Recife

I have been wanting to visit Recife ever since my family hosted an exchange student from there... 5 years ago when we were both in grade 12. Diniz is now finishing his degree in law. He picked me up at the airport with his girlfriend, Flávia who also studies law. I feel we haven't really changed that much, just that it's different being in Brazil and speaking Portuguese. That evening (Tuesday), they drove me to Boa Viagem, the beach area and around the historical part of town. At Diniz's apartment, I met his mom and younger twin sister and brother.
On Wednesday afternoon, I walked around the historical centre with Duda and her two friends, admiring many colourful historical buildings. Recife was established some 470 years ago and most of the buildings were constructed by Dutch architect.
In the evening, I went to a soccer game with Diniz's mom and other family members. As we approached the stadium I realized what a big deal the game was - the streets were packed with enthousiastic fans dressed in red, white and black, already cheering and signing load. Diniz's mom explained that her brother only let her go to the game because the opposing team was from a far away state so there wouldn't be any of their fans there to start fights. So the stadium was packed with 40000 home team fans!!! They gave loud cheers and whistles all through the game and the stadium seemed to explode when the home team got a goal. Unfortunately, though, the home team lost in the end :(
On Thursday, Diniz's brother drove me, his sister and his girlfriend to Olinda, a nearby city that is recognized as a World Heritage Site. It is especially famous for its 16th century churches, several of which are on a hill overlooking the ocean. In between them the streets are lined with craft stalls and food stands. As we were admiring the ocean, we were serenaded by two men with guitars. They sang about each of us in turn, and even used my name! During Carnaval, the huge party in February, Olinda celebrates using huge "puppets" carried on people heads. We went to a museum of these "puppets" and got an entertaining demonstration by the attendant including the little jig that is done with a colourful umbrella.
Thursday evening, I caught a 12+hour bus here to Fortaleza and managed to sleep quite a bit considering the rough roads and touchy brakes. Here in the north, people drive crazy. You really have to be confident and quick to react. I find that it reflects the culture a bit as well. The people here seem quick to get in disagreements/ discussions and quick to forget about them too.

Salvador, Bahía

It is amazing how the culture changes drastically from the South to the North of Brazil. I feel like I went for Europe to Central America in that the buses here are not scheduled, the tap water is not drinkable, there are more vendors on the street and it is once again obvious that I´m not from here.
I hadn't planned on visiting Salvador because I didn't know anyone here, but while talking to a fellow Nelsonite who travelled around Brazil, he gave me the name of a friend here. We got chatting on Facebook and found that we were born only two days apart and have a lot in common! Joanna met me at the airport on Sunday and after not much time, it was like we had been friends for years. On Sunday evening, we went out for dinner with her friend, Gil, who is a super nice guy. We shared a few Mojitos and plenty laughter.
On Monday, I went with Joanna to watch her Jiu Jitsu class. Jiu Jitsu is a martial art created in Brazil, based on the floor techniques of Judo and wrestling. The training gym is near the beach, so I went for a run in the rain along the boardwalk to the old forts. On the way home, we stopped by a café to try Tapioca... no, not pudding like in Canada, this is a type of grilled sandwich in a gooey manioc flour tortilla. In the afternoon Joanna went to work (in a law firm) and I started the writing course I am doing online.
In the evening, Gil took me to Pelorinho, the historical centre. It was originally the place where slaves were punished, but now it is a touristy place with many hostels, shops and restaurants lining the steep cobblestone streets. There I tried Cravinho, a drink made by infusing the local hard liquor with various spices. It was amazingly delicious! I also got to watch a live samba band and experience part of a Condomblé ceremony. Candomblé is a type of local religion that worships various African deities. They perform animal sacrifies, give offerings and dance to very lively rythms until the spirits descend and are manifested in the worshippers. When Joanna finished her evening classes, we picked her up and all went out to a very nice restaurant. There we had Moqueca, a fish stew made with a thick, flavourful peanut sauce.
Today I'm studying some more and getting everything ready to fly to Recife this evening. Again, I wish I had so much more time here!

Florianópolis

Right now I'm staying with Miriam's friend, Michelle in Florianópolis, an island of the Southern coast of Brazil. It's a super beautiful place, definitely somewhere I will return to when I have more time to spend here. Yesterday, I got lost on the bus and ended up discovering the sand dunes! Then I wandered around the community of Lagoa that is on a lake! In the evening, Michelle and I went back there and had Mexican food... I have had a month-long craving for it! And we went to a bar to dance samba-rock. Unfortunately, all the photos from yesterday and this were wiped off my memory card and now it won't work in my camera...
Today, I went out for a run in the morning by a marshland park. It had been raining earlier on and starting pouring right when I got back. We sat out the rain in Michelle's appartment, watching a movie then went for a drive to Lagoa. There we went to another area of the sand dunes where people sand board! The beach, with the stormy sky and sunset was simply stunning. This evening, I got a call from my family that my best friend who was missing on a sail boat off the coast of Chile for more than a month, is back on land!!!!!!!!!! I am simply extactic!!! I don't know if I can sleep tonight! But I'll try before getting up early for my morning flight.

Germany??

