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Christina Daniels

A Woman's Place...


Posted from: Maraba

Nothing like lunch with a cowboy to take women's lib back a few centuries...

We had a 10-hour drive ahead of us - along the Transamazonica, a 2,300 km long dirt road that stretches between Amazonas and Para state. It was meant to have been paved but like many ambitious constructions in Brazil, investment abruptly came to a stop and things have just remained as they were for the past 36 years.

We were driving from Altamira to Maraba, having just spent a week filming on a cattle ranch in Altamira. The cowboys were great, and really made us feel welcome. There was also a beef buyer there with them, Minero, who coincidentally lives halfway between Altamira and Maraba. He invited us to his house for lunch - perfect to cut up our long journey.

After a six-hour drive along roads so bumpy our CD player skipped constantly over the same song, we arrived at Minero's house. We had a huge welcome from the whole family - sisters, cousins, mum, friends, kids and pets. It's always great to spend time at someone's house with their family after so long filming and eating in restaurants. I was looking forward to lunch.

Everyone gathered round the table. I thought it was odd that all the women were standing around, and not sitting down to eat. They were pottering around, doing this and that in the kitchen, but the long wooden table laden with food was untouched. No sign from the women to sit down and eat.

The crew sat down (all guys). Minero sat down. There was one place left, next to Minero, who sat at the head of the table. I took my plate and was about to sit down. "Why don't you go sit in the other room with the women, you'll feel more comfortable there," he suddenly said. That's when I realised that that was how things were done there - the men sat around talking business, the women sat elsewhere. I felt like I was going back in time! I took my plate, and sat down with the men.

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  • 1. At 8:56pm on 13 Jul 2008, patimarvin wrote:

    What a pity you didn't 'go with the flow' and join the women, the Amazon IS back in time! You would have learned a lot more from them than by hanging out with the guys on this occasion. Have fun.

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  • 2. At 01:47am on 07 Oct 2008, giovanebrasileiro wrote:

    God I never saw someone so patronizing as you lady and pretty much up yourself...(Long dirt road) I beg your pardon?The road was meant to be paved???? IT IS NOT PROPER PAVED BECAUSE THERE IS THE RAINY SEASON.At this season ONE CAN NOT WORK PROPERLY BECAUSE OF THE RAIN WHICH BY THE WAY IS TORRENCIAL.As in the rainforest should be...(homer simpson moment)In the dry season rains a lot too,because is Amazon by the way.Do your homework before leaving England...Instead of slagging off things you don't know about it..Ohhh.There is long stretches of DIRT LONG ROAD in australia too,but of course you don't slag off.My family worked for a time in the constructions of the roads...Let'me say lady...hard task due to the voracity of the jungle that in few mounths engulfs everything around.Of course if you are not unlucky enough to be strike by malaria and other diseases like my mom and my father were...And I think the men at the ranch just did not want you there at the table with them.Not very different at pubs in England where you clearly see boys sitting one side girls the other.You are so wrong to think that things are done in that way in that area.Men talking bussiness and women standing around...It ludicrudious even imagining at this day and age...Even over there I'm telling you..And you said(investiments came to a stop)...YOU ARE SO WRONG...There is a federal institution which maintains the roads in Brazil.And the money comes from taxes.It has been like that since the 50 in Brazil.My family used to work in the instituition that builds highways across the whole of brazil.Try to pave you way cutting through the jungle and maintains the qualitity of the road in a hostile enviroment...Tranzamazonica never was and never will be like M 25 ...I'm sorry for this comment but I think journalists like me they should know what they are talking about.Do your homework .Do not write about things you haven't a clue.

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