May 18th or: the favela

As I mentioned earlier, we had to get up at 9 in order to see some stuff. More accurately, we were going to a "community" that turned out to be a favela. Ralf, our host, was helping the community in a discussion with a not-so-influential politician. Good that he was there though. 

Roads aren't that great here

For us it was great as well: we experienced a legitimate brazilian favela without too much risk. Before we got to the community, we were told to not speak German or actually speak at all, but once we got there, it felt pretty safe. On the one hand, the houses were built from everything but usual building material, it smelled bad and the amount of trash was ridiculous. On the other hand, most of the huts had satellite access and water tanks, so I wasn't really sure what to think of it. Pretty terrible standard of living, but still way better than in Africa. Take a look yourself:

#pigselfie

Trashographer

"road of peace"

View all over the favela

The people were really nice, although I couldn't accept the water they offered me -- sure, it's a nice gesture, but the hygienical standards and the water quality were questionable at most. I probably would have spent the night in the bathroom in the best case scenario. 

We feasted once again at Ralf's (next level meatloaf with cheese + the usual: rice, beans, salad, sand + delicious dessert of which I don't know the name), then were about to head home. Just before we wanted to leave, one of the most massive thunderstorms I've seen in my life broke loose. Ridiculous amounts of water came down, accompanied by enough hail to provide all of Brazil with ice for Caipirinhas. Most people (mostly the ones who were inside)  were happy about it because it had not rained here for a month or so. 

Perfect size for icecubes

The thunderstorm was so bad that when we got home, the power in the whole block was out for two hours. Quite astonishing how much we depend on electricity by now -- no WiFi, cell phone battery was almost empty, laptop was empty, no light, and the worst: no elevator. We then proceeded to do our workout for the day: going up the stairs to the 13th floor. Also, reading scientific papers at candlelight was something completely new to me. 

Eventually power came back, and about two hours afterwards the internet worked again. Too bad we were already sleeping by then.