travelling

So on a more thought-provoking note, the question that strikes me is 'what is a traveller?' Is a traveller someone who goes places in order to explore and understand the particular geographical area in which they find themselves at the end of the journey or place of rest (whether it be the physical attributes, the people, the culture and activities...) or is a traveller someone who is in constant motion who does not care for place as sich, but rather the flux of motion?

This struck me as I sat on my bus from Ciudad del Este to Asunción and back... I had spent more time trying to get from one location to another than I had actually spent in any one of said locations over the past 5 days... is that not completely insane? I was more often than not trying to catch up on lost sleep from having to catch buses/planes/trains at ungodly hours than I was 'experiencing place.' Is this 'travelling'? In the strict sense, yes- it is the motion that is important in the verb, not the final location- as the saying goes "enjoy the ride not the destination" but if that is so then I am no traveller for I find the process tedious. I would much prefer to transport myself via telepathy or even Floo powder and arrive at destination without the tedium of travel and I think that I am not alone- this is why transport (espeically iver long distances) is designed (and the more luxurious the more it fits this category) in order to aid sleep because that is really all that you want to do when travelling, not getting on long-distance bus trips for the sake of getting on long-distance bus trips otherwise you would never get off the bus at the other end, non?

Merely an observation...

Conclusion: I am an 'arriver' not a 'traveller'- this is a means to an end

On being a useless blogger

OK, yes, I am officially a useless blogger... I can keep amazing travel journey logs, but just not online- as I tend to find myself out of internet connection more often than not (i.e. on buses in the middle of Paraguay where the window breaks suspiciously randomly and we continue travelling for 4 hours with pieces of glass flying everywhere until the border as they will not let us enter with an emergency window broken and spraying glass all over passengers- ya think?

Anyway, I digress- sitting here typing this in a hostel in Botafogo, Rio, having completed what was supposed to be the official part of my fieldwork (I was supposed to go to Manaus with Tulio on Thursday for awesome break, but that is now not happening so will refrain from further comment on this tragic turn of events over which neither of us has any control)... and so I drink caipirinhas (buy 2, save R$2 so I have dutifully bought 2 and not my feet are getting pins and needles- think bartender is trying to get me drunk ;-p)

there is no way to describe the past (2?) weeks, can't even remember when I last left off- think it was probably somewhere in Rio before moving to hostel and meeting crazy Peruvians and having a general jol before going to Ubatuba and meeting Tulio and his friend Katrina and having to suffer through the knowledge that actually most Brazilian men aren't hot, but that the women are completely gorgeous and so based on simple supply-demand economics I need to (according to Tulio) go to Italy... and then to Pouso Alegre (where hypothesis formed in Ubatuba was confirmed) and 'working' very hard on writing papers whilst going to gym at 7am and doing more 8km runs in a week than I would ever have thought possible... (getting weird looks from dude next to me in hostel- hmmmmm) and having to pretend that I can communicate in Portuguese and meeting Tulio's amazing crazy family and then catching a bus to São Paulo back to Limetree where it all began and having a useless interview so going out to get drunk and leaving at 6.30 to catch a flight to Foz de Iguaçu (via Curitiba where I buy a wedding present) and then trying to find my way across the border to Cuidad del Este (being a cheapskate meant that my passport was never stamped so I was technically in Paraguay for 48 hours illegally) and then taking a 5hr bus to Asunción to meet Maria and Dennis for their wedding.. amazingness

which brings us back to original story on broken windows on Paraguayan buses (nuestra senhora de la Asuncion if you needed to know) and walking across the bridge back into Brazil like a refugee with a backpack and togbag- then making it to see the falls (amazing!!!!) and then to catch a flight at 6am which leaves at 8am and doesn't let us disembark for 50mins and lands in SP 2 hours late meaning that I only get to Campinas to meet a professor at 5pm (it takes about an hour to get a bus from rodoviária to UNICAMP for future reference) and then to try and get back in time to catch a bus to Pouso Alegre only to land up having to catch one at 8.45... thankfully meeting awesome Brazilian dude now moving to Switzerland to work (whom I met on bus from UNICAMP) who has dinner with me and keeps me sane and not start crying in middle of bus terminal. To arrive in PA and get told I have 10 mins to change so we can got to Republica where they are playing the BEATLES- awesomeness!!! Student party Sat afternoon followed by complete blackout duting which time I was probably complete idiot- and on to bus to Rio in time for meeting at 18h00 on Monday... Yuna, Roberto and Gloria at FGV, doing work and that brings me here to right now

whew- that is pretty much what the past 2 weeks (I think) have been like in synopsis... now I return to write the blog I was actually proposing to write in the first place

next up...

