Capim Grosso

I have said before that there is not much to do in Capim Grosso. Passing free time back home is easy - a movie, a hike, a run, trips on the weekends to Manitou or Garden of the Gods, restaurants, concerts... Capim Grosso has none of these things. Not a single one- not even a movie theater. At the house, we always joke, 'What do you want to do tonight? Let's do something new... we could go to a bar!' Because that is all that exists here. Bars and lanchonetes (snack stands). And the joke is always funny, but the reality it portrays has just recently become very heavy for me.

Sometimes, on weekends, people mix it up (ha. joke.) and go to their farm ten minutes away - family farms are generally slightly removed from the town, have two rooms without electricity, a big yard full of cacti, and sometimes if you are lucky a pool (a small concrete hole in the ground). They bring lots of beer, rum, and do what they would do at their house in town - drink.

At the farm this weekend, one of my Brazillian friends said to me, 'Alex, I know I'm smart. I am bright, I like to learn, I almost have my university degree... but it scares me that on the weekends all I want to do is drink and smoke. If i have enough money to pay for my house and food, why wouldn't I spend the rest on beer and cigarettes? Why can't I just spend my whole weekend at the farm?'

This is the serious problem with Capim Grosso. Because it is so small, because there is nothing productive to do, the vicious cycle of working a forty hour week (at the papeleria, the coffin shop, the city hall, any basic menial job, whatever) and spending the rest of your time drinking is EASY. Obviously, this creates an alcoholism problem. People here may not make much, but they sure as heck don't have to spend much on food or rent either - beer is next on the list.

Where is the opportunity here? My friend was absolutely right - why shouldnt he spend his extra money on beer, why shouldnt he spend the weekend drinking? What else has he got to do? Why should my other friend bother getting a university degree when it wont help him get a better job in Capim Grosso (where his mom wants him to stay) when he already has a fine, stable full time job, where he probably will remain for the rest of his life?

I was talking to another volunteer here - she asked me, if i was to stay for an extended amount of time, what kind of project I would implement here. I answered a fmaily planning program - the amount of teenage pregnancies here, the lack of contraceptives, and birth control is staggering and inhibits many girls from going to school and furthering their education at university. Her answer to me was, 'Yeah, but if they are finished with school, what else are they going to do in Capim Grosso? Why not just have a baby? It's something to pass their time...'

It sounds pessimistic, but there is a tragic truth to this. For now, I remain helpless and frustrated for my friends that live here.