BRASIL IS BEAUTIFUL!
Day 1:
Arrive at 6 AM at Salvador airport. There were about ten students with me on my flight and after a confusing situation while trying to get taxis for all of us to the hotel, we successfully arrive, having five hours left before we can check in. We all slept in the lobby, went to go get food, etc, etc... At twelve we were finally able to check into our rooms! Whoo! We got changed for the beach/pool and went to a bar downstairs from our hotel. Our hotel was right on the water and down by the bar there was a waterslide so a bunch of us went down. The saltiness of the water was definitely a surprise. Afterwards, we met up with some more people who came in on different flights and went down to a beach called Praia do Barra. Everyone there tries to sell you things or rent out their beach chairs. The water was super warm and wonderful and we all hung out there, went back, showered and went to a small bar in Barra (a district within Salvador).
Day 2:
Met my host family! I have one host mom.... and that´s it! But she is wonderful and speaks English super well which has made me feel super confortable as I have been adjusting but hopefully soon I´ll be able to speak to her in more Portuguese.
Day 3:
Hibernation and adjustment day!
Day 4:
First day of class! We had a placement exam for Portuguese which was early, but normally class doesn´t start til ten so it´s not bad at all! Class got out at twelve so we all went back to our host families places for lunch, the biggest meal here (and I really mean big). Then we all headed back down to Porto do Barra for some swimming, drank out of some coconuts on the beach, etc , etc... We watched the sunset and walked back to our separate homes. I live two doors down from the hotel we stayed at and get an ocean view from my window. It is the. best. thing. ever.
Day 5 (9/2):
Got put into intermediate Portuguese. Why? I don´t know but its all good because no one in my class knows Portuguese (mainly the advanced class does). Anyways, that was from 10-12 like every M-Th. Then, as always we got a break for lunch. Then, back to class for our intro to our culture class. Our professor was actually a UCLA graduate from the WAC Dept! Fun facts. Anyways, the class seems pretty easy. Right now the readings are a little tiresome, but I think it will get better. Tuesdays are the big night in Pelourinho so we all went out to a salsa club to celebrate Erika's 21st birthday! There was a live band there all night and lots of fun and dancing!
Day 6:
Super tired from the night prior, walked to class, which is like a few steps down the street and basically the hardest part about getting there is crossing the street (drivers here are insannnnee and will not stop. ever). Our Portuguese professor Zelia is super nice and helpful and has told us a bunch of places we should go around town. After lunch, I went to culture class. Same ol' thing. Then, me and some other people in our program went to the mall to get cell phone chips. The majority of people in my program have Vivo phones so we all get to text each other for free! We also went shopping for new bathing suits :]
Day 7:
Portuguese class! As always! After lunch we got a tour of the city from a guy named Fred. We basically sat on a bus and he told us about different parts of Salvador and we got out at different places like the Church of Bonfim to explore. The city is pretty freaking gorgeous and the view of the ocean is amazing from all of the beaches along the coast.
Day 8-12:
On Day 9 started our journey to Morro de Sao Paulo! Ferry to van to a boat, the journey was long, but very very worth it. On Morro there are no cars, just guys carrying wheelbarrows to help you so we just walked with our bags over to our hostel, right off from the main touristy beach. We headed straight to the beach, then got ready for nighttime. Because it was Independence Day weekend, every night there were free concerts on the beach! The rest of the days on Morro blended together into a lot of walking, tanning, and dancing. We would go to the beach by day (and one day explored other beaches that were less touristy) and went to different clubs in the area at night. The island of Morro is breathtaking. One day while we were there it was sunny and all of the sudden started to POUR so we ran off the beach to our hostel, returning ten minutes later when the rain stopped again. We all shared a few hostels. In mine, there were about twelve people and, after realizing how expensive food was getting to be, we decided to start to cook all of our meals together. We had a store right across from our hostel which was in this little alleyway and all of the workers there were obsessed we were Americans. Before we went out to the beach every we would have a little dance party in between our hostel and their store. I want to go back!
Day 13:
Class! I felt pretty sick from the lack of hydration and over-sun exposure all weekend, but I think our teacher knew how tired we all were and took it easy on us. We had lunch, then culture class and then came back to do some homework.
Day 14:
Portuguese class, lunch, and a tour of Pelourinho. Pelourinho has a lot of culture within its buildings and on its streets. Slaves in Brazil were largely kept in the Pelourinho area and they would be hung and whipped in the square that is now used for celebrations every Tuesday. The tour was quite interesting and we saw a museum with all of Brazil's proposed changes, getting ready for the world cup and beyond. At night we went out to an Irish Pub that played hip hop.... what? Yeah, only in Brazil?
Day 15:
Woke up late! YAY FOR NO FRIDAY CLASS! Half of our ACEBU group went over to the airport to get our police clearances done. Super unnecessary and annoying, but it was alright because it was super rainy and we probably wouldn't have been able to do much anyways. Tonight we are planning to go to a place to dance forro... whatever that is! Guess I'll find out...
