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.
May 31, 2010
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!
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