Today I witnessed again a local street drama that is played out over and over again, perhaps even on a schedule...who knows? It is the rousting of the street vendors by the police. There are nuances to this process that I still don´t understand.
Of course my sympathies lie with the street vendors. Yes, even the ones selling pirated movies and music. My limited experience with their products is that they are bad quality versions, and I think they are mostly are sold to people who could never afford the real thing anyway. I don´t see them taking much money away from Sony or Viacom or Whoever. But, anyway, they make up a small portion of the vendors overall. In a country with such extreme income inequality, and with little or nothing in the way of social safety nets, all of these vendors are entrepreneurs who probably are a hair´s breadth away from sleeping on a piece of cardboard in the street. We should be celebrating their existential spirit, it seems to me.
In the past, when I´ve witnessed these productions, the police have always been so inept that I assumed the whole thing was a farce, which was enacted just so a report could be made to someone a few rungs higher up on the ladder. In a country where I can´t think of anything good to say about them, the police in these instances seemed almost sympathetic to the people they were harassing. They are usually so clumsy in their approach that the vendors all have time to fold up their perfectly portable little stands and flee. It is literally nothing to see 4 or 5 cops walking slowly down a street as the vendors they are nearing bag it and take it off running. The police never change the pace of their walk and, in fact, there were probably other police on the street, in the midst of the vendors all the time who are bystanders to this whole charade.
What I saw today was a bit different. The area involved consists of several square blocks, and the police seemed more aggressive than usual. I saw 5 or 6 police dumping one vendor´s inventory of soft drinks from his cooler into the police´s garbage bags. From a distance and on an elevated street, I saw police on foot a couple of blocks away actually chasing some fleeing vendors. Today people in the street stopped to watch. Someone screamed as we watched the foot race pass through an open intersection.
As I said, I don´t understand all the nuances of this procedure. A few things seem apparent though. For one, the cops never operate in groups of less that 4 to 6 when they are making these sweeps. It takes a half dozen of them even to empty a cooler of soft drinks into a garbage bag. I hope this is because they know the popular sympathy is with the vendors and not with them. And, even more, I hope they have good reason for this assumption. I see a lot of passivity to authority, and I´d like to think there is some history to make the police a little fearful of the people in these situations. (Mind you, I am taking a very passive attitude, no matter what implied criticisms I might make of the passive Brasileiros; I´ve no interest in seeing the inside of a police station.) I have seen it before, and I saw it again today, where there were two police officers alone in a street of vendors as they were packing up and leaving. Neither of the cops said a word or took any action.
It is probably bad karma for me to have said all of those bad things about the police. Tomorrow I have to take my documents to the Federal Police and make an application for the Brasilean identity number...the CPF number. I actually did this a few months ago, and it went nowhere, I am assuming because I only had a tourist visa at the time, and I probably shouldn´t have even been allowed to make the application. Now that I have the permanent visa, I am actually required to make an application within 30 days of my arrival here.
Apropos of my CPF application, the following is from Robert M. Levine´s The History of Brazil.
"Another Brazilean cultural characteristic is the jeito, a ´knack´ or ´fix,´ the way in which citizens cope with the often-unyielding formal legal system. Some use personal connections--relatives or other members of their panelinhas (networks)--to see that a rule is bent or not applied. Others, mostly less well-placed in the power structure, hire professional expediters (despachantes) to cut through red tape to obtain permits, passports, official documents and the like. The unwitting foreigner who does not understand the jeito system may spend hours or days waiting in line, mired in a bureaucracy that seems to have been created simply to provide sinecures.
Often, moreover, the Brazilean ´way´requires tips or small gifts, whether or not a despachante has been used. Doing business in Brazil often requires these payments, although this rule is unwritten. When the United States Consulate prior to President Bill Clinton´s visit in October 1997 issued a pamphlet describing the country´s business climate as ´generally corrupt,´Brazileans yelled in protest and the Americans apologized--although both sides knew that the description was not incorrect, at least from the American perspective."
Wish me luck. Heitor will be leading me by the hand in this process. I´m hoping he has a firm grasp of jeito.
Tchau.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Xmas Firecrackers
So much for "Silent Night." Starting about midday on 24 December, my São Paulo neighborhood was treated to almost an almost constant onslaught of firecrackers. I thought the revolution had arrived. I can only imagine what New Year´s Eve and January 1 will be like. Probably I should just be grateful it´s firecrackers and not bullets. Actually firecrackers are common around here all the time. I´m listening to a string of firecrackers going off even now, as I type this.
In the central valley of California, part of the Mexican-American heritage involved the firing of guns into the air at midnight to welcome the New Year. Every year, when I lived in Tulare, there would be reminders on the news programs and in the papers about the risks of this practice and people were urged not to do it but, of course, a lot of people ignored these cautionary warnings. And frequently there would be injuries. One year, I remember, a person in Visalia was shot in his/her living room by a celebratory bullet. A friend of mine who knew someone on the Stockton police department said that everyone in that department parked his/her squad car under an overpass a few minutes before midnight, and stayed there until all the bullets had fallen back to earth. Don´t know if that´s true or not, but it sounds smart.
Metaphorically at least, it was a quiet, uneventful and barely-noticed christmas for me here. Perhaps not speaking the language very well isolates me from more than I realize, but it does seem to be a lower-key holiday here. Certainly it is a big event and the large retailers and malls hype it just as in the US, but it feels a bit less omnipresent somehow. I was trying to explain to someone recently my relationship with christmas. She assumed it was a holiday that I actively disliked and reacted against, and I said that, while that may have been rather true at one time, now I am mostly oblivious to it. I explained that christmas is like Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan. I know they all exist and mean something to somebody, but they don´t any of them have anything to do with me or my life, nor me with them.
But, to those of you who actively revel in the holiday, I hope you all had an enjoyable time.
And a happy 2009 to us all!
In the central valley of California, part of the Mexican-American heritage involved the firing of guns into the air at midnight to welcome the New Year. Every year, when I lived in Tulare, there would be reminders on the news programs and in the papers about the risks of this practice and people were urged not to do it but, of course, a lot of people ignored these cautionary warnings. And frequently there would be injuries. One year, I remember, a person in Visalia was shot in his/her living room by a celebratory bullet. A friend of mine who knew someone on the Stockton police department said that everyone in that department parked his/her squad car under an overpass a few minutes before midnight, and stayed there until all the bullets had fallen back to earth. Don´t know if that´s true or not, but it sounds smart.
