birthday.

My birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, so having a huge birthday bash was a little bit out of the question. Luckily, I had really only wanted to get a big group together and have drinks at Bar Urca-- which was exactly what I did. I was praying all day that it wouldn't rain... luckily, it didn't. Bar Urca is a little bar at the edge of Urca. You grab some choppe and sit along with Bay of Guanabara, watching the sunset, the boats on the dock, and the locals fishing along the side of the bay. It's a magical place, where I feel like I'm in another part of Rio. My roommate surprised me with a birthday cake (delicious, I think it was from Torta and Cia in Cobal do Humaita) and I ended up having a large group of people-- a mix of foreigners, Brazilians, and Fulbrighters (I categorize them into their own group).

I spent the other part of my day reading the newspaper at Parque Lage, and eating a delicious dessert at the Copacabana Fort. I had never been, but the views were splendid. It was worth my 2 reais entrance fee.

All in all, I couldn't have had a better birthday-- spending the night with a wonderful group of people, beautiful views, and wonderful weather.

Field work.

I'm in the middle of my field work, collecting data for my survey questionnaires. It surprises me everyday how willing and able students are to complete my questionnaire, and how they all take the time to thoughtfully write down responses.

Even with my language barrier-- they all knew that I was from the United States (apparently, our accent is unmistakable)-- they were patient with me.

I have to note however, that field work is actually pretty tiring. I'm at the Department of Letters-- my camp, basically-- for a half day almost every day for the two weeks I'll be doing my surveying. Asking the same questions over and over, and making sure to take down the responses properly; finding people in locations that are easy to approach, making sure there aren't large groups of students around your participant, etc.-- they're all things to be thinkng about.

Off to see Obama today...

A good start to a Sunday in Rio.

The coconut water...

in Bahia is much sweeter.

Carnaval (in Salvador).

For the last day of Carnaval, I headed up to Salvador with a friend. I had some research work to do up there, and it coincided with the last day of the biggest festival in Brasil.

I had heard a lot of stories about Carnaval in Salvador prior to going-- that it would be crazy, the most intense experience of your life, and unlike anything you had seen before. People were right. It's not like Rio, where you can pick and choose the street parties you want to go to. There are specific places that you go (say, for example, like Barra) where are the parties are concentrated onto one street. And it's a bit like a parade. The music is blasted from a float, and the float keeps moving down the street. The float is surrounded by people all wearing the "party t-shirt" called an abada. You have to buy these shirts ahead of time for an incredible price, and then wear them in order to enter the confines of the bloco. What I mean by confines is that there are people that surround these "tshirt" partiers and the float and form a barricade with rope. Kind of like a corral. I'm not kidding. Only those who have the t-shirt can enter, and the rest of the population stands outside, partying, and doing what's called "fazendo pipoca" (making popcorn).

We were told the popcorn crowd gets pretty wild and isn't exactly safe, so after a couple bus trips to malls that were sold out of the t-shirts, we ended up buying our shirts on the street, after being tipped off by a Brazilian girl which blocos were the best ones to go to. She did us well. Not only did we buy the shirt for significantly cheaper than in the stores, we ended up going to a bloco that was just as insane as you can imagine a party. I've never been to Coachella, but it must be something similar. The bloco was DJ'd by Will.iam and was a big mess of sweat, dancing, bodies, dancing, kissing, dancing. It's hard to piece together everything, but I came away alive, my body intact, and not a single thing stolen.

A word to those who end up in Salvador-- most of the blocos play pagode, which is a type of Brazilian music that not everyone may be interested in (say, for example, like me). I highly suggest checking all the lists before you go so you have an idea of what is good and bad out there. And you'll probably be able to buy your shirt on the street, especially if you speak Portuguese.

Sambodromo.

I forgot to mention in my last post one (slightly important) experience I had during Carnaval. My colleague and I got to participate in the Sambodromo, the large samba competition held every year during Carnaval. The escolas de samba practice the whole year to participate in this event, and they usually have outsiders (ie, me) come and "fill in the gaps"-- they use us to help create a larger and more spectacular show.

The experience was incredible-- and unlike anything I could possibly describe. Every samba school has it's own theme-- ours, Sao Clemente-- was the ocean. Everyone had costumes relating to the ocean-- I got to have one with a life saver. There were others who carried umbrellas, ones that looked like fish, etc. The floats-- there were, I believe, three-- were tremendous.

My feet were tired from dancing for over 60 minutes (there's actually a specific time frame that the school must be performing in the Sambodromo) but I couldn't stop-- especially because we were positioned right behind a group of samba dancers (college-aged boys dressed in sailor uniforms and little girls, no more than 10, busting moves I couldn't dream of pulling off) and the bateria (the percussion section). The show ended too quickly, and because I was performing, I wasn't able to stay around to see the rest.

