I have been home about 5 days and here are a few things that initially hit me hard when getting off the plane:
-Everyone is so WHITE
-So many overweight people
-I can understand every conversation! weirdddd
-Buildings and roads are so clean
-When I greet someone and try to hug them/kiss them they aren't quite as accustomed to it :) Opps!
-So much green space
-Fast food everywhere
-So much wasted energy in my house
-I have too many things
So far, it has been a pretty easy adjustment. I think this is partly because I have already spent so much time reflecting and thinking about my experiences that I understand where I am coming from and where I am going. I know there will be some rough patches adjusting back into this culture after being away for so long, but I hope to remember all my initial impressions to better understand the culture I live in.
July 21, 2010
There is a season for everything
Like they say, there is a season for everything and it was time for my time in Brazil to end and to rejoin my family and friends in Illinois. I would make this a long reflective blog, however, I feel like I have done enough reflecting and I'm just pumped to be home. As you can tell, I had the time of my life, but I have also come to value a lot of things from home that I used to take for granted. Grass, corn, clean streets, driving, and country music are just some examples :) However, though I am leaving Brazil, I am taking with me some things that I love about the culture and hope to integrate into my own life in the US:
1. Keep it simple. Simpler lives are happier lives
2. Don’t forget to help others
3. Live without stress… or at least try
4. Don’t pre-judge, sometimes after you get to know someone they are much different than you first thought
5. Bread and cheese for breakfast… mmmm!
6. Walking whenever possible
7. Meet new people whenever possible
8. Energy conservation! Unplug everything that is not being used, don’t waste anything
9. Keep practicing Portuguese
10. Keep in contact with Brazilian friends
11. Last minute trips with no planning usually end up being more fun!
12. Hug and kiss more =)
13. Just DANCE! Doesn't matter if you are good or not.. just do it!
14. Remember the value of family
1. Keep it simple. Simpler lives are happier lives
2. Don’t forget to help others
3. Live without stress… or at least try
4. Don’t pre-judge, sometimes after you get to know someone they are much different than you first thought
5. Bread and cheese for breakfast… mmmm!
6. Walking whenever possible
7. Meet new people whenever possible
8. Energy conservation! Unplug everything that is not being used, don’t waste anything
9. Keep practicing Portuguese
10. Keep in contact with Brazilian friends
11. Last minute trips with no planning usually end up being more fun!
12. Hug and kiss more =)
13. Just DANCE! Doesn't matter if you are good or not.. just do it!
14. Remember the value of family
My tattoo
So my third to last day in Rio, I may or may not have gotten a tattoo ☺ Don’t worry, it wasn’t as rash as it sounds. I have been thinking about it for over a year and I felt like Rio was the place to do it.
It is the design of the Christian fish. Back when Christianity was outlawed in the Roman Empire, Christians lived under great fear. When meeting someone for the first time, to discover whether the other was a Christian, they would casually draw an arc in the sand in the shape of the upper swoop of the fish. If the other recognized the symbol, they would complete the lower swoop of the fish to indicate they were also Christian and the two would talk about their faith without fear. If the other was not a Christian, the swoop in the sand caused no suspicion and they easily erased it with their toe.
Under the fish, it says “Prov 3:5” in beautiful old script. The verse is the following:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.”
This passage has many meanings to me. First of all, when I was a child, my parents used to sing this proverb to me whenever I was upset. I chose to put it on my foot as a calming reminder that God is guiding my steps. All you need to do is trust Him. When I was confirmed, I chose this passage as my confirmation verse. Not only that, but Jesus taught us to be “fishers of men” and this serves as a reminder of that. Now, not only does it remind me of all of this, it also reminds me of my time in Rio and of the friendships I made there.
And let me tell you, the mere experience of getting the tattoo is a memory to go down in the books. I went to “Helio’s Tattoos” in Ipanema, which apparently is pretty famous. The guy that runs the place, Helio, is one of the most eccentric and artistic people I have ever come across. First, he called us into his small workroom to talk while he was painting a huge tattoo on a naked woman’s back. No one seemed to mind and he just kept working while we chatted. Then, while we were waiting to he brought my friend and I into a small room he came out to watch youtube videos of bossa nova to “unwind.” He also showed us his photography and took pictures of our eyes to add to his collection, which he wants to make into an art piece someday.
Finally, after about 2 ½ hours of waiting, brought us into his workroom and put in a music video of tango and turned off the lights as he chatted to us about his life as a former alcoholic and about his beautiful family. The tattoo itself hurt a bit, but not as much as I thought it would. It only took 20 minutes or so and he did an amazing job. Afterwards, he showed us pictures of his family and then began explaining to us how Spiritualism encompasses all religions. He talked about that for the next 10 minutes and even gave us a book on it. Did he realize he just put a Christian symbol on my foot?
Needless to say, I couldn’t have asked for a more memorable experience.
It is the design of the Christian fish. Back when Christianity was outlawed in the Roman Empire, Christians lived under great fear. When meeting someone for the first time, to discover whether the other was a Christian, they would casually draw an arc in the sand in the shape of the upper swoop of the fish. If the other recognized the symbol, they would complete the lower swoop of the fish to indicate they were also Christian and the two would talk about their faith without fear. If the other was not a Christian, the swoop in the sand caused no suspicion and they easily erased it with their toe.
Under the fish, it says “Prov 3:5” in beautiful old script. The verse is the following:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.”
This passage has many meanings to me. First of all, when I was a child, my parents used to sing this proverb to me whenever I was upset. I chose to put it on my foot as a calming reminder that God is guiding my steps. All you need to do is trust Him. When I was confirmed, I chose this passage as my confirmation verse. Not only that, but Jesus taught us to be “fishers of men” and this serves as a reminder of that. Now, not only does it remind me of all of this, it also reminds me of my time in Rio and of the friendships I made there.
And let me tell you, the mere experience of getting the tattoo is a memory to go down in the books. I went to “Helio’s Tattoos” in Ipanema, which apparently is pretty famous. The guy that runs the place, Helio, is one of the most eccentric and artistic people I have ever come across. First, he called us into his small workroom to talk while he was painting a huge tattoo on a naked woman’s back. No one seemed to mind and he just kept working while we chatted. Then, while we were waiting to he brought my friend and I into a small room he came out to watch youtube videos of bossa nova to “unwind.” He also showed us his photography and took pictures of our eyes to add to his collection, which he wants to make into an art piece someday.
Finally, after about 2 ½ hours of waiting, brought us into his workroom and put in a music video of tango and turned off the lights as he chatted to us about his life as a former alcoholic and about his beautiful family. The tattoo itself hurt a bit, but not as much as I thought it would. It only took 20 minutes or so and he did an amazing job. Afterwards, he showed us pictures of his family and then began explaining to us how Spiritualism encompasses all religions. He talked about that for the next 10 minutes and even gave us a book on it. Did he realize he just put a Christian symbol on my foot?
Needless to say, I couldn’t have asked for a more memorable experience.
World Cup Madness
The past month and a half, the city has been alive with World Cup madness. Fifa set up a huge TV on Copacabana beach where I (and thousands of others) watched the majority of the games. It was interesting hearing the Brazilian perspective of the Brazilian team compared with the international commentary. For example, many Brazilians told me they didn’t think the team was strong enough to win because the coach hadn’t selected some of the best players to play for the national team. Coach Dunga was a controversial choice because he likes his team to play very regimented and technical, much different than the energetic flair of Pelé that Brazilians pride themselves on. Also, the strong rivalry with Argentina was never more prominent than when Argentina lost to Spain? After Brazil had already been knocked out. By celebrations that took place after the game, you would have thought Brazil had won! However, quickly after Brazil lost, the city returned to normal and seemed to completely forget that the World Cup had even happened. The hype is already beginning for the 2014 World Cup in Rio!
June 26, 2010
More reflections
A job application I recently completed asked me some thought provoking questions reflecting on my time abroad. This is one of the questions (and my answer) that I found really personally rewarding to answer.
How did your experiences affect you personally, professionally, and academically?
It is hard to put into words how my experiences in Brazil have affected me, but here is my best effort. Academically, I took classes in Portuguese, Community Development, Brazilian Foreign Policy and Social Political and Economic History of Brazil. As a Psychology and Political Science major (with minors in Latin American Studies and Portuguese) these courses were very interesting to me because they aligned directly with my passions. Specifically, I really enjoyed my course on Brazilian Foreign Policy because I learned how to think about world events from a completely different perspective. This class included students from many countries, all of whom had different perspectives on current world events and policies. I also found it very interesting to learn the Brazilian perspective of US actions such as the war in Iraq and interventions within South America. I was constantly comparing articles I read in the New York Times to articles in Brazilian newspapers, which told the story of the same event in different ways. Overall, I learned that in the academic world, you must always consider your cultural perspective when analyzing anything.
Professionally, I learned that I would enjoy living and working abroad. However, I also think it is very important to learn the language of the place you are living. I can’t even count how many times Brazilian’s attitudes towards me completely changed once they realized that I was learning Portuguese. So many doors were opened to me when people saw that I respected their culture and was making the effort to learn their language. I also learned that I do not think I would like teaching English long-term to children. I certainly enjoyed my experience but was surprised how difficult and draining it is to teach children. Perhaps I would like to teach adults after more training. Finally, I took the opportunity to visit the American Consulate in Rio to speak with a State Department official about employment opportunities. I learned about many opportunities to work abroad and plan on looking into jobs with the State Department and other US agencies that work internationally.
Personally, I grew more than I thought possible. When my mom visited me for the week, she commented on how much more confident I seemed. In general, I think that I learned the importance of a simpler and less stressful life. This is something that really struck me when I first arrived because people do not have any “extra” things that they don’t use in their homes or in their lives. They value everything they have, which is something I know that I could certainly work on. Also, for my Community Development class, I visited several favelas around Rio with classmates who live there. They showed us the realities that these people face, both good and bad, and I learned the importance of using whatever you have to help others. Most of my classmates were on scholarships to study at my university and some commuted more than two hours each way to get to class. They did all of this happily because they felt blessed to have the opportunity to go to college. They also planned to return to use what they learned to better their communities. I hope to keep these lessons with me to wherever I go from here.
How did your experiences affect you personally, professionally, and academically?
It is hard to put into words how my experiences in Brazil have affected me, but here is my best effort. Academically, I took classes in Portuguese, Community Development, Brazilian Foreign Policy and Social Political and Economic History of Brazil. As a Psychology and Political Science major (with minors in Latin American Studies and Portuguese) these courses were very interesting to me because they aligned directly with my passions. Specifically, I really enjoyed my course on Brazilian Foreign Policy because I learned how to think about world events from a completely different perspective. This class included students from many countries, all of whom had different perspectives on current world events and policies. I also found it very interesting to learn the Brazilian perspective of US actions such as the war in Iraq and interventions within South America. I was constantly comparing articles I read in the New York Times to articles in Brazilian newspapers, which told the story of the same event in different ways. Overall, I learned that in the academic world, you must always consider your cultural perspective when analyzing anything.
Professionally, I learned that I would enjoy living and working abroad. However, I also think it is very important to learn the language of the place you are living. I can’t even count how many times Brazilian’s attitudes towards me completely changed once they realized that I was learning Portuguese. So many doors were opened to me when people saw that I respected their culture and was making the effort to learn their language. I also learned that I do not think I would like teaching English long-term to children. I certainly enjoyed my experience but was surprised how difficult and draining it is to teach children. Perhaps I would like to teach adults after more training. Finally, I took the opportunity to visit the American Consulate in Rio to speak with a State Department official about employment opportunities. I learned about many opportunities to work abroad and plan on looking into jobs with the State Department and other US agencies that work internationally.
Personally, I grew more than I thought possible. When my mom visited me for the week, she commented on how much more confident I seemed. In general, I think that I learned the importance of a simpler and less stressful life. This is something that really struck me when I first arrived because people do not have any “extra” things that they don’t use in their homes or in their lives. They value everything they have, which is something I know that I could certainly work on. Also, for my Community Development class, I visited several favelas around Rio with classmates who live there. They showed us the realities that these people face, both good and bad, and I learned the importance of using whatever you have to help others. Most of my classmates were on scholarships to study at my university and some commuted more than two hours each way to get to class. They did all of this happily because they felt blessed to have the opportunity to go to college. They also planned to return to use what they learned to better their communities. I hope to keep these lessons with me to wherever I go from here.
The American Stereotype
US stereotypes are not only caused by the President and leadership, but by the impressions that others get of American’s living in their countries. I have experienced two types of Americans living abroad. The first type, are those that come to the country to really learn the culture, participate in every aspect of daily life, absorb themselves in the opportunities, and really respect the people. The other type, are those that give Americans a bad name. You know the ones. Loud, obnoxious, and disrespectful (with or without intentionally doing it). In Brazil right now, it seems to me that more and more type 2 kinds are coming to scout out business opportunities. With Brazil’s economy growing at 5% while the rest of the world is still climbing out of the financial crisis, investors are seeing the personal benefits that expanding into the Brazilian market brings them. Although some of these people really do mean well and give back to the communities they live in, others are, in my opinion, just continuing the ancient practice of imperialism with a new modern twist. They give little thought to the damage that they are doing to the people there.
For example, I recently visited Rocinha (the largest favela in South America) with my Community Development class, led by several people in our class who live there. Our first stop was the top of the morro where we wandered into a bar/restaurant/pool table lounge/car repair shop/owner’s home to talk to the man who owned it about this particular area of the community. He told us that after the recent heavy rainstorm and flooding that caused mudslides within other favelas, the government was using the opportunity to “relocate” over 13,000 families from this part of Rocinha to the outskirts of the city. The government claims it is for the people’s safety, but this man told us of a different reality. He said that the people that built these “houses” piled one on top of the other, are the same people who also often work for the Brazilian government as construction workers and have built most of Rio. They know what they are doing and the structures are sound. He said that the government is hoping to relocate these people so that they can sell the property (with a perfect location near the tourist areas and gorgeous view of the whole city and beaches) to make room for a high-rise hotel. In fact, the government closed the school for “safety reasons” that served to educate the local children. Now, the government argues that the people there are living in a dangerous area without access to education and that they should move to a “better” environment an hour and a half away from where they currently live. The community is currently organizing efforts to rebuild the school out of their own pockets to make it harder for the government to kick them out.
Many foreign businesses are beginning to see the areas that favelas now inhabit (often with the best views of the city) as moneymakers and are trying to take over the property. These enterprising individuals often don’t realize how much damage they are really doing, and only see the personal gain.
I guess people in developing countries are used to being used. One brazilian asked me “so you are just learning Portuguese so that you can get a good job back in the US, right? Will you ever come back?” Of course I will be back. You probably won’t be able to get rid of me now ☺ But this is not the sentiment that they expect.
My host mom is always so surprised and impressed when I leave “Zona Sul” where I live and visit friends in less affluent parts of the city. She told me about another girl who lived with her for some time and never left this area. She described the girl as “very very American.” “What do you mean by that?” I asked, and then she realized her mistake. “I’m sorry but many American’s I have met are very closed-minded and only see what they want to see.”
