Done with School!

Sorry i haven't updated in a while, the past week has been crazy busy with homework. I am sure that at least everyday i had something to worry about or study for. Monday was a bit of a small break, but i did have to study a lot. Sunday after the beach i came home and did my presentation notes and then Monday i did my presentation in Portuguese. I also went over to Matt's house to hang out with everyone and we were there for 5 or 6 hours just talking about really serious topics like War, Religion, and politics. I think that was the first real adult conversation that i have had with people my own age, it was kind of cool but also very difficult to stay with the conversation, being that it moved around so much and i didn't agree with everything. So after i went home i tried to knock out my culture class paper but i only did half. So Tuesday i finished it a little more and we had our Portuguese review as well as the culture class review. And on Wednesday we had the culture class final, where after 2 hours of continuous writing was finally done with a class that i had felt uncomfortable the entire time in. In the midst of trying to study for Portuguese that night for the next day i managed to finish my paper. So yesterday at 12pm i was done!! finally the quarter that felt like it was forever (because it actually was a semester)was over and i was done! I have never felt so good to be done with a period of school, but so sad at the same time to leave my new friends and beautiful country.

Yesterday i went to the beach after class, it was so fun, we took funny pictures, ate picole, and went swimming again. I really like the beach and it is kind of sad to think that i am not going to live so close to it ever again. I wanted to go out to celebrate, but nobody really knew what they wanted to do so we all just went out to Rio Vermelho and hung out there, but over the next hour and a half we tried to find something to do while walking back and fourth between places. Mollie and I ended up going to the bar that my mom and my maid were at and it was really cool! And my maids husband played the guitar in the band too! It was really nice to see her one last time before i leave, . She was so nice and was always helpful too. I hope i get to see my other maid Vanessa, but i don't know where she is, maybe at my grandmas house.

So my mom and maid apologized for my brother girlfriends behavior towards me during the trip last night. I never said anything to anyone expect to my friends in the program but it was still nice that they noticed i felt uncomfortable. But my mom said that she is just possessive and even though Paulo (my host brother) tells her and doesn't like me in any way more than a sister, she still doesn't believe him. And although it was weird at times being totally ignored, i still managed to have a good relationship with my brother. I hope he comes to the united states, he would love it there!

Well even though i slept about 4 hours, my eyes feel tired, but my body doesn't. So i hope my beach day is productive and i have a wonderful going away dinner today ! I hope it isn't emotional, i don't cry in public. haha

One week to go!

So after thanksgiving, i usually feel like Christmas is around the corner and at home i am so ready to bake a lot of cookies, breads, and sweets to make my family members fat and then wrap any present i can get my hands on, because i like wrapping presents a lot of some reason. It works out though, my dad hates it. But this year instead of eating turkey and stuffing left overs, i am going to the beach and going out to clubs and dancing to Brazilian music. It has been such a different feeling around this "fall/winter" because i have been experiencing a "spring/summer" here.

On Friday i went to the mall with Rebbecca and Haley to get some stuff and it was a Santa's village theme. It was cute, but i thought there were some things that where just a little off and weird. First there were 2 Santa's, but they were fake and in their robotic voices they were giving a tutorial about how to make chocolate cake. Then they had fake reindeer's that had saddlebags of chocolate, but it looked like poop. They also had lamps/ chandeliers that had fake cakes on the top of them. Then i saw the real Santa" and although he had a real beard, he was on a cell phone, while the kids were in line to see him, last time i checked, Santa didn't have a cell phone, and he had a wife name Mrs. Claus. I am not sure if Brazilians do Christmas right here. Later Mollie came over and we ate popcorn and watched inception. Which is a really good, but confusing movie.

On Saturday i did some work in the morning and then Mollie and i went to the beach, it was kind of a cloudy day, so we didn't get to see a sunset.I took a run in campo grande, for the first time at night, and it wasn't that bad, although i am still scared of the dark. Later about 12 of us went out to a club called Garotas Cariocas, which means in English, sexy people from Rio de Janiero. We took the bus there, which was fun because with 12 Americans and a girl playing lady GAGa, we sang and everyone looked at us, but it was all good. It was a really fun place! It was 15 rieas to get in and we stayed till 4am. The Band that we saw, was our 4th time seeing them, named Os reis da Festa, kings of the party. They know who we are by now, but its awesome because i really love there songs and when they left i stole their play list. Muhahaha. I got a ride home with Marisol's brother, and he didn't stop anywhere like he usually does, so it was great. It would have been an expensive taxi ride too, so i got home at 5am and i only spent R$20, it was a success.

Today i had plans to go to Itaparica or a different beach, but it didn't work because we got home so late, we all woke up late. So Haley Mollie and i went to Mercado Modelo, but it was closing so we just went up to buy ice cream and then went to the beach in Barra. It was sunny and nice today, we got there kind of late so it didn't last long, but i got some cool pictures of the sun today. Anyways now i have a Portuguese presentation, Culture class paper, Portuguese Final, and a Culture class final in the next 4 days. Sucks i have to study a lot in my last week here in Salvador.

