WELCOME TO MY BLOG MUCHACHOS!

Welcome to my blog.

Lets start with an aim (too many physics projects at uni!)

AIM:
To keep any of you who are interested, up to date with what im doing. I was going to do the whole travel email thing, but personally i hate it. Even when i am interested, it kind of tastes like spam. Sad but true.

This blog is an opportunity instead for all of you to tune in, whenever you feel like it, and have a laugh at whats going on around or through my head.

EQUIPMENT:
Now that´s over and done with, i will tell you, my beloved but distant audience, about my trip.

First, my title. Cal in Brasil. Yes i plagiarised it. Yes i will have photos, but no not of that kind! (section 2.2 of blogger´s terms and conditions prohibits it anyway :) )

I do have inspiration that is a little more above board, however.

I actually started quite young on this whole South America thing. 7 in fact. Me and my brother had become addicted to an animated cartoon named "Mysterious Cities of Gold".

It combined the precision of Japanese animation with the most incredible storyline about 3 kids in the 1500s who fly a golden condor, and sail a solar powered ship across South America in search of the fabled El Dorado – City of Gold.

Wicked.

Better still, each episode ended with a 5-minute archaeology documentary on the sites the children had visited in that episode.. machu picchu, nazca…

F****n Awesome!

TWO MOVIES AND A BOOK
When i was about 12, i read Erich von Daniken´s “Chariots of the Gods”. This guy´s a bit of an oddball, but at 12, his theories of alien visits to the Nazcas were incredibly convincing. Somehow, 15 yrs later and with supposedly a lot more intelligence, im still....curious.

The movies - these are probable the least pivotal of all my influences. At around the age of 15, me and my cousins watched two very b-grade movies "Blame It On Rio", and "Wild Orchid".

Not out of an interest in b-grade, but because they had the all-important ratings of V (violence) S (sex) and N (nudity).

Importantly, both films are set in Rio. And both films star really really hot 90s chicks who, throughout the entire movie are generally very naked. Wow.

This brief experience however, cemented a synaptic connection between hot nude girls and Brasil. The human brain is an amazing thing.

ACTUALLY… ONE MORE
Movie. "City of God". Watch it. Its amazing. Its in subtitles, but you soon realise that Brasilian Portuguese has to be the sexiest language in the whole World – even the geekiest guys sound like players.

Its a crazy story about a kid in Rio´s slums who wants to become a photographer, and through his eyes you witness the sénseless violence, cruelty and poverty in Rio de Janeiro.

Weird, but it made me want to go even more.

BEING A GOOD BOY
Actually, im going to be doing a volunteer Project with IkoPoran, based in Rio. I´ll be teaching street kids English and maybe photography. It sounds awesome. Check out the IkoPoran website. I´ve always wanted to be able to comunícate with people in such circumstances and learn about their lives, without putting myself in danger.

CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS
So here i am in Colombia, struggling with Spanish infinitives, eating too much, and welcoming you to my blog.

I hope you enjoy your day. Its been lovely spending time with youse :)