The American stereotype abroad sucks. For this to change, it not only takes a change in foreign policy at the upper-most levels of government, but also the change in attitude of those millions of Americans living abroad. Can we change it? Yes we can ☺
For example, I recently visited Rocinha (the largest favela in South America) with my Community Development class, led by several people in our class who live there. Our first stop was the top of the morro where we wandered into a bar/restaurant/pool table lounge/car repair shop/owner’s home to talk to the man who owned it about this particular area of the community. He told us that after the recent heavy rainstorm and flooding that caused mudslides within other favelas, the government was using the opportunity to “relocate” over 13,000 families from this part of Rocinha to the outskirts of the city. The government claims it is for the people’s safety, but this man told us of a different reality. He said that the people that built these “houses” piled one on top of the other, are the same people who also often work for the Brazilian government as construction workers and have built most of Rio. They know what they are doing and the structures are sound. He said that the government is hoping to relocate these people so that they can sell the property (with a perfect location near the tourist areas and gorgeous view of the whole city and beaches) to make room for a high-rise hotel. In fact, the government closed the school for “safety reasons” that served to educate the local children. Now, the government argues that the people there are living in a dangerous area without access to education and that they should move to a “better” environment an hour and a half away from where they currently live. The community is currently organizing efforts to rebuild the school out of their own pockets to make it harder for the government to kick them out.
Many foreign businesses are beginning to see the areas that favelas now inhabit (often with the best views of the city) as moneymakers and are trying to take over the property. These enterprising individuals often don’t realize how much damage they are really doing, and only see the personal gain.
I guess people in developing countries are used to being used. One brazilian asked me “so you are just learning Portuguese so that you can get a good job back in the US, right? Will you ever come back?” Of course I will be back. You probably won’t be able to get rid of me now ☺ But this is not the sentiment that they expect.
My host mom is always so surprised and impressed when I leave “Zona Sul” where I live and visit friends in less affluent parts of the city. She told me about another girl who lived with her for some time and never left this area. She described the girl as “very very American.” “What do you mean by that?” I asked, and then she realized her mistake. “I’m sorry but many American’s I have met are very closed-minded and only see what they want to see.”
The American stereotype abroad sucks. For this to change, it not only takes a change in foreign policy at the upper-most levels of government, but also the change in attitude of those millions of Americans living abroad. Can we change it? Yes we can ☺
June 10, 2010
And they told me Rio was dangerous... what about Champaign?
In the last semester, I have received many crime alert e-mails from University of Illinois about robberies and assaults that have occurred on campus at various times during the day and night. And they told me Rio was dangerous…
On that note, I wanted to talk a little about crime here. Rio has a reputation for being a city full of street children and drug traffickers who are always on the prowl. Although the city certainly has its fair share of crime, I am surprised how different it is from my preconceptions. Before coming, I was told not to bring anything valuable because it WILL get stolen. While it is best to not have much on you while walking around the city, it really depends on your location.
Residents of Rio are very aware of the city’s rep as a dangerous place and are working hard to change that perception. From my experience, as long as you stay in places that aren’t super touristy and are smart and aware of your surroundings, you probably won’t have problems. However, things happen regardless of how safe you are being. Two of my friends were walking around Lagoa (a big lake in the center of the city) at 3pm one afternoon with a guy friend and 3 or 4 teenagers robbed them at knifepoint. There were plenty of people around and they weren’t wearing flashy clothes or anything. Things happen. Most of the time, all they want is money. They aren’t trying to hurt anyone. Just give it up and you will be fine.
I also get this vibe that many people (especially wealthy Cariocas) live with a constant feeling of fear. When I told my host mom about some of the awesome things I’ve done and seen that are certainly “off the beaten path” (aka: in poorer areas of the cities), she was dumbfounded that I even considered going there. I have experienced this reaction by many other upper-class people as well. However, when talking with middle or lower-class people, they respond much differently. To them, it is their community, their home, and they feel safe there because they understand the environment. When I visit these places, I am always with people who live there or know the area and I sometimes feel MORE safe in these areas than in the richer parts of the city where many poor people are hanging out in hopes of getting some quick cash.
Overall, yes, Rio has a lot of crime, but not a significant amount more than other cities in Brazil, or in the world. In my opinion, we need to cut Rio a break. This reputation for crime is quite exaggerated.
On that note, I wanted to talk a little about crime here. Rio has a reputation for being a city full of street children and drug traffickers who are always on the prowl. Although the city certainly has its fair share of crime, I am surprised how different it is from my preconceptions. Before coming, I was told not to bring anything valuable because it WILL get stolen. While it is best to not have much on you while walking around the city, it really depends on your location.
Residents of Rio are very aware of the city’s rep as a dangerous place and are working hard to change that perception. From my experience, as long as you stay in places that aren’t super touristy and are smart and aware of your surroundings, you probably won’t have problems. However, things happen regardless of how safe you are being. Two of my friends were walking around Lagoa (a big lake in the center of the city) at 3pm one afternoon with a guy friend and 3 or 4 teenagers robbed them at knifepoint. There were plenty of people around and they weren’t wearing flashy clothes or anything. Things happen. Most of the time, all they want is money. They aren’t trying to hurt anyone. Just give it up and you will be fine.
I also get this vibe that many people (especially wealthy Cariocas) live with a constant feeling of fear. When I told my host mom about some of the awesome things I’ve done and seen that are certainly “off the beaten path” (aka: in poorer areas of the cities), she was dumbfounded that I even considered going there. I have experienced this reaction by many other upper-class people as well. However, when talking with middle or lower-class people, they respond much differently. To them, it is their community, their home, and they feel safe there because they understand the environment. When I visit these places, I am always with people who live there or know the area and I sometimes feel MORE safe in these areas than in the richer parts of the city where many poor people are hanging out in hopes of getting some quick cash.
Overall, yes, Rio has a lot of crime, but not a significant amount more than other cities in Brazil, or in the world. In my opinion, we need to cut Rio a break. This reputation for crime is quite exaggerated.
There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. -Nelson Mandela
I couldn’t be more happy with my choice to come to South America. From the language, to the music, the history and the culture, everything is SO different from home. I feel like studying in a European or other westernized country would have made my experience vastly different. As my semester is winding down, I’m trying to scratch off the last few things I still want to do here, but I am realizing that I have sucked the morrow out of this experience. I have done things I did not even know existed, learned a language that at one time seemed impossible, seen the best and the worst of Rio, and have made some really great friendships along the way. That is what studying abroad is all about.
Happiness is in the little things
Today walking up the narrow sidewalk to Videgal, sandwiched between the highway and a rock cliff, we encountered a man riding his bike down the hill with his bike stocked with juice and snacks to sell. We encounter him everyday. This time, instead of only a friendly “hello, how are you?” he stopped and offered us orange juice, literally just as I was thinking about how thirsty I was from the long walk uphill. Perfect timing! We thanked him profusely and continued the long walk up to Videgal to teach. On our walk home we took a new route home. All of a sudden we hear a “hey!” and turn around to find the same man selling his things on the corner. He gave us more juice and a pastry and talked to us about his life for a few minutes. He lives in Videgal by himself and every morning and evening he pedals his loaded bike down the hill to sell his things on the main street. He seemed very happy and said he made a lot of money selling his things there. He refused our persistent attempts to pay for our snacks, and we parted ways, until next time.
Why is the world so unfair? Why are there so many nice people that have nothing, yet there are people who have everything and are so unhappy? I think that God sent this man as a reminder to me that no matter how much or how little you have, you can still find happiness... and share it with others.
Why is the world so unfair? Why are there so many nice people that have nothing, yet there are people who have everything and are so unhappy? I think that God sent this man as a reminder to me that no matter how much or how little you have, you can still find happiness... and share it with others.
May 31, 2010
Momma Eack in Rio
My mom visited me last week! When I picked her up at the airport there were some tears. I hadn’t seen her in over four months, the longest we have ever been apart since I was born. I got her an apartment near the beach, great shopping, and close to me… the triple threat. The first few days we mostly spent our time walking around the area, hanging out at the apartment or eating at delicious restaurants and catching up on our lives. Then, we got out and saw some really cool things that I hadn’t seen yet and she met all my friends. Here are a few of the highlights:
-She met a woman in the Charlotte airport who is a doctor and lives in Rio. She invited mom and I to her home for tea in a very cute, artsy part of Rio, up in the hills called Santa Teresa. Mom and I went to her beautiful home (complete with self-made paintings, collections from her many travels, 2 maids, a swimming pool, and a home theatre) for tea and had a wonderful time discussing politics, the differences in health care systems and our families. She even invited me back to stay with her when I come back to Brazil to visit!
-A Brazilian friend of mine invited us to a samba roda (where a samba group sits in a circle and plays different instruments while people dance around them) in the downtown part of the city. It was on a Monday night and everyone there just came straight from work, many clutching instruments of their own to join in the music-making. We also ate some typical Northeastern Brazil cuisine such as calde verde (green soup) and some stew and potatoes concoction. Mom learned how to Samba and she had a great time meeting my foreign and Brazilian friends.
-One beautiful Sunday we got up early and hungout on the beach all day. She got some much needed sun, had a cold coconut milk, tried matte leão (a popular beach drink of tea and lemonade) and we watched the sunset from Copacabana beach.
-She bought souveneirs and tried acarajé (a fried doughy food made with shrimp) at a Hippie Fair in Ipanema.
-We had a wonderful candlelit dinner outside with my two best friends here, sipping wine and swapping stories for 2 hours.
Overall, she had a wonderful time unwinding after a stressful semester and we had a great time catching up ☺ It couldn’t have been any better.
-She met a woman in the Charlotte airport who is a doctor and lives in Rio. She invited mom and I to her home for tea in a very cute, artsy part of Rio, up in the hills called Santa Teresa. Mom and I went to her beautiful home (complete with self-made paintings, collections from her many travels, 2 maids, a swimming pool, and a home theatre) for tea and had a wonderful time discussing politics, the differences in health care systems and our families. She even invited me back to stay with her when I come back to Brazil to visit!
-A Brazilian friend of mine invited us to a samba roda (where a samba group sits in a circle and plays different instruments while people dance around them) in the downtown part of the city. It was on a Monday night and everyone there just came straight from work, many clutching instruments of their own to join in the music-making. We also ate some typical Northeastern Brazil cuisine such as calde verde (green soup) and some stew and potatoes concoction. Mom learned how to Samba and she had a great time meeting my foreign and Brazilian friends.
-One beautiful Sunday we got up early and hungout on the beach all day. She got some much needed sun, had a cold coconut milk, tried matte leão (a popular beach drink of tea and lemonade) and we watched the sunset from Copacabana beach.
-She bought souveneirs and tried acarajé (a fried doughy food made with shrimp) at a Hippie Fair in Ipanema.
-We had a wonderful candlelit dinner outside with my two best friends here, sipping wine and swapping stories for 2 hours.
Overall, she had a wonderful time unwinding after a stressful semester and we had a great time catching up ☺ It couldn’t have been any better.
May 2, 2010
A musical goodbye
You know sometimes you meet someone and you just become instant friends? That is what happened with us and Mark, a South African guy we met at our hostel in Buenos Aires a couple of months ago. He is traveling around South America for a year surfing. Fortunately for us, fate brought us together once again when he spent the last month or so in Rio.
Last week, he took off for Colombia to complete the last 2 months of his trip so we were invited to a going away party for him at the place he was staying. The people he stayed with are all musicians and we spent the whole night listening, singing, and attempting to play the various instruments they had lying around. One was a metal bucket that they had drilled screws into so you could play it like a drum. There was also a small keyboard that worked like an accordion with a plastic tube you would blow into while pushing the keys. I managed to remember part of my 7 years of piano training but would forget to blow on the tube to make it play!
The night ended with Mark playing American Pie on the guitar and everyone crowding around him to sing at full voice. It was spectacular and a wonderful way to send off a good friend that I hope to see again, sometime, somewhere.
Last week, he took off for Colombia to complete the last 2 months of his trip so we were invited to a going away party for him at the place he was staying. The people he stayed with are all musicians and we spent the whole night listening, singing, and attempting to play the various instruments they had lying around. One was a metal bucket that they had drilled screws into so you could play it like a drum. There was also a small keyboard that worked like an accordion with a plastic tube you would blow into while pushing the keys. I managed to remember part of my 7 years of piano training but would forget to blow on the tube to make it play!
The night ended with Mark playing American Pie on the guitar and everyone crowding around him to sing at full voice. It was spectacular and a wonderful way to send off a good friend that I hope to see again, sometime, somewhere.
More things Brazilians are obsessed with
-Dancing
*anything, anytime, anywhere
-Ticket system
*When you enter a bar or store, you are given a ticket. you then get the things that you want to buy, and they mark it on your ticket. Then you pay when you leave Problem: sometimes people consume a little more than they can afford and are then stuck begging to their friends to pay their bill so they can leave. Also, if you lose your ticket they usually have a minimum price that you must pay which is somewhere in the REDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE category. No pressure or anything. (PS- Brittany, you would not survive haha)
-Inefficiency/Job Creation
*To go along with the ticket system, this often means that you must wait in two different lines. For example, when I need to buy something from the bookstore at school, I must first wait in a line to get my ticket. Then I take the ticket to a different line, where I then wait to pay. The only upside I see to this is that more people are employed. If anyone can think of a more logical reason for this, please, tell me :)
-Butterfly Hairclips
*Yeah, remember those hairclips that make it look like a butterfly is perched on your head? They love em. Come on guys, that was sooo 6th grade. :)
-Spandex
*You would think the extremely hot temperatures would prevent people from wanting to wear extremely tight clothing, but it seems to be quite the opposite. Not only do you see way to much of some people, but this also makes it acceptable for men to go running in nothing but a tight, brightly colored speedo. Bahhh.
*anything, anytime, anywhere
-Ticket system
*When you enter a bar or store, you are given a ticket. you then get the things that you want to buy, and they mark it on your ticket. Then you pay when you leave Problem: sometimes people consume a little more than they can afford and are then stuck begging to their friends to pay their bill so they can leave. Also, if you lose your ticket they usually have a minimum price that you must pay which is somewhere in the REDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE category. No pressure or anything. (PS- Brittany, you would not survive haha)
-Inefficiency/Job Creation
*To go along with the ticket system, this often means that you must wait in two different lines. For example, when I need to buy something from the bookstore at school, I must first wait in a line to get my ticket. Then I take the ticket to a different line, where I then wait to pay. The only upside I see to this is that more people are employed. If anyone can think of a more logical reason for this, please, tell me :)
-Butterfly Hairclips
*Yeah, remember those hairclips that make it look like a butterfly is perched on your head? They love em. Come on guys, that was sooo 6th grade. :)
-Spandex
*You would think the extremely hot temperatures would prevent people from wanting to wear extremely tight clothing, but it seems to be quite the opposite. Not only do you see way to much of some people, but this also makes it acceptable for men to go running in nothing but a tight, brightly colored speedo. Bahhh.
This island is BIG: Ilha Grande
With another 5 day weekend this past week, we had been discussing places to travel for weeks. First it was the Amazon, then the Pantanal, than Minas Gerais, than Búzios, and we finally decided on Ilha Grande two days prior. On Thursday, we literally woke up, drove to the bus station and looked for bus tickets to head the 3 hours south to the point where we can catch the ferry over to the island.
The history of Ilha Grande is pretty interesting. First, it was a pirate hideout, then a place to smuggle slaves. Then it became a leper colony because ships would drop off their contagious passengers on the island and leave them. Next, a prison was built to house criminals. Because of it’s tumultuous past the island still does not have much development to this day. Many people are wary of building in a place with such a dark history. I didn’t find it dark at all, in fact, it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
Me and seven others arrived at the island close to dusk without a place to stay for the evening. Luckily, William, a French ex-pat who started a hostel 6 years ago met us and coerced us into the jungle with him to his cute little hostel. We had a whole cabin to ourselves… well, expect for the killer mosquitoes. We ended up sleeping three to a bed under a mosquito net and STILL managed to get eaten alive.