Rio De Janiero

So people i just got back from Rio de Janiero yesterday morning at 9am and made it in just enough time to drop off all my stuff and then hurry back to school. I think it was one of the hardest Portuguese classes to get through considering that i had been awake sense 3am and on and off taxi's and plane carrying about 90 lbs on my back (i have a lot of stuff). The city was everything i hoped it would be and more, i loved the buildings, restaurants, the beaches, people, and everything else. So lets start from the beginning?

Day 1/2 and 1:
It says day .5 or 1/2 because i arrived at matts house at around 9pm and waited for all of the other guys to get there because we organized a van to take us to the airport at 1230am, because we got a cheap flight that left at 4am and returned to Salvador at 7am. So although they were early they were worth it, it think. So we took maybe the fastest airport ride ever in my life, saying that i have been there many times so far (around 6)only about 20 minutes or so, the driver was flying and without traffic it was awesome. So we all waited in the airport and got some food as we waited. We looked like a bunch of European students backpacking through the Andes mountains with our huge backpacks, we got some looks from the stylish Brazilians who had rolling suitcases with their heels and dress shoes. So we got on the plane and off we were, arriving in Rio at 730am (there time) and off to the hostel we went.

We found the hostel after a long freezing bus ride (Brazilians love their air conditioners) and checked in, it was much like a college house style rather than any of the other hostels that i have stayed at before. Anyways because we were quite tired i took a nap, while some of the others went to the beach. Oh and by the way molly and Haley got destroyed at the beach, a wave attacked them and they got extremely sunburnt. But when i woke up i found something to eat and then went to the store to buy food to cook for dinner (cheaper). We all decided to go to sugar loaf because it was nearing sunset and that is the best time to go. So we hiked the first mountain and then took the cable car to the 2nd, it is free to descend after 7pm so we made sure to wait until after that time. On the way we saw monkeys and i even got to feed one right out of my hand, they are so cute and don't attack you. The sunset and view of Rio was amazing, the most beautiful scenery i have ever seen. You can see everything, the beach, the mountains, the cristo, the may with all of the yachts, everything. So after we went home and all made dinner, after that long day we passed out around 10, and woke up to find out that the rest of the group had arrived in the middle of the night.

Day 2:
Trying to get an early start semi- worked out, got up around 10am and eat some food and coffee. Didn't know exactly want we were doing but we ended up getting a good deal on a tour of the christo, views of the favelas, and to the stairs in Lapa. It was such a good and successful day, we got to see the Cristo who looks over all of Rio de Janiero (mainly Catholic)he was big and so many people came to see him, it was hard to get a good picture but i got some that i really liked. We then iced Leo behind the cristo's back, it was almost the best icing ever. We were then on our way to the stairs in Lapa where snoop dog sang and did his video for "beautiful" in 2003. It is well known throughout to world as being a landmark (although kinda small) of Rio de janiero. I walked all the way to the top and let me tell you, my legs hurt after wards. There were so many neat tiles from all of the world and in many languages, and oh so colorful.

Later we came back to the hostel and go something to eat, which was so yummy, a place called GOWOK, and Thai food place that I, mollie, haley, ashley and erika simply fell in love with, a nice change from all of the Brazilian food that we had been having. I don't even remember the last time i had noodles. So after than we got ready to go out somewhere, we ended up at a small bar close to our hostel, where we all got drinks and then waited for something exciting to happen..i guess we were there to early because nothing was happening. But i did get hit on, which was awkward because i tried pulling the i don't speak Spanish or Portuguese but he spoke English :( and then the bar messed up our check so we had to argue with them for a while... so after that i was ready for bed. some of us came back and went to sleep but we were woken up by the drunk half of the group wrestling... kinda funny actually.

Day 3:
Woke up late and barely made it to breakfast, but i did get yelled at for asking to use the stove but the weird and angry maid of the hostel. But i don't really care because she obviously wasn't satisfied because i couldn't understand her favela Portuguese. So i bought a lighter so that i wouldn't have to deal with her, why cant Brazil just update their stoves? But i got ready and all of the girls and Bryant went to the botanical gardens. It took a little while to get there but we had a nice friendly bus driver that let us know exactly where to get off. I had the most amazing lunch of a turkey sandwich and chai tea latte with a cute little cookie. We ran through the gardens of flowers, trees, bushes and everything else that girls would love to take pictures of. Bryant wasn't the most excited, but i think he liked it anyways. We left when it closed around 5pm and went back to the hostel and got ready to go out.