Metaphorically at least, it was a quiet, uneventful and barely-noticed christmas for me here. Perhaps not speaking the language very well isolates me from more than I realize, but it does seem to be a lower-key holiday here. Certainly it is a big event and the large retailers and malls hype it just as in the US, but it feels a bit less omnipresent somehow. I was trying to explain to someone recently my relationship with christmas. She assumed it was a holiday that I actively disliked and reacted against, and I said that, while that may have been rather true at one time, now I am mostly oblivious to it. I explained that christmas is like Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan. I know they all exist and mean something to somebody, but they don´t any of them have anything to do with me or my life, nor me with them.
But, to those of you who actively revel in the holiday, I hope you all had an enjoyable time.
And a happy 2009 to us all!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
I´m Still Here
For those who log on here once in a while to see if I´m still alive, I apologize for the long absence. I was in the U.S. from mid November until mid December. The trip turned out to be twice a long as my original intentions, but at least I came back clutching the permanent visa that I filed for in early July. Despite any frustrations I may have felt and expressed, it has been pointed out by all of my Brasilean friends who have had the experience that what the U.S. does to visa applicants (even just for a tourist visa) is far more bureaucratic and disrespectful. After listening to some of their stories, I haven´t any doubt they are correct.
I could, of course, have written here while I was in the U.S. , but it is always a little inconvenient not having one´s own computer, and it always seemed like there was something else to do. But the main reason since early in December is the distress I have been feeling since I found out that the woman who was supposed to be taking care of my cats was actually letting them roam around outside without any identification. Not only letting, but forcing, them to. Let´s name her: Carolyn Devine. Carolyn doesn´t even live in the house anymore and her adult son says he doesn´t scoop cat shit so the cats have to go outside. I lived with Sydney for 14 years and Spanky for 7. What Carolyn Devine and her dysfunctional family did to them in the course of 4 months is virtually criminal as far as I´m concerned. I got lucky and Sydney walked across the street while I was there, so I managed to rescue him and take him to a safe house where he will be appreciated for the amazing creature that he is. I was not able to get Spanky. Let´s name the son too: Doofus. Doofus told me Spanky got away on the day they moved back into the current house (which they had been forced out of temporarily due to a fire) which, according to what Carolyn told me back in July, should have been in August or September. Carolyn told me in an email that he had been gone for two weeks (mid-November) when a contractor was there. The conflicting lies from this family are almost non-ending, so it is impossible to know the truth.
Part of me wants to publish the whole history of Carolyn´s perfidy even if nobody really wants to read it, because it needs to be told and I´m not sure I can "get over it" until I do. Another part of me knows I should "just" try to put it behind me. I´ll listen to anyone´s opinion who wants to share it.
I will try to be more reliable about keeping current here, and also to try to figure out how to post pictures...which I don´t have, but I might get motivated to take.
Tchau
I could, of course, have written here while I was in the U.S. , but it is always a little inconvenient not having one´s own computer, and it always seemed like there was something else to do. But the main reason since early in December is the distress I have been feeling since I found out that the woman who was supposed to be taking care of my cats was actually letting them roam around outside without any identification. Not only letting, but forcing, them to. Let´s name her: Carolyn Devine. Carolyn doesn´t even live in the house anymore and her adult son says he doesn´t scoop cat shit so the cats have to go outside. I lived with Sydney for 14 years and Spanky for 7. What Carolyn Devine and her dysfunctional family did to them in the course of 4 months is virtually criminal as far as I´m concerned. I got lucky and Sydney walked across the street while I was there, so I managed to rescue him and take him to a safe house where he will be appreciated for the amazing creature that he is. I was not able to get Spanky. Let´s name the son too: Doofus. Doofus told me Spanky got away on the day they moved back into the current house (which they had been forced out of temporarily due to a fire) which, according to what Carolyn told me back in July, should have been in August or September. Carolyn told me in an email that he had been gone for two weeks (mid-November) when a contractor was there. The conflicting lies from this family are almost non-ending, so it is impossible to know the truth.
Part of me wants to publish the whole history of Carolyn´s perfidy even if nobody really wants to read it, because it needs to be told and I´m not sure I can "get over it" until I do. Another part of me knows I should "just" try to put it behind me. I´ll listen to anyone´s opinion who wants to share it.
I will try to be more reliable about keeping current here, and also to try to figure out how to post pictures...which I don´t have, but I might get motivated to take.
Tchau
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Good News and Bad News
The good news is that I received an email from the Brasilean consulate in Los Angeles informing me that my application for a permanent visa has been approved. The bad news is that bureaucrats are in charge.
I assumed, silly me, that all I would have to do, after the approval was go to the consulate with my passport and have the visa inserted, along with paying the necessary fees etc. But no, I have to leave my passport with the conulate and wait "at least 10 working days." (Which makes me, cynically, wonder what they consider a working day.)
The approval took me by surprise and has caused some problems. Since my tourist visa is only good for 90 days per visit, I have already booked a return to the U.S. on Nov. 13th, and my return to São Paulo on Nov. 28th. That doesn´t give me enough time in the U.S. to fly out to Los Angeles and wait for two weeks (More than two weeks actually, because Thanksgiving isn´t a working day at the consulate. I already know that they are closed for both Brasilean and U.S. holidays.) So I will have to pay some penalties and change my flight schedules in order to get this thing, and impose on friends and relatives while I wait.
A reasonable person might wonder why this visa couldn´t be picked up here in São Paulo, or maybe in Brasilia. (I would love an excuse to see Brasilia.) I asked that question in July when I made the application. Bureaucrats don´t ever have to answer the question "why," so I only know that it can´t be done, no way, forget about it.
One last item, and then I´ll move on and let my blood pressure go down. There was a story in the NY Times this week about an Amazonian town with something like 45,000 people and 15,000 motorcycles. The town is situated on the border of both Columbia and Peru, and it is an open border. There were two things about the story that resonated with me. First, Japanese motorcycles are twice as expensive in Brasil as are the same bikes in Columbia. Second, the city doesn´t require the bikes to be licensed because "the process of applying for a license plate and insuring a motorbike is laden with bureaucracy, and costs about $500, more than most residents can afford."
Having gotten that off my chest, I will try to focus on the good news...namely, that the visa was approved.
And I am focusing on the good news that Obama was elected and not on the bad news that Prop 8 passed in California, or that Norm Coleman may still be a senator from Minnesota. Because my Republican friends who read this are dear to me, I will ask their indulgence this once and say no more about U.S. politics for at least a while.