The next day we still had no plans, and set out for the only town on the island (consisting of about 2 streets). The only things existing on these streets are hostels, restaurants, and tourist companies. Luckily for us, that is all we needed. It wasn’t long before we were approached by a hostel worker who told us about a boat cruise that was leaving in an hour that would stop at 3 different beaches and 2 lagoons. A live band and free food and drinks were all he had to say. We were there. The rest of the day we spent jumping off the top deck of our 2-level pontoon boat, dancing to the Argentinean rock music the band was playing, and swimming in the crystal clear water. We had an absolute blast.
The next morning it was raining very hard, and we didn’t know what to do. We ended up hanging out at our hostel until mid-day when the rain stopped, and then heading down to the beach to take a water taxi to the most famous beach on the island, Lopes Mendes. Lopes Mendes beach was ranked one of the Top 10 Beaches in the World one year, a fact that you hear from every local’s mouth. To get there, you have to take a boat about 30 minutes from the town and then hike another half hour or so. The only problem was, we didn’t know about the hike part and one of our friends had a nearly broken ankle. The short hike turned into nearly an hour while Johannes hobbled up the steep hills aided by a makeshift crutch bamboo stick.
The beach was better than I expected! I spent the whole day watching the ocean because I was too scared of the massive waves to get in. We also relived our childhoods by jumping around and climbing all of the rocks in sight. Overall, it was a great trip and I hope to return on a weekend with better weather to spend more time there.
The history of Ilha Grande is pretty interesting. First, it was a pirate hideout, then a place to smuggle slaves. Then it became a leper colony because ships would drop off their contagious passengers on the island and leave them. Next, a prison was built to house criminals. Because of it’s tumultuous past the island still does not have much development to this day. Many people are wary of building in a place with such a dark history. I didn’t find it dark at all, in fact, it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
Me and seven others arrived at the island close to dusk without a place to stay for the evening. Luckily, William, a French ex-pat who started a hostel 6 years ago met us and coerced us into the jungle with him to his cute little hostel. We had a whole cabin to ourselves… well, expect for the killer mosquitoes. We ended up sleeping three to a bed under a mosquito net and STILL managed to get eaten alive.
The next day we still had no plans, and set out for the only town on the island (consisting of about 2 streets). The only things existing on these streets are hostels, restaurants, and tourist companies. Luckily for us, that is all we needed. It wasn’t long before we were approached by a hostel worker who told us about a boat cruise that was leaving in an hour that would stop at 3 different beaches and 2 lagoons. A live band and free food and drinks were all he had to say. We were there. The rest of the day we spent jumping off the top deck of our 2-level pontoon boat, dancing to the Argentinean rock music the band was playing, and swimming in the crystal clear water. We had an absolute blast.
The next morning it was raining very hard, and we didn’t know what to do. We ended up hanging out at our hostel until mid-day when the rain stopped, and then heading down to the beach to take a water taxi to the most famous beach on the island, Lopes Mendes. Lopes Mendes beach was ranked one of the Top 10 Beaches in the World one year, a fact that you hear from every local’s mouth. To get there, you have to take a boat about 30 minutes from the town and then hike another half hour or so. The only problem was, we didn’t know about the hike part and one of our friends had a nearly broken ankle. The short hike turned into nearly an hour while Johannes hobbled up the steep hills aided by a makeshift crutch bamboo stick.
The beach was better than I expected! I spent the whole day watching the ocean because I was too scared of the massive waves to get in. We also relived our childhoods by jumping around and climbing all of the rocks in sight. Overall, it was a great trip and I hope to return on a weekend with better weather to spend more time there.
Just another day in paradise..
I just had a wonderful run on the beach this morning. Jamming to some great songs, I prayed and reflected on everything that is happening in my life right now. The sun was shining and everyone was out walking, running, playing soccer, lounging on the beach, and drinking cold coconuts at the little huts all along the beach. The newness of the environment wore off a couple of months ago, but I still have moments (like this morning) when I just think, “Wow, I’m really here right now.” Weekends are a time to spend with family for most Brazilians, so it is common to see grandma, grandpa, mom, and dad, strolling along the beach while several little children run around their legs. Sometimes it really makes me miss my family. I love you guys!
April 21, 2010
The most Brazilian weekend you can imagine
This weekend was INCREDIBLE. I think what made it so great was that I hung out with Brazilians the whole time and practically spoke only Portuguese the entire weekend. It was great. I feel like I’m really improving my speaking skills and it’s really exciting. Here is a quick recap of the weekend:
Thursday (yes, the weekend starts on Thursday ☺ )
We met up with Mark, a South African friend we met at our hostel in Buenos Aires. He has been surfing all around South America for nearly a year and is on his final stretch in Rio and then to Colombia. It is so cool that we can still keep in contact with people that we have met on our travels here! In fact, the same night we also met up with a guy that owned the hostel we stayed at in Florianopolis just 2 weeks ago. He was in Rio doing promotions for his hostel! What a small world ☺
Friday night
Went to a Brazilian girl’s birthday party and danced funk at a club in centro at 10pm. The place was three stories, had dancers on a stage and videos of surfers on all the TV’s (kind of random, but cool haha). It felt like a 2am rage at 10pm and I knew it was going to be a good night. Then we went to Lapa (another area of the city with lots of bars, clubs, and outdoor places to hang out). As we were wondering up one of the side streets, we stumbled across this little parking lot that had been transformed (via a bar in a corner and a loud speaker system) into a Forró dancing place. I think I have fallen in love with Forró music. It is a lot like country/folk music and the dance is so much fun. Check out this link to see what I mean→ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dprByOLIxB4. We danced until 5:30am… sleep is overrated. Here is another link to some cool information on Forró: http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/forro_720/en_US
Saturday
I went straight to our university from Lapa for an all-day field trip with the International Program to a farm 2 hours outside of Rio. Thank goodness we had 2 hours to sleep on the bus ☺ The farm was really cool. It is actually a hotel, ecological preserve, and farm (cattle and they make their own minas cheese). There was so much to do there we couldn’t possibly get bored. I zip-lined from a really tall platform about 100 meters (wait, am I using the metric system now? Haha) into the lake. There were also a ton of obstacle-course like things to do over the lake as well. If you fell, which I definitely did, you fell into the lake! We also played volleyball, slept by the pool, and did a hick version of a slip-and-slide, complete with a tarp, soap, and a hose. It was a wonderful day!
Sunday
Sunday afternoon I was invited by my Brazilian friend to a family birthday party in a north suburb of Rio. The hour and a half bus ride north passed by miles and miles of slums, for as far as the eye can see. It is incredible how big of a difference there is between the area I live in, and other parts of the city. Because the birthday boy happened to be a HUGE Flamengo soccer team fan, and the party happened to be on the night of the Rio championship soccer match, of course the birthday was Flamengo themed. A bright red Flamengo cake and red and black balloons adorned the backyard. When we arrived in the middle of the game, the entire party was crowded around a 15” TV monitor, sitting on a stool in a corner of the patio and people were SCREAMING at the TV. I have never seen so much passion in my life. We ate some churrasco (Brazilian BBQ) while pretending to be absorbed in the game as well. The owners of the house support Botofogó (the opposing team), so when Botofogó won, the (very drunk) man did a belly-flop into the pool, then started popping all of the birthday balloons screaming about being the champions. The game was quite a buzz kill for the party because everyone was so pissed off after, but an hour and a couple drinks later, everyone was back to having a great time.
The people we met were so incredibly friendly. The woman who lived there gave us a full tour of her home, invited us on a family day-trip, and invited us back for a family dinner! Overall, it was another wonderful weekend in Rio.
Thursday (yes, the weekend starts on Thursday ☺ )
We met up with Mark, a South African friend we met at our hostel in Buenos Aires. He has been surfing all around South America for nearly a year and is on his final stretch in Rio and then to Colombia. It is so cool that we can still keep in contact with people that we have met on our travels here! In fact, the same night we also met up with a guy that owned the hostel we stayed at in Florianopolis just 2 weeks ago. He was in Rio doing promotions for his hostel! What a small world ☺
Friday night
Went to a Brazilian girl’s birthday party and danced funk at a club in centro at 10pm. The place was three stories, had dancers on a stage and videos of surfers on all the TV’s (kind of random, but cool haha). It felt like a 2am rage at 10pm and I knew it was going to be a good night. Then we went to Lapa (another area of the city with lots of bars, clubs, and outdoor places to hang out). As we were wondering up one of the side streets, we stumbled across this little parking lot that had been transformed (via a bar in a corner and a loud speaker system) into a Forró dancing place. I think I have fallen in love with Forró music. It is a lot like country/folk music and the dance is so much fun. Check out this link to see what I mean→ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dprByOLIxB4. We danced until 5:30am… sleep is overrated. Here is another link to some cool information on Forró: http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/forro_720/en_US
Saturday
I went straight to our university from Lapa for an all-day field trip with the International Program to a farm 2 hours outside of Rio. Thank goodness we had 2 hours to sleep on the bus ☺ The farm was really cool. It is actually a hotel, ecological preserve, and farm (cattle and they make their own minas cheese). There was so much to do there we couldn’t possibly get bored. I zip-lined from a really tall platform about 100 meters (wait, am I using the metric system now? Haha) into the lake. There were also a ton of obstacle-course like things to do over the lake as well. If you fell, which I definitely did, you fell into the lake! We also played volleyball, slept by the pool, and did a hick version of a slip-and-slide, complete with a tarp, soap, and a hose. It was a wonderful day!
Sunday
Sunday afternoon I was invited by my Brazilian friend to a family birthday party in a north suburb of Rio. The hour and a half bus ride north passed by miles and miles of slums, for as far as the eye can see. It is incredible how big of a difference there is between the area I live in, and other parts of the city. Because the birthday boy happened to be a HUGE Flamengo soccer team fan, and the party happened to be on the night of the Rio championship soccer match, of course the birthday was Flamengo themed. A bright red Flamengo cake and red and black balloons adorned the backyard. When we arrived in the middle of the game, the entire party was crowded around a 15” TV monitor, sitting on a stool in a corner of the patio and people were SCREAMING at the TV. I have never seen so much passion in my life. We ate some churrasco (Brazilian BBQ) while pretending to be absorbed in the game as well. The owners of the house support Botofogó (the opposing team), so when Botofogó won, the (very drunk) man did a belly-flop into the pool, then started popping all of the birthday balloons screaming about being the champions. The game was quite a buzz kill for the party because everyone was so pissed off after, but an hour and a couple drinks later, everyone was back to having a great time.
The people we met were so incredibly friendly. The woman who lived there gave us a full tour of her home, invited us on a family day-trip, and invited us back for a family dinner! Overall, it was another wonderful weekend in Rio.
April 9, 2010
Surviving a Natural Disaster
If you haven’t been following the news, let me fill you in. Rio just had the worst flooding it has seen in recent history. It rained HARD for over 48 hours and on and off for 3 days after that. So far, 180 people have been confirmed dead (mostly due to mudslides) and hundreds more are still unaccounted for. No one could go to school or work because all the streets were flooded. My host brother told me he has never seen it this bad. The lake just down the street from me completely flooded its banks, which no one can remember ever happening before. Water stood in some streets over 5 feet high. Although for many people this was merely a inconvenience because they could not get to work, for people who live in favelas or up on the mountains, it was VERY dangerous.
For 2 days I couldn’t leave my apartment because the street outside was a rushing river of trash infested water. My school canceled classes for the entire week because of electrical problems. Luckily, Rio has a great system of street cleaners and the roads were pretty clean a few hours after the heaviest rain stopped. Apparently, the drainage system in this city is not large enough to handle the amount of rain that they get. Every time it rains hard, it floods. The difference this time was that it rained in 2 days what it usually rains in 1 month!
Here is a link to a news report: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/04/08/world/international-us-brazil-floods.html?_r=1&ref=americas.
To see more pictures watch this slideshow, which includes many of the places I see everyday: http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/0,,GF81194-5606,00-VEJA%20IMAGENS%20DAS%20CHUVAS%20NO%20RIO%20DE%20JANEIRO.html
Hopefully they fix this problem before the World Cup and Olympics!
For 2 days I couldn’t leave my apartment because the street outside was a rushing river of trash infested water. My school canceled classes for the entire week because of electrical problems. Luckily, Rio has a great system of street cleaners and the roads were pretty clean a few hours after the heaviest rain stopped. Apparently, the drainage system in this city is not large enough to handle the amount of rain that they get. Every time it rains hard, it floods. The difference this time was that it rained in 2 days what it usually rains in 1 month!
Here is a link to a news report: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/04/08/world/international-us-brazil-floods.html?_r=1&ref=americas.
To see more pictures watch this slideshow, which includes many of the places I see everyday: http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/0,,GF81194-5606,00-VEJA%20IMAGENS%20DAS%20CHUVAS%20NO%20RIO%20DE%20JANEIRO.html
Hopefully they fix this problem before the World Cup and Olympics!
April 6, 2010
Easter Break in Floripa
For Easter break, three friends and I headed off to Florianópolis (aka: Floripa), a beautiful beach city on an island in the south of Brazil. It is a famed vacation and honeymoon destination because it has over 40 beaches on the island, many of which are only accessible by boat.
Me and one other friend decided to save some cash and bus the 18 hours down on Wednesday after teaching English. Unfortunately, we underestimated how long it would take to get to the bus station and between that and the horrendous Rio traffic; we missed our bus by 15 minutes! The bus company helped us switch our plans to take a 12-hour bus to Curitiba, and then a connecting bus to Floripa. The next afternoon, we arrived at our (AMAZING) hostel called Tucano House, run by a brother and sister who are not much older than I am. One day while his mother was at work, Caiel (the brother) knocked down a wall in the house that he grew up in, and told his mom he was converting it into a hostel. That was 2 ½ years ago, and since then, the hostel has one numerous awards; most recently, they were named “Best Hostel in South America.” They make wonderful home cooked meals for the guests every night, organize beach trips during the days and trips to clubs/bars in the area every night. At the hostel, we met up with our other two friends who had flown there, had a delicious sushi dinner at the hostel, and went out to a very fancy club with the people we met in our hostel.
Friday, we spent the day at a secluded beach called Solidão (Portuguese for “longing”) playing frescoball (kinda like ping pong without the table), hiking to a beautiful waterfall and swimming in the cool pool beneath, and sleeping on the beach. On the way home, the bus driver suggested we stop at a well-known “cachaça factory.” Cachaça is sugar-cane rum that is the signature drink of Brazil. For the next 45 minutes, our van climbs further and further up into the mountains surrounding the beach. At one point, we all had to jump out of the van so that it could make it up the steep dirt road. Finally, we wander down to a farmer’s barn. However, this was no ordinary barn. This was a straight up moonshine barn. The walls were lined with 2-liter coke bottles, jars, kegs, and even GASOLINE CANS full of homemade cachaça of different kinds.
We tried several different kinds including mango, banana, passion fruit, apple, and straight 80% cachaça (which he even poured on a table and lit on fire as some kind of proof that it could probably run a car). Only in Brazil… Later that night we had the most delicious seafood at a local restaurant. We ordered the island specialty “Progression of Shrimp” in which plates of shrimp prepared different ways are brought out one at a time. After eating so much beans and rice in Rio, the flavors were greatly appreciated!
