My Brazil trip has been very fun, and interesting. Everything I imagined this country to be was exactly right and even then some. I absolutely love this country. I love the people, I love the culture, and I love the language, even more so than I already had before! Everywhere I go, I feel like I'm at home, the people I meet, I feel like I've known them for a long time. I just feel so comfortable here. I haven't really experienced any culture shock...like...at all. It's interesting. haha. However, this country is VERY different from America! Brazil isn't at all glam and glitter. Not at all. So far, I have spent a night in Sao Paulo, a week in Rio, and a little more than week in Belem where I currently am and will be till July 16th.
In Rio, I saw some of the poorest people and places I've ever seen. I rode through favela after favela (for the gringos that don't know what a "favela" is, it's basically a slum, a really really poor slum in the middle of the city). It amazed me how normal favela's are all throughout Rio, even on the way up to see the Cristo Redentor, all along that mountain, there's favela's! The city is surrounded in poverty and brokenness. Going through one of the poorest (and most dangerous) streets in Rio, I saw young people, no older than 11 or 12, lying on the ground, strung out on drugs and beaten down from life. I remember one boy specifically, probably was about 11 or 12 literally lying on the side walk, one leg in the street almost getting ran over by cars, and the other leg on the curb, people stepping over and walking all around him. No shoes, no shirt, he had absolutely nothing, just laying there. I couldn't help to think "What has he seen?" "Where has he been?" "What things has he experienced at his young fragile age that I could never imagine experiencing myself, although I'm a lot older than he?", "Where are his parents?" "Does he have parents?" "Do his parents care or know the condition that their son is in?" "When was the last time he has was hugged?" "Has he ever been hugged?" "Has ever had someone tell him that they love him and that his life is worth value?". All these questions ran through my head in about 5 seconds as we passed him, I wanted nothing more than to stop the bus and just hug him. He may be starving physically from food, but he isn't dying from that. He is dying from starvation of love. He is love starved. He is dying from believing and being told that his life has no value, and no worth. It's known that, love is a absolute necessity to sustain human life, more than food, one needs love. Both of which this little boy about the age of my little brother is being severely deprived of.
Not too long after I saw the little boy, I saw a girl, same circumstances, same condition, young, about 11 or 12, no shoes, really dirty, trying to find some sort of rest in the middle of a major sidewalk, people walking all around, ignoring her very existence. Again a thousand questions rushed my mind, "What has she seen?" "What has she been through?" "What's her story?" "How many times has she been forced to the bed of a stranger just for a little money to maintain her desolate life?" "Has she ever been told she's loved, without there being an ulterior motive behind it?". As the bus passed her, like the boy, I just wanted to hug her. Just a hug. Passing both young and old people like this over and over, I felt as if someone had viciously taken a hammer to my porcelain heart. I was so overwhelmed and felt so helpless, this isn't supposed to be how life is. This isn't life, it's existence. They've never had the opportunity to live a life worth living, they've never been told that life is more than existing, they have never known anything else other than poverty, and survival.
A few days after I arrived in Belem, I went on a trip to visit the River People on the Amazon River, there were 9 of us in a little boat not too much bigger than a canoe. I had so much fun. haha. It was so awesome visiting with and just fellowshipping with the river people, they were so warm and welcoming to all 9 of us, 4 of which were straight up gringos! haha The first family we visited, was a family of 6 kids, the grandmother helps take care of them with the father, because the mother died while giving birth to the youngest baby boy (Whom is in the picture with me).
This baby boy was so precious, he would look at me and smile a beautiful smile, I wanted to kidnap him! haha Although they lived very basic, in a wooden house, built off the ground for when the tide comes in, hammocks for beds, and piece of wood with some linens covering a small area as the bathroom, they still were happy people and grateful for whatever small things they receive to help the ease of living. The second family we visited, a man there had previously had a stroke, so we prayed for him as well. Kids running around, naked, excited to see the new visitors! The only way to reach these people, is completely by boat, we couldn't stay very long though, or else we would have been stranded there because of the tide. So, before long we had to head back to shore. I'm hoping we'll get another chance to visit them again, for longer period of time!
As of now, these are just just a few things I have seen while here in Brazil, next week I will be spending the entire week in the Jungle and sleeping in a hammock! I'm excited! haha I feel so much has happened so far in just these two weeks I've been here, I've seen so much, learned so much, it's nearly impossible to fit all of it into one small blog, but hopefully, this will suffice for now. I'm so thankful to everyone who has helped me get here! I just love everything and everyone in this country. haha Beijos! Tchau!
