É como não sentir calor em Cuiabá

Full disclosure: This post is from October but I forgot to publish it on my blog until March.

I just got back from a trip to Cuiabá, where I participated in this event called English Circus. Julian and Armen, the two ETAs in Cuiabá, are go-getters; they're kind of the poster children for what a Fulbright ETA should be - we always hear about something new and exciting that they're doing. They organized this multi-week series of talks by other ETAs about topics of our choice. My talk was called "Cultural Literacy through Music", which combines two things that I love: music and social/political commentary through art. My talk was inspired by this class I took at Tulane with Dan Sharp (the coolest!) called Brazilian Music and Citizenship. We traced the evolution of Brazilian music and social movements. In retrospect, the class probably prepared me more than anything else for my move to Brazil.

My talk examined the cultural and political references in popular (that term is used subjectively) American songs. We discussed Amazing Grace, Born in the USA, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Civil War by Guns N' Roses, Where is the Love?, and Words I Never Said by Lupe Fiasco. I'm really fascinated with the distinction between basic communication: Where's the bathroom? Can I get a beer? and cross-cultural communication: understanding the history and experiences behind a language that gives it meaning. The first steps in learning a language are almost mathematical. You learn characters, place them in patterns to achieve a result. But more advanced language learning is about understanding nuance, cultural references, etc. I think listening to English music and discussing the meaning and history of songs helps my students communicate in English more deeply. It also prompts great discussions on history, race, war, social class, etc.  I read an article recently that reflects on language and culture more eloquently than I do here.

After the talk, I was free to explore the area. And thanks to Julian, who hosted me, I had an amazing time! First, I think it's necessary to explain the weather in Cuiabá. Cuiabá may be one of the most difficult placement cities. After spending a few days there, I have so much respect for Julian and Armen.

Cuiabá is a city located way inland in the state of Mato Grosso (literally translated: thick jungle). Hot. It was so hot. Julian didn't have air conditioning so we putzed around dripping sweat. I mean, exerting absolutely no energy whatsoever, I was losing a lot of water. It would get so hot in her apartment that at night we took showers in our clothes to stay cool enough to fall asleep.

Look at that!! 7pm. It's dark outside and it is 97 degrees! And look at Friday-Tuesday - over 100! It's like that year round. 

I had low expectations for Cuiabá. I thought it would be kind of like Montana.. not that I've ever been to Montana. But that there wouldn't be a lot going on. I was wrong. Cuiabá is a big city; it's clean, well-organized. The highways rival those of Texas. It was a world cup host city and quite chic. It seemed wealthy. There were luxury brand shops everywhere. I think the money comes from these very wealthy landowners, farmers, and cattle-raisers that own obscene amounts of land throughout the state.. and are arguably.. very sketchy people. The area around Cuiabá is protected. It's part of a giant wetland. Unfortunately, in Brazil there's a lot of strife between landowners and anyone enforcing protection on lands. To get a taste of what I'm talking about, read this.

Cuiabá's proximity to the Pantanal (that giant wetland I mentioned) is a lot of the reason I wanted to go there. It has some of the best birdwatching in the world. I went with my friend Catherine, another ETA, and her friend Fiona. We rented a car and spent the day with a tour guide. Our guide was very cool and knew so much about the wildlife. But we did have an unpleasant encounter with one of the aforementioned landowners. Our guide, used the landowner's driveway without permission to show us an emu and the guy came barreling down his dirt road and cut us off so we couldn't leave. He was bright red and spitting mad and cussing at us. It was uncomfortable to say the least.. and might I say, a tad overreactive.

The guide dropped us off in the middle of Cuiabá and hilarity ensued. The problem was that I was the only one of us 3 that drives stick. And originally (when we rented the car) I was like no sweat guys, been doing this for years! And then as my time to drive approached I became more and more preoccupied with driving in a foreign country with a foreign car where I don't know the traffic laws, etc. But don't worry! It was all good. I only stalled out a few times in a crowded parking lot (ugh felt like such a noob). And I couldn't figure out how to put a Volkswagon in reverse so at several points, Catherine and Fiona had to get out and push the car out of some parking spots... with an audience.

Here are some pics from the Pantanal:

Termite mounds

The entrance

This is Catherine giggling because the neighbors gave her a Jaca fruit on her way up to the apartment. Jaca fruit is huge and smells terrible. It tastes better than it smells but that's not saying much. Some people really like it, but the texture is a little slimey for me, personally.

Kingfishers are some of my favorite birds :)