The doctor calls his patient and says he has good news and bad news. "The good news is that your test results came back and you only have 24 hours to live. The bad news is that I meant to call you yesterday."
Tchau.
I assumed, silly me, that all I would have to do, after the approval was go to the consulate with my passport and have the visa inserted, along with paying the necessary fees etc. But no, I have to leave my passport with the conulate and wait "at least 10 working days." (Which makes me, cynically, wonder what they consider a working day.)
The approval took me by surprise and has caused some problems. Since my tourist visa is only good for 90 days per visit, I have already booked a return to the U.S. on Nov. 13th, and my return to São Paulo on Nov. 28th. That doesn´t give me enough time in the U.S. to fly out to Los Angeles and wait for two weeks (More than two weeks actually, because Thanksgiving isn´t a working day at the consulate. I already know that they are closed for both Brasilean and U.S. holidays.) So I will have to pay some penalties and change my flight schedules in order to get this thing, and impose on friends and relatives while I wait.
A reasonable person might wonder why this visa couldn´t be picked up here in São Paulo, or maybe in Brasilia. (I would love an excuse to see Brasilia.) I asked that question in July when I made the application. Bureaucrats don´t ever have to answer the question "why," so I only know that it can´t be done, no way, forget about it.
One last item, and then I´ll move on and let my blood pressure go down. There was a story in the NY Times this week about an Amazonian town with something like 45,000 people and 15,000 motorcycles. The town is situated on the border of both Columbia and Peru, and it is an open border. There were two things about the story that resonated with me. First, Japanese motorcycles are twice as expensive in Brasil as are the same bikes in Columbia. Second, the city doesn´t require the bikes to be licensed because "the process of applying for a license plate and insuring a motorbike is laden with bureaucracy, and costs about $500, more than most residents can afford."
Having gotten that off my chest, I will try to focus on the good news...namely, that the visa was approved.
And I am focusing on the good news that Obama was elected and not on the bad news that Prop 8 passed in California, or that Norm Coleman may still be a senator from Minnesota. Because my Republican friends who read this are dear to me, I will ask their indulgence this once and say no more about U.S. politics for at least a while.
The doctor calls his patient and says he has good news and bad news. "The good news is that your test results came back and you only have 24 hours to live. The bad news is that I meant to call you yesterday."
Tchau.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
One Caipirinha After Another
For those of my American friends who think life here in paradise is just one continual party, you should know that my morning has consisted of doing the dishes, washing clothes by hand in the laundry sink and listening to a language CD and making a list of the verbs.
How long since you have washed clothes by hand? I think it is very common here. Every apartment and house I´ve been in has a laundry sink. Sure, some might have a washer and dryer, but it is just as frequent that they do not. Somebody want to come here and open a good old-fashioned american laundromat?
As for picking out those verbs, my language process seems Sisyphean at times. Sometimes I despair of ever learning this language, and sometimes I can see the progress I´m making. In any case, I continue with the effort. Yesterday i went to the park hoping to find some talkative old guy on a bench, but I wasn´t successful. Will give it another try this afternoon.
Stay in touch!
How long since you have washed clothes by hand? I think it is very common here. Every apartment and house I´ve been in has a laundry sink. Sure, some might have a washer and dryer, but it is just as frequent that they do not. Somebody want to come here and open a good old-fashioned american laundromat?
As for picking out those verbs, my language process seems Sisyphean at times. Sometimes I despair of ever learning this language, and sometimes I can see the progress I´m making. In any case, I continue with the effort. Yesterday i went to the park hoping to find some talkative old guy on a bench, but I wasn´t successful. Will give it another try this afternoon.
Stay in touch!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Oops...What Do I Know About Film Festivals?
A couple of entries ago, I wrote about seeing the Polish film ``Katyn´´ at the Rio film festival, and about how much I liked it. I noted that I had read it received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. So far, so good except that what I actually saw was that it had been nominated as BFF for the 80th Academy Awards...and the 80th Academy Awards were held last spring. It has already lost to ``The Counterfeiter.´´ What do I know about film festivals? I just sort of assumed that the entrants were newly-released films. Oh, well.
To everyone in the U.S. who likes to complain about the immigrants from Mexico who are still speaking Spanish or fractured English, I want to say ``lighten up.´´ I´m on the other side now, and I have a lot of sympathy (of course, being an empathetic kind of guy, I always did). I am working on my Português, and I´m making a little progress, but I´m never going to be fluent in this language and English speakers here probably are always going to be a welcome island of comfort whenever I encounter them. I can´t imagine being here in Brasil without computer access to the NY Times and the LA Times, or The Daily Show and Colbert Report. I might be learning Português a little slower than I would otherwise because of these security blankets, but I´m a lot more relaxed and comfortable. I just wish I had some local English-language TV options. :-)
And now I am going to cut this short so I can work on my Português exercises. My teacher gives me lots of home work.
Tchau.
To everyone in the U.S. who likes to complain about the immigrants from Mexico who are still speaking Spanish or fractured English, I want to say ``lighten up.´´ I´m on the other side now, and I have a lot of sympathy (of course, being an empathetic kind of guy, I always did). I am working on my Português, and I´m making a little progress, but I´m never going to be fluent in this language and English speakers here probably are always going to be a welcome island of comfort whenever I encounter them. I can´t imagine being here in Brasil without computer access to the NY Times and the LA Times, or The Daily Show and Colbert Report. I might be learning Português a little slower than I would otherwise because of these security blankets, but I´m a lot more relaxed and comfortable. I just wish I had some local English-language TV options. :-)
And now I am going to cut this short so I can work on my Português exercises. My teacher gives me lots of home work.
Tchau.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Reading Jane Austen in São Paulo
Apologies to the woman who wrote ``Reading Lolita in Tehran,´´ but I couldn´t resist. My novel reading is limited to what I can find in the local used bookstores,. Mind you, I´m not complaining; sometimes it just strikes me as odd to be reaing ``Persuasion´´ on a park bench in São Paulo. Or Thomas Hardy, or Charlotte Bronte, or Graham Greene and Gore Vidal for that matter. Which reminds me: I had to come all the way to Brasil to learn that Charlotte Bronte wrote a book called ``Shirley.´´
I feel bad to have neglected this space for so long. While I was in Rio, my laptop wasn´t working and that limited my opportunities. Brasil seems to be crazy for film festivals, by the way. I thought the one in Rio was large, but next week the 30-somethingth (?) São Paulo festival starts, and it has over 400 movies on its schedule. And I know there are smaller annual festivals in Recife, Forteleza and Porto Alegre. I suppose the U.S. has a gazillion festivals too, to which I have always been oblivious.
