Contrasting cultures

My work schedule is at last growing; I now work for two business English Language schools, who send me to random places teaching random people in different positions. I enjoy it and believe that I'm doing good job, although, I get paid R$25-30 per hour and they are charging up to R$75. This is annoying and eventually I intend will poach all my students from the school for cheaper private lessons. All in good time. Despite this, I can now survive on my wages, which has relinquished much pressure and made me generally happier.

Today I worked in the town of Barra Tijuka. It is one posh neighborhood. Tall apartment blocks housing the upper echelons of Brazilian society; namely the white southerners. I entered numerous office blocks to find my destination: the well know oil company Shell. I didn't spot a single black guy working in the vicinity - sorry yes I did, the security guard. No surprise there. It seems there are positions reserved for the unskilled and uneducated in this rich white metropolis. The office was much the same as any I had experienced during my time in the corporate world; sterile new surfaces lit up with fluorescent strip bulbs and kept cool with gallons of gassed water. My lesson consisted of getting two guys Marcelo and Danilho, both from the finance dept, to argue over how much to pay their staff in a false role-play scenario. They both seemed a bit slow and I don't think it was the language problem. We then moved on to a reading exercise consisting of them reading about American 'fat cats' and discussing whether the amount some CEOs get paid is fair, or not. It directly linked onto an ad-lib discussion on the distribution of wealth in Brazil. Apparently 80% of the countries wealth is owned by 10% of the population; a staggering figure. The two hour lesson drew smoothly to an end. Tonight, I am lucky enough to be helping Mauricio - head of marketing for a French cement company - draft an email to his VP in France; oh the fun I could have ;)

On the other side of the fence, I ventured back into Rosinha yesterday and I agreed to take over the role of English teacher at The Two Brothers Foundation. The role will be challenging and not only will I be teaching classes of ranged age and ability, but with my little experience have been asked to devise the syllabus for a whole term. I have the help of the coordinator; who I believe is more interested in his Mao Thai training than the organisation. I'm starting to think that no one in the organisation actually does anything, and they rely solely on volunteers, who are few and far between.

I have explored the torrain somewhat and it is absolutely crazy; a world stuck years behind the surrounding cities. It has hundreds of small businesses and I believe one can get everything one needs from within the favela. I particularly remember seeing a dairy store; this would have been normal had it not been for the 50 odd hens being battery farmed for their eggs. I was later shown some accomodation options and was surprised at how different they were to what I'd expected. I can't imagine all the residents live like that; one place was a modest one bedroomed apartment with seperate kitchen/living room. The price: R$160 PCM - 40 English Pounds Stirling. Ironically I would be generally safer living in the favela than Lapa where I currently reside; apart from I Commando Vemelho decided it was time to take back their lost territory and invade Rosinha. You can check on me here: www.riobodycount.com.br