Day 16:
Well, we never really danced forro, but we watched it. Still have no clue what it is but everything was still fun! Saturday me and a few others went to little shops around Salvador and then we went out to Bohemia for night pop-rock (hahahaha). They had a DJ and then a band come play and before 9 we all got in free!
Day 17:
Sunday. There was a Gay Pride parade down the street that me and some friends went to but it started to rain so we left super early but it was still super interesting to see considering gay marriage is legal in Brazil. Im pretty sure I spent the rest of the night studying.
Day 18:
Danielle's birthday! After class, me and a bunch of other students went to the beach.... so nice you can just do that so easily here and just right after class or even between class if I really wanted to. At night, we went to a Mexican restaurant to fulfill our cravings. IT DIDN'T. Quite possibly the worst Mexican food ever. In fact, it wasn't even Mexican food. The "salsa" was more like spaghetti-o sauce and everything was far far far far far over priced. But it was still a fun night socializing with everyone and celebrating Danielle-y's birthday (they pronounce everyones name here super wrong....).
Day 19:
Tuesday. As Tuesday is the big night in Pelourinho, a bunch of students and myself went over to the area and listened to a lot of cool free music in the street including a drum group who performs every week walking around the square and stopping in various locations to create a circle. We sat around at a bunch of tables in the big square area and pretty much just relaxed for a bit
Day 20:
Wednesday. Starting to lose track of all of the days here! Had class til three and once again walked to the beach after. Best thing ever. It was super warm today too. Hopefully getting some sort of tan. Went to sleep at 7 pm feeling pretty disgusting... maybe too much sun?
Day 21:
Thursday! We had class and then went on ANOTHER tour of the Pelourinho area. Found out that Pelourinho actually translates to "whipping pole." So ironic that the place slaves were whipped in Brazil is now a center for night-life. At night we went out to Bohemia again for another night of dancing. A band called "Banjo Da Mina Vo" played and it was a really good night. They played a Portuguese rendition of "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz and it was pretty hilarious but at the same time wonderful!
Day 22:
Plans for today are to go to the airport to check out some prices of airplane tickets! Lets hope it all goes well!
And it did! Me and a group of 9 others are going to Rio at the end of October. The journey to the airport literally took all day because we took a bus that was super cheap over the choice of an expensive taxi ride. Definitely worth it.
Day 23:
Saturday me and Haley went on an adventure through Salvador looking at little shops. At night one of the host brothers of a girl in my program had gotten us on a list for a usually super expensive club called Madrre or something like that. There were two different live bands, one playing forro and the other samba.
Day 24:
So, having a paper due Tuesday, Sunday was supposed to be a study day.... but even my host mom looked at me funny when I said I was going to be studying all day. Looking outside of my window is torturous when it is sunny... especially on a Sunday which is when everyone in Salvador gathers at the beach. My internet was broken for a bit so I didn't have a way to contact people, but when I got a text at one saying to come to the beach, I left my books behind pretty quick. I didn't end up staying at the beach too long though because me and Jessica decided to go for a run in Campo Grande (a big gated park down my street).
Day 25:
Monday. Class and the effects of procrastination left me writing my paper. Booo.
Day 26:
Woke up for a morning run and then CLASS 9 AM - 6 PM. GAH.
Day 27:
Morning run. Class. Again. This week has been extremely class intensive. Tonight I am going on a tour of a different part of Salvador and then supposedly going to watch and take part in a capoeira class. Should be interesting!
And.... as Jessica stated, it was! We traveled over to an area really close to the favelas... I'm not sure if the area we were in would actually be considered a favela... but it was really different from the neighborhood we are living in. Anyways, we were led by one of the program director's husbands to a capoeira studio that he grew up with. I wasn't really sure what we were doing at first because we were just walking around the neighborhood for a bit, but then we walked up to the third floor of this small building and all of the sudden were ushered to sit down in a small and colorful room. We all sat down along the walls and there were a bunch of little kids in the center who were being led by a . They started out. Some of the kids were super cute because they didn't really know what they were doing but then there were some kids who were just doing cartwheels and stuff like they were pros. After the little kids class, we watched a more advanced class in the same room. It was extremely different. The second class ranged in ages of I would say 8 to 40. I think most of the members of the class had practiced their entire life because what they were doing seemed impossible. After watching for a long time, many members of the class grabbed students from our group to have one on one matches. Even though we didn't really know what we were doing it was so much fun and the room was filled with energy the entire time.
The studio we visited is an awesome place. The kids who attend do not have to pay anything, it was created to provide a safe environment for the children and young adults to gather in and to learn capoeira. Capoeira was used by slaves as a form of defense but they were only allowed by their masters to practice it because it looked to them like a dance. I finally felt like I had seen a part of Brazilian culture tucked away but that held so much importance in the history of Brazil.
