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Hi all
Its been too long!! In summary - Work, party, party, PARTY, party, no sleep, tired, great...
To go back to last week - still settling in to infectious diseases - its very different as its based around individuals (drs) here rather than a team (as it was in Plastics) but slowly trying to get to know people - & therefore them trust me etc.... But I´m still seeing a lot of very interesting cases.... desseminated Zoster (shingles) massively advanced myeloma in someone with Aids (interesting having a conversation with one of the drs about end of life care - very similar conflicts/ worries to the UK, pain when to use supportive treatment etc...) It´s strange here because some things (like an intergrated computerised note system!) are noticeably better than the UK, but some things are inevitably less well resoursed (like not having a MRI scanner, though in fairness I never expected to turn up and see MRIs!!!! Hopefully you get where I´m coming from). Bascially, here as in the UK depends on what the governement is prepared to finance and which part of the governemnet is fuinding your hospital - state, federal etc...
I also sent some time in Prof Luiz´s (my Boss) clinic - where he sees patients that have been diagnosed with Aids... I felt really privaleged as he has a great relationship with them... the highlight was seeing him communicate with a guys who is deaf & cannot speak, so Luiz & the pateint have developed a sign language that both can understand... despite these difficulties the patient has remained adherent to treatment for 7 years! Anyway enough shop talk...
CARNAVAL:
The start of my carnaval began well with a chance meeting of the guys from the plastics team meaning they took me out for a meal and some beers... It also allowed them to invite me on a Plastics day out on a boat around Baia de Guanabara and for a conference in a couple of weeks to the nicest resort near Rio - Buzios.... It´s not what you know????? It was really nice of them (as ever) especially considering I left the team earlier in the week.
So, went to the hostel where I am going to stay for weekends (as I´m a bit too far out of Rio) to stay for the Carnaval!!! Met up with some guys and took them to the club that I went to week before... Before hand we wandered around Lapa - which had transformed from a groovy place where péople drink in bars and drift on to the street, to a heaving throng (not thong) on people all dancing and having a good time... Went to my first blocco (samba school parades - theres loads during carnaval) of the carnaval proper, which was grea fun... The night was made more memorable by a Brazilian girl coming up to me and thinking I was pretending to be English (because I danced like a Brazilian!!!!!!!!! Haha) Everyone be prepared to hear this story a lot!!!! So, a good start to carnaval.
Carnaval Sat - Went to the beach after little sleep and some breakfast and generally chilled with a few guys from the hostel... Then went out again to Lapa with a couple of Mexican guys from the hostel - we decided we´d had enough of the opulent clubs & wanted to get some ´real´Rio nightlife... so after a bit more street partying - we found a club we thought looked good and went in... It was crazy - it was a Funk club (not like our funk - In Brazil funk is a local music - similar to Hip-Hop but much more graphic & more based around sex, and the women dance in that crazy way I´m sure you´ve all seen - if not think grinding!!!?!?!?!?) So, after settling in with a few Caparinha´s we all got involved!!! It was great fun, really good to see a bit of real Rio - rahter than a bunch of Gringos!!!! Mind you - it would definelty not be included in the lonely planet!! But having said that everyone was really friendly there (much like everyone I´ve met so far) and there were no probs at all - I even outstayed the Mexican guys who slipped home!! But I realised it was time to go home when I found myself dancing like a zombie.
Sunday came and after little sleep and breakfast went to Ipánema (a pattern?!) - After some beach time I met up with a group of the med students to go and watch another blocco Que merda esse? (translated `what the f**k is that`) it was really really good - better I think because I was with a bunch of Brazilians and could just watch them & join in with them... I also got to see all generations of Brazilians partying - from kids right up to grandparents all dancing away... It was easy to see how it is engrained into everyone here... this all ended with a sunset swim at Ipanema. At the end I got back to the hostel and couldn´t stop smiling. A whole bunch of poeple had decided to try to go to the sambódromo to watch the carnaval itself... which was great because it was doing my swede in watching it on TV (I could do that in Droitwhich) - the problem is its really expensive & sold out months ago - but we decided to rock up and try to find some touts... Cue cheesey bit (Sorry) Arriving you got off the bus and just felt really excited and happy, we walked past all the floats being prepared and samba teams waiting to go in... Walked around to the cheaper side & Daniel (owner of the hostel who is a legend & took us out lots of nights to make sure we had a good night) managed to get us some tickets.... Awesome. Just on the way in 2 English guys stopped us and told us not to go in cos it was too dangerous (they were letting too many people in)... I was gutted.... then realised they were too young to remember terracing at football & thought F**k it I can always leave, and we all went in. It was crazy (& quite dangerous) with loads of pushing etc... but eventually cleared & we got a good (not the best tickets but who cares) view... It was really like nothing I´ve ever seen before, we saw 4 bloccos in total - the best being the last one... with some pretty random floats Yoda & Stormtroopers I was not expecting! Had a great laugh with Vincent & Tom (funny Dutch guys), Olly (vacant but awesome lad from Manc) & Laurie & Charlotte (wicked English girls) & the rest... Can´t really do it justice in words but danced all night and just soaked up the athmosphere - which went from chilled to frenzied depending on what was going on!!! Luckily Dutch Tom brought his camera so have some photo´s for you - coming soon!! Back home at 8
Monday - More Beach and Lapa - for street parties and a tour of the clubs, by a random brazilian guy who just started talking to us (another example of how cool people are here) - wasn´t the best night - so was only a great night!!!
Tues - really feeling it now - I managed my longest sleep - 5 hrs and tried to organise some hanggliding - but it feel through - gutted, especially for Laurie & charlotte (it was there lsat day) - so went to Praia Vermelha (red beach, near sugar loaf) for a bit & then went out to another blocco in Lagoa (near a lagoon in the North-West of rio) it was cool, because the musci was a bit different & there were loads of costumes. Then went to Ipanema where there was a beach party, even though I was knackerred - It was still great - completely different to any other night. And when it all got a bit too much (ie Techno/trance) I went for a walk on the beach!!!
Last day of Carnaval - went on the boat trip with the plastics guys! It was such a nice way to finish carnaval - after all the crazy partying - to just chill on the boat and see all the sights, sugar loaf, copacabana (where we jumped out & swam), niterói, the entrance to the bay, then BBQ (amazing - the Steaks!!!!) on an island with a few beers.
Today feels like the biggest come-down ever... I was so depressed leaving for work this morning... but there is one salvation - having my own bed at the hospital again will be nice!
Anyway - Sorry I´ve babbled on - its also for me (my memory for some events was a bit sketchy!!) Hope you are all well!!
Take care I´m off to sleep as soon as possible - hopefully get the photo´s on soon)
XXX
T
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