An early rumor spread among his Brazilian friends that Mick had been infected from a blood transfusion. Mick and Jane lived in Rio from 1975 to 1989, with a two-year hiatus in Germany. Even now, people in Rio remember them as a wonderful couple who made friends easily, were kind to others, and contributed much to the prestigious Escola Americana, the American School. To get to the school, you drive up a winding road that climbs a hillside covered with tall palm trees. The walls near the road are defaced by graffiti.
Security officers are highly visible.
Fear of crime is rampant in Rio, so schoolchildren are not allowed to walk up the hill. They must take the bus. In Rio, rich and poor live close together. No wonder, then, that next to the affluent American School is a favela, or slum, where the Brazilian underclass, including many orphaned children, lives in abject poverty. Visitors are discouraged from entering the favelas, which from a distance look like picturesque hillside villages.