L

xxx

Days 6-7

Monday dawned and I moved out of the luxury hotel and into the hostel a few blocks away called Stone of a Beach where Jarkko and Kareen are both staying- it's actually pretty decent, I'm in the 6 bed dorm with all girls which is okay. As Jarkko had booked me on the Christ n City tour leaving at 14h30, we set off into the big unknown of Rio de Janeiro along with Kareen, an aussie couple Amy and Warrick, 3 Peruvians, Juanito Nadia and Natalie, a Kiwi, London girl Sam, o Brasileiro Mario who would not stop taking crazy photos and old Canadian man, Paul. First stop Maracanã, http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maracanã the famous rio soccer stadium that was built for the World Cup final in 1950. We didn't go in though as it cost more and we were figuratively being whipped back onto the bus by our guide who would only let us spend 10 minutes at any sight.

We then drove to the Sambadromo http://www.rio-carnival.net/sambodromo/sambodromo.php where the famous Carnaval samba parades happen. 5 minutes later we were then whisked away to the Catedral, a huge concrete monstrosity in the middle of the centro that reminds one of the Mycenaean beehive tomb. After that it was a short dash to Lapa (Rio's party capital) where the tiled artwork of Chilean artist Selaron is located. He is constantly changing the tiles, sent and collected from all around the world to make it a living piece of art. Then, so as not to get there at night we drove at pace through the Tijuca forest to get to Cristo Redentor, the iconic emblem of Rio from where you have an amazing 360 view of Rio.

It was dark on our return and having all bonded nicely on the trip, a trip to the hostel bar and pool sealed our friendship and a good night was had by all and our group expanded to include pretty much all the latinoamericanos in the hostel before at 1ish we headed off down to the beach for a bit of beer and guitar- perfeito!

Next day unfortunately dawned quite early though and I had to make my way to FGV on Praia de Botafogo to meet Yuna by 10am It was a good day spent getting documents, e-mailing people and being introduced to the IR professor, Mônica and Yuna's colleagues. A quick 3km run on my return to Copacabana (seriously needed after a day in front of the computer) followed by dinner at Arab again and then drinks in the hostel completed the night prior to a random bar crawl where we narrowly escaped Pussy cat strip club and settled instead for bar previously introduced as the place where Brazilian women go to get picked up/bought by the hour by older men. At least there was cheap beer on offer from the guys selling it from their home-made cooler boxes (a la São Paulo street party).

This morning was once again off to FGV then because the really cool boat trip that we were all looking forward to got cancelled, I settled for working on the roof followed by a walk to Sugarloaf with the English boys and Israeli chef, Mattan (sp?).

Waiting for aussies and peruvians (aka the sardines- don't ask I don't actually know either) to get back from surfing and hopefully say we're going to watch the soccer match tonight. Off to meet Tulio in Ubatuba tomorrow- yay!

L

Brazilian alcoholism: Days 3-4 (recover 5)

Talk about my last night as a 24 year old! Had an amazing time with awesome hostel guys... 'cos Ben was taking so long with the drinks, we decided to head out and grab a decent Brazilian meal at the nearest Bahian restaurant- novo temple da Bahia or something, we trooped off in 2 taxis: Serra, myself, Matt, the new if somewhat garrulous man from San Fran, the Aussie dude, Edwin, and a seriously new arrival from Chicago, Max

Restaurant food was amazing, a bit pricey, but the dishes were so huge that you had to share- I shared the moqueca do peixe (amazing!!! http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moqueca ) with Matt and then split a bottle of dreadful French blanc de blanc with him n Matt (stick to cerveça in Brazil, seriously!)

On our return, we went back to the Sublime bar (in the hostel) and were joined by the 3 US girls, Ben, Andre (Brazilian guy from previous night) and Jorge (O Mexicano)- after the police phones twice saying they would shut us down if we continued with the noise (singing happy birthday is a pretty loud event when there are shots of cachaça involved), it was decided that we had to see my birthday in at an appropriate location- i.e. where there was alcohol so despite the rain we set off, dragging 2 unsuspecting Argentinians with us

When we got to the chosen location, Serra and I realized that there was an amazing ratio of 5 men each as only the guys seemed to have come out, thus turning the start of my 25th birthday party into a male dominated, yet intercontinental affair as follows:

Women:

Asia and Europe represented by Serra (Turkey)

Africa (and Europe) represented by me (África do Sul)

Men:

North America represented by Matt and Max

Australasia represented by Edwin and Ben

Europe represented by Jarkko

South America represented by Lalq, Andre, Jorge and the Argentinians Nicholas and Inagi (sp?)

