Today I went on a tour of the biggest Favela in Rio (about 300,000 people) called Rocinha... The Favelas in Rio are also the most famous in Brazil!!! Now, you might ask, "what is a Favela?" A Favela is basically a slum in a city although they can be anywhere... I didn´t want to tell anyone at home that I was going to see one because I didn´t want to freak anyone out... I was actually scared about going to one when I first got to Rio until I met some people who had been on the tours and said that it´s a "must do" tour... I got picked up from my hostel by the guide who does these tours twice daily and then we hopped on motorcycles to take us up to the top of the Favela and we made our way down by walking... These motorcycle drivers are crazy and I thought that I was going to die at certain moments, but it was really fun... Then the guide gave us some instructions and told us that we could take pictures except of people with guns or people dealing drugs... Also, the kids LOVE getting their picture taken because all foreigners to them are GRINGOS so their idea is that they will later be on television and become famous... SO CUTE!!! We went to a daycare, which is where the kids are able to be cared for while the parents are working or looking for work... It was very dirty and smelled like a sewer!!! The head guy of this Favela is 24 years old and makes about $4 million monthly... Of course he makes this money from dealing drugs... He was made the head guy after the last one was killed when he was 26 years old... They also probably get this status after they have also killed someone... Pretty sad!!! The last section that we walked through was where the drug dealings occur and you could see people smoking marijuana, and I also saw this guy with a gun attached to his belt... And all I have to say is why do bad things happen to good people??? As we were walking back to the car, I noticed that the bracelet that my friend, Yuko´s, mother gave me in Japan had fallen off... It must have gotten caught on something, but it´s a big bummer!!! It´s a crazy way of living, but was an amazing experience for me to take part in!!!
1 comment:
You are truly lucky to be able to travel around the world. I was just saying how if I won the lottery I would go to the favelas in Brazil and the slums of Colombia to try to help the people. I was born in Colombia and seeing kids starve to death on a daily basis is the hardest thing about visiting Colombia I don't even worry about the danger.
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