Saturday, we took a boat to Campete Island to hang out for the day. The island closes every Easter for the fall/winter season because it is a very protected island and they want to preserve the vegetation there. Pulling up to the island, I nearly had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. The water was crystal clear and blue. The white sand gleamed in the sun and dark, beautifully shaped rocks jutted out from the sides of the beach, and the remainder of the island was forest. Yachts docked in the shallow water and people lounged on the beach. We passed the whole afternoon enjoying the beautiful sunny day and again eating more seafood at one of the two restaurants on the island.
Our last night on the island, we joined the organized hostel trip to a club via two party buses to the mainland 1 ½ hours away. The club was actually built IN A CAVE. They had three dance floors, each playing different types of music and each in a different cave. It was incredible! We stayed out all night dancing and went straight to the beach when we got back before catching our bus back to Rio. We had 18 hours to sleep on the bus so might as well sleep then, right?
Overall it was a wonderful trip filled with great food, amazing beaches, good conversation, and great friends. What a great way to pass the Easter holiday ☺
Me and one other friend decided to save some cash and bus the 18 hours down on Wednesday after teaching English. Unfortunately, we underestimated how long it would take to get to the bus station and between that and the horrendous Rio traffic; we missed our bus by 15 minutes! The bus company helped us switch our plans to take a 12-hour bus to Curitiba, and then a connecting bus to Floripa. The next afternoon, we arrived at our (AMAZING) hostel called Tucano House, run by a brother and sister who are not much older than I am. One day while his mother was at work, Caiel (the brother) knocked down a wall in the house that he grew up in, and told his mom he was converting it into a hostel. That was 2 ½ years ago, and since then, the hostel has one numerous awards; most recently, they were named “Best Hostel in South America.” They make wonderful home cooked meals for the guests every night, organize beach trips during the days and trips to clubs/bars in the area every night. At the hostel, we met up with our other two friends who had flown there, had a delicious sushi dinner at the hostel, and went out to a very fancy club with the people we met in our hostel.
Friday, we spent the day at a secluded beach called Solidão (Portuguese for “longing”) playing frescoball (kinda like ping pong without the table), hiking to a beautiful waterfall and swimming in the cool pool beneath, and sleeping on the beach. On the way home, the bus driver suggested we stop at a well-known “cachaça factory.” Cachaça is sugar-cane rum that is the signature drink of Brazil. For the next 45 minutes, our van climbs further and further up into the mountains surrounding the beach. At one point, we all had to jump out of the van so that it could make it up the steep dirt road. Finally, we wander down to a farmer’s barn. However, this was no ordinary barn. This was a straight up moonshine barn. The walls were lined with 2-liter coke bottles, jars, kegs, and even GASOLINE CANS full of homemade cachaça of different kinds.
We tried several different kinds including mango, banana, passion fruit, apple, and straight 80% cachaça (which he even poured on a table and lit on fire as some kind of proof that it could probably run a car). Only in Brazil… Later that night we had the most delicious seafood at a local restaurant. We ordered the island specialty “Progression of Shrimp” in which plates of shrimp prepared different ways are brought out one at a time. After eating so much beans and rice in Rio, the flavors were greatly appreciated!
Saturday, we took a boat to Campete Island to hang out for the day. The island closes every Easter for the fall/winter season because it is a very protected island and they want to preserve the vegetation there. Pulling up to the island, I nearly had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. The water was crystal clear and blue. The white sand gleamed in the sun and dark, beautifully shaped rocks jutted out from the sides of the beach, and the remainder of the island was forest. Yachts docked in the shallow water and people lounged on the beach. We passed the whole afternoon enjoying the beautiful sunny day and again eating more seafood at one of the two restaurants on the island.
Our last night on the island, we joined the organized hostel trip to a club via two party buses to the mainland 1 ½ hours away. The club was actually built IN A CAVE. They had three dance floors, each playing different types of music and each in a different cave. It was incredible! We stayed out all night dancing and went straight to the beach when we got back before catching our bus back to Rio. We had 18 hours to sleep on the bus so might as well sleep then, right?
Overall it was a wonderful trip filled with great food, amazing beaches, good conversation, and great friends. What a great way to pass the Easter holiday ☺
March 30, 2010
“To teach is to learn twice.” ~Joseph Joubert
Last week I began co-teaching an after school English class to a group of 12 fifth graders at an NGO called Educari (http://www.educari-ong.org/homesite/) within Vidigal (a favela just south of Léblon beach). They are the cutest things ever! They are so excited to be learning English and love talking to us. According to the director, students in Brazil have classes either in the mornings (7-12pm) or afternoons (1-6pm). Educari provides extra classes, programs, and sports for these kids to keep them out of trouble and off the streets during the remaining hours while their parents are at work.
The school itself is nicer than my grade school. It has a great playground area, nice classrooms with plenty of supplies, TV’s and internet in most rooms, and even a movie theatre and popcorn machine! Apparently, the school was built for rich kids, but somehow got handed down to the school/NGO.
I am co-teaching with 2 of my friends, which is great because we can split the class into small groups for extra practice. It is definitely challenging because we have no experience teaching or preparing lesson plans, and we have the freedom to teach whatever we want. Scary thought, huh? It’s fun to make up games and activities for them, though. Only one of the 12 students has had an English class before so we are starting with the basics. However, they all started singing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to us the first day of class! It is incredible how much American pop culture has impacted Brazil. My host brother blares Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift in his room everyday. NBA jerseys seem like the thing to wear, and probably 50% (or more) of the TV shows and movies are in English with Portuguese subtitles.
As for the kids I teach; So. Freaking. Cute. Johannes told his friend (who then told me) that he has a crush on me. He always hugs me after class and walks us out to the entrance of the favela. Another cutie with wide eyes and a huge grin on his face all the time, Jonathon, asked to take a picture of us on his phone after class. The other day, we were walking down the hill back home and three of the girls in the class were walking up the steep staircase clinging to the side of the mountain back to their homes. They spotted us down below and started jumping up and down, yelling our names and waving! Talk about rewarding… I can already tell it's going to be very tough leaving them in 4 months!
The school itself is nicer than my grade school. It has a great playground area, nice classrooms with plenty of supplies, TV’s and internet in most rooms, and even a movie theatre and popcorn machine! Apparently, the school was built for rich kids, but somehow got handed down to the school/NGO.
I am co-teaching with 2 of my friends, which is great because we can split the class into small groups for extra practice. It is definitely challenging because we have no experience teaching or preparing lesson plans, and we have the freedom to teach whatever we want. Scary thought, huh? It’s fun to make up games and activities for them, though. Only one of the 12 students has had an English class before so we are starting with the basics. However, they all started singing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to us the first day of class! It is incredible how much American pop culture has impacted Brazil. My host brother blares Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift in his room everyday. NBA jerseys seem like the thing to wear, and probably 50% (or more) of the TV shows and movies are in English with Portuguese subtitles.
As for the kids I teach; So. Freaking. Cute. Johannes told his friend (who then told me) that he has a crush on me. He always hugs me after class and walks us out to the entrance of the favela. Another cutie with wide eyes and a huge grin on his face all the time, Jonathon, asked to take a picture of us on his phone after class. The other day, we were walking down the hill back home and three of the girls in the class were walking up the steep staircase clinging to the side of the mountain back to their homes. They spotted us down below and started jumping up and down, yelling our names and waving! Talk about rewarding… I can already tell it's going to be very tough leaving them in 4 months!
March 17, 2010
School updates
What?! You're actually STUDYING while studying abroad? Yes. I know from the look of this blog that it appears that I'm just using this opportunity to hang out and have fun for a semester (right, Dad?). Who does that? Contrary to popular belief, I am actually doing something productive (at least some of the time :) ). School is almost three weeks underway and I’m starting to actually feel settled in here. With the Intensive Language Program, Carnaval, and summer vacation behind me, it now seems like less of a vacation and more like I am actually living here.
This semester I am taking Portuguese, Brazilian Foreign Policy, Social Political & Economic History of Brazil, and Community Development. All of my classes are in Portuguese and with Brazilian students except for the Foreign Policy class which is taught in English. In my history class, I am the only exchange student. So cool, right? I’m really excited about it because already several people in the class have introduced themselves and offered to help me out if I ever have questions. This makes a huge difference! Especially when the teacher talks rather quickly and writes illegibly. The class also includes a group project in which we study one particular aspect of Brazilian history/culture and give a presentation about it to the class. SCARY! Fortunately, my group seems really cool and I don’t have to go until June. Hopefully by then I’ll speak well enough not to completely embarrass myself :/
The Brazilian Foreign Policy class is so interesting and right up my alley. The flamboyant professor is constantly parading around the room theatrically so it’s rather easy to stay awake despite the fact that it is during my usual afternoon nap ☺. It’s crazy how much Brazilian foreign policy (and history too for that matter) is dependent on US actions. We spent 70-80% of our last class just discussing how the US policies have affected Brazil, and many were not for the best. There are many examples of the US going back on treaties and agreements that we made with Brazil when it was in our own best interest. We just left ‘em hanging. It’s not that Brazilians are bitter towards the US, but it is clear that they don’t agree with our foreign policy in recent years... but I don’t know many Americans that do either. Oops, I didn’t mean for this to be a political commentary, but I blame it on the great documentary I just watched tonight. Check it out if you want to here some interesting interviews with the top government people about the decision to invade Iraq. It's called "Uncovered : The whole truth about the war in Iraq."
The Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (aka pook-ey ☺). It is a private Catholic school located in the wealthy south zone of the city. The students who go there are typically very well off, and you can definitely tell. Let’s just say they don’t roll into their 9am class in pajamas. Although PUC students sometimes get the reputation of being stuck-up and rude, the ones that I have met have certainly not fit that stereotype. One thing that is different for me though, is some students are very rude to their professors. It is not uncommon for students to talk throughout the whole class, answer their phones, get up and leave ten minutes into class, or even have a full-on make-out session in the back of the room. (Ok, the last one is definitely not “common” but my friend did witness this last week). But for that matter, professors have a much different attitude about class as well. For one thing, most classes start at least 15 minutes after the time on your schedule. Sometimes the teachers come in 20-30 minutes late (but so do the students). I even hung out in a class for an hour once before the teacher finally started teaching. Although after 3 weeks I should know this, I can’t bring myself to be over 5 minutes late to class. I just can’t do it. I blame the years of conditioning. Maybe a few more weeks of sitting in an empty classroom and doing crossword puzzles, reading the newspaper, and awkwardly pretending to text people will crack me. Only time will tell.
More updates on school are sure to come. Thanks for reading!
This semester I am taking Portuguese, Brazilian Foreign Policy, Social Political & Economic History of Brazil, and Community Development. All of my classes are in Portuguese and with Brazilian students except for the Foreign Policy class which is taught in English. In my history class, I am the only exchange student. So cool, right? I’m really excited about it because already several people in the class have introduced themselves and offered to help me out if I ever have questions. This makes a huge difference! Especially when the teacher talks rather quickly and writes illegibly. The class also includes a group project in which we study one particular aspect of Brazilian history/culture and give a presentation about it to the class. SCARY! Fortunately, my group seems really cool and I don’t have to go until June. Hopefully by then I’ll speak well enough not to completely embarrass myself :/
The Brazilian Foreign Policy class is so interesting and right up my alley. The flamboyant professor is constantly parading around the room theatrically so it’s rather easy to stay awake despite the fact that it is during my usual afternoon nap ☺. It’s crazy how much Brazilian foreign policy (and history too for that matter) is dependent on US actions. We spent 70-80% of our last class just discussing how the US policies have affected Brazil, and many were not for the best. There are many examples of the US going back on treaties and agreements that we made with Brazil when it was in our own best interest. We just left ‘em hanging. It’s not that Brazilians are bitter towards the US, but it is clear that they don’t agree with our foreign policy in recent years... but I don’t know many Americans that do either. Oops, I didn’t mean for this to be a political commentary, but I blame it on the great documentary I just watched tonight. Check it out if you want to here some interesting interviews with the top government people about the decision to invade Iraq. It's called "Uncovered : The whole truth about the war in Iraq."
The Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (aka pook-ey ☺). It is a private Catholic school located in the wealthy south zone of the city. The students who go there are typically very well off, and you can definitely tell. Let’s just say they don’t roll into their 9am class in pajamas. Although PUC students sometimes get the reputation of being stuck-up and rude, the ones that I have met have certainly not fit that stereotype. One thing that is different for me though, is some students are very rude to their professors. It is not uncommon for students to talk throughout the whole class, answer their phones, get up and leave ten minutes into class, or even have a full-on make-out session in the back of the room. (Ok, the last one is definitely not “common” but my friend did witness this last week). But for that matter, professors have a much different attitude about class as well. For one thing, most classes start at least 15 minutes after the time on your schedule. Sometimes the teachers come in 20-30 minutes late (but so do the students). I even hung out in a class for an hour once before the teacher finally started teaching. Although after 3 weeks I should know this, I can’t bring myself to be over 5 minutes late to class. I just can’t do it. I blame the years of conditioning. Maybe a few more weeks of sitting in an empty classroom and doing crossword puzzles, reading the newspaper, and awkwardly pretending to text people will crack me. Only time will tell.
More updates on school are sure to come. Thanks for reading!
March 9, 2010
Life is Good
This is one phrase I have been using a lot lately. How can the phrase not slip from your lips when you are living in one of the most beautiful places in the world, meeting new and interesting people everyday, and experiencing new things on a daily basis? But is this phrase about attitude or reality?
Until tonight, I would have said that it depends on the person. Some people (like me) have had incredibly easy lives. We have had most things handed to us without much fuss. The place we were born, the economic status of our families, and the opportunities available to us made it very easy to acquire a wealth of rich experiences, and I for one, am very thankful for that. However, if my life weren’t so easy, would I still have this positive “life is good” outlook? I’d like to think so, but how can I know?
Tonight was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. My Community Development class is an interesting mix of people. About half of the class is exchange students who are interested in learning about the social development projects within Brazil. A handful of others are middle to upper class Brazilian students, but the other students have a much more real perspective of these issues. These are mostly people who live in the favelas within Rio and want to learn how to better help their own suffering communities. Most are attending the university through NGO or government scholarships. For the entire two-hour class we were paired up with another student to get to know every aspect of that person, their experiences, and their everyday realities.
I was paired up with a 26 year-old woman named Francilene. She lives with her mom, dad, brother, nephew, and 5-year-old child in a one-room house in Rocinha (the largest favela in Brazil) just down the street from the university. She works for a community health organization within her community where she visits people in their houses to give them vaccinations, medicine, and information on diseases. She is studying at the university through a governmental scholarship and hopes to return to her community to further help the people there.
When it was my turn to talk, I was at a loss for words (and not only because I was struggling to speak in Portuguese). My reality is completely and utterly different than her reality. The opportunities that I have had in my own life to travel, go to school, learn new things, see new places, and live on my own, were literally handed to me on a golden platter. Guilt sunk in as I spoke about my own experiences and I found myself highlighting (and probably exaggerating) the problems within the US of poverty, healthcare, and expensive education.
I walked out of the class almost in tears. My naivety had smacked me square in the face. My perception of the world is a mere sliver of the whole picture. Our attitudes are shaped by our experiences. I praise God that my experiences have been so positive, and I realized I must use these advantages to help those who aren’t so lucky. Life is good but sometimes reality can be brutal.