I have met several of Heitor´s charming friends and colleagues who are in the film-journalism biz, all of whom are considerate enough to speak perfect English. Since none of them will read this, I will go ahead and say it: My favorite is Neusa Barbosa, an energetic pixie who seemed to be always on her way to or from one film or another in Rio, and still had time to sit in the bar and drink caipirinhas after the last movie of the day. And presumably she did some writing sometime too. She has covered Cannes each of the last eight years, but somehow has never made it to Sundance. I think it is just a matter of nobody has paid her to go there. In 2002 she published a book about Woody Allen´s movies which (I just learned by using Google) was the first in some publisher´s series of People in Cinema. It is odd, isn´t it? I bet the first book in a U.S. series of People in Cinema would not be about Woody Allen.
Maybe one day I´ll be able to read Neusa´s book (ha!). Finally I found the Português teacher I´ve been looking for. She speaks practically no English and that is a good thing. I wanted to find a class with a few other people, because I just think I learn faster in that type of setting....you know, competing to be the best student. But I finally just gave up that idea, because it was going nowhere. So I´m the only student in my class, sitting at my little desk with the teacher giving all of her attention to me. Yesterday was our second meeting and my first official class. We will meet every Monday and Wednesday. I will need to end this soon because she gave me a lot of homework.
Thanks for reading. Stay in touch.
I feel bad to have neglected this space for so long. While I was in Rio, my laptop wasn´t working and that limited my opportunities. Brasil seems to be crazy for film festivals, by the way. I thought the one in Rio was large, but next week the 30-somethingth (?) São Paulo festival starts, and it has over 400 movies on its schedule. And I know there are smaller annual festivals in Recife, Forteleza and Porto Alegre. I suppose the U.S. has a gazillion festivals too, to which I have always been oblivious.
I have met several of Heitor´s charming friends and colleagues who are in the film-journalism biz, all of whom are considerate enough to speak perfect English. Since none of them will read this, I will go ahead and say it: My favorite is Neusa Barbosa, an energetic pixie who seemed to be always on her way to or from one film or another in Rio, and still had time to sit in the bar and drink caipirinhas after the last movie of the day. And presumably she did some writing sometime too. She has covered Cannes each of the last eight years, but somehow has never made it to Sundance. I think it is just a matter of nobody has paid her to go there. In 2002 she published a book about Woody Allen´s movies which (I just learned by using Google) was the first in some publisher´s series of People in Cinema. It is odd, isn´t it? I bet the first book in a U.S. series of People in Cinema would not be about Woody Allen.
Maybe one day I´ll be able to read Neusa´s book (ha!). Finally I found the Português teacher I´ve been looking for. She speaks practically no English and that is a good thing. I wanted to find a class with a few other people, because I just think I learn faster in that type of setting....you know, competing to be the best student. But I finally just gave up that idea, because it was going nowhere. So I´m the only student in my class, sitting at my little desk with the teacher giving all of her attention to me. Yesterday was our second meeting and my first official class. We will meet every Monday and Wednesday. I will need to end this soon because she gave me a lot of homework.
Thanks for reading. Stay in touch.
Monday, October 6, 2008
My life in São Paulo goes to Rio
I´ve been neglecting this space for the last several days. I´ve been in Rio since 29 Sep because of the Rio International Film Festival, which runs from 25 Sep to 9 Oct, with over 350 films and something like 20 theaters all over town participating. Heitor has been here since the beginning, and his journalism credentials get him into everything free. They have gotten me into a few things free.
The two most powerful movies I´ve seen are ``Katyn,´´ from Poland and ``Dancing with Bashir,´´from Israel. The former is about the systematic Soviet massacre of thousands of Polish army officers (prisoners) in 1941 and the attempt until fairly recently to pretend it was done by the Nazis. The latter is technically an animated film about the massacre of 2000 Palestinians in the Lebanese refugee camps in 1982. It combines elements of drama with documentary and it is all animated. I won´t try to describe it further; google it. We saw ``Katyn´´ a couple of days ago, and just this morning saw a flyer which said it has been nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film.
If a simple head count of audiences determines anything, the big winner will be Woody Allen´s ``Vicky Christina Barcelona.´´ I won´t be able to see it, as all of its showings are sold out.
Rio is a much more touristy city than São Paulo and I like it better (at least after a few days) although I have only been to the Copabanana and Ipanema beaches, the real tourist centers, once. Most of the theaters we´ve been attending are either in the downtown or in some of the more middle class neighborhoods. The plan right now is to return to São Paulo tomorrow (before the end of the festival), just as I´m beginning to understand the Rio buses and subway.
Gotta run.
The two most powerful movies I´ve seen are ``Katyn,´´ from Poland and ``Dancing with Bashir,´´from Israel. The former is about the systematic Soviet massacre of thousands of Polish army officers (prisoners) in 1941 and the attempt until fairly recently to pretend it was done by the Nazis. The latter is technically an animated film about the massacre of 2000 Palestinians in the Lebanese refugee camps in 1982. It combines elements of drama with documentary and it is all animated. I won´t try to describe it further; google it. We saw ``Katyn´´ a couple of days ago, and just this morning saw a flyer which said it has been nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film.
If a simple head count of audiences determines anything, the big winner will be Woody Allen´s ``Vicky Christina Barcelona.´´ I won´t be able to see it, as all of its showings are sold out.
Rio is a much more touristy city than São Paulo and I like it better (at least after a few days) although I have only been to the Copabanana and Ipanema beaches, the real tourist centers, once. Most of the theaters we´ve been attending are either in the downtown or in some of the more middle class neighborhoods. The plan right now is to return to São Paulo tomorrow (before the end of the festival), just as I´m beginning to understand the Rio buses and subway.
Gotta run.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Random Thoughts/Observations
I need to know more about Brasil´s recent history. I don´t think I´ve ever made a trip here, even one of only two weeks, in which I didn´t here some reference to the military dictatorship that only ended in the mid 1980s.
Yesterday there was a story in the leading São Paulo newspaper about a lawsuit which was dismissed yesterday on procedural technicalities. A Brasilean couple were suing a leading official from the dictatorship for the torture and murder of their son, a São Paulo journalist, in the 1970´s. Of course, I couldn´t read it myself, but Heitor summarized it for me, and he was pissed. My sense is that nobody has ever been held accountable for numerous human rights abuses that occured during those years, and it is a very sore spot for Brasilians with a social conscious and a desire for justice. Those with the most to lose of course argue that the national interest is best served by letting some things lie undisturbed, by not opening up old wounds, looking forward and not backward and all that crap... apparently with a great deal of success.
