Playing in Rio!

Rio de Janeiro is an astonishing city, with the beaches, the forest, the clubs, the restaurants, the beautiful women, and many other attributes that make you puzzle over how all of this converged in one place. To really enjoy the view and scout out the territory, I flew over the city like a bird, complete with the jump off the mountain and the safe landing on the beach. From what I saw, it seemed that in the next ten days I would have to check out the surf, the clubs, the food, and the up close and personal views offered by Ipanema and Copacabana beach. I have to say, it was a good analysis and fantastic execution!

Change and Adventure!

I have made the switch! I am now living with a new host, and in a new part of the city. Both of those things have been totally cool! My host is an older woman who works a lot during the week, watches tele novelas at night, and has her children and grandchildren over all weekend. This new house is way more laid back. My host mom is really cool, and so is the fam!

The new part of the city is more toward the center, which is a little tighter and has a ton of character. Plenty of nooks to explore! I am building up a sizeable list of my favorite places in the city, consisting of bars, restaurants, and food stands!

I am totally stoked for this coming week, as I will complete the trifecta! São Paulo, Salvador, and now Rio! I am going for a ten day trip to check out what sounds like one of the coolest cities in the world! Sorry if you dislike the word "stoked," it just seemed apropriate... Anywho, I will let you know the outcome of the trip in a timely manner, unlike the past two which I will write about now.

My past two journeys away from the city have really put the uniqueness of this city and its people into perspective. The first to occur was a sailing trip that materialized out of nowhere! Walter messages me that a friend from Haddonfield (Andrew Purves) is docked in a marina in Salvador. I was near a marina that day, so i walked down the dock calling his name and found him on a 45 ft sailboat that is sailing from Uruguay up to Trinidad and Tobago. A couple shared beers and 16 hours later, I get a call and an invite for a three day sailing trip with him and couple Brits! The trip was awesome! It had the same kind of bad-ass feeling as when you are camping in the mountains. The bad-ass aura continued when we returned, as I felt like I was conquering the city approaching from sea, sailing past the numerous colonial forts, and stepping on land! I also got to learn some sweet knots, so now maybe I can tie my rope to the tree at home without risk of falling to the ground when I am climbing up. Nonetheless, the three days at sea was quite a contrast to life in Salvador.

About a week later, I headed south, surfboard in hand, to the waves and the cocoa plantations! Itacaré used to be just a tiny fishing village until people in other parts found out about the gorgeous beaches and sweet surf break! You can tell how small it used to be by the old church which seats about fifty people. That small village character is now infused with a sweet surfer vibe, wedgie style bikinis, and a hopping night life driven by reggae and electronic music. You can literally smell the awesomeness as you approach via what they call the "Cocoa Coast." During the last twenty minutes of the bus ride, the air was filled with the most fabulous chocolatey smell from the fresh chocolate being made! Twas definitely the best chocolate I have ever had in my life! Itacaré, another check in the awesome category!

Upon return to Salvador, and in reflection, the uniqueness of this city is quite apparent, but the way in which to describe it in words still evades me. Maybe an interpretive dance is the way to do it.

Where I Live

My house is a ten minute walk from this beach

0.1% of Carnaval

Pelourinho, the cultural center of Salvador

Me and other exchange students an hour north of Salvador

The Beat on the Heat

Best quote from the last two months goes to a brasileira named Camila!

“In Brazil, learning Portuguese is nothing! Once you can kiss in public then you know it all.”

I saw some American girls on the beach the other day and was shocked to see how large and granny-like their bikinis were. Covering up is not what people do here in Brazil. This also goes for the public displays of affection as Camila verbalized for me. I had seen enough visuals in the first day I was here to get the point! ... When in Rome!

School has started, but lacks the academic intensity that everyone knows I love… In truth, I am enjoying the laid back atmosphere of the classes and the schedule, and it seems like the classes will help me very much linguistically. I also officially have the hottest teacher I have ever had in my life! That includes Randy Quaid’s daughter from acting school in New York.

View of a Passerby

(I couldn't sleep for an hour last night so I just started writing this stream of thought)

If you are like me and the way in which you do things has a very random rhythm, than this blog is probably working out for you. If you live by a rhythm that makes a little more sense and have been regularly checking up on me, then I probably already lost you. Salvador seems to have a rhythm that is in line with mine. The “harmony” of this city is less Mozart and a little more Picasso.