Until tonight, I would have said that it depends on the person. Some people (like me) have had incredibly easy lives. We have had most things handed to us without much fuss. The place we were born, the economic status of our families, and the opportunities available to us made it very easy to acquire a wealth of rich experiences, and I for one, am very thankful for that. However, if my life weren’t so easy, would I still have this positive “life is good” outlook? I’d like to think so, but how can I know?
Tonight was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. My Community Development class is an interesting mix of people. About half of the class is exchange students who are interested in learning about the social development projects within Brazil. A handful of others are middle to upper class Brazilian students, but the other students have a much more real perspective of these issues. These are mostly people who live in the favelas within Rio and want to learn how to better help their own suffering communities. Most are attending the university through NGO or government scholarships. For the entire two-hour class we were paired up with another student to get to know every aspect of that person, their experiences, and their everyday realities.
I was paired up with a 26 year-old woman named Francilene. She lives with her mom, dad, brother, nephew, and 5-year-old child in a one-room house in Rocinha (the largest favela in Brazil) just down the street from the university. She works for a community health organization within her community where she visits people in their houses to give them vaccinations, medicine, and information on diseases. She is studying at the university through a governmental scholarship and hopes to return to her community to further help the people there.
When it was my turn to talk, I was at a loss for words (and not only because I was struggling to speak in Portuguese). My reality is completely and utterly different than her reality. The opportunities that I have had in my own life to travel, go to school, learn new things, see new places, and live on my own, were literally handed to me on a golden platter. Guilt sunk in as I spoke about my own experiences and I found myself highlighting (and probably exaggerating) the problems within the US of poverty, healthcare, and expensive education.
I walked out of the class almost in tears. My naivety had smacked me square in the face. My perception of the world is a mere sliver of the whole picture. Our attitudes are shaped by our experiences. I praise God that my experiences have been so positive, and I realized I must use these advantages to help those who aren’t so lucky. Life is good but sometimes reality can be brutal.
March 1, 2010
My first excursion outside of Rio: Foz do Iguaçu and Buenos Aires
With all of February off, me and four other girls from my program took off the day after Carnaval ended for our first excursion outside of Rio. We flew to Foz do Iguaçu, a gigantic expanse of waterfalls that sits between Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.
We spent two days exploring the Brazilian side of the waterfalls where we hiked down to the base of one of the largest waterfalls, got thoroughly soaked, marveled at all the butterflies, played with a kuati (a funny looking animal that looks like a cross between a raccoon and an anteater) that approached us for food, took a million pictures, and stood in awe of the majesty of the Falls. How so much water can possibly exist in one place blows my mind! We also went to a bird park where they had hundreds of colorful birds, many of which were flying free.
We stayed at the most amazing family-owned hostel called “Klein Hostel.” The mom makes the wonderful breakfast in the mornings, the dad cooked the guests an amazing Brazilian barbecue dinner, and the son introduced us to Brazilian country music, called Sertaneja. In fact, the first night we were there, it was “quinta-sertaneja” night… aka: COUNTRY NIGHT!! What are the chances?? I also took the opportunity to introduce him to Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band, and George Strait. We all spent the night meeting other guests from around the world, and dancing. The next night at the hostel, the family had all their friends over to play music and sing. We all feasted on sausage, beef, vegetables, rice and beans, and relaxed by the pool enjoying the music long into the night. Talking to the other guests in Portuguese really made me realize how much my language skills have improved. Really, once you move outside of Rio, people speak much slower and clearer. Rio has a distinct, thick accent and people speak very quickly. I had no problem speaking and understanding Brazilians from other parts of Brazil. In fact, close to Argentina many people speak a mix of Portuguese and Spanish (Portoñhol). In fact, the man from our hostel that picked us up from the airport was Brazilian but spoke Spanish!
After two nights on the Brazilian side of the Falls, we crossed the border into Argentina where we spent the day seeing the Falls from a different perspective. We hiked to the largest and most well-known part of the Falls called “Garganta del Diablo” (Devil’s Throat) and peered down into the misty abyss below.
That night, we stayed at a rather dingy and rundown hostel, but everyone was very easy-going and we ended up having a blast! Again, we feasted on Brazilian barbecue and partied with the other guests (mostly crazy Australians) well into the night.
The next afternoon, we hopped a 20-hour overnight bus to Buenos Aires. We had been warned that Argentinean police stop busses quite a bit, and that turned out to be quite true. Three times, the police stopped our bus, boarded, checked passports, and looked for drugs and other illicit things. The third time, they even brought a dog on to sniff out drugs. Two rows behind me, the dog signaled that he found something and it turned out a 14 year old boy traveling alone had a tiny bit of marijuana on him. This turned into a 2-hour ordeal in which the police found other Argentinean men on the bus to be witnesses while they opened the boy’s bag and found the drugs. Then they removed him from the bus, called his parents, and did paperwork. MEANWHILE, we made friends with the two bus drivers, convinced them to blare Reggaeton music from the bus, have a dance party on the side of the road. They even let us sit in the drivers seat and take pictures ☺
The next morning we arrived in a flooded Buenos Aires. The rain was coming down very hard and we went straight to our hostel in Palermo. Luckily, that was the last we saw of rain. In fact, the rest of the week was absolutely gorgeous!! We welcomed the “cool” weather (75-85 degrees) and explored all that Buenos Aires had to offer. Here are a few highlights from B.A.:
-An amazing Tango show at a famous Tango Bar called Café Tortoni
-Moved to a great hostel in San Telmo (the older section of town well-known for their antique shops and Tango
-Had a picnic in a park
-Went paddle boating
-Took a double-decker bus tour of the city
-Celebrated Jenny getting accepted to law school in Miami with a dinner of fruit, desserts, and champagne
-Took a tour of underground tunnels beneath the oldest church/monastery in Buenos Aires
-Went to a planetarium to see a show and we all ended up sleeping through the entire thing!
-Saw the Eva Péron museum—absolutely incredible!!
-Got a tour of the Argentinean version of the White House, aka: the Pink House (Casa Rosada)
-Saw the madres of the desaparecidos at the Plaza de Mayo
-Went to a bar and watched teenagers competing in a rap contest... HILARIOUS =)
-Went shopping at outdoor markets
-Ate lots of steak, dulce de leitche (caramel) and chocolate
-Learned salsa at a dance club and danced till 6am =)
-Laughed SO MUCH!!
Also, I almost got robbed at a restaurant. It was about 3pm and we ate a Spanish restaurant downtown. We were sitting inside a huge empty restaurant kinda near the door. No one at our table noticed, but an older man dressed well came in the door talking on a cell phone and stood near our table. He brushed past my chair, and I assumed he walked by to sit down at another table. Well, he didn’t. He took my purse and walked out of the restaurant. Luckily, the waitress noticed him and yelled “sua bolsa!!” Me, Garazi, and two restaurant employees ran after him out of the restaurant. When he saw we were chasing him and realized he was too fat and slow to get away, he dropped the purse and took off running down the street yelling over his shoulder that he had dropped it! Luckily, he hadn’t even opened it so everything was still there. I was so lucky!! I think I was off guard because I felt so safe in Buenos Aires. That just goes to show you have to be careful no matter where you are!
Overall, the trip was an absolute BLAST. The five of us got so close and I couldn’t have gone with a better group☺ Now it’s back to Rio to finally start classes.
We spent two days exploring the Brazilian side of the waterfalls where we hiked down to the base of one of the largest waterfalls, got thoroughly soaked, marveled at all the butterflies, played with a kuati (a funny looking animal that looks like a cross between a raccoon and an anteater) that approached us for food, took a million pictures, and stood in awe of the majesty of the Falls. How so much water can possibly exist in one place blows my mind! We also went to a bird park where they had hundreds of colorful birds, many of which were flying free.
We stayed at the most amazing family-owned hostel called “Klein Hostel.” The mom makes the wonderful breakfast in the mornings, the dad cooked the guests an amazing Brazilian barbecue dinner, and the son introduced us to Brazilian country music, called Sertaneja. In fact, the first night we were there, it was “quinta-sertaneja” night… aka: COUNTRY NIGHT!! What are the chances?? I also took the opportunity to introduce him to Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band, and George Strait. We all spent the night meeting other guests from around the world, and dancing. The next night at the hostel, the family had all their friends over to play music and sing. We all feasted on sausage, beef, vegetables, rice and beans, and relaxed by the pool enjoying the music long into the night. Talking to the other guests in Portuguese really made me realize how much my language skills have improved. Really, once you move outside of Rio, people speak much slower and clearer. Rio has a distinct, thick accent and people speak very quickly. I had no problem speaking and understanding Brazilians from other parts of Brazil. In fact, close to Argentina many people speak a mix of Portuguese and Spanish (Portoñhol). In fact, the man from our hostel that picked us up from the airport was Brazilian but spoke Spanish!
After two nights on the Brazilian side of the Falls, we crossed the border into Argentina where we spent the day seeing the Falls from a different perspective. We hiked to the largest and most well-known part of the Falls called “Garganta del Diablo” (Devil’s Throat) and peered down into the misty abyss below.
That night, we stayed at a rather dingy and rundown hostel, but everyone was very easy-going and we ended up having a blast! Again, we feasted on Brazilian barbecue and partied with the other guests (mostly crazy Australians) well into the night.
The next afternoon, we hopped a 20-hour overnight bus to Buenos Aires. We had been warned that Argentinean police stop busses quite a bit, and that turned out to be quite true. Three times, the police stopped our bus, boarded, checked passports, and looked for drugs and other illicit things. The third time, they even brought a dog on to sniff out drugs. Two rows behind me, the dog signaled that he found something and it turned out a 14 year old boy traveling alone had a tiny bit of marijuana on him. This turned into a 2-hour ordeal in which the police found other Argentinean men on the bus to be witnesses while they opened the boy’s bag and found the drugs. Then they removed him from the bus, called his parents, and did paperwork. MEANWHILE, we made friends with the two bus drivers, convinced them to blare Reggaeton music from the bus, have a dance party on the side of the road. They even let us sit in the drivers seat and take pictures ☺
The next morning we arrived in a flooded Buenos Aires. The rain was coming down very hard and we went straight to our hostel in Palermo. Luckily, that was the last we saw of rain. In fact, the rest of the week was absolutely gorgeous!! We welcomed the “cool” weather (75-85 degrees) and explored all that Buenos Aires had to offer. Here are a few highlights from B.A.:
-An amazing Tango show at a famous Tango Bar called Café Tortoni
-Moved to a great hostel in San Telmo (the older section of town well-known for their antique shops and Tango
-Had a picnic in a park
-Went paddle boating
-Took a double-decker bus tour of the city
-Celebrated Jenny getting accepted to law school in Miami with a dinner of fruit, desserts, and champagne
-Took a tour of underground tunnels beneath the oldest church/monastery in Buenos Aires
-Went to a planetarium to see a show and we all ended up sleeping through the entire thing!
-Saw the Eva Péron museum—absolutely incredible!!
-Got a tour of the Argentinean version of the White House, aka: the Pink House (Casa Rosada)
-Saw the madres of the desaparecidos at the Plaza de Mayo
-Went to a bar and watched teenagers competing in a rap contest... HILARIOUS =)
-Went shopping at outdoor markets
-Ate lots of steak, dulce de leitche (caramel) and chocolate
-Learned salsa at a dance club and danced till 6am =)
-Laughed SO MUCH!!
Also, I almost got robbed at a restaurant. It was about 3pm and we ate a Spanish restaurant downtown. We were sitting inside a huge empty restaurant kinda near the door. No one at our table noticed, but an older man dressed well came in the door talking on a cell phone and stood near our table. He brushed past my chair, and I assumed he walked by to sit down at another table. Well, he didn’t. He took my purse and walked out of the restaurant. Luckily, the waitress noticed him and yelled “sua bolsa!!” Me, Garazi, and two restaurant employees ran after him out of the restaurant. When he saw we were chasing him and realized he was too fat and slow to get away, he dropped the purse and took off running down the street yelling over his shoulder that he had dropped it! Luckily, he hadn’t even opened it so everything was still there. I was so lucky!! I think I was off guard because I felt so safe in Buenos Aires. That just goes to show you have to be careful no matter where you are!
Overall, the trip was an absolute BLAST. The five of us got so close and I couldn’t have gone with a better group☺ Now it’s back to Rio to finally start classes.
Carnaval in Rio
Carnaval was unbelievable!! It officially began the Saturday before Lent and lasted till Fat Tuesday. Although many Catholic countries celebrate Carnaval, Rio is considered the Carnaval capital of the world because it is the biggest. Every year more than 500,000 visitors come to Rio for Carnaval. For Brazilians, Carnaval sums up their culture. People sing, dance, party, and have tons of fun with their families.
Here is a brief history of Carnaval from a website I found:
The roots go back to the ancient Romans and Greeks who celebrated Spring with parties and dancing in the streets. This carried over to modern Europe and then to the New World. When the Portuguese colonized Brazil, they brought the tradition with them where it mixed with Amerindian and African traditions. Aristocrats dressed as commoners, poor people as royalty, and men dressed as women to symbolize that social roles and class differences were to be forgotten during Carnaval. Slaves were even able to be free for the three days!
Carnaval Today:
Recently, the biggest parade, the Samba Parade, was moved from the downtown streets to the purpose-built Sambódromo. Tickets to the Samba school competition run from $30 for crappy “you can’t see a damn thing” seats to $1300 for the best seats in the house. Each samba school picks a theme, writes music and lyrics, makes costumes and floats, and practices all year for the Parade.
Since most people can’t afford to attend the Samba Parade, street blocos are where the real party is held. Over 300 groups (usually consisting of a percussion group, singers, dancers, and a tall truck with speakers) perform in the streets all over the city. Many of the roads are closed and the groups are followed by crowds of enthusiastic revelers dressed in costumes, bathing suits, plain clothes, and even many in drag. Everyone from children to grandmothers can be seen breakin’ it down side-by-side in ridiculous costumes throughout Carnaval.
Almost all the Carnaval music is samba, although there are a handful of different samba styles. The fast-paced dance step is something that takes practice, but very fun once you get the hang of it!
My experience:
Carnaval was everything I expected and more. Most business were closed and people young and old were dressed in ridiculous costumes, crowns, hats, or masks. One day I literally saw a flock of Avatars. Their entire bodies were blue and their faces were painted to look just like the movie characters! No need to look where the blocos were each day, just wander the streets and I found them everywhere. Most of them began in the late afternoon but I went to one that began at 8:30 am. So fun! Blocos range in size and I went to small neighborhood ones and huge blocos on the beach with over 100,000 people! I think I prefer the smaller ones. Dancing through the streets in 100 + degree heat can get tiring… especially when you do it all day for 4+ days straight, but Brazilians don’t seem to get tired of it and I tried to take their lead ☺ The lucky people whose apartments face the streets where the blocos travel, hung out their windows and threw confetti on the people below. The mood of the crowd was so enthusiastic and happy and everyone had a great time. ☺
Here is a brief history of Carnaval from a website I found:
The roots go back to the ancient Romans and Greeks who celebrated Spring with parties and dancing in the streets. This carried over to modern Europe and then to the New World. When the Portuguese colonized Brazil, they brought the tradition with them where it mixed with Amerindian and African traditions. Aristocrats dressed as commoners, poor people as royalty, and men dressed as women to symbolize that social roles and class differences were to be forgotten during Carnaval. Slaves were even able to be free for the three days!
