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| Rio de Janeiro | |||||||||||||||||||
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23rd May: Getting out of bed at a spritely 10am, I was able to coax Tom down for yet another monster Acai (drink made from the pith of a rainforest fruit). Feeling somewhat alive I decided to tackle the task of checking out language courses at the university. There is nothing like getting on a bus with no idea of where you are going beyond a bit of paper and a bus number... turns out I had quite the tour of Rio, off the tourist maps into suburbia, past countless Universidades (there are over 100 listed in the phone book); at each of which the helpful conductor had to prevent me jumping off, thinking I had found my goal. 1 hour later I arrive at a massive building of concrete. 13 stories high and about 500m wide. Finally. With a little effort I found the department that used, yes used to teach Portuguese to foreigners. Back to bed and water.. at least the persistent warm rain began to fall again. Curtis, an intriguing guy from the US had been studying Capoiera, the Brasilian martial art since obtaining a black belt in Taekwondo 2 years ago. He began his studies in Japan, and furthered them in New York. When he mentioned the class that was on that night in Cocacabana, I was keen to watch: its a martial art done to music with a definately dance-like feel which is born from a cross-breed of japanese and african arts. Capoira was developed by the black slaves in Bela Horizonte and Salvador in Brasil as a form of weapon against the Portugeuse masters and the dance aspect evolved from trying to conceal the nature of the exercise from the Portugeuse. A lot of time is spent on your head. Kieren would be impressed by some of the moves these guys could pull on the breakdance circuit. And Curtis didnŽt let it on, but IŽm sure that this trip is a Capoiera pilgrimage for him as he is Good, even managing his first backflip that night. After the class, the students were joined by others to make a ring of people in a mall, where, to the beat of intersting instruments and singing, two contenders played a `gameŽwith each other. IŽll be giving Capoiera a go as soon as the instructor forgets about the accidental black eye that Curtis gave him during a simultaneouse cartwheel manoever in the dimly lit street..
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| Name: | Craig | ||||||||||||||||||
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