What doesn´t seem to be disputed is that in 1964 the Brasilean military overthrew a legally elected government and that Lyndon Johnson´s was one of, if not the, first governments to recognize the new dictatorship, and was probably (no surprise) involved in the planning and execution of the coup. Apparently the U.S. ambassador has admitted as much, and acknowledged the presence of the U.S. navy off shore at the time of the coup, in case it was needed. This shouldn´t surprise anyone, because it should be pretty well known by now that the prism of anti-communism, through which we viewed everything that went on in the world at that time, caused a few, shall we say, distortions. Any concern for social justice and addresing the issue of economic inequities was, ipso facto (or ipso fatso as Archie Bunker put it), evidence of support from Moscow (or Peking, or Havana etc.) What I read on the internet (yes, I know,...) is that all the evidence now says that the only outside government involved in Brasilean politics at the time was Washington.
Under the umbrella of the dictatorship, the fabric of democracy was maintained and political parties were apparently still allowed to operate. The two principal parties were known at the time as the ``Yes´´ party and the ``Yes, Sir´´ party.
According to Wikipedia, ``a government-sponsored truth and reconciliation commission in 2007, by the end of the dictatorship there were at least 339 documented cases of government-sponsored political assassinations or disappearances. Countless more were questioned, tortured, and jailed.´´ I want to know more about this, but haven´t been able to find much about it on line...other than the admission that no country, other than South Africa, has really made truth and reconciliation commissions work well enough to satisfy the majority of people.
Heitor has several books to recommend about that period, but I don´t know if any of them have been translated into English. And I let him leave for 10 days of work in Rio without remembering to get the titles from him. Long term, if I stay in Brasil, I need to have a better understanding of its politics and history...can´t help it, just need to. And then, of course, I will expect you to consider me the expert and defer to me in all matters Brasilean.
The newspaper article I mentioned about the dismissal of a lawsuit is not the only reason this is on my mind at the moment. Heitor´s sister, Sueli, is recently returned from a vacation in Europe and she was showing me pictures and telling me of her time in Barcelona, which whe loved. I mentioned that I had been in Barcelona once, but that it was so long ago that Franco was still in power. I said that I enjoyed my time in the city, but one of my most enduring memories is the omnipresence of Franco´s military....how so many buildings had military guards stationed in their front. Aside from the communication issues caused by my crappy Português and her crappier English, it was clear that Sueli just didn´t understand what I was talking about, why this was an issue, and we went on to other things. It only occurred to me a few days later that the reason she couldn´t understand what I was trying to say is because São Paulo, too, has military police stationed everywhere, maybe even more so than in Franco´s Spain. I had always noticed them; why I had never questioned them is hard to say. But, frankly, they look more like ``Police´´ than ``Military´´ so I know that is part of the reason. Heitor, my resource for all things Brasilean, understands my north american distinctions between civil and military police, and he says they are a remnant from the days of the dictatorship...that they were an institution nobody quite knew how to deal with. So now, instead of torturing people, they´re directing traffic.
_______________
And now for something entirely different: I finally found the cachaça Heitor has been recommending for the last month. A 600 ml bottle, which looks like an over-sized beer bottle, costs $R18.00 and I have to admit it is better than the other brands I´ve tried so far. But it also has a cap like a beer bottle (at least it isn´t a twist off), which makes me wonder if anybody actually pops off the cap and drinks a whole bottle of this stuff. Heitor says it is bottled by a small operation which has never spent a dime on marketing and is only known because of word of mouth (unlike, shall we say, Bombay Blue Sapphire?). He went on to say it was a ``hand job,´´ by which we ascertained he meant it was made by hand. He will kill me if he ever reads this.
Yesterday there was a story in the leading São Paulo newspaper about a lawsuit which was dismissed yesterday on procedural technicalities. A Brasilean couple were suing a leading official from the dictatorship for the torture and murder of their son, a São Paulo journalist, in the 1970´s. Of course, I couldn´t read it myself, but Heitor summarized it for me, and he was pissed. My sense is that nobody has ever been held accountable for numerous human rights abuses that occured during those years, and it is a very sore spot for Brasilians with a social conscious and a desire for justice. Those with the most to lose of course argue that the national interest is best served by letting some things lie undisturbed, by not opening up old wounds, looking forward and not backward and all that crap... apparently with a great deal of success.
What doesn´t seem to be disputed is that in 1964 the Brasilean military overthrew a legally elected government and that Lyndon Johnson´s was one of, if not the, first governments to recognize the new dictatorship, and was probably (no surprise) involved in the planning and execution of the coup. Apparently the U.S. ambassador has admitted as much, and acknowledged the presence of the U.S. navy off shore at the time of the coup, in case it was needed. This shouldn´t surprise anyone, because it should be pretty well known by now that the prism of anti-communism, through which we viewed everything that went on in the world at that time, caused a few, shall we say, distortions. Any concern for social justice and addresing the issue of economic inequities was, ipso facto (or ipso fatso as Archie Bunker put it), evidence of support from Moscow (or Peking, or Havana etc.) What I read on the internet (yes, I know,...) is that all the evidence now says that the only outside government involved in Brasilean politics at the time was Washington.
Under the umbrella of the dictatorship, the fabric of democracy was maintained and political parties were apparently still allowed to operate. The two principal parties were known at the time as the ``Yes´´ party and the ``Yes, Sir´´ party.
According to Wikipedia, ``a government-sponsored truth and reconciliation commission in 2007, by the end of the dictatorship there were at least 339 documented cases of government-sponsored political assassinations or disappearances. Countless more were questioned, tortured, and jailed.´´ I want to know more about this, but haven´t been able to find much about it on line...other than the admission that no country, other than South Africa, has really made truth and reconciliation commissions work well enough to satisfy the majority of people.
Heitor has several books to recommend about that period, but I don´t know if any of them have been translated into English. And I let him leave for 10 days of work in Rio without remembering to get the titles from him. Long term, if I stay in Brasil, I need to have a better understanding of its politics and history...can´t help it, just need to. And then, of course, I will expect you to consider me the expert and defer to me in all matters Brasilean.