Day 28:
Class. Boo. Then We visited a terreiro where many people from African descent practice Candomble. Candomble was a secret African religion that existed during slavery. Masters believed that slaves were converting to Catholicism as many of the aspects of Candomble can be confused for Catholicism if looked at in a different light. Candomble actually originated in Bahia hence the large African culture here. Our current segment in our Culture Class is on Candomble so it was really interesting to see . Those who practice Candomble worship Gods called Orixas. There are about twelve main Orixas in Brazil and each person in a terreiro is assigned a Orixa to worship who . The process of becoming a member of a terreiro is very long and a person has to be dedicated 21 years before fully gaining access (and there are different levels along the way).
A bunch of kids performed for us by giving us a demonstration of some of the drumming noises and dance moves used to call upon the Orixas and that demonstrate the Orixas movements.
At night we changed up the pace a bit. A bunch of us went out to a place called 30 Segundos. It was kind of a more ritsy place but, at least for girls, it was a really good deal to get in. There was a live band later in the night that played a lot of Beatles cover music and older tunes. Best night thus far!
Day 29:
BEACH DAY!
Day 30:
Went for a run in the morning. The area we run in is super quaint like a little central park... much much littler... Then, a host brother of a guy in my program invited us to a pool party. Not really sure what to expect we all went. Pretty much it was everyone in my program hanging out by a humongous pool overlooking the ocean. I don't know how I am ever going to leave this paradise. Then we tried to go to a reggae concert place but me and some people were way too tired and left shortly after arriving (luckily it was free)! So we instead discovered a little cafe place and the food is really good and pretty American which I have to say I have missed.
Day 31:
Went to my first jogo de futebol! It was a JOURNEY to get there and back, but we made it safely. Brazilians are CRAZY about futebol. The match was super fun even though Vitoria (the home team) lost :[ I learned a lot of Portuguese cuss words, thats for sure. They like to use them about every second during the game. When Vitoria did score their one goal it was pretty much the most excitement I have ever seen, the whole stadium went insane. The walk back from the stadium to the bus stop was a bit scary I would have to say but we were in a large group and so we were luckily safe. Saw some of the sad realities of life that many people in Brazil witness every day like a little boy being circled by a bunch of kids his age and kicked on the ground.
Day 32:
Monday. I hate Mondays. Went for a run in the morning... kinda convinced myself I pulled a muscle in my hip, but whatever.... the beach after class can definitely make anything better :] Today marked my one month anniversary of being in Brazil. Lovely.
Day 33:
Tuesday. CLASS ALL DAY. Hate Tuesdays. But after class our Portuguese teacher set-up a time for us to go meet Brazilian students trying to learn English at a school a few blocks away. It was really fun talking to the students in Portuguese and English and fun to talk to people our own age, especially when they are learning a new language too but are expert at the one you are attempting to learn. We are going to have more exchanges like it soon! Like tomorrow! And Thursday!
My parents are convinced I'm never leaving Brazil (HI MOM AND DAD!) I'm probably not... sorry! :D
Day 34:
Wednesday (29/9 <---- thats how they write the dates in Brazil).
Day 35:
Thursday! Post class beach trip. The usual :] Then a nice little outing to Treinta Segundos to hear the Beatles cover band one more time.
Day 36:
Starting off my birthday weekend strong by a trip to Praia do Forte. The bus ride took about an hour and a half and it felt amazing to get out of Salvador! I love Salvador, but its a little suffocating to feel stuck in it sometimes. Anyways, Praia do Forte is famous fr a little turtle exhibit with baby turtles and gargantunoronous ones. Then, we went for an adventure through the town, found a cute little restaurant to eat at (which happened to be right next to our professor's house... random much?). Then we headed over to the beach and chillllled for a bit.
I was pretty sure the night was going to end when we got back from the beach super late, but then... who wants to be doing nothing when the midnight rolls around on your birthday? No one. Exactly. So, a girl in my program's host brother invited enough people that could fit in his car to see a concert. It turned out to be a band all of us knew because while in Morro de Sao Paulo the hostel owners played the music NON STOP. It was a really fun night and the place we saw the band preform (Oba Oba) was filled with all Brazilians. It was a great beginning to my birthday celebrations.
Day 37:
My birthday! And possibly one of my favorites EVER. Should have slept in more, but for some reason I couldn't. Got another bathing suit (I need to stop, its an addiction). Then, at night, we all headed out to a kareoke bar in Barra. So much fun. Sang a bit and had good times with everyone who came out. The bar had a bunch of different has to wear while you were up on stage and they definitely added to the fun of the night.
Day 38:
SUNDAY. No one likes a Sunday.... expect when you are in Brazil and Sunday always means time to hit the beach!
Day 39:
Monday. I must say the next few days were incredibly boring and consisted of some beach, a whole lot of procrastination a a little studying for a stupid midterm for our culture course. Blah.
