Sweat, Donkey, and Redbull

Yesterday was the Redbull Flugtag competition in Fortaleza. Up until a couple months ago, I had absolutely no idea what flugtag was. Then one day Ivinne, Regis, and Ishmael (some of the students from the lab) started jumping up and down and screaming in excitement. Once they calmed down, they had to explain what exactly was flugtag. Bascially, Redbull came up with this ridiculous competition as a way to promote their brand. It requires groups of people to design the most ridiculous flying contraption possible that will then be launched off a platform into a body of water. If you saw the youtube link I posted on here a while back, the whole event is insane. The lab kids’ design for the competition had been accepted and they would get to compete this year. Their group name was Engejegue (and I have no idea what that means). The contraption was based on Donkey from Shrek.

It’s a pretty big event and it was free so of course Lara and I were going to go. All last week, Regis and Ivinne kept asking us if we planned on going. It started Sunday morning around 10 and basically lasted all day. Regis told us to make sure we got there early since there would be a ton of people there. We ended up leaving home around 9:30am, which turned out to be a bit late haha. Redbull set up the competition in the Marina Park. Once we got there, it was already swarming with people. There was no schedule posted so we had no idea when Engejegue would be going. So we bought some redbull, and started shoving our way up to the front to get the best view possible. Needless to say, I now understand how people get crushed to death in panicky crowds. It was packed! We wove our way as close to the front as possible and our only respite from the incredible body heat around us was the occasional breeze. I’m so glad it was a cloudy day and it even drizzled a bit! As it got closer to starting time, the crowd started becoming very dense. As the first “planes” started to appear, people started to squish in to see; I could barely move my arms. Personal space did not exist. A few people climbed on their friends’ shoulders or scaled the trees to get a better view. Some people decided to be geniuses and rented sailboats so they could chill in the marina and watch everything comfortably. After about two hours of standing, I was drenched in sweat and I’m pretty sure not all of it was mine. The best thing about the sweat though was the fact that it made it easier to squeeze by people cause everyone was so slippery. Ew. Nasty. I managed to get pictures of a couple groups going off the edge, but I could barely watch them hit the water. One guy a couple people in front of us turned around and gave me a grade sheet to hold up; I was given the paper for 2 marks haha. Pretty sure he only gave it to me, because at that point my arms were stuck above my head and it was easy for him to just put it in my hand.

Eventually, Lara and I gave up and decided we needed air and water. As the good rugby player that she is, Lara led the way and forged our way out. I started to get stuck behind her so she reached back, stuck a finger through a belt loop on my shorts, and proceeded to yank me through the crowd. It was hysterical. I was laughing so hard I could barely see. Once we reached freedom, I looked down and my clothes were soaked all the way through from the sweat. It was absolutely disgusting. As we made our way away from the crowd near the barrier, we found out that you could actually see the launch pad from a ways back, just not the landing. So we sat there watching and waiting for Engejegue to appear. Once they did, we ran to the area with the screen showing the launches to get the clearest view. Then we realized we wouldn’t be able to take pictures of the screen to immortalize their work, so we scurried back and waited. Regis, as the pilot, was dressed as Shrek. Ishmael was wearing only his swimsuit and a cape and he was painted orange from head to toe as Puss. A couple of their other friends were other characters, but I couldn’t tell what there were supposed to be. I didn’t find out until this morning that the Donkey went off the side as they launched it rather than straight off the front. And Regis ended up face planting in the water. I mean, that was probably going to happen anyway, but seeing his reaction as he hit the water was hilarious. The judges gave them four 7s and an 8 for their launch. Lara and I cheered and bounced up and down during their turn.

By this point, we were starving so we decided to leave in order to beat the crowd trying to get home. We had to walk a bit to catch a bus, but it wasn’t too bad. We decided to go straight to the grocery store since we didn’t have anything for lunch back home. Bad idea. While all the sweat had dried, the janky smell from being smushed in a crowd like sardines hung over us. I could smell myself walking around the grocery store. Blegh! It was gross so we sped through our trip and ran back home. Taking a shower has never felt so good!

 

On another note, Lara and I ran into an American girl from Middle Tennessee who’s in Fortaleza for a month with her class. They’re staying in a hotel across the street from our apartment, so we offered to show them around the area if they wanted. I think a few of them are going to go with us this Wednesday to watch the US men’s national soccer team take on Brazil! It’s going to be epic! I’m so excited, especially after their whopper 5-1 win over Scotland on Saturday night.

Abraços pessoal!

~ by dfsg1991 on May 28, 2012.