Shards of Glass

Still enjoying Brasil :) Making sure not to take a day for granted. Sometimes being down here can feel like you're in a totally different world. Things work soooo differently. I wanted to try and find some pics so that you could see a little of what I see. In order to explain this photo, you have to understand the crime in Brazil. It's MUCH MUCH greater than in the U.S. There are more people living in poverty who are much more desperate and willing to steal from people. Because of this, there are high walls around nearly every business and house. (I will show more pics to explain) In modern times (from the late 1990's on) the tops of these fences are covered in electric wiring to keep robbers from climbing over, but back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's when construction sites were building these cement walls, they would stick broken pieces of colored glass all over the tops of the walls in order to make it dangerous to climb. Even though these shards of glass were meant for safety purposes only, I find them really beautiful and unique looking. I love them. They are so random and unorganized, bright and dangerous......they sum up the essences of Brazil. Lol. A lot of Brazilians will hate me for saying that but I say it with love, I really love these small things about Brazil that make it so original.

Here is just an example of the gates that are guarding nearly every house in Brazil (at least if you live in town). This one was the best I could find, but most of the time the gate will go all the way to the top so that there is no space to get through and the window and front door are also guarded with an extra gate to keep unwanted people out. Another thing thats very different about the houses in Brazil is that they are all sorts of different colors. You never see a brick or wooden house without some sort of bright paint covering the whole thing. This house here is a pretty mild yellow but its very common to see hot pink, lime green, aqua blue, bright purple....whatever crazy color you could think of, they have a house that has it, I swear. Lol.

Now, some Brazilians (those a bit wealthier....upper middle class I would call it) have the option of living in a "Condominio Fechado" which is a gated community. Security guards keep 24/7 watch on who is allowed in and out and members of the community get cards to give them access and if you are visiting a friend, you must tell the guards the name of the friend and they will call to make sure you're allowed. The places are really nice though. You're house doesn't need to be guarded by a gate and the company that owns that community even provides a free gym and pool area for the family to use whenever. Also, if you notice, NONE of the houses or buildings in Brazil are built on a wood base, they are all cement and brick based, which is very different from what we see in the U.S. This house here is all brick and cement and is about 3 stories high.

Well, I guess I should catch you up on my last week in Brazil :) Probably the biggest event that happened was one of Fernando's friend's parents, Lol....that was confusing to write....anyway, they were celebrating their 25th anniversary together. In the U.S. we might send them a card, or bake them a cake, they might go on a little honeymoon trip together....but this isn't the U.S.....it's Brazil and Brazilians will use any excuse to throw an over the top extravagant PARTY! Remember that place that I told you about a while a go that I went to watch a soccer game? Well, it was at a place just like that. Decorated beautifully, completely catered with suishi and steak and every kind of delectable dessert you can think of. It was amazing, more extravagant than any wedding I've been to let alone an anniversary party. They hired security guards to park everyone's car for them and wine and beer was all the house with 2 or 3 open bars with bartenders who would make whatever you wished! They had a lit up dance floor complete with disco ball and amazing music from a live band. The company that was hosting the party actually surprised this couple with a famous Brazilian singer named, Ed Motta. I'll post a picture below.

They played all the old classic disco music, mostly all American. There were about 500 people total for this event. It started at about 8:30pm and lasted until around 5:30am. Lol. At the end of the night they had the girls line up to get a free pair of custom made white and silver havaianas flipflops that we could wear in case our feet were tired of the heels. lol.

Heres a pic of some havaianas. The one's we got had little diamonds on the top and instead of flower decorations on the soles, they said "25 years"and the names of the husband and wife. They were really cute. I had a blast. :)