If I lived in Rio, I'd like to participate in the school and really learn the moves-- it would be incredible to learn how to dance the way they do. Until then, I'm happy being a filler, and would love to one day go and see the show in the Sambodromo. I'll just have to make sure to rest up the night before-- the show doesn't start till around 9 PM, and finishes at about 6 in the morning. Yowza.

Restaurante SENAC.

If you're ever in Pelourinho, there's a restaurant called Restaurante SENAC, located at Pça. José de Alencar, 13/19 - Largo do Pelourinho.

For 36 reais, you get a buffet where it's a spread of choices of all (and I mean all) Bahian food. After a few days of eating relatively cheap (and well, for that matter), we decided to splurge. The place was empty when we went, but it's usually pretty full. I highly suggest going-- it's worth the money.

Tel.: (71) 3224-4550

Salvador.

Bahian food.

It's a well known fact that Cariocas can't really handle their spice-- so I was incredibly excited to try all the Bahian food in Salvador. A disclaimer: to those who love hot food, Bahian food isn't really that spicy, but it's got its own flavors that are just a fun to discern when eating. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get a kick from the foods (like most Asian cooking) but it was fun to try everything from the acaraje to the mocqueca to the bobo de camarao.

Acaraje

Cuscuz

Cocada

A (very small) breakdown of Carnaval (in Rio).

Prior to this past week, I really didn't have an idea of what Carnaval was like in Rio-- I imagined the city to be swarming to people, drunk and partying, kissing every third person they saw. I imagined messy streets, horrid smells, and basically-- to tell you the truth-- an amplified version of MTV Spring Break.

While I wasn't exactly wrong-- the city does start to smell and there are a lot of drunkards roaming at night-- Carnaval is more than that in Rio. Imagine that the whole city turns into a music festival, and you can go to different streets (or blocks) to listen to whatever music you want. Add costumes, have some of the concerts in a parade-like style, and extend the music festival from 7 AM to 11 PM (and the party goes later in Lapa) and you've got Carnaval in Rio.

It's hard to explain just how amazing it is. I'm fortunate enough to say that I got to experience a little bit of everything-- the crazy blocos in Ipanema (where it's a majority of tourists and Brasilian men trying to hook up with girls), the blocos in Santa Teresa Centro (alive with costumes, families, and good music), and the small street parties that are unknown to everyone except those in the know. Each street party is different, and I enjoyed each one thoroughly. It's hard to pick a favorite-- Saturday morning I went up to Santa Teresa to "Ceu na Terra" where the bateria plays in the bondinho. Then I headed to Bola Preta (which ended up being a mess because of the rain)-- the most classic street bloco in Rio. Then I headed to Ipanema at night, to Banda Ipanema, which ended up being mostly tourists (as far as I could tell). Sunday I went to Centro and watched my friend's play in the bateria at Boitata, then hung around Praca Quinze until the afternoon. Had some lunch then headed to Ipanema again. Monday I went with my roommate to a small show in Urca, where just about 50-60 Brazilians danced and listen to good Afro-Brasilian music. Later I headed to a bloco in Botafogo, where it was all Beatles music (the crowd there was amazing-- everyone was singing and dancing).

En fim, let's just say that I'm addicted. I get why Carnaval could be the greatest party ever. And while I headed to Salvador for the last day (more on that in a different post), Carnaval in Rio is just as exciting and if not richer in culture and music than that in Salvador (contrary to what the guide books say, I know).

It's been a while since I've updated.

But it's been Carnaval and the city (well, country) has been alive and partying. I'll try to catch up with some posts this week.

Fulbright Orientation, Reflections.

For the past few days (Saturday-Tuesday), I was in São Paulo attending the Fulbright Orientation for the incoming research grantees. It was a bit strange, seeing all of them so bright-eyed and anxious to start their research, since I have been here on my own for almost five months (I hit that mark tomorrow). In some ways, the orientation was even a little disorienting for me-- hearing everyone getting excited about the different things they want to get involved in, the number of connections they have... it made me realize how I (in some ways) really stepped foot into this country without any friends.

Ethics Clearance: The final stages.

So, after nearly five months of writing, waiting, writing, waiting, calling, running around getting signatures, waiting, writing, waiting, and waiting some more...

I received final research clearance from the CEP. Just as I am starting my field work. The timing worked out kind of perfectly, and while I'm not surprised it's taken until a little over halfway through my grant to receive clearance, I'm glad it's basically over. I just have to submit the final papers to the IRB in the US, and I am clear in both countries. Yippeeeee.

Congresso.

Yesterday I was accepted to present my work (as an oral presentation, in Portuguese!) at V Congresso Brasileiro de Ciências Sociais e Humanas em Saúde. This past week (though I haven't been writing) has been really booked with advancements on my research. I will be presenting my work in São Paulo, some time between April 17-April 20. It should be exciting, and I am glad to have an excuse to go back to São Paulo--- I was just there this past weekend for the Fulbright Orientation (more on that soon) and I really did enjoy the city.

Rio's birthday.

Today is the birthday of Rio de Janeiro.