speaker, I felt overwhelmed at the airport. So it didn't come as a surprise that a bagger boy escorted me, quite hastily, to an internet cafe so I could find the address of my hostel. He paid for my internet time wanting a bigger tip. Without a grip on the real currency I tipped him 15 real or about $6, which I wouldn't have done back in Seattle!
People keep asking me why I'm here. There are two reasons: research and the Sun. What is my biggest obstacle? Definitely language. Even if I voluteer at the ABIA (Brazilian Interdisciplinary Association of Aids), language will be a big hurdle. It took me three weeks to edit a revise a IRB with the UW Human Subjects Departmenet and now, because of the language barrier, IRB seems like an unlikely option. How can I make it substansive then?
I'm on my way out to me Raphael, a friend I connected with via couchsufing.com, a social network of international travelers. He is a carioca (local Rio resident) who will get me situated with the local Rio scene. I have many question regarding Rio's gay scene since it the ethos of my research. Gene is putting pressure on this project due to my less-than-perfect research record! So I plan to have my abstract done by Monday, poster and research paper done by April 27th.
P.S. As the cliche goes, the Brazilians are very self-conscious about their appearance-men and women alike! There are cosmetic surgery buses (though I haven't spotted any yet), along the beachfront where surgery is done on the bus, thus giving this city the nickname as the Cosmetic Surgery capital of the world! The men and women are here are attractive, but I hope the beauty is not skin deep...
Hey David, I was in Brazil doing research in the Amazon, stayed in Rio a few days with a really great guy named Filipe, also from couchsurfing: http://www.couchsurfing.com/people/cinema_vicio/
ReplyDeleteHe works at the Hotel Copacabana, which used to be the nicest beach in town but now it's all prostitutes. May be interesting if you're studying AIDS. I'm sure Filipe would show you around!
whoa, surgery buses? Dude, and I thought Korea was pretty intense with the plastic surgery! What an interesting first blog! I hope you'll continue to open the door in your journey there cuz it's amazing what youre doing! =) Miss you already!
ReplyDeleteDevine,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I'll see if I can contact him. Yeah, I was talking to a local today and there seems to be a lot of pedophiles in Copacabana on top of the prostitution which makes young children very vulnurable.
Thanks for the information brother.