Americans from Both Ends of the Spectrum

Last Thursday I flew to Salvador. Salvador is Brazil's second largest tourist destination, after Rio. Arriving here, I felt like I was in Africa. That feeling has faded somewhat now, but not much. I certainly feel more like I'm in a developing country here than I did in Rio or in Belo Horizonte. The scene around the hostel where I'm staying is really pretty similar to Nairobi in terms of run-down buildings, tropical weather, and a population that is around 80% Afro-Brazilian. Salvador marks one of the boundary lines between the wealthy and whiter Southeast of Brazil and the much poorer Northeast.

Here at the hostel in Salvador, I've met some really annoying Americans. The fact that they are in their early 20s and totally unaware of other people is what makes them annoying. One woman is an acrobat and just got a job with the local circus. She seems to have no sense that speaking louder to people doesn't make one more accepted or loved. She also ate an entire pineapple that my friends and I bought without asking if it was OK. Being in a hostel does not mean we are living in a commune.

On the other end of the spectrum is another woman, also from the US, Thalia. We went out Sunday night with 3 Brazilian women who are all anthropologists. We had a great time talking about racism in the US and Brazil, the African culture in the State of Bahia, and othe shunning of groundbreaking anthropologits, and other juicy subjects. Sheila is the name of the woman who introduced me and Thalia to her friends. Sheila and I connected through couch surfing. She works with the Public Prosecutor's office as an advocate for minorities. One of the things that she mentioned is a program to train indigenous teachers so that they can teach in their own communities. This is part of a government initiative to make sure that the indigenous people in Brazil have some basic rights and are not completely marginalized. One positive thing I see here, although I admit that my knowledge is superficial, is that some indigenous communities have retained their cultures. Sheila pointed out that here in the Northeast, the indigenous languages have essentially disappeared, but she also said that there are efforts to preserve what is left.

This education initiative is something that I'm hoping to do a story about for FSRN and maybe some other places. In fact, tomorrow I'm going to visit a training session for indigenous teachers. The only downside is that I'll have to spend 12 hours on a bus to get there and back....