Day 40:
Study day/night. Boo!
Day 41:
Post-midterm, a few of us went to buy our bus tickets to go to Lencois this weekend!
Day 42:
Post-class, the adventure to Lencois/the best weekend of my life began. Our journey began at 4:30 and we didn't arrive to Lencois for another six hours. Talked to the guy at the hostel we booked, turned out that HostelWorld.com doesn't upload their site enough so the weekend ahead was wy overbooked and if we wanted to stay past the first two nights we would have to stay on the floor (for a discounted price). But then he came up with a much better option, a three day hike with food and sleep included in the price for what would probably be the same amount we would have spent in Lencois on food alone. The decision process definitely took a while, but we agreed to leave Saturday and come back Monday and then go back to Salvador on Monday to arrive in Salvador on Tuesday morning.
Day 43:
This was a day of adventure. After a nice breakfast at the hostel we got in our Indiana Jones ride that would take us on a tour of Lencois all day. First stop was a waterfall that was absolutely beautiful. The hike was only twenty minutes from where our car dropped us off. Some people went ziplining but I decided to spend my money later in the day and just go swimming for the time being. We could literally swim directly underneath the waterfall and chill there. Amazing. Next stop was a mountain which we climbed. Wasn't too bad of a hike and it was a little preparation for the next few days to come I guess. At the top of the mountain was a gorgeous view of a valley. Amazing (again). Next stop was a little area, don't really know the name. We stopped for lunch at a yummy restaurant that was nice and relaxing and then visited an underground cave that the light only hits at certain times of the day. Amazing. Then, we walked back to the area we had lunch and went down another path to another cave where we went snorkeling. We were guided by a little guy in a little boat inside a dark cave. We really couldn't see too much but it was amazing and the sounds of the echoes and everyone moving around in the water. Ahhh I can't get over how amazing he entire weekend was and how amazing everything along the way was as well. When we got out of the cave we just swam around an area of super clear water for a but looking at little mini fishies. Then we headed to a little beach area of a lake close by and chilled for a bit. We soon headed back into our Indiana Jones mobile and went to an area a ways away to go to an underground cave. AMAZING. Ahh! The cave was pitch balck without our tour guides light to lead the way. There were all of these cool statue-like things from the effect of water from the river above on the rocks. Some of them had the coolest shapes ever and seriously looked like animals. We had a couple minutes of silence and darkness in the caves where after putting your hands over your eyes you really couldn't tell the difference in lighting. We walked back and ended our travels for the day.
Day 44:
The beginning of our three day voyage/trek. We took another Indiana Jones mobile to the home of our tour guide out in the wilderness. It was a small place with no electricity that would be our home night one of our "voyage." Our tour guide, Ze, was amazing. He made us food for every meal and led us to the most beautiful places I have ever been to. While he prepared lunch we walked a couple minutes to a lake to chill, swim, and jump off rocks. Post-lunch we went to the first waterfall of the trip. Thought it was the most amazing thing, little did I know what else I would be seeing. The waterfall was pretty small but there were little pools of water all around it that we chilled in and tanned in the sun. We traveled back after and ate dinner, played some music and went to bed.
Day 45
Rise and shine! Our journey began early. But, I guess it helped to start early before the sun was in full force. We hiked several hours to our camping spot, climbing up rocks. Definitely a difficult journey, but we all make it and arrived at our camping spot (located on top of a waterfall) in one piece.... with a couple scrapes and bruises. While our tour guide made us lunch (we were way to spoiled) we walked around our camp site, swam in little pools of water and hiked down to the bottom of the waterfall we were sleeping on. The climb back up was definitely an adventure. Soem friends had walked ahead while I took a picture of an ant... why? I don't know. Anyways, I slipped off the side of the cliff. There were a bunch of bushes n the side and luckily a tree branch caught my leg after a couple layers of bushes because, well, all that was left below me was rocks. Quite possibly one of the scariest moments of my life. But while I was sitting there, with my leg hanging in the branch waiting to be saved by some people who heard my scream, I couldn't stop laughing. It was pretty hilarious actually. Anyways, some strange and kind man jumped over and pulled me up and helped me over to safety. Then another friend in the program helped me across another area and when trying to make it over himself fell worse than I did. Karma for a good deed? Doesn't really make sense, but we have some nice battle wounds! Anyways, we made it back up, washed off in our drinking water and ate some lunch to get energy for a long hike ahead. We traveled at least an hour climbing rocks (hard as hell) and falling a bunch along the way. My legs are pretty attractive right now... not. Reached the first waterfall. Gorgeous. Then we had to take off our shoes and leave our stuff behind to swim to the second waterfall. Most amazing thing I have ever seen. It was huge and we sat underneath it for a while drinking away. The walk/swim back was a little tortourous after falling so many times but it was absolutely beautiful (as you can tell I am running out of words to describe these things). Headed back, made a fire, played some instruments and went to bed, tired as hell.
