Saturday 10 September 2016

Rio 2016 (Part-5)

Olympic Games was over and we had around 15 days before the Paralympic Games starts. We decided to visit and see as many places possible during the break time between Olympic and Paralympic Games. I made a list of places that I wanted to see in Rio and surrounding cities. Visiting Sao Paulo was an option that I had in mind but did not work out at the end.

Does it require a Caption???
We decided to complete all the formalities for the Paralympic Games like collecting our Paralympic kits and venue specific training as early as possible in order to make ourselves free. Booked to collect my uniforms on the very first day and booked for venue specific training on 27 September 2016.

Santa Teresa!!!
Rio 2016 organizing committee started distributing accreditation cards and uniforms from 22 August and we collected our uniforms and accreditation cards on the very first day. For the Paralympic Games we have received three shirts, one cap and one jacket. We were told to use the same pants and trainers for the Paralympic Games as well. Grrrrr!!!

View from the top of the mountain!!!
I am part of event services for both games so my color of my shirts and jacket remained same for the Paralympic Games as well. They have just changed the logo.

On our way to "Escadaria Selaron"
We decided to visit around twenty six places from the list I produced. This is a long list and we decided to start with a very attractive place called “Escadaria Selarón” which is located at a place called “Santa Teresa” and not very far from our apartment. Took a bus and it took around thirty minutes.

Thousands of visitors visit this every day!!!
Escadaria Selarón is running from Joaquim Silva Street and Pinto Martins street, officially known as Manuel Carneiro Street, the steps straddle both the Lapa and Santa Teresa neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro. There are 215 steps measuring 125 meters long which are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world.

The Kaaba!!!
The steeps were designed and created by a Chilean artist named “Jorge Selarón”. Jorge Selarón was born in Chile in 1947. He traveled, lived and worked as a painter and sculptor in over 50 countries around the world before arriving and deciding to settle in Rio de Janeiro in 1983.

Selfie!!!
He began renovating the steps on a whim in 1990. Many times, his phone was cut off and he was threatened to be evicted from his house due to being unable to afford the living costs. He sold many paintings and accepted donations from locals and travelers to continue his work. Since 1977, Selarón claimed to have sold over 25,000 portraits, all featuring the same pregnant woman which mostly funded his work.  

Razon Vai blackmail korte Chaye ei picture dia!!! 
It was a labor of love for the artist who resided in the same house by the steps he lived in when he started the work. He was mostly unfazed by the attention given to him by curious onlookers and tourists alike. He was constantly spotted at the steps working by day and treating drunken revelers to fascinating anecdotes by night.

View from the top!!!
Selarón was found dead January 10, 2013, on the famous Lapa steps. His body was found with burn marks.

!!!
On our way back we saw a direction to a park called “Parque Das Ruinas” (in English Ruinas Park), we had enough time and decided to pay a visit. The park is located on top of the mountain and it offers a unique panoramic view of the geography of Rio de Janeiro, with a broad view of Guanabara Bay from one side and the Centro from the other side.

And he was trying to do something different!!! 
It is a public park with an art gallery built around the ruins of a mansion, located in the Santa Teresa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a venue for live outdoor concerts and houses a bar. It was a very productive day!!!


                                                                                                                                 < To Be Continued >

Thursday 1 September 2016

Rio 2016 (Part-4)

I am glad that I took the decision and came here as a volunteer. This is a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Most importantly Olympic is the biggest platform to represent Bangladesh among fellow volunteers. It’s really nice to see the appreciation and love for my work and for Bangladesh among my team mates.

We had fun!!!
I did seven days of work for the Olympic Games. For the first two shifts I was posted outside where my responsibility was to guide games spectators to complete security checks.

Rio 2016 Olympic Park, Barra da Tijuca!!!
But I was part of the ticket control team for the rest of my shifts where my main responsibility was to validate tickets by scanning bar codes printed on the tickets. We had four to five volunteers and a team leader for each team. We had fun.  

We all become Usain Bolt!!!
I am staying for the Paralympic Games and will be based at the famous Maracana Stadium and Olympic Stadium. Stay tuned for more excitement.

EVS Ticket Control Team!!!
Two of very famous Bengali newspapers published my Rio 2016 journey. Famous and very popular Prothom-Alo and banglatribune.com are the two newspapers. banglatribune.com was the first to publish and its journalist Saddif Ovee wrote the article. Thanks Mamu for your hard work and support. Click on the link below to read the article:


Prothom-Alo published my 2016 volunteering journey on both online and print version. The article has been published on 28 August 2016 on “Chutir Dine”. Famous Bangladeshi writer Mr. Anisul Hoque Sir helped me to reach out Prothom-Alo team. Thank you very much Sir. Famous journalist Mr. Pallab Mohaimen from Prothom-Alo translated the article and helped to publish. Thank you Pallab Vai for your hard work. Click on the link below to read the article:


< To Be Continued >