Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Recife
1st pic: Humpty? (Turkey), me, José, Camila and Vitor (Vitinho) at Vitinho's b-day in Gravatá
2nd pic: The Recifes: Vitinho, Erika and Laercio (Camila's brother) in Olinda
Lindo, lindo, lindo!
It's another one of Brazil's many beautiful cities located in the coast in the state called Pernambuco. The city is like Venice because of the islands which make up the city and is decorated by many colourful European styled buildings and churches. In this city is where you get the impression of a tropical Brazil where monkeys roam the streets!! Hehe, that's 'cuz where I stayed was a bit out of city centre and my host Camila and her family's backyard has all kinds of tropical plants, animals, reptiles and insects!!
People have to be careful when going to the beach, esp. in Boa Viagem, 'cuz of the sharks... yieeee! Didn't have much luck when I was there 'cuz of the rainy season they are having right now. It was really cool 'cuz the Recifes took me to nearby cities of Olinda, Gravatá and Porto de Galinhas!
Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience
Salvador da Bahia
1st pic: a view of heaven from the national museum next to the Elevador Lacerda2nd pic: yucky pic of me and yummy pic of Kabelo ;)
3rd pic: the girls of @SS and me
The night before I left for Salvador I was sad just the thought of leaving Rio. I thought I couldn't love another city like I love that city ;) But Salvador (and Recife) also gets great reviews.
It was a short trip in Salvador... 4 days and 3 nights, which I was kindly hosted by João (Kabelo) from @SS and his family. He's such a sweetie!!
It was a nice change 'cuz the city had many Afro-Brazilians and a different culture. The food there tend to be heavier 'cuz of the amount of oil they use and a lot spicier!! Mmm.. comida pimentada.. gostoso! Apart from tasting acarajé, bolinho dos estudantes, moqueca de camarão, and another dish I forget the name, I went to a show of a group called Olodum in Pelourinho, a place near where African slaves were auctioned and whipped. The band played samba/reggae music using many drums. There were families and many tourists, English speakers also, at the show. The place was very very packed and near the end of the night my flip flops were literally stuck to the ground.
Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience
Rio de Janeiro
1st pic: Marta, me and Felipe in Jadim Botânico early in the evening
2nd pic: Me in Vista Chinesa in Floresta da Tijuca
3rd pic: Cristo at night
4th pic: Beach and Nieyemer Museum in Niterói
5th pic: View of Pão de Açucar and the city of Rio from the otherside
Rio is known as Cidade Maravilhosa and it truly is. I was there in June for @RJ's Reception Weekend for the trainees and CEEDers in Brazil. We went to many tourist sights but also missed many planned places of attractions. I didn't worry though 'cuz I knew I would go back to Rio again and again.
After the weekend at the beaches in São Paulo, I began my vacation up north to the State of Rio de Janeiro with Davi, who hosted me for almost a week and took me everywhere in the city of Rio.. During the last couple days of my stay there I had lost my voice from all the nights out in Lapa :o)
Places I visited from both the Reception Weekend and my vacation:
-Cristo Redentor in Corcovado
-Pão de Açúcar
-Floresta da Tijuca
-Jardim Botânico
-Neighbourhoods and beaches of Lagoa, Santa Teresa, Ipanema, Copacabana, Barra de Tijuca, Lapa, Centro, Ilha do Governador (where Davi's mom lives), and Niterói (where Oscar Niemeyer's Museu de Artes Contemporânea is located and it's also where Marecelo a member of @RJ lives)
Apart from all the marvels that Rio offers, violence and poverty are evidently shown by the presence of militant police, sounds of gunshots fired throughout the city, and the sick and poor living on the streets. Even the Cariocas take certain precautions within the city such as by locking the car doors when driving, not stopping at red lights during night time and taking only what they need when heading downtown. One of the guys who goes to ITA had a fake student ID made to carry with him in case of robbery just 'cuz his school ID from ITA identifies him as a military student, which he said would increase the chance of him getting killed...
Not to leave things on such dejected notes, the good parts about Rio and its exuberance makes me wonder why I am living in São José... The city has everything except for a Chinatown!!!
Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience
Caraguatatuba e Ubatuba
1st pic: Mermaid and ManCONADE, the national AIESEC conference was held in Caraguá but I didn't get a chance to see much of the city. The beach we went to was actually not so breath-taking as most beaches I've been to. I went back there again, this time to a much better beach, and stayed at a beach apartment of the woman I live with now. The trip was girls-only: Zenite (my host), her daughter Yara, Bel, Marta, Pimenta (the dog) and of course, me. We also went to a different beach in Ubatuba, which was right next to Caraguá.
Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience
The Good, The Bad and The Beautiful
During the last month of June, I was unexpectedly hit by culture shock. Yes, the thing we all know about and have come to fear since people are always trying to prepare themselves for it. There were many factors for my experience of culture shock, some of which included (and still include):
- me não falo português, especially since I don't understand most of what were being spoken around me
-going to work was becoming dreaded, largely due to the above as well as the lack of communication between me, the coordinator and other collegues
-big changes happening back in Canada
-lack of support from various people, including my own family!
-the crazy Brazilians (and dog...)
-trying to figure out what's next
The list goes on just a bit more.
The whole last month I felt irritated and asked myself why the hell I choose to put myself in this discomforting position (i.e. going off to live and work in a country far from the familiar and where I don't even speak the language). Hehe, I guess the answer came in recognizing what I was feeling was culture shock. From there on I thought since I was going through this, why not do an activity with the kids at school about this. The freedom I have from work is the principal driver of all my miseries as well as the joy and perks. To sum few things in short, I started to flip through my English-Portuguese dictionary and Como Dizer Tudo em Português book; sat down with the coordinator and talked to her about my proposals for a workshop and other tasks for me to do in the new school semester which starts in August. Another thing I realized was that I needed to stop feeling so frustrated and helpless with everything that has to do with Portuguese.. I needed to gain independence and what better ways to do so than try to do everything myself first without the help of the Brazilians and also do the things I'd like to do regardless of language constraints.
First week of July was damn boring when my vacation started. I stayed home most days as I am an extremely lazy person.. hehe.. but after one week of much idleness, I packed my bags and went off to the Northeast to escape the harsh Brazilian winter in São José... to be cont'd...
Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience
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