So the night progressed well and I saw my birthday in in absolute style thanks to some amazing people- love u guys!

Feb18th dawned rather early, but I was fully prepared and after seeing Serra and Max off to the beach, I prepared to take on the fancier shopping streets of S Paulo on ruas Augusta, Haddock Lobo (!) and Oscar Freinte (Robin, you would love this street!). Found the most awesome Havaianas store in the world. After walking around and grabbing some lunch at French place called 12, I headed back to hostel... although the night really didn't get going to start with, it definitely progressed to debauchery pretty quickly.

After midnight I had resigned myself to the fact that my bday celebrations had occurred the night before and was preparing myself to go to bed in order to wake up to catch my taxi at 5.30am when Matt got it into his head (he was in bed almost asleep at the time) that I was provoking him into going out so I said that if he could get 3 more people, we would go... so he got out and convinced some poor Korean girl who had just arrived that she was going clubbing at 'Vegas.' The slightly odd Essex boys and New Zealanders couldn't be persuaded (Ben had already skipped out), but when he heard we were going out, Bebeto decided to lead the party- and lucky he did 'cos it was only thanks to him that we managed to get me in without an ID and actually know vaguely what was going on

The night passed in drunken flash of vodka redbull, live bands and shots of Jagermeister (?) until I realised we needed to leave or I would miss my plane. This is where my responsibility ended and all I can recall post this is a R$98 bill that I couldn't pay, a hot dog stand, being unable to find Matt who was kidnapped by a Brazilian girl and who is probably lying in an ice bath with organs missing as we speak, losing the Korean girl to another boy and then managing to find Jarkko and Inagi and have Bebeto get us into a taxi and take us back where I proceeded to allegedly pack my bag (forgetting my iPod charger I had lent to Kiwi girl 1) and get into a taxi where I fell asleep (thanks to whoever carried my bag down, I was beyond help and don't even recall saying goodbye to anyone- Bebeto if you're reading this, I owe you R$48).

Airport was hell, passed out at gate, managed to get on plane (got 3 seats to myself- guardian angel looking out for me) and off at the other side and onto a bus in the right direction (still drunk, maybe also hungover) and to Oceano Copacabana on Rua Hilario de Gouveia, not even a block from the beach. Not even rain and a hangover could dampen the amazingness that is Rio though- breathtaking beaches, green mountains, the Corcovado and Pao de Açucar peering over the top overlooking it all. After passing out (they let me check in early allegedly because I am South African, I reckon it's because I looked as if I would die if they didn't get me to a bed soon), then waking up, showring and getting some food I proceeded to do the grand tour of Rio's public transport system and shopping malls on a quest to get a plug for my Mac charger (as mine was sitting in Limetree attached to New Zealand girl's iPod). what a journey, made it to Rio Sul (eventually) where they sell everything but Mac accessories and was told to get to Fashion Mall in São Conrado (other end of the world, R$58 green taxi- good drive, but only to be made if you'te as desperate as I was). Having found the only Mac store in Rio, I made my way back via Ipanema and hot men playing volleiball on the beach as the sun set (a very good excuse to take photos ;-p) and then back to Copacabana. Had dinner at La Tratorria (don't have risotto de camarão as it was disappointing despite good reviews of restaurant and having to queue).

Next morning, up early and ready for a run, then spent a few hours on the beach and then even more hours trying to find food (queued at amazing Portuguese restaurant called Pavão Azul) where I waited 45mins for arroz de camarão take away (though i'd ordered prawn rissole, but obviously not) either way it was delicious. I was then meeting Jarkko at the hotel at 6pm to go see Sugarloaf and we really did have the best timing. An amazing clear day provided us with an exquisite view as the sun set and clouds surrounded the Corcovado- absolute perfection and the lights of the city sparkled at us as we made our descent back down through the clouds to the ground below. After a bus and metro trip (Botofogo beach's metro is on Rua Nelson Mandela!!!) we made it back to Copacabana and had dinner at Arab overlooking the beach- and they had raw kibbeh so I was in heaven. Although there was the final Carnaval show in the sambadrome that evening, tickets at R$400 weren't really in the budget so I will have to return for that stint, but either way it was a great day, finished off with a trip to the market and an espresso in a dodgy bar where Brazilian women go to get picked up by old men (that about covers it).