Day 46:
Well, we were woken up in the middle of the night to move into caves in order to protect ourselves from the rain,. Luckily it only sprinkled though, it could have ended badly. The trek back down the mountain started off early as usual. We made a quick stop at another waterfall along the way that was again beautiful but extremely difficult to climb to (up and down a steep back dirt mountain and over some rocks). We hiked down the rocks, which was quite possibly even more difficult than climbing up, and then headed back to the tour guide's house. We rested for a bit, ate lunch and swam in the lake only to prepare to walk back to downtown Lencois another six miles instead of the luxury of the Indiana Jones mobile we had on our way over. Tired, we took showers at the hostel we were originally supposed to stay at and had a last meal out on the town with our lovely tour guide and headed to the bus for a long journey home (from 11pm to 6 am).
Day 47:
Hellloooo procrastination. After getting back (at 7 am and then taking the bus home ) I have done absolutely nothing productive to help my paper that is due tomorrow. Oh well. Its Brazil!
Day 48:
After turning in my paper... I had to study for my Portuguese final. And then I slept.
Day 49:
Thursday is luckily a beautiful day. But I spent it sleeping :]
Day 50:
Friday. We went to a cool Brazilian food market. So many cool fruits and foods and we were sent on a mini scavenger hunt throughout the market to find foods for a famous Brazilian recipe.
At night we hung out at one of the people in my program's penthouse. His host dad loves to host parties and it was nice that we finally all got to hang out some place without having to pay for a taxi or some stupid entrance fee.
Day 51:
Beach day!
Day 52:
Sunday. Went to a beach called Praia Villas with the brother of one of the girls in my program and a few other people in my program.
Day 53:
School.
Day 54:
School. AND PACKING FOR RIO DE JANEIRO! I leave tonight... well, tomorrow at 4 am.
Day 55:
Wednesday! RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO!
So, we left at 4 am and got to the hostel later after taking a freezing bus. Instead of sleeping in the hostel being dead tire, me and my friend Haley decided to sleep on the beach so we could tan in the process. Bad idea. Not only did I get burnt, but my precious camera was murdered by an evil wave that was super far away and came up to surprise everyone on the beach. After we all got some sleep, all of us went to Pao de Azucar, Sugar Loaf mountain There was an option to take a trolley up but in order to save money we hiked to the top of the first mountain and took the trolley to the area where you would have to fly to. It was beautiful up there and we got to see the sunset.
Day 56:
Thursday! Saw the Cristo, infamous Lapa steps, views of the favela and the beautiful city of Rio, and a pretty cathedral. It was a wonderful day with a nice tour guide and went out to a small bar at night.
Day 57:
Friday! Love Rio. Went to the botanical gardens, had a nice lunch and walked around for a while exploring the beautiful area. At night, we tried to go to this all you can et BBQ thing but ended up being rudely confronted by our hostel guy for not being best friends with him so we headed over to Lapa by ourselves. I ended up splitting off from the rest of the group somehow with two other girls and we ended up at a Samba place.
Day 58:
Saturday! Beach day! The beaches here are possibly the most beautiful beaches in the world. Love them. Went out to a smaller Rio club at night with three of the other girls.
Day 59:
Sunday! Last day in Rio and we spent it exploring around the city looking at the artisan's work, etc. Tried to goto a Black Eyed Peas concert but the tickets were like 50 dollars, double what expected so only a few people ended up going, not including me. Instead, I traveled back by metro with a few friends and found my first decent Mexican restaurant in Brazil.... MMMMMMM.
Day 60:
Monday! Got back in time just for class!
Day 61:
Catch up on sleeeep!
Day 62:
Wednesday! Left for the Amazon at night!
Day 63:
Thursday! Arrived to Manaus! Spent the day exploring the city, tired as hell, and eating acai. We spent the first night in a hotel with a nice dinner and a nice breakfast.
Day 64:
Friday! Took a boat up the river to our hostel we would be staying at during our time in the jungle. The meals at the hostel, which were included, were so delicious. After having lunch we went piranha fishing and at night went hunting for some baby crocodiles. The guides are crazy in the Amazon and will risk their lives to show you some things...
Day 65
Saturday! Saw a native's house and slept in the jungle at night!
Day 66:
Sunday! Went fishing for some bigger fish! Lots and lots of dolphin and alligator watching!
Day 67:
Monday! Our guide tried to catch us a huge alligator at night but the mission failed.
Day 68:
Tuesday! We went out at 5 am to go see the sunrise but sadly it was covered by clouds. We saw a rubber plantation instead. Made our way slowly back to the city of Manaus to make our flight at 11 pm. Had a nice meal in Manaus and came on back to Salvador.
Day 69:
Wednesday! Sleep! Please!
