cover a lot of ground

Boy, did we cover a lot of ground today. It was the first trial with our new camera-guy Bernado, a fun dude in his late thirties who says ‘man’ at the end of every sentence.

First off was a session with the organist in the Church we visited a few days ago. But there wasn’t time for both of us to enjoy all the day had to offer and we had to split up. Bernado and I were off to do more interviews, so first stop a mansion quite near the hotel for Rio’s premier Plastic Surgeon Professor. I wanted to chat to him about female body image and the psychology of his patients and he was evidently eager to do so as he had strong views on the difference between getting your body to a proportionately realistic shape versus disproportionate boob jobs etc, which reinforced people’s hang ups about themselves. He was a very wise man and it was almost as interesting to have him take me round his clinic showing me all his priceless pieces of art, including Dali’s ‘Elephants and Swans’. Amazing.

Next, we drove downtown to meet a natural midwife and talk about the fear-ridden attitudes that doctors riddle their poor mothers-to-be with (who said I was biased?) and demystify some of the lies that are told regarding statistics that it’s safer to give birth in a hospital.

The lastly a scientist further uptown, who gave me the purely western science perspective on Creationism, Pain, Mystery, Sex and of course Duality.

There was nothing in the least remarkable about her building. The same strip lighting inn the halls. The same sliding gate in the lift, and the same buttons and anonymous doorways, and I couldn’t help thinking to myself how many such forgettable places I’d be unconsciously walking through, carrying my camera, before the production would be complete. What funny places we end up to do this thing. What are the chances I’d ever be in this random, nothingy building? It’s not just the picturesque villages – the world is full of places I’ll never go, places where other people I’ll never meet who return day after day, thinking no more about it.