Peace life and ideas

Rio De Janeiro Brazil

Yes the Hockeyman spent the last week in Brazil. I know you gasp and say"But..There's no hockey in Brazil" Au Contraire Mes amis.. I was in city called Sertzinthino and they are very proud of their roller hockey team. A couple of the guys from there play and told me next time we could get a game... I think from what I could make out its like classic roller skates not the more modern inline skates...

Brazil...what a place. ..... Beautiful beaches beautiful people.

The people there are incredibly kind, polite inherently good people. I went to several plants with some of the management and what struck me as most heartening was the smiles that came on the workers faces as the managers came into their area and said hello to them. The Brazilian handshake among men is a two handed affair. You shake with one hand and the other you pat the other person on the back or the side.. you do not power shake ...you don't look the opposite straight in the eye, you smile... a heartfelt smile. Imagine... just crazy eh? It is weird after the north american experience to see the men kissing the women in the office. Its a two cheek affair but not a peck on the cheek.. you can hear real suction...

At one point we were headed to the flea market near the hotel and Eduardo our Brazilian friend told us that we have to bargain.... so I go to buy a t shirt... I try to bargain.... I tell them I am walking away... Eduardo says... come on 20 Reas is a good price these are poor people.... so I never bargained after that...

The next most interesting fact is how active they are as a nation. Even in the taxi from the airport in Rio on a Tuesday morning every playground was filled , then there were walkers and joggers and bike riders everywhere... beach volley ball and soccer on the beach are mainstays They are very very active as a nation

its just incredibly sad that security is such an issue... you need to watch everywhere...all of the office buildings have extensive security procedures.. I had my picture taken and recoded in four different offices. Even in a simpler quieter city like Araraquara (500K from Rio) all of the houses have big walls and spikes and barbed wire to deter bandits. So few middle class people live in houses- you have to live in an apartment for protection. I did go for a run on the beach at Copacabana at 6 am and I did walk down the strip at night.... but I sat with a guy from Edmonton and the same night three in his group had been held up at knifepoint on the same beach... Graffiti everywhere... I must have passed 6 police blitz locations at the side of the road on Friday.... each manned by men with automatic rifles.

I would love to go back...to know more Portuguese and see more of the countryside - because the people are really really genuinely nice people, but Brazil is held back because security is such an issue....
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posted by hockeyman @ 8:49 PM