Day 70:
Thursday! Having been traveling for the past month or so, I hadn't really been with our group as a whole in a long time. So Thursday we all went out together to a place called "Whats Up?"
Day 71:
Friday! Recovered from the long week at the beach! And went to a food festival at night that was supposed to host food from all around the world, but, having it all cooked by Brazilians, it was slightly disappointing.
Day 72:
Saturday! We went to Cachoeira as a school "field trip." I do not know anyone in my program who was excited about it to begin with, but it ended up being ridiculously fun! We took a six hour boat ride there (even though it would have only take two hours by bus), but it was so much fun. They had music playing and we all sat up on the roof of the boat, tanned and hung out. We stopped along the way at this pretty little island for about an hour and jumped off of a pier into the ocean. It was pretty perfect. Then when we arrived in Cachoeira and took a city tour, had dinner, and hung out by the pool until late playing music and hanging out.
Day 73:
Sunday! Woke up kinda late, had some breakfast, went hunting for some sort of parade in the town, and had lunch at a "farm." We made our way back by 5 and took a nice nights rest. So tired.
Day 74:
Hate these days. The oh.... my paper is due super soon days. They suck.
Day 75:
Completed my paper 30 minutes before the 12 o'clock deadline. Sweet!
Day 76:
Class and a nice I'm done with my paper victory nap!
Day 77:
PARENTS ARRIVE! Walked around Salvador a bit and took my family to Mercado Modelo. Took Laura out at night, but nothing was happening so we all just hung out at the beach.
Day 78:
Friday! Went to Pelourinho and showed my family around the historic center. My family claims I am not a good tour guide, so I dragged Haley, Ashley and Jessica along for the journey.
Day 79:
Took the fam-bam to an island called Itaparica. Its really pretty and the water pretty much feels like a warm bath. Half of our time there was spent at the beach, the other half at a restaurant because food and everything in Brazil takes forever. Brazilians have a lot of patience.
Day 80:
Tried to go to Porto do Barra but it was so crowded so we headed to Barravento, also crowded. Felt kinda sick but felt better after napping and went out for a nice little dinner in Pelourinho.
Day 81:
Had off from school so I went to the beach... what else is new?! Good day. Super hot.
Day 82:
We had a walk-out of our Culture class in solidarity with the rest of the UC Students and all met up, talked and came up with a list of demands for changes to make to the UC EAP Bahia Program. Then, of course went to the mall... :]
Day 83:
MEH? Wednesdays are Wednesdays....
Day 84:
Thursday! Came so quickly! Signed up for classes for next quarter and went to Mercado Modelo with some friends after class. Then, we all headed to a place called "Whats Up?" at night. Good times.
Day 85:
A day at the beach! And then about five of us went to Haley's at night for a little festa her mom wanted to have for her. We had homemade acai, ice cream, pizza, crackers, popcorn, and chocolate cake. It was heaven.
Day 86:
REPUBLICA DO REGGAE! It was a big Reggae festival at nighttime... well, it lasted to the morning, but it was a lot of fun and a ton of people from our program ended up going. We got to stand right next to the stage, kinda squished, but it was amazing.
Day 87:
Catching up on some lost z's.
Day 88:
Monday. Everyone hates Mondays... unless you are in Brazil where every day of the week is great. Class then the beach and then a few of us went to this little ceremony thing at a museum that is going to be opening up soon. Pretty much, this guy donated 10 million reais so they put on a little cultural performance to thank him.
Day 89:
Last night in Pelourinho! Hung out in the plaza and ended the night the same way we all started our first ever night together, in a salsa club called Sankofa.
Day 90:
REALLY?! 90 Days in Brazil! So tired. But, I have accepted its okay to be tired and I would so much rather be tired than miss a second of my last adventures in Brazil.
Thurday. Usually, today would be a nice relaxing day off Thanksgiving for a pretty politically incorrect holiday that has always been one of my favorites. In Brazil, however, Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Brazil. This year was my first Thanksgiving away from home. However, the students of my program and myself all managed to put together a nice feast. A host father of a boy in my program allowed us to use his house and even bought us a turkey! People brought over mashed potatoes, stuffing, cake, flan, bread, etc. No cranberry sauce though... and if you know me you know I like that more than anything :[ Anywhose, I felt on the ill side later that night so I left the dinner early and went to bed.
Day 92:
Friday. Well, seeing that I felt really crappy on Thursday and left our little dinner early, I spent most of the day in bed on Friday and then went over to Jessica's to watch Inception. What a confusing movie that is....
So, we left at 4 am and got to the hostel later after taking a freezing bus. Instead of sleeping in the hostel being dead tire, me and my friend Haley decided to sleep on the beach so we could tan in the process. Bad idea. Not only did I get burnt, but my precious camera was murdered by an evil wave that was super far away and came up to surprise everyone on the beach. After we all got some sleep, all of us went to Pao de Azucar, Sugar Loaf mountain There was an option to take a trolley up but in order to save money we hiked to the top of the first mountain and took the trolley to the area where you would have to fly to. It was beautiful up there and we got to see the sunset.
