The Courier 1203

Page 17

THE COURIER Monday 1 February 2010

17

Life

Life & Style

The Penny Pincher Lesson Ten: Going out Rowan Taylor Columnist

With exams and coursework done and sealed, I will forgive you for needing a self-indulgent outlet. Our generation has really nailed the idea of going out; we tend to permanently reside in a place called ‘out’. More often than not it’s ‘out out’ and not just ‘out’. Students are already hypersensitive to the cost of nights out, so these tips aren’t about ‘where is the cheapest’ or ‘which pint is cheapest’, but more a realistic set RI QRWHV WR KHOS \RX IXOĂ€O \RXU duty to go out at minimum pain to the wallet. After all we are in the city that serves trebles cheaper than singles. ‡ ,W VHHPV EL]DUUH WR RXU QHLJKbours on the continent, but is something us Brits have got into a regular habit of: drinking before going out. ‡ 5HDVVHVV KRZ PXFK PRQH\ you actually spend on a night out and put it into context. Instead of frittering away ÂŁ30 on a largely forgettable drunk night, you could have a meal at a top restaurant. ‡ 'RQ¡W WDNH WRR PXFK PRQH\ out with you and you won’t spend too much money. Sounds simple doesn’t it... ‡ 1RUWK (DVW OLVWLQJV PDJD]LQHV The Crack and Narc do their best to plan your social schedule. Both are free and available from shops, bars and cafes about town. You may choose to ignore the grungemetal-punk-night recommendation, and scan instead for the free club nights and gigs. ‡ <RX FDQ RIWHQ JHW IUHH HQWU\ to club nights by scribbling on its Facebook Event. If you add the event’s creator as a friend, they should invite you each week, alORZLQJ \RX WR EH RQH RI WKH Ă€UVW WR touch the wall. ‡ ,I WKH PXVLF LV JRRG WU\ DEsorbing the electric atmosphere sober rather than having the alcohol force it onto you. Cost to you and your morning after health: nothing. ‡ 6DYH WKH WD[L KRPH LI \RX VWLOO have some life left in you. The walk home from a club can be the funniest and most memorable section of the night. It sobers you up as well. ‡ $V IRU WDNHDZD\V ZKLFK DUH sometimes obligatory, the latenight Greggs opposite Central Station is king. dangerously high on top of each other, whilst surrounded by the latest car advertisements on huge billboards, it is no wonder that crime against tourists is a serious problem in Brazilian cities. What modernisation has partly brought to the people of these places is higher aspirations that are not at all achievable. Comparatively, I visited a ‘hippy village’ just outside a place called Salvador in the North of Brazil. The strong Afro-Brazilian culture and vibe for samba, especially on the beaches, was far removed from the industrial city of Sao Paulo. To visit this hippy village you had to walk a good few miles off the beaten path, and its inhabitants were more or less counted for on both of my hands. From the few hours spent there, I got the impression that the inhabit-

DQWV VXUYLYHG RII WKH ÀVK IURP WKH river and the minimal amount of money they made from tourist revenue.

The levels of violence are comparable to a warzone Their houses were made out of the natural resources of the area, and their bowls and spoons out of coconut shells. I must admit, their way of life came as a total shock to me as I had never experienced such a simple way of life before. However, I had also never experienced such kindness before. As soon as we arrived, a man came out of his hut dressed solely in a small cloth and invited us into his

house to see what it was like. Genuinely wanting nothing in return, he proceeded to tell us, in very basic English, all about the food he obtained from the river and how he wanted to cook us a meal with the ÀQHVW ÀVK KH FRXOG ÀQG I’m not sure you could expect that type of welcoming behaviour anywhere in England. Despite having what I would consider the bare minimum for survival, KH ZDV FOHDUO\ VDWLVÀHG DQG FRQWHQW with his way of life. In many respects, he seemed a whole lot happier than most people in Britain who are supposedly blessHG ZLWK WKH EHQHÀWV RI FDSLWDOLVP It seemed to me that the real injustice in the country, as with many others in the world, was the inequality that has arisen from the effects of modernisation, rather than the nature of poverty itself.

The concept of poverty isn’t as clear-cut as one may tend to assume, as whilst Brazil may be considered to be one of the most dangerous and poorest countries in the world, many people living outside of the main cities, who were living extremely simply, were some of the most content people I have ever met. Despite the copious UK government safety warnings about visiting the country, I have never been as touched as I was by the kindness that I encountered throughout my experience in Brazil, nor the happiness that I saw from such a simple way of living. It seems the push for modernisation and imposition of capitalism in many of these developing countries can often take a more negative role, making the already rich richer at the expense of the world’s poor.

Next week Lesson 11: Health Deals of the Week: 1. Cadbury’s Creme Egg 6-pack: £1.34 @ Tesco 2. 13.5 tog duvet: £4.80 single, £6 double @ Sainsbury’s 3. Tickets for a West End Show: £10-15 @ getintolondontheatre. co.uk Top seats for top shows are being sold cheaply if you book before 12th February. For example Stomp for £15 instead of £47.50, Chicago for £15 instead of £45, and Grease for £25 instead of £55. The site works through .

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