Carnaval Today:
Recently, the biggest parade, the Samba Parade, was moved from the downtown streets to the purpose-built Sambódromo. Tickets to the Samba school competition run from $30 for crappy “you can’t see a damn thing” seats to $1300 for the best seats in the house. Each samba school picks a theme, writes music and lyrics, makes costumes and floats, and practices all year for the Parade.
Since most people can’t afford to attend the Samba Parade, street blocos are where the real party is held. Over 300 groups (usually consisting of a percussion group, singers, dancers, and a tall truck with speakers) perform in the streets all over the city. Many of the roads are closed and the groups are followed by crowds of enthusiastic revelers dressed in costumes, bathing suits, plain clothes, and even many in drag. Everyone from children to grandmothers can be seen breakin’ it down side-by-side in ridiculous costumes throughout Carnaval.
Almost all the Carnaval music is samba, although there are a handful of different samba styles. The fast-paced dance step is something that takes practice, but very fun once you get the hang of it!
My experience:
Carnaval was everything I expected and more. Most business were closed and people young and old were dressed in ridiculous costumes, crowns, hats, or masks. One day I literally saw a flock of Avatars. Their entire bodies were blue and their faces were painted to look just like the movie characters! No need to look where the blocos were each day, just wander the streets and I found them everywhere. Most of them began in the late afternoon but I went to one that began at 8:30 am. So fun! Blocos range in size and I went to small neighborhood ones and huge blocos on the beach with over 100,000 people! I think I prefer the smaller ones. Dancing through the streets in 100 + degree heat can get tiring… especially when you do it all day for 4+ days straight, but Brazilians don’t seem to get tired of it and I tried to take their lead ☺ The lucky people whose apartments face the streets where the blocos travel, hung out their windows and threw confetti on the people below. The mood of the crowd was so enthusiastic and happy and everyone had a great time. ☺
February 15, 2010
the most badass moment of my life
You know those tall, nubby looking mountains you always see in pictures surrounding Rio? Yeah, I climbed one. And not just any one. Pedra da Gávea is one of the most spectacular and strenuous urban climbs in South America. The rock is easily distinguishable by large flat top that rises out of the Western skyline. The face of the rock looks like a carved figure, and there are ancient inscriptions on one of its sides, which have led to theories that the rock contains an ancient tomb, a time portal, and/or a UFO landing site. Whatever the case, it is cool as hell.
The 2.5 hour hike up was the craziest hike of my life. First of all, we did it at breakneck pace because a) we were afraid it would get dark before we reached the top, and b) we didn’t know each other well enough to say “slow the hell down! I’m dying here!” Something that we laugh about now since the events to follow definitely made us very close… literally.
Apparently the hike itself is only 1 mile, but in that mile, hikers also rise over a half-mile in altitude. They definitely don’t have things like this in Illinois, but I’m not in Illinois anymore that’s for sure. Seven students in my program and I made our way through various landscapes from dense tropical forest, to dry barren rocks. At points we had to use vines and grass to hoist ourselves up the rocks. Also, near the top, there was a 30 m rock-face that we later learned you are supposed to use legit ropes to climb. Oh well, despite the tense moments we made it to the top, tired but feeling very accomplished. The view from the top was incredible! The 360-degree view allowed us to see the rolling hills and jagged peaks of Barra da Tijuca coastline, lagoons, the gigantic sprawl of the Rocinha favela, and the entire south zone of the city and more.
Once we reached the top, we relaxed, stretched our sore muscles, had a snack, and settled in to watch the GORGOUS sunset over the ocean. Talk about a good reward. Exhausted, we cuddled up on the rocks (ha) and settled in for a good nights sleep. Or so we thought. About an hour later, we were all marveling at the beautiful way the lightening WAY off in the distance lit up the western sky, when a sudden shift in wind and sudden drop in temperature caused us to look behind us. The eastern sky was very dark and a storm was blowing in from the ocean. And quick. We quickly gathered our stuff, and carefully scrambled down the rocks to find shelter in a dinky cave a few meters down from the top (wait, when did I start using the metric system? haha). Everyone had a good attitude about the situation and we laughed it off by telling stories and getting to know each other for the first few hours. Oh! I almost forgot. I got hit by lightening. Kinda. You see, the lightening was very very close and must have hit the rock we were sheltering under and sent a wave of conduction into my leg. Just me. No one else felt it. It didn’t hurt, but definitely scared me!
Soon the novelty wore off and it started getting very cold. Since no one had brought warm clothes (it had been 104 degrees when we hiked up), we literally spooned together on the sloped floor of the cave (aka: you couldn’t move or you would roll out of the cave) and “slept” until daylight. I don’t know if any sleeping happened but the next few hours were a drowsy blur. As morning drew closer, we once again climbed the summit and watched the beautiful sunrise over the city. I wish I could say that I saw the whole thing, but the flat rock at the top was a welcome comfort after that cave and I kept falling asleep. Every time I opened my eyes the sky was a different shade of brilliant red/orange. Another 3 hours later, we emerged from the forest filthy, exhausted, sweaty, and feeling badass. We just spent the night in a cave on the top of a mountain during a thunderstorm in the middle of Brazil. How many people can say that?
The 2.5 hour hike up was the craziest hike of my life. First of all, we did it at breakneck pace because a) we were afraid it would get dark before we reached the top, and b) we didn’t know each other well enough to say “slow the hell down! I’m dying here!” Something that we laugh about now since the events to follow definitely made us very close… literally.
Apparently the hike itself is only 1 mile, but in that mile, hikers also rise over a half-mile in altitude. They definitely don’t have things like this in Illinois, but I’m not in Illinois anymore that’s for sure. Seven students in my program and I made our way through various landscapes from dense tropical forest, to dry barren rocks. At points we had to use vines and grass to hoist ourselves up the rocks. Also, near the top, there was a 30 m rock-face that we later learned you are supposed to use legit ropes to climb. Oh well, despite the tense moments we made it to the top, tired but feeling very accomplished. The view from the top was incredible! The 360-degree view allowed us to see the rolling hills and jagged peaks of Barra da Tijuca coastline, lagoons, the gigantic sprawl of the Rocinha favela, and the entire south zone of the city and more.
Once we reached the top, we relaxed, stretched our sore muscles, had a snack, and settled in to watch the GORGOUS sunset over the ocean. Talk about a good reward. Exhausted, we cuddled up on the rocks (ha) and settled in for a good nights sleep. Or so we thought. About an hour later, we were all marveling at the beautiful way the lightening WAY off in the distance lit up the western sky, when a sudden shift in wind and sudden drop in temperature caused us to look behind us. The eastern sky was very dark and a storm was blowing in from the ocean. And quick. We quickly gathered our stuff, and carefully scrambled down the rocks to find shelter in a dinky cave a few meters down from the top (wait, when did I start using the metric system? haha). Everyone had a good attitude about the situation and we laughed it off by telling stories and getting to know each other for the first few hours. Oh! I almost forgot. I got hit by lightening. Kinda. You see, the lightening was very very close and must have hit the rock we were sheltering under and sent a wave of conduction into my leg. Just me. No one else felt it. It didn’t hurt, but definitely scared me!
Soon the novelty wore off and it started getting very cold. Since no one had brought warm clothes (it had been 104 degrees when we hiked up), we literally spooned together on the sloped floor of the cave (aka: you couldn’t move or you would roll out of the cave) and “slept” until daylight. I don’t know if any sleeping happened but the next few hours were a drowsy blur. As morning drew closer, we once again climbed the summit and watched the beautiful sunrise over the city. I wish I could say that I saw the whole thing, but the flat rock at the top was a welcome comfort after that cave and I kept falling asleep. Every time I opened my eyes the sky was a different shade of brilliant red/orange. Another 3 hours later, we emerged from the forest filthy, exhausted, sweaty, and feeling badass. We just spent the night in a cave on the top of a mountain during a thunderstorm in the middle of Brazil. How many people can say that?
the sombódromo
Last week I (along with about 70,000 other people) went to an official samba school practice/dress rehearsal at the Sombódromo (the runway where the schools compete to be considered the best samba school in Rio). There are many samba schools in Rio and only 24 get to compete during Carnaval. Of the schools that compete, they are divided into two categories: A and B. Each year one school moves up from B to A and one moves down. When a school moves down, it is a disgrace to their school and their reputation takes a hit. Therefore, competition is fierce. As they compete, judges critique everything from their rhythm, to their smiles.
When I attended, the Mangueira samba school (one of the largest in Rio) was practicing on the runway. The coolest. Thing. Ever. Over 4,000 samba school members participated in the parade. They were divided into different groups. Some wore colorful costumes such as huge dresses or simply jeweled lingerie and others simply danced in their samba school official shirts. There were dancers on top of big platforms dancing their hearts out. The show lasted 80 minutes, which is the amount of time allocated for each school to flaunt their samba skills for the judges. The official Mangueira song was played during the entire show and everyone in the audience danced and sang along in the crowded bleachers, hardly aware that they were not on the runway themselves!
When I attended, the Mangueira samba school (one of the largest in Rio) was practicing on the runway. The coolest. Thing. Ever. Over 4,000 samba school members participated in the parade. They were divided into different groups. Some wore colorful costumes such as huge dresses or simply jeweled lingerie and others simply danced in their samba school official shirts. There were dancers on top of big platforms dancing their hearts out. The show lasted 80 minutes, which is the amount of time allocated for each school to flaunt their samba skills for the judges. The official Mangueira song was played during the entire show and everyone in the audience danced and sang along in the crowded bleachers, hardly aware that they were not on the runway themselves!
February 6, 2010
is this real life?
The Intensive Language Class is finally over! I’m not really sure how much it helped, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt. I now have off until March 2nd ☺ Wow, I have a hard life.
Carnaval officially starts next Saturday, but in the minds of Cariocas, it has already begun. Prices have been raised on everything, tourists are beginning the influx, and there are street parties all day, everyday on the weekends.
Since class ended Thursday, Thursday night all the international students had a party to celebrate, which ended with a crazy dance party with our cab driver, and swimming at the beach at 5am.
But even crazier than all that, is what came prior. A pizza rodizio!! Basically, you sit down and every kind of pizza you can think of (and many you couldn’t) comes circling around to your table. We feasted on pizza with shrimp, cheeseburger, palms, corn, fish, and much more. After eating more than enough, they then came out with the “pizza doce” or desert pizzas. Oh. My. God. There was chocolate pizza with strawberries, fried banana pizza, carmel pizza, pineapple pizza, and the list goes on… I’m totally bringing this to America.
Yesterday, we spent the day at a beautiful, secluded beach called Prainha south of Rio. It ended up being quite an adventure. To get there, we took an hour bus, and then hiked an hour (all in 100 plus degree heat). We then relaxed on the beach there for 4 hours and took frequent dips in the cool water (although the ridiculously strong current didn’t quite make for a relaxing swim). Surfers were everywhere which made for an even better view, if you know what I mean ☺
After we had our fill of the sun and waves, we started home. Luckily, an ice truck saw us suffering and let us hop in the back of his truck for a lift to the next beach over. We then walked another 45 mins or so to the bus stop. We ended up waiting there for about a half hour since everytime a bus that we needed came, he passed us by without stopping. Here, busses sometimes don’t stop for you for one reason or another. Maybe you’re too wet or sandy from the beach, maybe you are carrying something big they don’t want on their bus, maybe they are in the wrong lane to pull over, or maybe they simply don’t feel like it. Eventually, we did get a bus home, but it was at the peak of rush hour. Traffic is HORRIBLE in Rio and it took us about twice as long to get home. Still, so worth it!
Carnaval officially starts next Saturday, but in the minds of Cariocas, it has already begun. Prices have been raised on everything, tourists are beginning the influx, and there are street parties all day, everyday on the weekends.
Since class ended Thursday, Thursday night all the international students had a party to celebrate, which ended with a crazy dance party with our cab driver, and swimming at the beach at 5am.
But even crazier than all that, is what came prior. A pizza rodizio!! Basically, you sit down and every kind of pizza you can think of (and many you couldn’t) comes circling around to your table. We feasted on pizza with shrimp, cheeseburger, palms, corn, fish, and much more. After eating more than enough, they then came out with the “pizza doce” or desert pizzas. Oh. My. God. There was chocolate pizza with strawberries, fried banana pizza, carmel pizza, pineapple pizza, and the list goes on… I’m totally bringing this to America.
Yesterday, we spent the day at a beautiful, secluded beach called Prainha south of Rio. It ended up being quite an adventure. To get there, we took an hour bus, and then hiked an hour (all in 100 plus degree heat). We then relaxed on the beach there for 4 hours and took frequent dips in the cool water (although the ridiculously strong current didn’t quite make for a relaxing swim). Surfers were everywhere which made for an even better view, if you know what I mean ☺
After we had our fill of the sun and waves, we started home. Luckily, an ice truck saw us suffering and let us hop in the back of his truck for a lift to the next beach over. We then walked another 45 mins or so to the bus stop. We ended up waiting there for about a half hour since everytime a bus that we needed came, he passed us by without stopping. Here, busses sometimes don’t stop for you for one reason or another. Maybe you’re too wet or sandy from the beach, maybe you are carrying something big they don’t want on their bus, maybe they are in the wrong lane to pull over, or maybe they simply don’t feel like it. Eventually, we did get a bus home, but it was at the peak of rush hour. Traffic is HORRIBLE in Rio and it took us about twice as long to get home. Still, so worth it!
First Futébol Game
Last week, I attended my first Brazilian soccer game… and what a game to see. It was the Flamengo v. Fluminense (Fla-Flu) game in the Rio de Janeiro city championship tournament. Apparently, this cross-town rivalry began way back in 1911 when a few unhappy Fluminese players, left the club and joined the Flamengo club where they started the soccer program there.
Flamengo is the most successful team in Rio State Championships. They are “up one” on the Fluminense 31-30. There is also an interesting social dynamic between the two teams. Fluminense was originally started by sons of the elite who had come into contact with soccer while studying in Europe. Since then, it has been traditionally supported by the wealthy, which leads to resentment from the middle and lower class fans.
Before the game, it was already apparent the sincere divide between allegiances. When presenting our ticket (which was in the “neutral” and “tame” section of the stadium… tame is a very relative term) we had to declare which team we were rooting for. Randomly choosing Flamengo, we were told we had to go to the other side of the stadium. In Brazil, it is necessary to divide teams spectators simply for protection. Those wearing jerseys, had to take them off to walk through the opposing team’s side of the stadium, or risk getting hardcore heckled or even assaulted.
Once inside the 95,000-seat stadium Maracaná Stadium, you couldn’t help but feel the energy. Between all the fireworks (snuck in by spectators and set off in the stands), waving banners, and zealous chants, the atmosphere was indescribable. We faked as much enthusiasm as we could muster after arbitrarily choosing to support Flamengo and attempted to mouth the cheers, waving our shirts in the air with the best of them. Our support must have helped because Flamengo had a late comeback to take the win!
January 26, 2010
adventures in brazilian bureaucracy
Today I registered with the Federal Police, an assurance that bureaucracy is universal. When you arrive in Brazil and are staying for a longer period of time, you must register with the police within 30 days of your arrival, basically so they know you are where you say you are. Luckily, the school organizes groups of students to go each day, and drives us 30 minutes to the International Airport on the other side of the city where the office is located. Apparently, they only see 60 “estrangeiros” per day (a term they use for foreigners, which sounds more like “alien” to me). They begin handing out numbers at 7am and the office opens at 8am. If you don’t get there before 6:30am, you are likely out of luck (which happened to us yesterday☹). Therefore, we met at 6am for a sleepy bus ride to the airport, waited in line till 7:30am when they finally decided to start handing out numbers, and then proceeded to wait in a waiting room until 1pm when we were finished being processed.