This morning I woke up late, went down to the beach again and then got assaulted by creepy man on roof by pool (see previous blog). After mass I made my way to Ipanema where the biggest street party was coming to a close so I returned after buying a cool hat on sale.

In hotel nice and early ready for a move to a hostel tomorrow (budget finally cutting in)

Chat soon

L

Day ?: Freaky Brazilian men and hot receptionists

Wow, so apologies for complete lack of communication- I arrived in Rio on Friday still drunk, maybe hungover- not sure and proceeded to enjoy the awesomeness of this city with no internet connection in my room... I therefore had no reason to escape downstairs to reception to play online- until now

Reason: Freaky Brazilian ondolontagia (whatever that is) man on roof terrace (by pool) who sat next to me while I was working and after offering to take me to some beach in his car (like NOOOO!!!!) he then proceeded to ask me if I wanted a massage and got up to start giving me one

EEEK!!!! So, thinking on my feet and in Portuguese I politely declined saying that I had sunburn (which I evidently don't as there is not a tinge of red to my skin despite 2 days in the sun, but there you have it)

So Mr Persistent doesn't give up and asks if I would like to give his big ugly hairy self a massage? Like, muito obrigada, mas não.... hello, Sorry, too much work to do (point at computer), I must finish reading this document. A complex process then ensues where I say no my telephone is on roaming and this is not a Brazilian number (liar Laura!!) and that I can't remember it. Take his number? OK- so I take down wrong digits.... phone to see if it works- ooops! Stupid phone, sorry, it has deleted it, please just type it onto my computer and I will save it later.... Muito prazer, bye!!! No, you're not leaving, just going back to hot tub jacuzzi thing? Oh OK, in that case, damn I need internet, must run downstairs- Tchau! Would post his number up here now, but that's just cruelty right?

So now I am back at reception where, gracias a Dios, the hot receptionist man still is- the one who said he would come stay with me in South Africa for the World Cup- like oh yeah, with pleasure! Not that I'm superficial or anything, maybe that's what I should have given up for Lent, a penchant for hot men and a tendency to run away from the ugly freaky ones

whew, narrow escape, I just have to play it calm until tomorrow when he apparently moves to another hotel

When I have recovered from my ordeal sufficiently, a reply of days 3-5 will be written, until then

Beijos

L

xxx

São Paulo transforms: Day 2

Uma transformaçao completa!!!

Wow, okay so after a good sleep and some catch-up web-surfing, the party began... and where better to party than in Brazil on the last day of Carnaval!

Suffice to say there was ample alcohol, amazingly random Oxford bop-esque outfits and then a 2hour samba party through the streets of São Paulo. Don't ask me where we went, but suffice to say myself and 6 other Limetree hostellers, known as the Colombian (Nestor), the Mexican (Jorge), Germans 1 and 2 (Karen and Sulce), blonde German girl (Katarina), the American (Matthew) and later a Brazilian (Andre) had an awesome-ass time (photos tell their own story!) Street-vendors plying us with various forms of alcohol (literally entire bars of booze set in wheelbarrows piled high with ice), Elvis Presley impersonators followed by men in togas staring longingly at the glittering gold statue around which the parade was centred. A samba (vai vai vai) band struck up a chord and didn't stop until we had reached our destination 2 hours (or so) later, winding through the streets of the city centre, stopping 5 lane avenidas and just generally causing fun chaos- for the young and old alike. At one point a gentleman in quite interesting attire decided to scale a gate and serenade the 3 women on the balcony, only to be accosted by the 1 male individual residing in this flat who proceeded to pull down his shorts and moon the bellowing crowd.

A brief halt was called at midnight (officially the start of Ash wednesday or Quarta-feira de cinzas) and our group decided to stop off and get perros calientes (what a menu: digue dogs 1-4, happy dogs and even a happy dof mas rapido). Unfortunately, my lack of indecision when faced with this array of choices meant that the party had started up again and caught up with us before I could order and so I had to settle for another beer- what a shame...

At about 1.30am we called it quits (having not had a proper sleep in 2,3...? days I didn't complain!) and returned to the hostel where we proceeded to chat for another obscene amount of time before I crawled into bed and passed out.