The newspaper article I mentioned about the dismissal of a lawsuit is not the only reason this is on my mind at the moment. Heitor´s sister, Sueli, is recently returned from a vacation in Europe and she was showing me pictures and telling me of her time in Barcelona, which whe loved. I mentioned that I had been in Barcelona once, but that it was so long ago that Franco was still in power. I said that I enjoyed my time in the city, but one of my most enduring memories is the omnipresence of Franco´s military....how so many buildings had military guards stationed in their front. Aside from the communication issues caused by my crappy Português and her crappier English, it was clear that Sueli just didn´t understand what I was talking about, why this was an issue, and we went on to other things. It only occurred to me a few days later that the reason she couldn´t understand what I was trying to say is because São Paulo, too, has military police stationed everywhere, maybe even more so than in Franco´s Spain. I had always noticed them; why I had never questioned them is hard to say. But, frankly, they look more like ``Police´´ than ``Military´´ so I know that is part of the reason. Heitor, my resource for all things Brasilean, understands my north american distinctions between civil and military police, and he says they are a remnant from the days of the dictatorship...that they were an institution nobody quite knew how to deal with. So now, instead of torturing people, they´re directing traffic.
_______________
And now for something entirely different: I finally found the cachaça Heitor has been recommending for the last month. A 600 ml bottle, which looks like an over-sized beer bottle, costs $R18.00 and I have to admit it is better than the other brands I´ve tried so far. But it also has a cap like a beer bottle (at least it isn´t a twist off), which makes me wonder if anybody actually pops off the cap and drinks a whole bottle of this stuff. Heitor says it is bottled by a small operation which has never spent a dime on marketing and is only known because of word of mouth (unlike, shall we say, Bombay Blue Sapphire?). He went on to say it was a ``hand job,´´ by which we ascertained he meant it was made by hand. He will kill me if he ever reads this.
Friday, September 19, 2008
A Night at the Opera
I didn´t know last night if I was going to an Opera or a Symphonic Tone Poem. Turned out it was sort of a hybrid of the two. It was billed as an opera, but was unlike any others I know. I guess I´d call it a tone poem with words.
Very early on I thought to myself that the singing wasn´t very good, but I thought maybe I should be more generous. Maybe it was just bad sound technology. At the intermission, the man sitting next to me said something which I took to be ``can you believe how hideous this is?´´ He continued talking about it and I explained that my Português wasn´t adequate for this discussion. He asked what language I preferred and, when I said English, that is what he started using. We trashed the performance for a while, and then he told me more about the composer, Carlos Gomes, who he said has been virutally ignored by opera companies since WWII even though he was once very popular.
At some point he asked if I was living here in São Paulo. He said ``I hate this city. I live in Rio.´´ Nice of him to say, don´t you think? That was about the time the 2nd act began. Now that we´d connected, so to speak, he would look at me and roll his eyes whenever the soprano was finished singing. When it was over, I said that I hoped he hadn´t come from Rio just to see this production. He chuckled and in a can-you-believe-how-stupid-I-am tone, he said that, yes, he had done exactly that. He had taken a 5.5 hour bus trip to come here, and was going to take a taxi back to the bus station and go home yet that night. He said this had been the 60th opera he had seen this year, and would have preferred to still be at 59.
And I was grateful it had only cost R$20.
Very early on I thought to myself that the singing wasn´t very good, but I thought maybe I should be more generous. Maybe it was just bad sound technology. At the intermission, the man sitting next to me said something which I took to be ``can you believe how hideous this is?´´ He continued talking about it and I explained that my Português wasn´t adequate for this discussion. He asked what language I preferred and, when I said English, that is what he started using. We trashed the performance for a while, and then he told me more about the composer, Carlos Gomes, who he said has been virutally ignored by opera companies since WWII even though he was once very popular.
At some point he asked if I was living here in São Paulo. He said ``I hate this city. I live in Rio.´´ Nice of him to say, don´t you think? That was about the time the 2nd act began. Now that we´d connected, so to speak, he would look at me and roll his eyes whenever the soprano was finished singing. When it was over, I said that I hoped he hadn´t come from Rio just to see this production. He chuckled and in a can-you-believe-how-stupid-I-am tone, he said that, yes, he had done exactly that. He had taken a 5.5 hour bus trip to come here, and was going to take a taxi back to the bus station and go home yet that night. He said this had been the 60th opera he had seen this year, and would have preferred to still be at 59.
And I was grateful it had only cost R$20.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
18 Sep 2008
I´m feeling rather pleased with myself because of some successful independent ventures. Yesterday, I saw in an events schedule that there was a mid-day performance at a location with which I wasn´t familiar. I was able to look up the address, figure out what Metro stop I needed, and walk directly to the place I wanted.
Today I had to take my passport to one of those ubiquitous bureaucratic places that exist here and have an ``authenticated copy´´ made. This is part of the application process for the CPF number. (Remember? Think Social Security Number, without the social security.) Then I walked a short way to the Teatro Municipal and purchased a ticket for tonight´s performance of ``Columbo,´´ a symphomic tone poem by the most famous Brasilean composer, Carlos Gomes. When I bought the tickets, I actually thought it was an opera because I thought that was all Gomes wrote. No matter. In fact, I´d probably rather listen to a symphonic celebration of Christopher Columbus than an operatic one. It was written in the 1890s, so I´ll overlook the cultural insensitivity of the topic. Then I walked to another neighborhood box office to purchase tickets for a Saturday night performance. Unfortunately, there was only one ticket left and I needed two.
Continuing one of my earlier themes of cheap prices for cultural events, the ticket for tonight, which is in a perfect location, cost only R$20.00. That is half price because of my advanced age.
I have to learn more about the organization called SESC. That is surely an acronym, but I don´t know for what. These are what I will call community centers located throughout São Paulo. They are in other Brasilean cities as well, but I don´t know in how many. In São Paulo, there are 14 of them. When I say community center, you may picture some odd little store that has been converted into a makeshift operation of minimal comfort and convenience. In reality, these are huge structures that have clearly been designed specifically for their existing purpose. I´ve been in 4 of them so far, and wouldn´t think any were more than 10 years old. The one in my neighborhood has 8 floors and, Heitor´s sister informed me, is one of the smaller ones. It has a swimming pool and gymnasium, a large computer room, one or more performance centers, a floor entirely for musicians to use for private practice (I saw six or more beautiful, highly polished bass viols available for use), a reading room, a restaurant, and I don´t know what else. At least some of the services are available to the public at large, perhaps all of them, at a minimal charge. If you are a member, the charge is even less or the service is free. Membership, I believe, costs about R$68.00/year. I assumed SESC was some sort of governmental entity, but Heitor says he thinks not. I have to admit there isn´t anything in their flier to suggest government involvement. At any rate, I like these places, and intend to become a member, but I´ve seen the application form and am going to wait until either Sueli or Heitor can help me with it.