Day 56:
Thursday! Saw the Cristo, infamous Lapa steps, views of the favela and the beautiful city of Rio, and a pretty cathedral. It was a wonderful day with a nice tour guide and went out to a small bar at night.
Day 57:
Friday! Love Rio. Went to the botanical gardens, had a nice lunch and walked around for a while exploring the beautiful area. At night, we tried to go to this all you can et BBQ thing but ended up being rudely confronted by our hostel guy for not being best friends with him so we headed over to Lapa by ourselves. I ended up splitting off from the rest of the group somehow with two other girls and we ended up at a Samba place.
Day 58:
Saturday! Beach day! The beaches here are possibly the most beautiful beaches in the world. Love them. Went out to a smaller Rio club at night with three of the other girls.
Day 59:
Sunday! Last day in Rio and we spent it exploring around the city looking at the artisan's work, etc. Tried to goto a Black Eyed Peas concert but the tickets were like 50 dollars, double what expected so only a few people ended up going, not including me. Instead, I traveled back by metro with a few friends and found my first decent Mexican restaurant in Brazil.... MMMMMMM.
Day 60:
Monday! Got back in time just for class!
Day 61:
Catch up on sleeeep!
Day 62:
Wednesday! Left for the Amazon at night!
Day 63:
Thursday! Arrived to Manaus! Spent the day exploring the city, tired as hell, and eating acai. We spent the first night in a hotel with a nice dinner and a nice breakfast.
Day 64:
Friday! Took a boat up the river to our hostel we would be staying at during our time in the jungle. The meals at the hostel, which were included, were so delicious. After having lunch we went piranha fishing and at night went hunting for some baby crocodiles. The guides are crazy in the Amazon and will risk their lives to show you some things...
Day 65
Saturday! Saw a native's house and slept in the jungle at night!
Day 66:
Sunday! Went fishing for some bigger fish! Lots and lots of dolphin and alligator watching!
Day 67:
Monday! Our guide tried to catch us a huge alligator at night but the mission failed.
Day 68:
Tuesday! We went out at 5 am to go see the sunrise but sadly it was covered by clouds. We saw a rubber plantation instead. Made our way slowly back to the city of Manaus to make our flight at 11 pm. Had a nice meal in Manaus and came on back to Salvador.
Day 69:
Wednesday! Sleep! Please!
Day 70:
Thursday! Having been traveling for the past month or so, I hadn't really been with our group as a whole in a long time. So Thursday we all went out together to a place called "Whats Up?"
Day 71:
Friday! Recovered from the long week at the beach! And went to a food festival at night that was supposed to host food from all around the world, but, having it all cooked by Brazilians, it was slightly disappointing.
Day 72:
Saturday! We went to Cachoeira as a school "field trip." I do not know anyone in my program who was excited about it to begin with, but it ended up being ridiculously fun! We took a six hour boat ride there (even though it would have only take two hours by bus), but it was so much fun. They had music playing and we all sat up on the roof of the boat, tanned and hung out. We stopped along the way at this pretty little island for about an hour and jumped off of a pier into the ocean. It was pretty perfect. Then when we arrived in Cachoeira and took a city tour, had dinner, and hung out by the pool until late playing music and hanging out.
Day 73:
Sunday! Woke up kinda late, had some breakfast, went hunting for some sort of parade in the town, and had lunch at a "farm." We made our way back by 5 and took a nice nights rest. So tired.
Day 74:
Hate these days. The oh.... my paper is due super soon days. They suck.
Day 75:
Completed my paper 30 minutes before the 12 o'clock deadline. Sweet!
Day 76:
Class and a nice I'm done with my paper victory nap!
Day 77:
PARENTS ARRIVE! Walked around Salvador a bit and took my family to Mercado Modelo. Took Laura out at night, but nothing was happening so we all just hung out at the beach.
Day 78:
Friday! Went to Pelourinho and showed my family around the historic center. My family claims I am not a good tour guide, so I dragged Haley, Ashley and Jessica along for the journey.
Day 79:
Took the fam-bam to an island called Itaparica. Its really pretty and the water pretty much feels like a warm bath. Half of our time there was spent at the beach, the other half at a restaurant because food and everything in Brazil takes forever. Brazilians have a lot of patience.
Day 80:
Tried to go to Porto do Barra but it was so crowded so we headed to Barravento, also crowded. Felt kinda sick but felt better after napping and went out for a nice little dinner in Pelourinho.
Day 81:
Had off from school so I went to the beach... what else is new?! Good day. Super hot.
Day 82:
We had a walk-out of our Culture class in solidarity with the rest of the UC Students and all met up, talked and came up with a list of demands for changes to make to the UC EAP Bahia Program. Then, of course went to the mall... :]
Day 83:
MEH? Wednesdays are Wednesdays....