This morning heralded a new São Paulo- people bustling through the streets, shop vendors selling all and sundry, a stark contrast to the previous day of holiday (and hangovers). I took a walk down Avenida Paulista trying to find a Church and stopped off in the Parque Siqueiro Campos (a jungle paradise in the middle of the city) before heading down Avenida Paulista towards the centro. I found mass being said at the Igreja da Consolação, so I snuck in just in case I couldn't find another church and then headed off to explore.

The centro of São Paulo throws out amazing architectural structures and verdant parks when you least expect it and think you have finally hit the dingy part of town. Making my way up and down by-way, past São Bento and the Patio do Colegio where the relic (femur bone) of the patron saint of SP is laid and eventually making it to the Praça da Sé and the awesome Catedral Metropolitana de São Paulo. Lucky for me, Ash Wedesday mass was about to be said by the Bishop with the help of about 50 other priests, ministers and altar boys- it made a most Catholic impression with all pomp and ceremony adhered to in the full, which meant that it only finished 2 hours later at which point the storm that had broken out was thankfully over. My final stop was Igreja do São Fransisco (which I managed to get to via the very roundabout route) and had a Rosary blessed by the priest. Hot-footing it back to the hostel to avoid another downpour, I now sit here writing up whilst delegating to Matthew to find us a place for dinner- starving, can't wait!

L

Brazilian Carnaval: Day 1

So, what can I say? My initial fear at flying Iberia was completely justified with no meal being served during dinner on my connecting flight to Madrid and then being unable to get anything `t the airport with my card apart from some stupid wrapp de pollo (DON'T no matter how hungry you are, Mr Bean's what what hamburger joint really isn't the place to be). Iberia then decided to serve dinner on the plane at 1am... yes, ladies and gentlemen, 1am... which I actually ate, then spent the night trying to sleep.

Got into São Paulo what is this morning now (I'm working Brazil time now), booked a flight to Rio, caught a bus to hostel and am now staying at Limetime hostel- not bad actually and my idea to stay in a hostel was a good idea 'cos there are English speaking people wandering around and I'm too tired to try and speak in Brazilian Portuguese. Being Carnaval, everything is shut- that means no sim card until Thursday, but the really cool thing is unlimited wifi access at hostel! Went for a walk, got some food this afternoon (served by a waiter who had been scuba-diving in CT) then walked back, watch Transformers and fell asleep. Still half dead after flight, but hoping for a party of some sort tonight (being the last night of Carnival).

Wil keep you posted of the hopefully more exciting times to come!

L

Blogging

Hmmmm, so for the first time ever I have blogged 3 (4?) times in less than a week and total number of comments...?

nada, zilch, niks nie jong

So this is why I only blog once every couple of months- to keep you on your toes, eyes peeled etc...

I guess hearing about my random Oxford life is probably better than the products of the deeper recesses of my mind. on that note: past week update

Fri: Commonwealth scholars dinner and Hilda's Halloween bop where my entire house went as Playboy bunnies (with outfits shipped over from the States nog al) and we dressed up our token male housemate from the Faroe Islands in a leopard print gown and made him the 'Hef- awesome job Jens!

Sat: Rowing.... Currie cup final then Halloqueen where I played the part of Rocky to Christina's Clubber Lang- it was amazing to be able to go out in shorts, trainers and a wife-beater... cross-dressing should happen all the time! The boys all looked lovely too

Sun: kinda recover

Mon: ran 6.24 miles in 60 mins in my first real attempt to train for this mini cross-country marathon on Sun

Bought a fascinator

watched Oxford blues Saracens game in evening which was pretty rad

Tues: Melbourne Cup with aussie kiwi contingent- hence the fascinator purchase on mon. Too much prosecco and not enough canapes later, with half a chips cheese and humous in my stomach i attempted to go to bed only to wake up 3 hours later for rowing

Today: Rowed before the sun had even come up- was actually quite a beautiful morning and moon was bright and full

Another rowing crew date, this time with Mansfield boys- restricted myself to sconcing orange juice: getting lame in my old age

If I survive next 2 weeks, including 4 hr row on sat, sodbury slog on sun and commonwealth thing mon, tues- manage to entertain agi and her friend (which is gonna be amazing) and make it through alive, i may even get to amsterdam by 28th in one piece

eish

good times

L

Part 2: socio-ecological system complexity and the global food system: over-connected systems

Okay, so my titles actually have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the final blogged product, but I have always enjoyed coming up with arbitrary titles for things, in fact if I could make an academic career out of it, I would... and as I write this I am suddenly hit with the urge to start a new blog, fresh off the press so to speak, which I actually aim to keep updated with interesting tit- bits for intellectual consumerism...

So... check it out :-)