Anywhere else, 6 hours in a waiting room would seem like eternity, but I found it rather interesting. Between reading, chatting with other students, and going on coffee breaks, I studied the others in the waiting room. People from all over the world waited patiently for an attendant to examine their documents and fingerprint them. They all seemed prepared for the wait and no one seemed rushed to get out. Unlike in the US, people were not complaining, talking loudly on cell phones, or diligently working from a laptop or smart phone. In fact, they seemed rather relaxed.
We chatted with an Egyptian cage fighter who is training in Brazil for 6 months, and joked around with the fingerprint guy who told us “his wife would be upset if he knew he got to hold hands with all these pretty girls in one day.” Besides the expected one cranky, overweight, hating-his-life guy who yelled at us to stop being so happy and stop lounging like it was our own house (never mind we had been waiting for 6 hours), everyone seemed very laidback. When I finally got to see an official around noon, she was chatting lightly with her co-worker, cracking jokes, and deciding where she wanted to go to lunch. No wonder we had to wait so long.
It’s going to take me some time to fully understand and maybe even adapt the mentality here. I’ve already cut down my amount of “sticky notes” on my desktop from 4+ to one lonely note listing fun stuff I to do each week. My “to do” list has become more like a “maybe I’ll do these things if I feel like it.. sometime.. maybe” then a strict checklist. Maybe you should try it. You might be surprised by how much you like it ☺
Anywhere else, 6 hours in a waiting room would seem like eternity, but I found it rather interesting. Between reading, chatting with other students, and going on coffee breaks, I studied the others in the waiting room. People from all over the world waited patiently for an attendant to examine their documents and fingerprint them. They all seemed prepared for the wait and no one seemed rushed to get out. Unlike in the US, people were not complaining, talking loudly on cell phones, or diligently working from a laptop or smart phone. In fact, they seemed rather relaxed.
We chatted with an Egyptian cage fighter who is training in Brazil for 6 months, and joked around with the fingerprint guy who told us “his wife would be upset if he knew he got to hold hands with all these pretty girls in one day.” Besides the expected one cranky, overweight, hating-his-life guy who yelled at us to stop being so happy and stop lounging like it was our own house (never mind we had been waiting for 6 hours), everyone seemed very laidback. When I finally got to see an official around noon, she was chatting lightly with her co-worker, cracking jokes, and deciding where she wanted to go to lunch. No wonder we had to wait so long.
It’s going to take me some time to fully understand and maybe even adapt the mentality here. I’ve already cut down my amount of “sticky notes” on my desktop from 4+ to one lonely note listing fun stuff I to do each week. My “to do” list has become more like a “maybe I’ll do these things if I feel like it.. sometime.. maybe” then a strict checklist. Maybe you should try it. You might be surprised by how much you like it ☺
January 21, 2010
It's so hard to study while "studying" abroad...
I love going to a Catholic University. Wednesday was São Sebastião Day so we didn’t have class. Of course, we used this free day to beach it up hardcore. We hopped a bus 20 minutes south to Barra de Tijuca. This area is technically still in Rio, but you would never know it by the look of it. The gorgeous beach was very wide, clean, and had beautiful clear water. We passed a good chunk of the day taking naps in the shade and taking cool dips in the sea. The sun is so strong here that even after re-applying sunscreen three times and staying under an umbrella when not in the water, all of us still managed to get scorched.
Barra (pronounced baha) is considered the “Hollywood” of Rio. This is where many of the “new rich” people such as futébol stars, singers, and actors reside and it is also where they are beginning construction on facilities for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics! Although I didn’t get to explore the city part of this area, I definitely want to come back and learn about the Olympic plans. Everyone here is very excited and proud to host both the 2016 Olympics, and the 2014 World Cup. The country will be changing a lot within the next few years and I hope to get a feel for the city before and after the changes ☺ Below is an ad for the Olympics that is all over the city. It reads, "another future starts now."
The other day, I was reading a Brazilian paper and noticed a whole article dedicated to a NYT article about how Rio is cracking down on security before the Olympics. It read something like “the world is noticing our security efforts” and seemed rather proud to be mentioned in the NYT (with a inset picture of the NYT article). It’s funny how integrated America is in Brazilian life. Half of the programs on TV are in English and have voice over or subtitles. Many English words are used in the names of stores, food, or other products. Maybe they think English looks chic? Kind of like those people who get tattoos in Chinese or Arabic because they think it looks cool? I’m not sure if that’s the reason or not, but either way it’s hilarious to hear the different pronunciations.
My top 4 favorite English words in Portugûese:
1. Chic (pronounced and written “chique”). Gets me every time ☺
2. Picnic (pronounced “pick-e-nick-y”). Hilarious!
3. Hotdog (pronounced “hot-che-dog-y”). Also great.
4. Titanic (pronounced "chi-che-neek-y"). Seriously couldn't stop laughing...
Love it ☺
I also went on a very nice walk this evening to Lagoa, a lake just down the street from my apartment. It had just stormed heavily and the sun came out. It was gorgeous! We even saw parts of a rainbow!
I took the opportunity to take lots of pictures with the one and only.. Christ ;)
PS- Yes I actually am studying also. I gave a presentation on my hometown today in class and talked all about cornfields, the windmill farm, and my grandparents Dairy farm. Tomorrow I have my first test! Although this intensive language month is not technically for a grade, if you don’t “pass” you can’t take the next level during the semester. I better get studying!
Barra (pronounced baha) is considered the “Hollywood” of Rio. This is where many of the “new rich” people such as futébol stars, singers, and actors reside and it is also where they are beginning construction on facilities for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics! Although I didn’t get to explore the city part of this area, I definitely want to come back and learn about the Olympic plans. Everyone here is very excited and proud to host both the 2016 Olympics, and the 2014 World Cup. The country will be changing a lot within the next few years and I hope to get a feel for the city before and after the changes ☺ Below is an ad for the Olympics that is all over the city. It reads, "another future starts now."
The other day, I was reading a Brazilian paper and noticed a whole article dedicated to a NYT article about how Rio is cracking down on security before the Olympics. It read something like “the world is noticing our security efforts” and seemed rather proud to be mentioned in the NYT (with a inset picture of the NYT article). It’s funny how integrated America is in Brazilian life. Half of the programs on TV are in English and have voice over or subtitles. Many English words are used in the names of stores, food, or other products. Maybe they think English looks chic? Kind of like those people who get tattoos in Chinese or Arabic because they think it looks cool? I’m not sure if that’s the reason or not, but either way it’s hilarious to hear the different pronunciations.
My top 4 favorite English words in Portugûese:
1. Chic (pronounced and written “chique”). Gets me every time ☺
2. Picnic (pronounced “pick-e-nick-y”). Hilarious!
3. Hotdog (pronounced “hot-che-dog-y”). Also great.
4. Titanic (pronounced "chi-che-neek-y"). Seriously couldn't stop laughing...
Love it ☺
I also went on a very nice walk this evening to Lagoa, a lake just down the street from my apartment. It had just stormed heavily and the sun came out. It was gorgeous! We even saw parts of a rainbow!
I took the opportunity to take lots of pictures with the one and only.. Christ ;)
PS- Yes I actually am studying also. I gave a presentation on my hometown today in class and talked all about cornfields, the windmill farm, and my grandparents Dairy farm. Tomorrow I have my first test! Although this intensive language month is not technically for a grade, if you don’t “pass” you can’t take the next level during the semester. I better get studying!
January 19, 2010
Faux Pas
Let’s just say that hypothetically, if you were to tell someone you were “muito barata” it does not mean drunk. It means cheap. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything :/
Things Brazilians are obsessed with
1. Cheese
Cheese balls, bread and cheese, cheese quiches, cheese sandwiches, cheese croissants… EVERYTHING has cheese
2. Telenovelas (soap operas)
Life stops for many people in the evening when the whole family gathers around the TV or at the local barzinho (little bar) to watch novelas. They are just as ridiculously cheesy with questionable acting as soap operas in the US. The difference? Here, fans are not limited to old widows over the age of 65. Even young men love the hot women and drama. Think One Tree Hill/Days of Our Lives.
3. Futébol. Duh. Do I even need to explain?
4. Energy Conservation
All appliances are unplugged when not in use. When you leave a room for one minute, you turn off the lights, fans, etc. There are no unnecessary appliances.
5. Juice Bars
There are juice bars on literally every corner. I’m talking fresh squeezed juice made from your choice of over 20+ kinds of fruits/vegetables
Cheese balls, bread and cheese, cheese quiches, cheese sandwiches, cheese croissants… EVERYTHING has cheese
2. Telenovelas (soap operas)
Life stops for many people in the evening when the whole family gathers around the TV or at the local barzinho (little bar) to watch novelas. They are just as ridiculously cheesy with questionable acting as soap operas in the US. The difference? Here, fans are not limited to old widows over the age of 65. Even young men love the hot women and drama. Think One Tree Hill/Days of Our Lives.
3. Futébol. Duh. Do I even need to explain?
4. Energy Conservation
All appliances are unplugged when not in use. When you leave a room for one minute, you turn off the lights, fans, etc. There are no unnecessary appliances.
5. Juice Bars
There are juice bars on literally every corner. I’m talking fresh squeezed juice made from your choice of over 20+ kinds of fruits/vegetables
January 16, 2010
"oh its just a 20 minute walk"
The other day, Jenny, Daniel (Jenny’s host brother) and I went hiking to a beautiful waterfall in the Botanical Garden very close to our neighborhood.
Now, when I say “hiking,” let me just give you a glimpse of what I mean: rock climbing barefoot in a bikini while dodging fire ants and scaling inclines by climbing up tree roots.
So. Freakin. Awesome. The pay off was great too! After a “20 minute walk” aka: hour intense hike, we got to a secluded waterfall with crystal clear and crisp water where we cooled off and continued to hike higher to another part of the waterfall. We were deep in a jungle, yet still in the middle of one of the biggest cities in South America!
trabalho a vivir, não viva para trabalhar
Carnaval is less than a month away and in true Brazilian form, the city is already starting it’s celebrations. Every neighborhood has a “bloco” or organized band and dancers who perform different types of Brazilian music and dress up in costumes for street parades. Walk anywhere in the city in the late afternoon/evening and you will likely run into a bloco practicing their lineup for Carnaval. Last night we went with some Brazilian friends to one of these outdoor concerts/practices. The music was unbelievable, the dancing was great, and the best part? It was pouring rain! Everyone was drenched from head to toe and still had a great time! Our friends then drove us to a club down the street, and the car broke down in the middle of the highway! We ended up pushing the car to a gas station, and wading through knee deep water in the streets to get to this place, where we proceeded to dance like maniacs till 5 in the morning ☺ It’s typical here for people to not go out until midnight or so and stay out till 6am (when most things close). Unbelievable night! Not to mention after a few capirinhas, I seem to be fluent in Portuguese… ☺
Today, Jenny and I went downtown and wandered through the old part of town. The architecture is very European and there are praças everywhere filled with pigeons (which the Portuguese imported to make the place look more European). We wandered through the Saturday markets, attempted bartering for various items, and then stumbled across another bloco practice. We ended up sitting at a café and eating a delicious lunch, drinking cervejas, talking, and listening to the great Samba music for the rest of the afternoon ☺
Today, Jenny and I went downtown and wandered through the old part of town. The architecture is very European and there are praças everywhere filled with pigeons (which the Portuguese imported to make the place look more European). We wandered through the Saturday markets, attempted bartering for various items, and then stumbled across another bloco practice. We ended up sitting at a café and eating a delicious lunch, drinking cervejas, talking, and listening to the great Samba music for the rest of the afternoon ☺
January 13, 2010
Coco v. Cocô
Brief rundown of what I’ve been up to:
This week has been wonderful. I’m starting to settle down and feel at home here. I’m also kind of learning my way around... slowly but surely if you know me ☺ My intensive Portuguese class started Monday and it’s going very well. I’m learning much more than sentence structure, vocabulary and verb conjugations, but also customs, music, slang phrases, culture, history, and much more. Although it’s nearly five hours each day (8:30-1pm), I still have all afternoon/evening to sightsee or just relax on the beach (which I have been doing a LOT of ☺ ).
In my neighborhood there is a little strip of outdoor restaurants and bars that is always full of people. After a long day at the beach, me and two other girls from my program got sushi and capirinhas (Brazil’s national drink made of sugar cane alcohol and fruit juice), and talked for hours. It is so cool to talk to people who have had the coolest experiences and who have interests and goals. By being so far removed from your typical environment, you can really look at the big picture and see all the opportunities before you.
Last night, Jenny’s host brother Daniel, who is our age, showed us the ropes on the public busses and we went to Copacabana (a 20 minute bus ride up the coast) to meet up with a bunch of international students and interns. Again, I talked to people from Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, and of course Brazil.
Some fun cultural facts:
Food:
-For breakfast I eat a typical Brazilian breakfast which consists of bread, cheese, juice, and fruit
-Lunch is really big and typically is rice, beans, farofa, salad, some kind of marinated meat, juice, and jello or pudding. It is usually eaten around 1 or 2pm.
-Lanche is a midday snack that might be a piece of fruit, popsicle or a roll.
-Dinner, if they even have it, is usually something very small. Sometimes a piece of fruit, a small sandwich, or a piece of pizza and is eaten around 10pm.
-Juice bars are on EVERY corner and people hang out there all day long
-Tap water is not safe to drink so families have water dispensers or filters in their houses
Beach Culture:
-Cariocas (residents of Rio), spend all weekend at the beach with their families. However, they don’t bring anything with them. No towel, water, or clothes.
-Everyone rents chairs and umbrellas. Rarely do you see someone laying out on the sand like most Americans do. I think it is because the sun is so strong here.
-Brazilian bikinis and Speedos. Everywhere. Enough said.
-Soccer games everywhere
-Strong undertow and large waves so you can’t swim out very far, but its fun to play in!
-Vendors sell food, drinks, swimsuits, sunscreen, and everything else you can think of walk the beaches. I’ve had a coconut milk almost everyday that I’ve been here!! But you have to be careful to order a coco, not a cocô or else you might get “poop” instead of “coconut!”
Customs:
-VERY laidback, never worry about being late and walk slowly
-When women greet other women or men, they kiss each other once on each cheek, and when men greet other men, they hug. When you are greeting a group of people at a party or something, you must greet each person with a hug or kiss when you get there and before you leave
-Restrooms in Brazil have bidet and a trashcan for toilet paper
-When parking your car in the city, you pay a man to watch your car so it is not stolen or vandalized. Although this is not an official law, if you don’t pay, the attendant might vandalize your car himself
-Time and distance are VERY relative here. I went on a hike that a Brazilian told us was supposed to be 20 minutes and it was actually 2 hours! Another time, a Brazilian told us it was a 15 minute bus ride and it was 40 minutes. Also a “5 minute walk” is more like 20 minutes. When a party or something starts at a certain time, no one comes until 2 hours later. It’s just expected here.
-Brazilians are very indirect. They consider it rude to answer “no” to any question. For example, if someone invites you somewhere and you don’t want to go, you say something like “yeah maybe that sounds good.” Confusing!
