Post #12: In Brazil for the Copa

Football is an interesting cultural entry point for a newcomer here in Brazil, especially during the World Cup. We went to an opening game on our first day here. Flags have adorned buildings, balconies, and cars. Every corner has been filled with vendors selling Brazil jerseys and paraphernalia. Life and work stops completely for Brazil games (and pauses even during the other games). At work, we gave employees the option of taking leave to watch the game, and, even when work was ongoing, the games are blaring in the background. 

On Friday, the entire country shut down mid-day to accommodate fans. Actually, it accommodated the entire country as I have yet to meet a Brazilian who is not a fan. The players are heroes and the sport is one of national pride and interest, not alike to any American sports event, even during the Olympics. The Copa began right after our arrival, and I swear that Brazilians wear only yellow and green on a daily basis to show their allegiances. When the media pans to the fans in Russia at the games, it is clear that Brazilian are unlike any others, emotionally wrought with each turn of the game and decked out in costumes that rival carnival. As a willing but uninformed fan, I have observed and taken part in the excitement, going as far as to buy a Brazil shirt and wearing yellow and green for game days to pretend to be a part of my new home country. 

The momentum was building with the world watching the only team from Latin America left in the World Cup, and we looked forward to losing ourselves in the wild, euphoric Brazilian national pride of its dream team. After all of that build up, Friday was a day of mourning to this entire nation when the Brazilian team "crashed" against Belgium. Now, I am curious to see how the jerseys and the green and gold disappear to remain latent until the next games four years from now.

Post #6: Geeks in a Stadium is a Party

In the middle of Brasília is a gigantic stadium that was built for the World Cup when Brazil hosted in 2016. Nowadays, it gets little use as there are not any big football teams based in Brasília and the colossal size makes it an overwhelming venue. Those of you that know Uli know that, despite his heritage, he does not follow any organized sports or have any passion for spectating (hey, I guess no one can be perfect). We recently attended a Wizards game (NBA) and a Caps semi-finals game (NHL), which were exciting to me even if I am not an ardent fan. Uli was still pretty non-plussed. So, why would he be spending four days in a gigantic football stadium this week? For a tech event, of course.

There is a huge event called Campus Party taking place right now in the stadium and the wings are filled with geeks camping out for four days, hackers and gamers set up at tables, and speakers talking about a range of topics from MOOCs to makers. There are so many young people wandering around with their computers. Even I found it exciting and a bit overwhelming. Uli, however, was completely in his element.

 For me, the cool part continued to be the setting of the stadium...