Tomorrow I´m going to meet with Fatima, the only person who responded to the ad I placed suggesting we trade English lessons for Português. Ahh, maybe she can help with the SESC application.
Thanks for reading.
Today I had to take my passport to one of those ubiquitous bureaucratic places that exist here and have an ``authenticated copy´´ made. This is part of the application process for the CPF number. (Remember? Think Social Security Number, without the social security.) Then I walked a short way to the Teatro Municipal and purchased a ticket for tonight´s performance of ``Columbo,´´ a symphomic tone poem by the most famous Brasilean composer, Carlos Gomes. When I bought the tickets, I actually thought it was an opera because I thought that was all Gomes wrote. No matter. In fact, I´d probably rather listen to a symphonic celebration of Christopher Columbus than an operatic one. It was written in the 1890s, so I´ll overlook the cultural insensitivity of the topic. Then I walked to another neighborhood box office to purchase tickets for a Saturday night performance. Unfortunately, there was only one ticket left and I needed two.
Continuing one of my earlier themes of cheap prices for cultural events, the ticket for tonight, which is in a perfect location, cost only R$20.00. That is half price because of my advanced age.
I have to learn more about the organization called SESC. That is surely an acronym, but I don´t know for what. These are what I will call community centers located throughout São Paulo. They are in other Brasilean cities as well, but I don´t know in how many. In São Paulo, there are 14 of them. When I say community center, you may picture some odd little store that has been converted into a makeshift operation of minimal comfort and convenience. In reality, these are huge structures that have clearly been designed specifically for their existing purpose. I´ve been in 4 of them so far, and wouldn´t think any were more than 10 years old. The one in my neighborhood has 8 floors and, Heitor´s sister informed me, is one of the smaller ones. It has a swimming pool and gymnasium, a large computer room, one or more performance centers, a floor entirely for musicians to use for private practice (I saw six or more beautiful, highly polished bass viols available for use), a reading room, a restaurant, and I don´t know what else. At least some of the services are available to the public at large, perhaps all of them, at a minimal charge. If you are a member, the charge is even less or the service is free. Membership, I believe, costs about R$68.00/year. I assumed SESC was some sort of governmental entity, but Heitor says he thinks not. I have to admit there isn´t anything in their flier to suggest government involvement. At any rate, I like these places, and intend to become a member, but I´ve seen the application form and am going to wait until either Sueli or Heitor can help me with it.
Tomorrow I´m going to meet with Fatima, the only person who responded to the ad I placed suggesting we trade English lessons for Português. Ahh, maybe she can help with the SESC application.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, September 15, 2008
15 Sep 2008
I love the availablility of low-cost, or even free, cultural events in São Paulo.
So far Heitor and I´ve seen a group with the unimaginative name of The Traditional Jazz Band that played mostly New Orleans style jazz, which isn´t my favorite music, but they played well and obviously were having fun, as was the audience. It was a pleasant evening, and it was free.
We´ve also seen a performance by the Hadouk Trio of jazz on traditional African and Arabian instruments. I´d never heard of them before, but I loved their music. You can see several videos of them on You Tube if you care to see what I´m talking about. Opening for them was another unusual jazz trio called Boyen Z, some of whose music I liked, but who were clearly the opening act. This evening cost R$20.00, or about $15.00 US for two tickets in about the 10th row.
Last night we saw a performance in a New Music series that featured a solo piano performance by Caio Pagano of works by Schoenberg and Berg. It reminded me that I´ve probably never seen a live performance of Schoenberg´s music, and Berg´s either, for that matter. Pagano, it turns out, is someone who has had a distinguished career even if I hadn´t ever heard of him. Fancy that. The second half of the performance featured Pagano playing 5 short pieces by Pablo Chagas (who was present), but with the sound electronically enhanced. It was at times odd, engaging, irritating and rewarding. I think the two tickets cost R$10,00.
I love the fact that I can see performances like these, where I can be enthusiastic about some things and less so about others, but where I know I´ve received ``my money´s worth,´´ as we say. In the U.S., if I pay concert prices, I expect to like everything. I´m less likely to be in the mood to challange the boundaries of my appreciations. Generally, I would take the opionion that I don´t like electronic music and either ignore those concerts altogether or be pissed if I went to one inadventently. Here we can look in the paper, see something we know nothing about, and decide to check it out on a whim, because it is so inexpensive that it doesn´t matter much if we like it or not.
It occurred to me last night that the important technologies of our time are all, in some fashion, electronic. It only makes sense that musicians and composers are going to experiment with those technologies, and that I will like some of the results better than others. Big of me, don´t you think?
---------------------------------
And now for something entirely different. Wall Street may be in crisis, but the Dollar : Real exchange rate is back up over 1 : 1.8. Hope it holds.
So far Heitor and I´ve seen a group with the unimaginative name of The Traditional Jazz Band that played mostly New Orleans style jazz, which isn´t my favorite music, but they played well and obviously were having fun, as was the audience. It was a pleasant evening, and it was free.
We´ve also seen a performance by the Hadouk Trio of jazz on traditional African and Arabian instruments. I´d never heard of them before, but I loved their music. You can see several videos of them on You Tube if you care to see what I´m talking about. Opening for them was another unusual jazz trio called Boyen Z, some of whose music I liked, but who were clearly the opening act. This evening cost R$20.00, or about $15.00 US for two tickets in about the 10th row.
Last night we saw a performance in a New Music series that featured a solo piano performance by Caio Pagano of works by Schoenberg and Berg. It reminded me that I´ve probably never seen a live performance of Schoenberg´s music, and Berg´s either, for that matter. Pagano, it turns out, is someone who has had a distinguished career even if I hadn´t ever heard of him. Fancy that. The second half of the performance featured Pagano playing 5 short pieces by Pablo Chagas (who was present), but with the sound electronically enhanced. It was at times odd, engaging, irritating and rewarding. I think the two tickets cost R$10,00.
