Upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro for the first time, I remember Mr. Rant telling me to NOT step in puddles. He didn't care if it had just rained or if the road was flooding, avoid all water on the street at all costs. Sure, no one likes wet shoes or feet but what was the big deal?
I'll tell you what, sewage! This city is a ticking time bomb for piss and crap spills. At any given time in most neighborhoods, especially after a particularly good rain shower, you will see "liquids" coming out from under the big lids to the sewer system. Sometimes you even see a turd and some partially broken down toilet paper. Classy right?
Wrong. It is disgusting. Really, it is something that I just can't mentally process how it is ok. I mean, Rio de Janeiro police were giving out tickets to people peeing in the streets at Carnaval last year but would it count if they had found a leaky sewer system and peed into the pee? I mean, it's all the same thing right? If they give the pee-er a ticket shouldn't the pee-er be able to give the government one back for essentially doing the same thing only 300 times worse? The government should get a ticket for each person of the estimated amount of people needed for that size of leak.
This all comes up because there is a particularly annoyingly large hole and sewage leak in front of my building. The city's way of handling it is to put up two ruler sized sticks and a piece of red plastic, making a path for pedestrians to pass in front by going into the street "safely". The plastic has already fallen down but what can you expect after it being up for 3 weeks.
Of course this may be a building issue if the pipe is ours and not the city's...
And while I'm bitching, Mr. Rant has the gull to optimistically say "At least the puddle is much smaller. It is an improvement." Yes, I can thank the Gods of rain for not pouring down on us but what about the government whom we pay a ridiculous amount of taxes to? The building who we pay condominium payments? Maybe they could come by and, I don't know, stop something that we Americans would consider a bio-hazard...
Ah well, at least it explains why Mr. Rant get so grossed out by my wearing Havaianas while walking around the city. Still, this is one thing about this city that gives me that big ewwwwww feeling.
