Alas, my days in Vila Matos are numbered. For the most part, the tree house apartment has been good to me. I know scores of new people. I have a bar, and a street, and neighborhood to call my own. I live cheaply and simply and it works.
But sometimes...
Out of the blue...
Life has other plans for you.
Meet my new residence, my new home. As it so happens, an American teacher at Panamerica built a little house in the favela off of Barra hill. After kicking it Brazilian style for a few years, she ended up returning to the States, and the house has been abandoned ever since.
But sometimes...
Out of the blue...
Life has other plans for you.
Meet my new residence, my new home. As it so happens, an American teacher at Panamerica built a little house in the favela off of Barra hill. After kicking it Brazilian style for a few years, she ended up returning to the States, and the house has been abandoned ever since.
When a few cats at the school caught word of my current living arrangement (i.e. iddy biddyapartment with the bathroom in the kitchen) they thought of putting me here.
The arrangement works out rather nicely. The place is empty and falling apart. Without a watchdog, the place continues to get dirtier and dirtier, not to mention broken into.
Here comes little gringo me, with interior decoration tendencies. They get security of mind, and a person to clean and fix stuff up. I get a huge fixer-up project, and a potentially legitimate crash pad with an amazing view.
See!
Now don't get me wrong. The place is BASIC and all kinds of favela like, but there is tons of space (even if it is covered by dirt).
The place needs: new locks, security measures, gutters, and a new roof. But I am happy to say that I have fixed my not having a refrigerator problem, cause this place comes fully stocked!
Previous tenant artifacts.
Pimped out entryway. I want to do much more of this, perhaps fill the place with Bahian art. Maybe furniture if I ever have a paycheck.
Scary mold pattern in the kitchen.
Bedroom window.
And this. This is Bob. I knew the place was for me when I saw this poster. With Bob's blessing my Exodus feels fully endorsed. It'll need a few months of work, people, but just think of the parties we could have!
8 comments:
AMAZING! CONTINUING TO BE INCREDIBLY JEALOUS!
for serious, that is a nice lookin little place..or, it will be soon enough. i'm surprised no one stole the appliances, if people knew it was abandoned. do you get to live for free? finally you can buy perishable food!
oh and you forgot a "p" in upper :P
ha man...i think sheila captured it, "JEALOUSY". i align with your backround almost exactly and i've been keeping my eye on your blog for a couple of months. i've traveled to brazil on numerous occassions (always rio) and i've strived to relocate there. a good friend of mine lives in baja and works for a major staffing firm and even with this dream connection...nothing. i've always felt the urge to pull the trigger anyhow but can't seem to pull myself away from the comfort of my steady 9 to 5 and everything else that's steady here in washington, dc. but man...looking at these pictures and listening to some jorge ben...daaaamn! ha....best of luck with the new place man. be wary of the pests (mice, bugs, snakes, etc) ~Steve
Seriously, I've always said, "give me 6ft by 4ft and I'm good, lol...ok, a place to put my books and clothes too.
Interesting how the people one doesn't want to see have the view everyone wants to have. In general terms of favelas usually being on the mountain side. If you go to Ilha Bela in SP, you'll see nice houses on the hillside.
Think of it this way, if its at a higher elevation, you can tell people you are moving up in the world.
"Think of it this way, if its at a higher elevation, you can tell people you are moving up in the world." hahahah! Adam wins quote of the day.
Sheila...aside from utilities, I do get to live there for free, or at least until the place is habitable and I'm ready financially to pay rent.
Steve...that indeed is the thing about moving to Brazil. You win and you loose. 9 to 5 financial security is not easy to come by. But at the same time my days are far from routine, and I feel blessedly free from the day in day out rat race that was choking my life away in the States. Some days I feel like I'll never leave. Others, like all I want to do is go home. The reality is much different from the dream, but it sure does make things more colorful.
I have a friend who lived in that little neighborhood last year and loved it. In fact I can see her old house in one of your photos- the photo looking at the yacht club- it is the large orange house on the left. There are probably some other foreigners living there, so you will have some gringo company. The only thing that sucks is hiking up and down that hill, but at least you will be getting your exercise! Good luck with fixing it up!
-Cheryl
hey man have fun with your new pad
i can see that you got yourself a roof
check this out ;
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/planttherapy/planttherapy-practical-talk-on-green-roofs-046338
Until you've fixed it up enough to start paying rent? Depending on the person inhabiting your pad, that could take a looooong time, lol. Hate to say it, but a Brazilian would take advantage of that.
Ps - Gotta love the people who leave a comment only to direct you to their quasi-related website. I get plenty of those. Like "cool site, if you are into sites, check me out at http://blahblah....
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