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Saturday, August 20, 2011

My host mom.

This is my host mom, Marize, modeling for us before she goes off to her college reunion. She is the sweetest person I've ever met and has the sweetest voice in the world. And I am not just saying that because she bought tortillas for me.

Friday, August 19, 2011

The bread parade

When my host dad said, "I am going to the supermarket to buy bread." I never expected him to buy 10 bags worth of bread. And when I say 10 bags, I mean 10 bags with doughnuts, cakes, banana breads, loafs of bread and other types of bread. Once he got home the table had mountains of bread and all I could hear was: "eat more bread it's good, don't you like bread?" I of course, was polite and ate one of every type of bread... or at least most of them. I mean bread is good, especially when it has powdered sugar surrounding it.
Anyways, if there is one thing I've learned from Brazilians is that they love bread. And when I say love, I mean that there could very possibly be a secluded religion here in Brazil I don't know of that worships bread.

I wish I could've taken pictures of the bread parade happening at the table.
At Praia Mole, the best beach so far.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

On my way to the beach, walking up the hill, everything is normal until this goat starts eating something an inch away from my foot. You have to love Latin America.



Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Why I love Brazil

For a few days now I've been trying to come up with reasons why I love this place so much. The first thing that came to mind was that it was the polar opposite of what I have at home, but that's not it because I love home and while it is very different when you're walking down the street and all you see are buildings painted in vivid colors and you find yourself dodging stray dogs, pigeons that fly at 100 mph heading towards your face and cars, you still feel very safe and Brazil managed to make me feel at home right away. And I don't know if it is because my host family treats me like I am part of the family, with my mom kissing me all the time calling me sweetheart and my brother coming down to chill in our living room to tell us about his day and why he decided to quit his job, but once again these people managed to make me feel at home right away.
The food is great! At first I hated it because all I eat here is bread and potatoes, but now that I found this great shack that sells the best natural juices I have ever tried for a dollar and eating all these starches is actually making me lose weight( don't ask me why, I figured that if I eat like a Brazilian maybe I'll get the chance to look like a Brazilian) I feel amazing. My hair and skin have never looked better and maybe it's paranoia but I think my butt is transforming into the Brazilian butt (a small version of it at least.)
I finally got my routine back, I go to school from Tuesday to Thursday just for a few hours and after it is either going hiking, beach or take advantage of the 4-5 day weekend and travel somewhere. Today, I have my portuguese class for the second time and after that I am either booking my flight to Rio de Janeiro on October or filling out an application to go teach english and spanish to middle school kids for two days to a city in Santa Catarina with all expenses paid.
Maybe I just love this place because I know it will be over soon, people always seem to want what they can't have or is bound to end.But for right now, all I know is that there is no other place I would rather be today, when I am 20 years old and one more year(and a half?) until I graduate. The only thing I can think of changing is having all my favorite people from back home to be here with me, especially the American boy that I miss more with every new day that comes.

Brazilian lifestyle

How can I explain life in Brazil? Some may say that it is a very laid-back lifestyle and while it is for me, as a foreign student or "gringa", Brazilians are very hard workers. I realized their dedication to work when I saw my "brothers" working 13 hour shifts or sometimes even 15 hour shifts, while at the same time their lifestyle is very relaxing once at home or off work. Who can blame them? Here in Florianopolis, they have over 40 beaches, countless hiking trails and so many other things to do to have fun, but when you are a foreign student like me, having all the time in the world to visit all of these places even on a tuesday after school.
Today, I had my anthropology class, 2 hours later I was free and experiencing a 72 degrees weather ready to head to the most beautiful beach. We got on the bus, an hour later we were walking up a hill to witness at the top the most beautiful view: blue water. This blue water thing is a big deal to me, my roommate and I have been asking everywhere and everyone where the blue and green water is, the water that they show in the postcards and google map pictures. People kept saying the north of the island, but we never found the blue water until today. It was amazing, except for the fact that the blue water almost digested Brendolyn, almost leaving me without a roomate, because the current was so strong she could barely get to the shore. But not me, I know my limits and I know that although I know how to swim, I usually just float and if I would've committed the mistake of going into the freezing water just to experience the "blue water" I would've probably died proudly at the beach in Brazil. But there is no time for dying when there's so much traveling to do. Although, for now the only thing left to do is finish writing this post enjoying my new addiction, suco de morango (REAL strawberry juice) and enjoy a nice hot shower because I still have sand in my hair from earlier today.