We went to a BBQ at another hostel that had drinks and lots of food, it was nice but it was in a distant location and i am glad that i wasn't staying there. We ate a lot and got a little bored waiting for the van that was taking us to lapa so we went to buy some drinks and i took some cool pictures of graffiti in the alleys. But when we came back, the guy that invited us got all butthurt because we were hanging out with him enough, weird because he worked at our hostel and he is kind of suppose to be professional. So we decided to go to lapa buy ourselves and we got there cheaper and just fine. Lapa is one huge street party, with so many people walking everywhere stealing drinks and a lot of clubs bumping their music. Leo, Axel, Matt, and I walked around where Leo again got hit on by some transvestites and gays, and it was a interesting experience. We even saw some hookers working the street, nice huh? and they weren't even wearing pants, just thongs. Only in Brazil.

Day 4:
After that long day i totally missed the morning and kind of woke up at 12pm. I got dressed to go to the beach and then Leo and Axel brought up the idea of going to a favela. So i don't know why i agreed but the next thing i knew i was in the favela named Rocinha, the largest favela in Latin America, with more than 4 million people. We had a guy who had inside connections, so although we were being watched and monitored we were safe. It was a very good experience to see how so many people of Rio de Janiero live, and you wouldn't imagine what they have inside these communities, so many plasmas, electronics, shops, bakeries, and fully functioning communities. Although there are a lot of guns, drugs and violence, it is a safer place than you think. As we left we took a motorbike ride up to the top of the favela and it was so fast weaving through the traffic and people, that it was amazing and takes quite a lot of talent. I even bought a very nice canvas painting of the favela, just before we left.

After this i decided to go to the beach and i took a couple of cool pictures in the water and of the beach, which is so big and spacious. I even bought a bikini that i have been wanting ever sense i arrived in Brazil, which made me very happy. We got some GOWOK on the way home and then later made some dinner and got ready to go out again! The guys went out altogether and the girls split up but we ended up at a bar where we met some Brazilians who it was their birthday! They were so nice to include us and we got some free cake and drinks, met some Australians and Canadians and had a wonderful time. They also played some really cool music which was a flashback moment but was totally awesome. Went home at 4am and passed out.

Day 5:
Our last day in Rio i had a mission which was to buy souvenirs, and it failed. :( I did buy some cool artwork at the hippy fair in Ipanema but i couldn't find the artisan fair in Copacabana. Haley, Mollie and i walked for days up and down the beach catching buses and vans trying to find this place. Depressing because Bryant and Erika found it and bought a lot of cool things. Although jealous of them, i think i got over it and i will just have to search harder to find cool Brazilian things. Maybe i will be able to go back again before i leave Brazil.

So i came back to the hostel and decided that i was hungry. And after i couldn't decided want i wanted to eat for about 2 hours, Haley and mollie came back from the Black eye peas concert that they didn't attend because it was to expensive and we all went out to Route 66, which despite the "American, Californian" name it was their attempt on Mexican food. Surprising it was very good and it was a good way to end our trip in Rio.

Day 6:
Technically their was no day 6 but we had to wake up at 3:45am to get the taxi to go to the airport and catch our plane back to Salvador. It was kind of a long trip to be awake, but we got through it, no one go robbed, hurt, or lost anything so it was a success. We even made it back to school in time for class, perfect huh?

Gay Pride, Parties, and Doggies

So today i went to the Gay parade in Salvador, it was an adventure. (By the way gay marriage is legal here in Brazil) I have never seen so many people dressed up so much that you cant tell who are girls or guys anymore. Anyways it is huge, and still going on at the moment, i just returned back home because it started to rain and i had already walked through it for about 2 hours. I guy walked up to leo and i and preceded to tell leo that he loved him and grab his hand to start dancing... and although he was up to see what the parade was about (because when else are you going to get the chance to go to a gay parade in Brazil?)he thought that it was time for him to leave. So we met up with more people from the group and a couple of girls and i wondered through again, and surprising for a GAY parade a lot of guys wanted to touch our hair and grab our hands. Maybe i will never fully understand Brazil, but i know that totally naked girls dancing on trucks, guys showing everything to the cameras wouldn't exactly be OK in the United States, or at least to the extent of my knowledge.

This weekend was the first full weekend in Salvador, because i went to the island last weekend. I think i might have to slow the night life down because i have gone out 3 nights in a row and my ears are ringing from the music still. I am not really that tired, which is surprising because i feel like the day and nights never end here and you only sleep when you are tired because there is no set time to sleep like my schedule in the US. However besides Brazil being a never ending party, i am losing weight, i am not really sure how this is happening but it is. I eat everyday 3 full meals and don't really exercise and my clothes are getting loose, and i know that it is not the whole absence of a dryer ordeal because when i was in Argentina... it made them tighter and stiffer. But whatever... maybe its the dancing and walking that i do everyday, who knows...

But i got a surprise today, i have been bugging my host brother Paulo, about a dog because i love dogs and he has one at grandmas house but it lives there... but today shaky is here! That's the doggy's name, he is a poodle around 10 years old but he is cute and just lays with me everywhere, i even held him while i was washing dishes, he is around 5 lbs! well i have a test tomorrow in Portuguese class and i think i am going to just think in Spanish and just change it into Portuguese slowly... that way i know i will get at least the grammar and sentence structure correct.