This city bares its colors on its streets. Both the dark and the bright are visible in half-hour stroll through the city. They say there is a church for every day of the year here, while the majority of them are Catholic, don’t expect to miss many alternative means of worship; from the culturally established Candomblé tradition, born from African deities and Catholic influence, to the Born-Again Christian church. Yet, their tolerance ranges from their worship to their streets where the homeless and abandoned are a very visible part of the painting. This reality is one of suffering, drugs, hunger, and death for adults and children alike.

It seems odd to write about the suffering of the impoverished here and move right on to the next block where the beaches line the city, and offer a view of the Atlantic Ocean or Bay of All Saints, but that is just what life is like here. You just have to remember to hit up those churches to offer thanks, and prayers for the suffering, and unfortunately I have been more forgetful of that aspect of my life as I have been exploring the city. That will have to change because the faith here seems too rich pass by and not want to join.

In the meantime, my exploration has consisted of wave hunting on the beaches of Bahia where I spend my days paddling in the waters that grace our Jersey Shore. As I clumsily wobble around on my board I am not the only one drawing a sense of stability from the vast ocean. Unlike most places I have relaxed on a beautiful beach, this place offers it’s shores to everyone looking for some everyday beauty, again sort of difficult to miss the spiritual aspect of all this. Being out there on the water most days, I have made friends that are starving for some waves as they ride their duct-tape salvaged boards better than I ride a board that is in one piece and floats twice as well.

After surfing, I am always hungry, and my craving can be narrowed down to two things, cold beer or açaí.

Confirmation of my Survival

I survived Carnaval! Yet, not without a nasty sore throat and fever. It is five days past, and I am starting to see what the city looks like all year round without its insane party facade. The whole event was an incredibly elongated short sprint of partying, and definitely earned its renewed distinction of largest street party in the world! It just got bigger and bigger each day until you could barely walk from one point to another. You just had to settle for the man selling beer next to you, the music from the closest band, and the attractive girls within a ten foot radius. The event did not only come with dangers of over-exertion, but also robbery(7 students), pepper spray(3 students), and punches to the face resulting in stitches(1 student). I luckily emerged only with the effects of too much partying! The days I paid to be in the safer madness of the groups, following the bands on huge trucks roped off by hundreds of gaurds, were definitely the most fun, but none of my previous experiences could really top any of the days of Carnaval 2010!

Had to write this fast. Forgive my many errors!

CARNAVAL!! Two Days Down, FOUR to go!

Carnaval is absolutely insane! I don't know how i am going to make it six days! The first two have been so much fun and taken all my energy! I haven't made it past 4:30 yet, but I'm working on it. Bob Sinclair tonight ("Love Generation")! I am so close to the bands and the singers it is crazy, and everyone is jumping and dancing and singing the whole time (Sorry Patrick, I forget the Groundhog Day quote)! It's unbelievable! SO MANY PEOPLE! More energy than I have ever seen in my life! I just need to find some for myself!

Lovin Salvador!

Classes officially started this week at UCSal, but no one shows up until the end of February! I am thoroughly enjoying Salvador right now! I am living in a really cool area, and I am a short walk from two beaches! The vibe here is way different than São Paulo, and it is way easier to explore and know where you are because everything is not so enormous. I can hop on a bus and go up the coast to cleaner less crowded beaches like Sean and I did the other day. There are so many little beaches and beach towns to explore that it looks like I will be able to fill my four-day weekends with plenty of adventures. It is just tentative, but there is a very good chance I may have class only Tuesday through Thursday. If that ‘s the case I will definitely be spending some time on Samba lessons, but right now all I need to know is how jump up and down like “pipoca.” That means popcorn, and that is what they call the hectic masses of people during Carnaval because they are jumping up and down to the music starting at sunset and lasting until sunrise.

I have been getting very excited, and this city is about to explode tomorrow. Carnaval starts Thursday at 5:00pm when they key to the city is handed over to the King of the festa and it continues until sunrise Ash Wednesday morning. Everyone has been preparing for it since I have been here. Enormous temporary party structures have been going up everywhere along the party circuits. Every inch of the circuits are being used to build these camarotes and have crazy all-inclusive parties to add to over-the-top aspect of everything that is going on. On these circuits huge trucks with stadium sized speakers will crawl along with famous singers and bands playing on top, surrounded by the thousands of people who paid to party with their favorite artists on the street. I could talk about everything I have heard or read about Carnaval, but one prevailing theme has been that the craziness will far exceed all my expectations. Wish me luck!