Pomerode claims to be the most German town in Brazil and it definitely lives up to it, other than the palm trees, heh heh. It's nestled in a valley reminiscent of Europe, the streets are cobble stone and many buildings are very German. The majority of the 26000 inhabitants are of German decendancy. Many families speak German at home and students study it in school.
I'm visiting a friend who I met in Ecuador when we were both on the exchange there. She works from 8:00am-5:00pm every day then catches the bus at 5:20pm to another city where she has classes from 6:00pm-10:00pm. When she arrives home near 11:00pm she does her homework... unbelievable.
After lunch with the whole family, I hung out with Jenni, the exchange student from Finland whose been here for just over a month. We went to the zoo, then for ice cream and walked around downtown. Her host mom picked us up and on our way home we stopped by the fire department. There are 68 members, 61 of whom are volunteers! They also have a cadet-type program, for 10-year olds to learn first aid and other useful skills.
Overall I found the town really nice. If I ever get the chance to live in Brazil again, I think I would like to live in the South :)

Curitiba

When I tried to buy a bus ticket for the overnight bus to Curitiba, the man at the counter refused to understand the number 19, no matter how I pronounced it or spelled it out, so I ended up with seat number 9. I knew there had to be a reason, and sure enough, I became good friends with Fernanda, the girl in seat 10. She is a 23-year-old biomedics student who recently moved to Curitiba to do her specialization in heart surgery equipment. I ended up wandering around downtown Curitiba and visiting the fire department with her and her two friends in the afternoon.
In the morning, I left my back pack in a locker at the station and walked from there to the botanical garden. It's a nice little park, with a beautiful glass dome building (notice that I was carrying my winter jacket... it was about 15 degrees all day!). From there I took the bus to the other side of town. The bus system is one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Curitiba. It has it's own set of lanes in the middle of the road and neat boarding tubes that make for efficient payment/ embarkation.
For lunch, I went to my host family's uncle's house. His wife prepared real feijoada (not the ice cream kind, lol) and his daughter and her two daughters joined us. I went from not knowing any one in Curitiba to having 10 friends by the time I left! On the bus to Pomerode that evening, I also met a lady from a nearby town whose 2 daughters live in other towns, so I have more people to visit whenever I come back here!

Leaving Olímpia

Monday was my last full day in Olímpia and it sure was a full one. I rode to the water park to relax in the hot springs and sauna. I ate lunch at the buffet restaurant where I go nearly every day with my host mom. Then I walked in the pouring rain to my hair appointment with Miriam’s sister. Manicures here only cost $6 and hair cuts are about $10!!! In the afternoon, I went to my last Portuguese class and Carmen’s French class. Then I helped with the evening English conversation class.
On Tuesday I finished reading the text for the course that starts next week and packed up all my stuff in time to take the bus to São Jose do Rio Preto. There I hung out with Anieli in between buses. We rode on her motorbike (backpack and all!) to an ice cream shop where I had ice cream feijoada!!! It came complete with chocolate beans, fudge/ nut sausage and even a caipirinha! It was soooo delicious! They also serve ice cream spaghetti, ice cream pizza, ice cream soup, ice cream waffles, etc. That night I caught a 12-hour bus to Curitiba. I will be visiting friends in various cities over the next two weeks, spending a day or two in each place before heading home to Canada. It’s going to go really fast!!

Easter Weekend

This week, I finally went to Capoeira with Gregorio (the Mexican exchange student). Capoeira is a Brazilian martial dance that originated when the slaves from Africa were prohibited from practicing their martial art and therefore disguised it as a dance. It was so cool to practice it again and wasn't so hard to follow along as the Portuguese words for the moves were used when I learned it in Canada.
On Good Friday, other than going to the Grandfather's house to eat cod for lunch, I spent the entire day attacking nearly 100 pages of the 300-page book I must read in a week. I have to read it before starting an online course that is an entry requirement to the program at Royal Roads that I will hopefully be starting in July. It's going to be a challenge studying while still travelling, but the course I was planning to take that started at the end of April got cancelled!
Saturday I did much of the same except I went for a nice long walk in the morning and went out running in the rain in the afternoon. I just couldn't resist going out in the torrential downpour!! It was so much fun!! The whole town might think I'm crazy now, but that's ok, I leave here on Tuesday :) The roads had turned into rivers and as I was just about home, I lost a flip flop and then the other trying to chase the first one down. I ran ahead of them and waited for them to come down the road, but only one came. So I figured I had missed the other and ran a few blocks downhill, barefoot, clutching the one flip flop to see if I could catch up to it, but it seemed a lost case. Not long after, the sun came out, I went back out and there it was, sitting behind a car in the first block where I had lost it! That evening, Miriam invited me to a cousin’s birthday party. I met lots of her family and we went to the bowling alley after with a group of her cousins. It was a long wait to get a lane and since Miriam and I weren't going to play, we went out for a drink at a different restaurant with her niece.
Easter Sunday, we all went to the family farm for lunch. We had another churrasco (BBQ) and in the afternoon, I went for a walk with the cousins, rode a horse and swam in the pool. We also searched for Easter eggs, which are huge hollow chocolate eggs, filled with different kinds of truffles and wrapped in colourful foil! Back at the house, I gave my host family a fondue pot as a thank you gift and used one of my chocolate eggs to make fondue :)