Seven Days in Brazil - Day 1 and 2

So, about a month ago, I went to Brazil… for a spoken word competition. I represented Nigeria at the FLUPP Literary festival in Rio de Janerio. The slam was part of this giant literary festival. I have never seen such an event in my life. Over 200 producers, hundreds of participants sponsored from all over the world, talk about mad money spent.

Before we go on, let’s just establish that I did not win. I made it to the semi-finals, and had the highest score in the whole slam, 89.9/90, but didn’t make it to the finals. So now, let’s move on.
Firstly, South African airlines didn’t get my bags to the final destination at Rio, so for one whole day, I walked the streets of Rio with a borrowed Dunlop slippers, and three day old cloth (almost 2 days to get to Brazil). Imagine being stripped of all facial wash, underwear, clothing items for 2 whole days… not funny at all

So I spent a total of 7 days in Rio de Janerio Brazil, with over a thousand pictures, and my biggest issue is how to choose the pictures to show. I did everything, from eating their food, to slam, to going to beach alone, visiting the favelas (slums), riding cable cars, to going to a samba dance club, and a baile funk party, I even tried to see the famous Christos, but the sky was too cloudy.

Every week, I will try to capture each day I spent in Brazil, for 7 weeks.

Slammers meeting ourselves for the first time ever

My face was so long, cos of my missing bag, lol.

Getting ready to head to the festival's opening

But we had to eat first

As a Nigerian, one can't likt their food. They don't eat any form of pepper, too much salt in their meat and fish, and no salt in their cabs. I really tried my best to like their food, I really did, but it was not it at all. Their dessert and breakfast is really nice. Lemme correct that. Their breakfast would take you to heaven, and bring you back. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures.

Round 2: Salad

The complex we used for the festival

Slammers discussing

Where we used for the slam

Slam's venue

Collecting my Flupp shirt and bag

After the opening session and first activity, I left to another part of the complex to the Poetry to go. It is designed like a shopping mall, where people come to order their poetry. They give you few details, and in about 5 to 15 minutes, you write them a poem, you read it to them, and they take it away. Although, they did not pay us, in some other cases, they pay.

Me cooking up a poem for one of the customers

This woman below deserves a separate blog post honestly. I cooked up a poem for her daughter whom she has never been on good terms with, since she was a small girl, and she wanted a piece of reconciliation. When I read the poem to her, she was crying, and hugging me. I kept wondering what was so moving about it, but I guess the words cut her deep. She left, came back again, and hugged me, and kept talking, though I didn't understand a word she said. She added me on facebook, and we are now friends, thanks to google chrome translator

My new found friend

A venue in the complex

Isn't this beautiful. I think it was documenting
Brazil's history in barricades

After the Poetry to go, I excused myself, for the French-speaking poets to continue. Since it was the first day, it wasn't as filled with activities as other days. I got to the hotel, and my bags hadn't arrived. I was mad. I was going to be wearing the same cloth for the fourth day? No way. I insisted on going to the airport because we were informed the bad had already arrived from Sao Paulo. When the producer handling me told me the cab price, my madness flew out of the window. About N8000?  I went to bed, wondering "why me?"