What would be the first thing you would do if you ruled the world?

This question was on Hrafnhildur and Snaedís’blog (Iceland).

Personaly, I would not like to rule the world because it’s certainly too complicated. On one subject, each person has an opinion, and I don’t want to win an enemy each time I do something well for other persons. And if I do a mistake, it would be really a great problem: mayby people will die. So I really don’t want to rule the world!

What do you think about it?

Ten thousands years before Christ, the peoples used to meet during summer. They wore masks and painted their bodies to scare the devils that could ruin the harvests. In antiquity, some Festivals as such as Isis and Apis fests in Egypt, or some others in Greece, celebrated the astronomical phenomena and natural cycles (like the seasons). These are considered as the origins of the Carnival. During Carnival, there are festivals, traditional events, masked balls, etc…In Brazil, Carnival is on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is the most important and significant feast. There are parades from the Samba schools in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Olinda, Recife (Pernambuco) e Salvador (Bahia), and in in Tiradentes the people come out in the streets and dance the whole night. They drink beer the whole night too, and I think this is the problem of the Brazilian Carnival. Everybody is completely drunk.
I spent my Carnival holidays in Tiradentes, a city in the State of Minas Gerais In fact, "tiradentes" means "removes teeth", and its the nickname of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, a leader of the "Inconfidência Mineira". The objective of this movement was the independence of the Brazil. In 1792, Tiradentes was executed on 21st of April and parts of his body were exposed on the road from Ouro Preto to Rio de Janeiro to dissuade other people from fighting for Brazil independence. He is considered as a national hero. In Tiradentes, there are many churches that were made during the baroque period. We can see mines of diamonds, gold and precious stones. There is also an old train from the beginning of the twentieth-century and it works still today. There are also a lot of sports we can practice in Minas Gerais: canoeing, trekking, horse ridding,… During carnival, I tried nearly all theses activities. The Minas Gerais food is also appreciated: cheese, "feijoada"(a dish composed of beans and sausage), "pão de queijo" , sweet things ("doce de leite", "pão de mel",…), cakes… . The photo on the right side represents the old train. We took this train, and I think it was really great.

Hello! My name is Bénédicte. I am French but I have already lived in Egypt, Argentina, and France. Now I am living in São Paulo, Brazil. Egypt is really a marvelous country. Something funny: we can see cars and camels together in the roads of the capital. The pyramids are impressive and the desert is wonderful.

I was born on 30th September 1991. As I am only 1m 40 tall, I seem much younger than I am. My favorite pastime is reading, but I also enjoy drawing. I appreciate classical music and some singers like Celine Dion and Julien Clerc. I play the piano and I am fond of tennis. I’ve got a brother (Bruno, 9 years old) and a sister (Marie-Alix, 13 years old).

I have got a dog, a warm and loving Labrador whose name is Erwin. When I was living in Egypt, I had two chickens and I also had a lot of guinea pigs.