I love the fact that I can see performances like these, where I can be enthusiastic about some things and less so about others, but where I know I´ve received ``my money´s worth,´´ as we say. In the U.S., if I pay concert prices, I expect to like everything. I´m less likely to be in the mood to challange the boundaries of my appreciations. Generally, I would take the opionion that I don´t like electronic music and either ignore those concerts altogether or be pissed if I went to one inadventently. Here we can look in the paper, see something we know nothing about, and decide to check it out on a whim, because it is so inexpensive that it doesn´t matter much if we like it or not.
It occurred to me last night that the important technologies of our time are all, in some fashion, electronic. It only makes sense that musicians and composers are going to experiment with those technologies, and that I will like some of the results better than others. Big of me, don´t you think?
---------------------------------
And now for something entirely different. Wall Street may be in crisis, but the Dollar : Real exchange rate is back up over 1 : 1.8. Hope it holds.
Friday, September 12, 2008
12 Sep 2008
My biggest task for now is to improve my Português. I placed an ad on Craigslist a few days after my arrival, attempting to find someone who was interested in trading assistance with my Português for help with his/her English. I did have one response to that ad from a woman whose written Português was so bad that I dismissed her out of hand. I may decide to reconsider that and go with the theory that even bad language skills are better than none. I could always improve on them later. In the meanwhile, Heitor, whose small apartment is home until I can legally put my name on a lease for something larger, is going to follow up with some internet sites that advertise language classes. I think an adult class with other students, official lessons, and homework etc. best fits my learning style. I´m eager to hear what he finds out. I hope there are some daytime classes, because those are the hours when I´m feeling most energetic and, occasionally, bored.
People tell me I should be watching more television, specifically the novellas that are so popular. Not to offend those of you who like the U.S. soaps, but that is what these novellas are, only in prime time. I just can´t do it. I do try to make myself watch at least the evening news when I´m home, and maybe a few minutes per night of a novella, which isn´t even enough to understand the story line(s) but is all I can stomach. The problem is complicated by the fact that Heitor´s television reception is not good. Even the best stations are a little fuzzy, and the worst ones are a lot fuzzy. I have also got Brasilean music on my ipod, which I can listen to at a slower-than-normal rate, which helps.
Bottom line: I have a lot to learn.
Tchau for now.
People tell me I should be watching more television, specifically the novellas that are so popular. Not to offend those of you who like the U.S. soaps, but that is what these novellas are, only in prime time. I just can´t do it. I do try to make myself watch at least the evening news when I´m home, and maybe a few minutes per night of a novella, which isn´t even enough to understand the story line(s) but is all I can stomach. The problem is complicated by the fact that Heitor´s television reception is not good. Even the best stations are a little fuzzy, and the worst ones are a lot fuzzy. I have also got Brasilean music on my ipod, which I can listen to at a slower-than-normal rate, which helps.
Bottom line: I have a lot to learn.
Tchau for now.
Monday, September 8, 2008
8 Sep 2008
After two and half weeks in São Paulo, I can list a few likes and dislikes about the place. If the dislikes seem longer and more significant than the likes, I think maybe it just reflects the fact that the process of adapting to life in a new place draws one´s attention to the things that are different and take more adjusting. I trust the list of things I like, will grow as my familiarity with the city increases.
I hate the sidewalks. My first inclination, going back to earlier vacations here, was to love them. Most of the sidewalks in Brasil, not just in São Paulo, but everywhere I´ve been, are mozaic designs of small tiles, most commonly a black and white design, but not always. On my first afternoon here, I tripped and almost fell while walking on one of those pleasant designs. If you get out of the wealthiest neighborhoods, the walks are frequently in serious disrepair. Even when they are in good condition, they are uneven. The sidewalk in front of any given residence or establishment, even if well maintained, is probably not level with either of its neighbors. One is constantly stepping either up or down. I don´t know yet if this is true, but I think maybe property owners are responsible for their own sidewalks. I heard something said the other day that suggests that, and it would explain the way they are. At any rate, there´s no room for day dreaming while walking.
And then there is the car traffic. I don´t know if cars have the right of way, legally speaking, but they demand it and get it. If a pedestrian is waiting at an intersection for a green light, he cannot (I´m serious. He CANNOT) just step off the curb when the light changes. He has to let all of the cars turn who want to, and then he can cross. The other day I saw a car race into an intersection where a number of people were crossing, without a hint of slowing down. If any of those pedestrians had stumbled (remember? I can testify that it happens.), they would have been flattened. Granted the car had a green light and the pedestrians were in the wrong, but the carelessness of the driver was frightening.
As long as I´m on the subject of streets and sidewalks, I love the fact that I can have my hair cut, my laundry done, buy an electrical adaptor, have a spare key made, and any number of other things all within a block of where I am living. The grocery store, which is open until 10pm is only two blocks away. On the home from the grocery, I can buy fresh bananas, papayas, pineapples and other fruits from my neighborhood push cart guy, who now knows me.
More of this kind of exciting information in days to come.
I hate the sidewalks. My first inclination, going back to earlier vacations here, was to love them. Most of the sidewalks in Brasil, not just in São Paulo, but everywhere I´ve been, are mozaic designs of small tiles, most commonly a black and white design, but not always. On my first afternoon here, I tripped and almost fell while walking on one of those pleasant designs. If you get out of the wealthiest neighborhoods, the walks are frequently in serious disrepair. Even when they are in good condition, they are uneven. The sidewalk in front of any given residence or establishment, even if well maintained, is probably not level with either of its neighbors. One is constantly stepping either up or down. I don´t know yet if this is true, but I think maybe property owners are responsible for their own sidewalks. I heard something said the other day that suggests that, and it would explain the way they are. At any rate, there´s no room for day dreaming while walking.
And then there is the car traffic. I don´t know if cars have the right of way, legally speaking, but they demand it and get it. If a pedestrian is waiting at an intersection for a green light, he cannot (I´m serious. He CANNOT) just step off the curb when the light changes. He has to let all of the cars turn who want to, and then he can cross. The other day I saw a car race into an intersection where a number of people were crossing, without a hint of slowing down. If any of those pedestrians had stumbled (remember? I can testify that it happens.), they would have been flattened. Granted the car had a green light and the pedestrians were in the wrong, but the carelessness of the driver was frightening.
As long as I´m on the subject of streets and sidewalks, I love the fact that I can have my hair cut, my laundry done, buy an electrical adaptor, have a spare key made, and any number of other things all within a block of where I am living. The grocery store, which is open until 10pm is only two blocks away. On the home from the grocery, I can buy fresh bananas, papayas, pineapples and other fruits from my neighborhood push cart guy, who now knows me.
More of this kind of exciting information in days to come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)