- Conversation started Sunday
Danny Chances
Hey sharif
How's the family and kids? I've been following you guy since 2008. I'm going to Salvador this summer for a couple of months. I would like to know any tips on Salvador like good places to chow, hang out, cultural events, the do's and don'ts of that part of Brazil and where not to go.- Sunday
Sharif Ali
Peace, glad to hear from you.
You know summer here is the rainy season there right? So the weather isn't as good as far as being able to do a lot and go to the beach.
Barra (pronounced baha) is the best neighborhood to stay in for your first trip. It's right in the thick of everything. Definitely try acaraje, you will see people selling it on the streets, try to get it from the ladies wearing the traditional clothing b/c they will have the best ones. Pretty much as long as you stay in Barra you don't have to worry about where to hang or anything else b/c it is all going on right there or walking distance.
There is this jazz concert that is real fun. They have it on Saturdays. It's called Jam no MAM. Tourists don't know about it but it is real cool to check out. There is this neighborhood called Rio Vermelho. On Friday or Saturday evenings right next to the catholic church is a house of candomble and they have this ceremony. Then a few hours later that whole spot starts popping as they have live music and just a lot going on in general.
You can pretty much do whatever you want to. Just don't be stupid. Don't go down any dark alleys but other than that you don't have to dress down or any of the stuff you might hear white people say. Don't pay attention to anything you might have heard or read from white travelers.
Have a great time!- Tuesday
- Danny Chances
What you didn't like about living there? I met a dude in London from São Paulo told me not to move to Brazil. I've heard mixed thing. I know the states is the best country materialisticly. I say when it comes to capitalism it's a all you can eat buffet. I still don't like it here tho. - Sharif Ali
Living there made me realize how good we have it here. It's nice to visit but it's not all it's cracked up to be. I hated how far back our people were there in the power structure. We have no idea how good we have it here. We are the cream of the crop and there is no other place on earth that that has black people in a better position to succeed than in the United States.
The infrastructure of the country sucks, they don't build for the future only for the immediate now so things that are important like pipes, carpentry, electricity, water, and shelter are not built to last.
I have children and it would not be the best option for them or me at all. The education system was not up to par. I would have had to pay a lot of money to send my children to a elite (for Brazil) private school that would have been inferior to the public schools here in America. Seriously. A lot of things that we complain about here are way worse for most people in the world.
I would just visit Brazil in the future. I'll travel all over the world and go to places like Jamaica, Egypt, Fiji, you name it. But unlike many people that go on vacation and talk about how they want to live there I will be like hell no. In the back of my mind I would know that those places are only good in small doses. It's also the last place you want to be if shit really hit the fan b/c it's already in bad shape.