-However, although they are indirect with some things, men are not indirect at all when they like a woman. Catcalls, and remarks are common. Also, at bars or clubs, it is not unusual for a man to approach a woman and just start kissing her. I’d say that’s pretty direct!
-They also want to be helpful at all times. This means that if you are lost and ask someone for directions, they will give them to you, whether they actually know where somewhere is or not. If you ask four people, you will probably get four completely different instructions.
I will add more as I come across them! Ciao for now!
PS- I don't have wi-fi so I've been "borrowing" internet access from "Beto," whoever that is, so its pretty spotty.. I'm working on a more permanent solution so that I can video chat with friends and family :)
This week has been wonderful. I’m starting to settle down and feel at home here. I’m also kind of learning my way around... slowly but surely if you know me ☺ My intensive Portuguese class started Monday and it’s going very well. I’m learning much more than sentence structure, vocabulary and verb conjugations, but also customs, music, slang phrases, culture, history, and much more. Although it’s nearly five hours each day (8:30-1pm), I still have all afternoon/evening to sightsee or just relax on the beach (which I have been doing a LOT of ☺ ).
In my neighborhood there is a little strip of outdoor restaurants and bars that is always full of people. After a long day at the beach, me and two other girls from my program got sushi and capirinhas (Brazil’s national drink made of sugar cane alcohol and fruit juice), and talked for hours. It is so cool to talk to people who have had the coolest experiences and who have interests and goals. By being so far removed from your typical environment, you can really look at the big picture and see all the opportunities before you.
Last night, Jenny’s host brother Daniel, who is our age, showed us the ropes on the public busses and we went to Copacabana (a 20 minute bus ride up the coast) to meet up with a bunch of international students and interns. Again, I talked to people from Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, and of course Brazil.
Some fun cultural facts:
Food:
-For breakfast I eat a typical Brazilian breakfast which consists of bread, cheese, juice, and fruit
-Lunch is really big and typically is rice, beans, farofa, salad, some kind of marinated meat, juice, and jello or pudding. It is usually eaten around 1 or 2pm.
-Lanche is a midday snack that might be a piece of fruit, popsicle or a roll.
-Dinner, if they even have it, is usually something very small. Sometimes a piece of fruit, a small sandwich, or a piece of pizza and is eaten around 10pm.
-Juice bars are on EVERY corner and people hang out there all day long
-Tap water is not safe to drink so families have water dispensers or filters in their houses
Beach Culture:
-Cariocas (residents of Rio), spend all weekend at the beach with their families. However, they don’t bring anything with them. No towel, water, or clothes.
-Everyone rents chairs and umbrellas. Rarely do you see someone laying out on the sand like most Americans do. I think it is because the sun is so strong here.
-Brazilian bikinis and Speedos. Everywhere. Enough said.
-Soccer games everywhere
-Strong undertow and large waves so you can’t swim out very far, but its fun to play in!
-Vendors sell food, drinks, swimsuits, sunscreen, and everything else you can think of walk the beaches. I’ve had a coconut milk almost everyday that I’ve been here!! But you have to be careful to order a coco, not a cocô or else you might get “poop” instead of “coconut!”
Customs:
-VERY laidback, never worry about being late and walk slowly
-When women greet other women or men, they kiss each other once on each cheek, and when men greet other men, they hug. When you are greeting a group of people at a party or something, you must greet each person with a hug or kiss when you get there and before you leave
-Restrooms in Brazil have bidet and a trashcan for toilet paper
-When parking your car in the city, you pay a man to watch your car so it is not stolen or vandalized. Although this is not an official law, if you don’t pay, the attendant might vandalize your car himself
-Time and distance are VERY relative here. I went on a hike that a Brazilian told us was supposed to be 20 minutes and it was actually 2 hours! Another time, a Brazilian told us it was a 15 minute bus ride and it was 40 minutes. Also a “5 minute walk” is more like 20 minutes. When a party or something starts at a certain time, no one comes until 2 hours later. It’s just expected here.
-Brazilians are very indirect. They consider it rude to answer “no” to any question. For example, if someone invites you somewhere and you don’t want to go, you say something like “yeah maybe that sounds good.” Confusing!
-However, although they are indirect with some things, men are not indirect at all when they like a woman. Catcalls, and remarks are common. Also, at bars or clubs, it is not unusual for a man to approach a woman and just start kissing her. I’d say that’s pretty direct!
-They also want to be helpful at all times. This means that if you are lost and ask someone for directions, they will give them to you, whether they actually know where somewhere is or not. If you ask four people, you will probably get four completely different instructions.
I will add more as I come across them! Ciao for now!
PS- I don't have wi-fi so I've been "borrowing" internet access from "Beto," whoever that is, so its pretty spotty.. I'm working on a more permanent solution so that I can video chat with friends and family :)
January 8, 2010
attempting to blend in
Last night, Jenny and I went out with one of her friends, Louis who is from Rio and attended PUC for undergrad, but is currently getting his masters degree at the University of Illinois. He drove us around our neighborhood hotspots and we had drinks at an outside bar/pizza parlor. It’s like Antonios but WAYYY better! There are restaurants like this and juice bars everywhere where huge crowds of young (and old) people gather outside. There is usually a bar with a few tables outside on the sidewalk and everyone else crowds around on the sidewalk and street drinking and talking. It is a really fun atmosphere! It was still about 80 degrees at 11pm and the cold Brahma was much appreciated ☺
This morning we got a tour of PUC, the university I will be studying at for both an Intensive Language class for the next 3 weeks, and the regular semester, which begins in March. We have all of February off for Carnaval and the tail end of Brazilian students summer. I plan on experiencing Carnaval in Rio but hope to also travel around the area with the extra time.
PUC is a private Catholic university in the southern region of Rio. It is actually located in my own neighborhood, Gávea. In contrast to the US, public universities in Brazil are actually more prestigious than private universities, in general. However, PUC has a great reputation and many of the countries biggest business owners have graduated from there. The campus is literally in a jungle. Vines, trees, and a small river run in between campus buildings. They say you can even spot monkeys in the trees if you get lucky. I’m going to bring bananas to class everyday now.. just in case ☺
PUC has many partnerships with large companies and corporations such as Petrobás, a large Brazilian oil company. The businesses sponsor buildings and programs for students to do research and develop new products for the companies. Students who are interested in starting their own businesses can even rent offices to run out of. I was very impressed by the community involvement and initiative of the PUC students.
After orientation, Jenny and I attempted to join the outside world via buying cell phones. QUITE an adventure. First, we needed to exchange money. Logically, we thought a bank would do this for us, and we entered a revolving door at Itáu. I pushed the door and just as I got completely inside the door, it locked. I was stuck inside!! As I struggled to decipher the big sign on the door in front of me that explained that the door was something of a metal detector which required you to put all your electronics through first, a security guard came over laughing and let me in. All that trouble, and they didn’t have a cash exchange! We left embarrassed as the two security guards continued laughing at us ☺ We then entertained yet another security guard inside the mall by asking him where to exchange money. He could tell we were completely confused. He directed us to a travel agency upstairs which had yet ANOTHER crazy ass door!! The doorman told us to step in one door and the door behind us closed. Good thing I’m not claustrophobic or I wouldn’t survive here! He kept putting his hands up in a pushing motion so we tried pushing the door in front of us. Apparently his hand signal meant “wait” not “push.” I can’t even understand sign language, much less Portuguese ☺ Eventually the door opened and we successfully exchanged our money. Whew!
On to the next adventure… finding a cell phone. Among the things I have found surprisingly expensive in Brazil are peanut butter, sunscreen (I spent R$31, or about $20 on a small bottle) and electronics. Hence, we didn’t really want to buy a crappy new cell phone for $80. We were told we could “unlock” our AT&T phones and replace the SIM cards. Although I thought this may or may not be legal, we tried our best to convince 3 different stores to “unlock” our phones (in broken Portuguese, of course). Long long long story short: no luck. We decided to give up for the day and ended our afternoon drinking coconut milk on beautiful Léblon beach.
This morning we got a tour of PUC, the university I will be studying at for both an Intensive Language class for the next 3 weeks, and the regular semester, which begins in March. We have all of February off for Carnaval and the tail end of Brazilian students summer. I plan on experiencing Carnaval in Rio but hope to also travel around the area with the extra time.
PUC is a private Catholic university in the southern region of Rio. It is actually located in my own neighborhood, Gávea. In contrast to the US, public universities in Brazil are actually more prestigious than private universities, in general. However, PUC has a great reputation and many of the countries biggest business owners have graduated from there. The campus is literally in a jungle. Vines, trees, and a small river run in between campus buildings. They say you can even spot monkeys in the trees if you get lucky. I’m going to bring bananas to class everyday now.. just in case ☺
PUC has many partnerships with large companies and corporations such as Petrobás, a large Brazilian oil company. The businesses sponsor buildings and programs for students to do research and develop new products for the companies. Students who are interested in starting their own businesses can even rent offices to run out of. I was very impressed by the community involvement and initiative of the PUC students.
After orientation, Jenny and I attempted to join the outside world via buying cell phones. QUITE an adventure. First, we needed to exchange money. Logically, we thought a bank would do this for us, and we entered a revolving door at Itáu. I pushed the door and just as I got completely inside the door, it locked. I was stuck inside!! As I struggled to decipher the big sign on the door in front of me that explained that the door was something of a metal detector which required you to put all your electronics through first, a security guard came over laughing and let me in. All that trouble, and they didn’t have a cash exchange! We left embarrassed as the two security guards continued laughing at us ☺ We then entertained yet another security guard inside the mall by asking him where to exchange money. He could tell we were completely confused. He directed us to a travel agency upstairs which had yet ANOTHER crazy ass door!! The doorman told us to step in one door and the door behind us closed. Good thing I’m not claustrophobic or I wouldn’t survive here! He kept putting his hands up in a pushing motion so we tried pushing the door in front of us. Apparently his hand signal meant “wait” not “push.” I can’t even understand sign language, much less Portuguese ☺ Eventually the door opened and we successfully exchanged our money. Whew!
On to the next adventure… finding a cell phone. Among the things I have found surprisingly expensive in Brazil are peanut butter, sunscreen (I spent R$31, or about $20 on a small bottle) and electronics. Hence, we didn’t really want to buy a crappy new cell phone for $80. We were told we could “unlock” our AT&T phones and replace the SIM cards. Although I thought this may or may not be legal, we tried our best to convince 3 different stores to “unlock” our phones (in broken Portuguese, of course). Long long long story short: no luck. We decided to give up for the day and ended our afternoon drinking coconut milk on beautiful Léblon beach.
January 7, 2010
broken door handles and coconut milk
The past three days have been a complete blur! My journey started driving from Bloomington, IL to O’Hare airport Tuesday morning. Then caught a two hour plane to Charlotte, and a 10 hour plane to Rio de Janeiro. With the four hour time difference, I arrived in Rio very tired, groggy, and sooo ready for a shower around 9 am, just when the rest of the city was just getting started. After customs, immigration, finding our luggage, and our airport pickup, I kinda felt like I went through a washing machine. We then caught a bus which dropped off 5 of us at different homestays throughout the city (yes, they did find me a home ☺ ). The two hour bus ride was a great way to see the city! The city is nestled between very unique looking mountains and the famous Christ the Redeemer statue can be seen from almost anywhere.
I arrived at my home and no one answered the door. After several phone calls and pacing around outside for about 15 minutes, my 13 year old host brother, Lucas, rode up on his bike from the beach and let me in. He showed me the ropes and said I would meet his mother, Alma, when she got home from her work at a Brazilian TV studio. This was all around 1pm. I waited anxiously waited around the apartment for her for several hours. At one point, I tried to leave and walk to the beach (about a 20 minute walk from my apartment in Gávea), but the door was locked from both the inside and outside (Dad, you would be proud). They are so safe I could not get OUT! At one point, I pulled so hard the door handle completely fell off! Oh, not to mention, my host brother left while I was asleep and I couldn’t find any food to eat. She finally came home around 8:30pm. I was too embarrassed to tell her what had happened! Quite hilarious ☺
She only speaks Portuguese so my speaking skills will definitely improve very quickly. Lucas has taken 3 years of English in school. They are both very kind and welcoming and I think we will get along well. I gave them a book with photographs of Illinois which they loved! They found the cornfields "bonita" although I still think they have the better deal with scenery :)
We only live a 10 minute walk from the school I attend. I got soo lucky! Some people live an hour away by metro and bus which they have to pay for. The area I live and go to school is one of the richest neighborhoods in South America, although it is definitely not as “nice looking” as most Americans would expect. I had orientation this morning and met the other 150 or so international students from about 15 countries and most states. I talked to three guys from Paris, ate with a guy from Copenhagen, a Portuguese girl from Georgetown University, a girl from Spain, one from Chicago, and an older man who is traveling to over 40 countries around the world and scuba diving! Talk about an interesting and diverse crowd! I can’t wait to get to know them all better.
After our orientation and oral exams, Jenny and I headed straight to the beach! It was about 90 degrees today and humid. It’s also their summer so kids are not in school so the beach was very crowded. We walked down Leblón and Ipanema beaches and tried to dodge the fútebol games that were literally EVERYWHERE. Then we drank coconut milk while watching guys play soccer over a volleyball net. They were so good!
Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to try to keep them short so it’s not so overwhelming to read. Ciao!
Ps-I can feel my tan kicking in now..
I arrived at my home and no one answered the door. After several phone calls and pacing around outside for about 15 minutes, my 13 year old host brother, Lucas, rode up on his bike from the beach and let me in. He showed me the ropes and said I would meet his mother, Alma, when she got home from her work at a Brazilian TV studio. This was all around 1pm. I waited anxiously waited around the apartment for her for several hours. At one point, I tried to leave and walk to the beach (about a 20 minute walk from my apartment in Gávea), but the door was locked from both the inside and outside (Dad, you would be proud). They are so safe I could not get OUT! At one point, I pulled so hard the door handle completely fell off! Oh, not to mention, my host brother left while I was asleep and I couldn’t find any food to eat. She finally came home around 8:30pm. I was too embarrassed to tell her what had happened! Quite hilarious ☺
She only speaks Portuguese so my speaking skills will definitely improve very quickly. Lucas has taken 3 years of English in school. They are both very kind and welcoming and I think we will get along well. I gave them a book with photographs of Illinois which they loved! They found the cornfields "bonita" although I still think they have the better deal with scenery :)
We only live a 10 minute walk from the school I attend. I got soo lucky! Some people live an hour away by metro and bus which they have to pay for. The area I live and go to school is one of the richest neighborhoods in South America, although it is definitely not as “nice looking” as most Americans would expect. I had orientation this morning and met the other 150 or so international students from about 15 countries and most states. I talked to three guys from Paris, ate with a guy from Copenhagen, a Portuguese girl from Georgetown University, a girl from Spain, one from Chicago, and an older man who is traveling to over 40 countries around the world and scuba diving! Talk about an interesting and diverse crowd! I can’t wait to get to know them all better.
After our orientation and oral exams, Jenny and I headed straight to the beach! It was about 90 degrees today and humid. It’s also their summer so kids are not in school so the beach was very crowded. We walked down Leblón and Ipanema beaches and tried to dodge the fútebol games that were literally EVERYWHERE. Then we drank coconut milk while watching guys play soccer over a volleyball net. They were so good!
Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to try to keep them short so it’s not so overwhelming to read. Ciao!
Ps-I can feel my tan kicking in now..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
