Rio de Janeiro

Last week we arrived in Rio de Janeiro, which literally means "River of January" because when the Portuguese first came into the bay, they believed it to be the mouth of a large river.  While this was not true, it stuck and the city still goes by this name.  While on top of the Corcovado Mountain to see the Cristo Redentor, I suddenly realized how appropriate this name truly is for such a magnificent city.    Half awake from the long hours of traveling and the over exhaustion, I suddenly felt wide-awake and completely awe struck by the view before me.  There truly are no words to explain how amazing it was and my photos can only capture a small display of the magnitude of this city.  

To look at this photo and see the contrasts between the natural beauties of this Earth and all that we as humans have created on this land is eye-opening when seen from such a large scale.  While there is no river of water in Rio, the city itself can be seen as a large, unified body, moving through the valleys, weaving its way around the mountains that have long inhabited this land.  The people here have not sought to overcome or dominate the mountains that tower over their skyscrapers, but instead have found ways to work around and through them, giving the appearance of a river flowing.  This body of concrete and glass, while fiercely powerful and carrying great momentum, is still humbled by the realities of gravity.  

These feelings of wonder and amazement were combatted in my mind by another thought that continued to stir in the back of my mind, only to grow louder the next day, atop of the Pão de Açúcar.  

While this view was equally breathtaking, I could not help but think of what this land must have looked like when the Portuguese first arrived in what they thought was the mouth of a river.  Were the shoreline without developments, the bay clear of boats, and the forests endless?  What were these men thinking when they first came upon this land?  What they saw as a blank slate that has now been so deeply carved into.  Is this the discovery of the Americas?

Today, racism is illegal in Brazil, but almost every day I see and hear it around me.  Whether it is in the eyes of the dark-skinned, frail child, no older than eight years old, who asks for the scraps of my friend's food or the cries of the starved woman as she begs for money.  Who should be charged for these crimes?  Should someone be held accountable for the systems of oppression that have forced human beings into these situations?

As the people of Rio have shown, it is impossible to combat nature, but systems of oppression are not like the water cycle or the steep slopes of mountains, they are man-made institutions.  While many efforts have already begun, we cannot continue to be resigned to allowing oppressive systems continue to flow freely.  Rather, we must proactively search for ways to channel these systems back to their origin and allow nature to heal the scars we've left on the Earth.