More rainy days

Rather than give big explanations for these rainy photos, I am just going to post a mess of them here in the hopes that they will explain themselves. It's raining.... a lot.



This is what happens with the little stands on the street when it rains - they get covered with random pieces of plastic, old umbrellas with beer slogans on them, and then are flocked to by men without shirts who wish to remain semi-dry.






Trash anyone? I hate to imagine what kind of uckyness is going into the ground water from this pile, or into that water running down the street in a big river over the concrete that you have to wade through to get to the sidewalk.





I just think this is funny. There is a whole wall of HAM in Brotas. It's the wall around the Hospital something or another, but all the HAM is comical to me. HAM HAM HAM HAM....

Favelas in the rain

It has been raining non-stop pretty much since Friday here. Although a common occurance in Michigan, in our lovely coastal city here it is not so common. Grey and rainy weather doesn't make for good picture taking (I know, I took about 20 shots today and only two came out and the quality is not really top notch either), it can make for good story telling about Bahia. In a city built like most "developing" country cities, there is a great hail-all to cement and not so much room left for open ground and vegetation. When there is more than a light sprinkel, water pools in various low laying places, runs like rivers down the street, and in favelas creates huge, resident-killing mud slides. Many favelas are built on hillsides, those areas being less desireable by people with monitary means because they are difficult to build on. One dwelling is built and sells the rights to build on their roof top, or perhaps half on the roof and half up the hillside, and POOF, here we are in a disaster waiting to happen. Last year I think I heard a number around 160 people killed by mud slides in favelas. I am sure it is actually higher than that and those are just the ones who make the news.

For the hearing impaired

Such a simple concept, yet almost never seen in the States. This is an ad about voting. It consists of a "teacher" in a class of students telling them how patriotic and easy it is to vote. It's full of these images of Brasilians stepping up as a group and walking around, going into voting posts and casting their ballots, an image that is not all that far off from the reality here (see my video from election day if you don't believe me). And the nice little extra - see that woman there in the lower left hand corner, she's signing all of this for the hearing impaired, because we don't leave ANYBODY in the dark about how easy it is to vote here. Almost all the government sponsered ads I have see are like this, usually with the same woman in the corner. She both mouths the words and signs them. Way to go Brasil! Unfortunately, I'm not sure everyone who is deaf gets educated in common sign language, and I am sure there are some populations who are entirely without television.

Wow, just like home!

Third world elections aren't done with stones anymore.... Despite being behind bars, the election booth is much the same as back in the States. The lines to get into this barred room are much longer, however. And yes, that is a desk in the background. As in the States, the election boothes are housed in schools on election day. The bars are to keep theives out, rather than students in, I think, but what do I know....

Vota Brasil!

The foot traffic outside the voting post was never ending. This picture was taken during a lull right before some famous guy, a former govenor or mayor or something, came through in a big mass of people so quick I had no idea what was happening. This is the only place I have seen people leave bicycles just out in the open, unattended. Old guys sat in chairs at the gate chatting about politics, most likely. Three different versions of icecream were sold outside the gate, along with churros, agua de côco, and some other things I did not identify. Everyone being required to vote, these vendors had nothing to loose sitting in the same place all day. Must have been pretty sweet for them. For more of this view, see the video.

I made a short video

Of election day, but I cannot find the cord for the camera, so you all just have to wait in suspece until further notice.