Day 84:
Thursday! Came so quickly! Signed up for classes for next quarter and went to Mercado Modelo with some friends after class. Then, we all headed to a place called "Whats Up?" at night. Good times.
Day 85:
A day at the beach! And then about five of us went to Haley's at night for a little festa her mom wanted to have for her. We had homemade acai, ice cream, pizza, crackers, popcorn, and chocolate cake. It was heaven.
Day 86:
REPUBLICA DO REGGAE! It was a big Reggae festival at nighttime... well, it lasted to the morning, but it was a lot of fun and a ton of people from our program ended up going. We got to stand right next to the stage, kinda squished, but it was amazing.
Day 87:
Catching up on some lost z's.
Day 88:
Monday. Everyone hates Mondays... unless you are in Brazil where every day of the week is great. Class then the beach and then a few of us went to this little ceremony thing at a museum that is going to be opening up soon. Pretty much, this guy donated 10 million reais so they put on a little cultural performance to thank him.
Day 89:
Last night in Pelourinho! Hung out in the plaza and ended the night the same way we all started our first ever night together, in a salsa club called Sankofa.
Day 90:
REALLY?! 90 Days in Brazil! So tired. But, I have accepted its okay to be tired and I would so much rather be tired than miss a second of my last adventures in Brazil.
Day 91:
Thurday. Usually, today would be a nice relaxing day off Thanksgiving for a pretty politically incorrect holiday that has always been one of my favorites. In Brazil, however, Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Brazil. This year was my first Thanksgiving away from home. However, the students of my program and myself all managed to put together a nice feast. A host father of a boy in my program allowed us to use his house and even bought us a turkey! People brought over mashed potatoes, stuffing, cake, flan, bread, etc. No cranberry sauce though... and if you know me you know I like that more than anything :[ Anywhose, I felt on the ill side later that night so I left the dinner early and went to bed.
Day 92:
Friday. Well, seeing that I felt really crappy on Thursday and left our little dinner early, I spent most of the day in bed on Friday and then went over to Jessica's to watch Inception. What a confusing movie that is....
Day 93:
Day 94:
Sunday. Went to Mercado Modelo and the beach (of course!)Day 95:
Monday. Crack down on studying for Culture final and had a presentation in Portuguese. It actually went alright...
Monday. Crack down on studying for Culture final and had a presentation in Portuguese. It actually went alright...
Day 97:
Tuesday. Culture final complete! Onto studying for Portuguese... booo!
Literally in disbelief that my time here in Brazil is almost over. This country has shaped me into not what I would not consider a totally new person, but definitely a person more aware of their position in the world spectrum. I have made tons of new friends through my program that I have already planned road trips to go see. Being in Brazil definitely was a culture shock that I hope has helped me grow to become a better person. I have recognized the discrete racism of Brazil that has affected my situation in Brazil immensely. Through the fact that my "secretaria" who was way more of a host mom to me than my real host mom was fired so easily and replaced the next day has shown me that the work of black women in Brazil is not valued both in social or economic contexts. Not only has my "secrectaria" been replaced once, but twice. Through my time here in Brazil I have learned a lot about independence (despite the fact that I am not allowed to touch my dishes, do laundry or clean because those are the jobs assigned to my "secretaria"). Though I had many a doubts about the structure of the culture class I took at ACBEU, I do not think that without the contextualization of the history of Brazil and the Black Atlantic that I would have realized how rich with history the area I am living in is. My communication skills have improved as well as, well I would hope, my Portuguese. I have become more aware of everything I should be so grateful for in my life and the opportunities I have received such as coming to this beautiful country called Brazil.
There are so many things I am going to miss about this beautiful country. To start off with, I am not sure I will ever have this kind of view of an ocean right outside my window ever again. That being said, the beach is in such close proximity I can simply go after class. I will miss the fruit juices and the banana vitaminas. BOY OH BOY WILL I MISS NESCAU! Ill definitely be bringing some back with me though. Most of all I will miss the people in my program who have made it am amazing 3 months. I will forever remember my time here. Tudo beleza.
I AM IN THE STATES IN TWO WEEKS.
Day 98:
Wednesday.
Day 99:
Thursday. Done with class! Beach it is!
Day 100:
Friday! Last day in Salvador! A nice day at the beach, got a bit burnt
Day 101:
Travel day
Day 102
Long ol' adventure into Argentina. Our hostel, Hostel Inn was beyond amazing.
Day 103:
Going to the falls! Absolutely amazzzzinnggg. Seriously. Went to town for dinner.
Day 104:
Left in the afternoon from our hostel to go over to the Brazil side of Iguacu. Ended up just staying at our hostel in Brazil, hanging out by the pool until the beginning of the rain
Day 105:
Rio! Me and Ashley arrived there early in the morning and waited at the beach for everyone else to get in.
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