São Paulo Ends and Salvador Begins!

So, São Paulo... A little overwhelming being so huge and all, meanwhile sharing it with 22million other people didn't help. So what to like? Well, like any other city it has its charming nooks and crannies everywhere you go, but three weeks during intensive portuguese class is definitely not long enough to get a hold of your surroundings in a crazy hodge podge like SP. It is for sure a very unique mix of everything in the world that is transformed to make something distinctly Brazilian. One perspective I am missing is a familiarity with the people there which is a main component. All in all, SP is a city with a distinct rhythm that is hard for the outsider to get a hold of, but once you find the beat of the Paulistanos it looks as if there is endless possibilities.

Salvador is awesome! But I have much less access to internet here and have to go now, so I will bring "Part II: Salvador Begins" to you in a little bit.

Maresias!!

It was spectacular seeing this roaring beach town, which has been roaring in so many ways since the high season started. Storms, parties, people, and more! Dare I mention the gorgeous women who walked every which way in wedgie-style bikinis! It is something to behold that I can not behold because it is way beyond my party capacity. That is to say this past weekend my exhaustion gauge has been in the red for almost every minute (maybe not when I got a kiss from this beautiful girl at five in the morning at the club we showed up to just an hour earlier!). We left the club at eight in the morning, retrieved our belongings and began our painful 5 hour bus ride back.

I have been pushed and have crawled to the peak of exhaustion too find that I barely have the energy needed for the descent.

Goodnight!

News from SP

Well here I am, ten days in, with one update on my trip. Sorry to the two or so people that have checked up and seen nothing. So first of all Happy Birthday Mom! Secondly, here is my current situation:

I am living in a beautiful house built into a hill, and my room has two door-sized windows that open up to a huge terrace. I go to sleep and wake up with the city air, sounds and view all around me. My hosts in this awesome home are awesome! The two sons are incredibly musically talented, and they are a lot of fun. I walk fifteen minutes to school everyday where I stay for six hours study lots of Portuguese. This short period of three weeks definitely fits the intensive description (ergo few blog posts), but it will pay off in Bahia and actually already has, as I have gone out to the bars and had some quality conversations with some quality conversation partners. Walter has been here since Saturday night, and we have been having a great time in between my classes and naps

The best part so far has been the churasco that my host family had Sunday at the house. This is a Brazilian barbeque and it is awesome! We hung out and picked at delicious meat and fish and bread and cheese fresh off the grill, we drank, and we played and listened to music for about five hours. Walter was there, and we went out to the clubs after the churasco. Just an awesome day!

Forgive me for the lack of updates. Hopefully I will be blogging sooner with some good inspiration for a good story. It definitely could take place after this coming weekend on the beach in Maresias with Walter and DJ Dodgie.

Portuguese Schizophrenia

We hit the ground running! I have been exhausted since my flight landed, and it would have been nice to enjoy the beaches as I adjusted and rested for my first week in Brazil, but I couldn’t do that because I will be here for six whole months and needed to spend my break time with the fam, or at least those that remained in the United States the past couple weeks. The alternative to the beach plan has been information overload, and as a result I feel like Tommy Callahan doing long division. Let’s just say my brain is working over full capacity and the result is schizophrenia (most likely mild). This has taken the form of long internal conservations in Portuguese in the middle of the night. And I’m still exhausted!

OK. So now I vented, and can get on to the external happenings of the last two days. We have had many orientation seminars, and I opted for all mine in Portuguese. All these information heavy presentations have been at the hotel we have been staying at. The first night, the younger staff took us out to the clubs and after a couple caipirinhas, we danced the night away in Brazilian fashion. Things I will be wary of the next time I go out to the clubs are: fun overload, infectious music, sexy Brazilian meninas and the excessive dancing and water loss that follows. Last night I had dinner with my host mother and held a conversation the entire time! She is very nice and has two sons, 29 and 26 years, who work in São Paulo and share similar interests with me. I move into their house in a couple hours! Also, I have been pleasantly surprised by my Portuguese.

I hope that will suffice because I lost my train of thought.

Thanks Mom and Dad!