Street Art and "Sickness"

My third week of Brazilian classes started slowly. Getting out of bed Monday morning looked (and felt) like

do I have to get up?

I got my act together, though, and crawled out from under my blankets, guzzled down a few cups of coffee, and dozed on the bus on the way to what would be a fascinating (and super unique) day of learning. The day began with an hour-long lecture on graffiti and street art in Sao Paulo... However, my professor found a way to talk for an entire 45 minutes without mentioning the words "street art" or "graffiti" even once.

It is, though. It is.

LUCKILY, Sally, Izzy, and Austin gave a fascinating twenty-minute talk on the subject, so I actually learned quite a bit about the street art movement in the city.

Me cheering for Sally in class

The brief review that the student group presented laid the groundwork for a fascinating panel of four graffiti artists and taggers from Sao Paulo. They described their backgrounds, which were mostly impoverished and frustrating, and spoke about how tagging and graffiti allowed them to express their identity and existence in a city that strives to ignore them. TBH I'm never really one for breaking the rules--I would rather carry a gum wrapper for 20 minutes than throw it on the ground, and I call the bank when they accidentally deposit someone's check in my account--but the position of these artists fascinated me, and I yearned to learn more about their drive, passion, and goals.

Luckily, because I'm a student on IHP, I had the chance.

Following lunch, my class split into small groups, each with a different street artist leader, and ventured into Sao Paulo. Our destination, Sao Mateus, is a district in Sao Paulo that is about ~an hour and a half from the city center. We stepped off the bus around 3:15 PM, crowded under umbrellas in attempts to avoid the rain. Though the sky was a stormy gray, and the streets were muffled with a damp pallor, the walls of the city shone with a bright vibrancy. We could already see the work of the group of our leader, Fernando.

one of the first pieces completed by Fernando's group, OPNI

So bright and beautiful; a collaboration with a Canadian artist

An artwork completed by three different women--each one contributed one of the figures!

one of my personal favorites--a woman inspired and strengthened by her ancestors. her arm tattoo reads "luta," or "fight," as in, fight for your rights

Though the neighborhood was impoverished, and though some of the paint was beginning to peel, the area felt alive. Fernando explained the excitement and pride evoked by this art in the inhabitants. Trash littered some of the streets, and buildings were a little bit shabby, but the art was beautiful and it made the residents happy. Some of the images also conveyed messages. This one for example--

Reads, "return our childhood." Another work, which showed the Corinthians soccer stadium (in which I actually watched a game) and several Brazilians engaged in illicit and dangerous activities, protested the monetary investment in the World Cup and the Olympics while the people of the country were starving and suffering. 

I tend to express myself through writing (hence my numerous love letters to boys who *shockingly* tend not to return the sentiment), but I have always expected and admired artists' abilities to convey a message through images and without words. Hence, the street art and graffiti of Sao Mateus enthralled and inspired me.

Fernando also expressed how much the people loved to get their houses painting. Whenever they see members of his group, OPNI, walking through the streets holding spray cans and paint, they run out of their homes, excitedly requesting images on their empty buildings. Unfortuantely, Fernando said, they simply didn't have the time to acquiesce to these demands--though someday, they hope to cover every blank wall in Sao Mateus with color.

Sao Mateus, in progress

Fernando then led us to Sao Mateus em Movimento, an organization dedicated to the empowerment and education of neighborhood children. To be completely honest, I almost cried listening to Fernando's description of this center that is so integral to the well-being and future of the youth in this area. "These kids," he explained, "walk around with their arms crossed, and their eyes blank." They do not have goals, or faith in their own futures. Sao Mateus em Movimento aims to inspire children by teaching skills, by providing a space to do homework and read, and by giving them options. 

This, this, this. This, I truly and honestly believe, is the solution to so many problems, and here are members of a community, acting without the help of an ambivalent government and instead on their own initiative, working to give children better lives tahn they would otherwise have. It inspired me, and meeting the center's workers sparked a drive in me to participate in a center like this one back home. I honestly believe that places like Sao Mateus em Movimento have the potential to change so many lives. I was obviously v. impassioned.

That passion didn't fade even a little bit during the thirty-minute bus ride or hour-long subway ride, with two transfers, back home. The half-mile walk in the pouring rain may have damped it slightly, though.

A delicious, hot dinner was waiting for me at home, though, as were a pair of super cute sandals from my host family!!!!

they even have a Brazilian flag on the strap!!!

I love them a ton, and I love that my host family gifted them to me!

Though I got to sleep pretty early last night, I woke up this morning exhausted. I decided to throw in the towel and plead ill to take the day off.

Though I had huge plans for my afternoon--including Soul Cycle, a jog, and a trip to the library--I instead basically just laid in bed and read my book.

Classic me.

I did, however, go to the neighborhood farmer's market with my host sister and her gorgeous daughter! I had so much fun marvelling at the fruit stands selling exotic and unfamiliar produce, including the "caqui," which a kind seller let me taste. 

(To remember the name of this fruit, I had to google "fruit that looks like a tomato" then translate "persimmon" into Portuguese.)

I also ate two unbelievable "pastels," which, as I may have described before, as fried dough pockets of meat and cheese. I also drank this unbelievable concoction of sugar cane juice, pineapple, and lime. After trying these out-of-this-world treats, I was like--

I literally forgot food could taste this delicious.

I also had the chance to hold and play with Maria Luisa, my six-month-old host niece, and I only wished I had a baby for like, five minutes.

Then I think about the crying and how much I love sleep and how impatient/selfish I am, not to mention my perpetual singlehood, and I'm like,

However, I showered my love on Maria Luisa and even gave her a little souvenir from back home--

I spent a good part of the afternoon chatting with my host mom (Maria) and host sis (Liza) about food, dating, and bad words in English. It was such a relaxing and fun and wonderful day, and I'm oh-so happy I was "sick."

Now I just have to muster the motivation to return to class tomorrow... ugh. For now, though, I'll start a new book, watch Netflix, and gain ten more pounds during a delicious dinner. My spring break self is begging me to put down the fork and pick up a dumbbell, but I'll deal with my jiggly consequences in a week once I really start panicking about my bikini.

Ciao, amigas (it is, after all, International Women's Day),

Aubrey