Today was our big 2 test day in our portuguese and anthropology classes. After class I went with Amber, Abbey, and Stuart to the mall and downtown near central. We bumped into Annie, Mary Alice, and Olga (Annie’s mother and Dr. Pace’s wife) at the mall and the central market and rode the bus with them for a while. Afterwards we took taxi’s home and I was invited to stay over at Abbey and Amber’s homestay house, so we first stopped at my place so I could get my stuff. We ordered pizza to eat at Amber and Abbey’s. Everyone ate together- it was nice. The host mother, daughter, son, and the three of us were devouring the pizzas and sodas. It was amazing! I saw a spectacular city view from their apartment. The view was almost panoramic looking. Boi noite!
Monday, June 15, 2009: Day 33
I walked to school. Class, 9-1pm. Walked home. Big lunch. Study, study, study! Sleep. Study. Rosalie visits us. More studying.
Sunday, June 14, 2009: Day 32
I woke in my hammock and walked to the breakfast building. We met at 9am to leave Jericoacoara and to stop by a lake for a bit of a detour. We rode to the lake in trucks and then a bus and stayed at the lake until 1pm. There was a restaurant with tables and chairs set outside all around the lake. From the big rainy days it was a bit flooded which actually made the place even more intriguing. A few of us chose a table that was a bit under water on the legs and the chairs we sat in just barely protected our bums from getting wet while our legs sat soaking in the chilled water. The sun was beating on us while we relaxed and some of us studied for our upcoming test. We spoke with some hippies that could speak broken english quite well. They were selling handcrafted trinkets and jewelry. We left on a bus to transfer onto our final bus which took us straight home to Fortaleza. I talked, slept and listened to music through the ride. We arrived in the evening and a few of us took a taxi home together. I noticed all the loud honking as soon as we got off our bus into Fortaleza compared to the sand roads and no honking in Jericoacoara. For dinner I had a ham and cheese sandwhich, a slice of pizza, a sweet banana, a soda and some juices. Boi noite!
Saturday, June 13, 2009: Day 31
I woke up and climbed down some stairs from the second floor (half room) of our (Annie, Mary Alice, & Natalie) hotel room, and headed over to eat breakfast. I had scrambled eggs, a piece of cheese, seasoned hotdog slices, a few pineapple slices, chocolate cake, juice, and some coffee. The whole group met up in the open lobby and discussed with Dr. Pace about plans for the week, our schedule for the day, and about what would be on our upcoming test. Most of us then headed to the beach. After the beach I read a bit at the hotel and ate some crackers. At 4pm we headed to a perferated rock. It had a huge hole in the middle of it, right by the ocean. We walked a good 30 minutes or so and watched the sun set by the rock. It was amazing, like a piece of heaven. Boi noite!
Friday, June 12, 2009: Day 30
Bom dia! I was woken by Amber this morning in my hammock at 430am to go see the sun rise. Amber, Randy, Sara and I walked back to the same sand dune that we saw the sun set the previous day. The town was still silent this early in the morning and the air was a bit chilled with a slight breeze going through the air. It was a bit overcast so the sun was not seen, just the glow of the sun was rising and spreading through the sky- it was a spectatuclar view even with it being a bit overcast. We took photos and cherished the new coming day. When we arrived back we had about an hour or so until our continental breakfast would be available so we rested until then. I was woken again by Amber. Amber, Neal (he was awake waiting in a hammock for breakfast) and I went went to the building next door for breakfast. I had cake, fruits, seasoned hotdog slices, cheese, juice and coffee. Yummy! At 10am everyone met with Dr. Pace and we went over some things and were reminded to do our studies for our upcoming test. I read my book for a while and relaxed. I went to a restaurant with Abbey after she got back from exploring the town I assume, she was hungry, and discussed what we had read about. Later on I walked around town with a bit of the group.That night, Amber, Sara and I ordered food and went up to the same sand dune that we all have been to several times now since arriving in Jericoacoara. We gazed out at the night sky. I have never seen as many shooting stars in my life as I did this night. The milky way was even more visible and looked broader then the night before. Boi noite!
Thursday, June 11, 2009: Day 29
I awoke at Rosalie and Sara’s homestay home. Rosalie or Sara called a taxi and then we headed toward the meeting spot (near McDonalds) to catch the bus to Jericoacoara. The bus ride was about 6 hours and we took a few breaks to stretch, get snacks and use the restrooms. There was a toilet on the bus but there was no toilet paper so everyone was glad we stopped. We finally arrived near Jericoacoara and then transferred to a different vehicle- truck. Some of us sat in the inside of the truck, others sat in the back with our luggage. The back of the truck had a roof to stay shaded from the hot sun. The roads were unpaved. We drove on sand for about an hour to our hotel in Jericoacoara. Once we recieved our keys to our rooms and decided how we were grouping up as roommates we settled in and went out exploring. We chose a restaurant after a few minutes of walking and ordered our food. It began pouring rain while we waited for our food and it was an outside restaurant. Luckily there was a roof protecting us. After we were threw devouring our meals we walked around town (the rain let up) and stopped at all the mini grocery stores and checked out the scenery. We then headed to the beack. It was gorgeous, amazing! There were mortorcycles, cars, dune buggies and people walking all aroundthe seashore. They were traveling back and forth to different parts of the beach. A few of us climbed up a sand dune and watched the sun set and then even fewer of us stayed until the night sky lit up with twinkling stars. We even saw part of the milky way and I think, a shooting star- the beauty and feeling from the view was indescribable. According to some of my peers the planet, Venus, was also in view of where we were. We headed back to our hotel took showers and got dressed to go listen to music and explore the night life around the town. There was music, food, vendor (selling homemade jewelry, belts, bags, and all sorts of trinkets.) When we got back to the hotel I fell asleep outside in the hammocks that were set out infrom of each of the doors of the hotel rooms. Boi noite!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009: Day 28
We had our anthropology class first because our portuguese teacher had to go pick-up her host sister from the airport. Around the middle of our anthropology class Alexandra, our portuguese teacher came and told us what our last two days of classes would be about- tests. We met her host sister who came all the way from the states like us but from Ohio. Then Dr. Pace continued with anthropology studies. After classes, Natalie and I walked home, ate lunch that was already prepared and waiting for us. We had white rice with onion slices, a pot of seasoned hamburger meat, and gauva juice, I believe. It was deliciously filling. Later that evening we packed for our four day trip to Jericoacoara and decided to stay the night with Sara and Rosalie so we could all go together to meet eveyone where the bus was to pick us up the next morning. We met with Alexandra and went to a restaurant to meet with some students who were learning english. We talked, ate, and danced all night. We stopped at a friends house for an hour and listened to music and talked, then headed home. Boi noite!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009: Day 27
I grabbed a banana on the way out to school. We took a bus (#13) and walked a bit. Class as usaul was from 9-1pm. After class my roommate and I walked home and stopped by a super market where I purchased some fried foods for lunch. When we arrived home we found a meal cooked for us. A mixture of rice, beans, and chunks of spongy cheese were made with a side of fried meat slices. I had fresh juice with my lunch and everything was so delicious. Dr. Pace made plans for us to all go and watch Capoeira (martial arts/dance brought over from Africa during slavery in Brazil) in downtown. Quick fact of Brazil’s history: According to Dr. Pace slavery ended in Brazil in 1888. Rosalie met up at our place and then we stopped by Neal’s and picked him up then headed toward downtown a bit early by taxi. We took lots of photos while waiting for the rest of the group. Once everyone arrived we headed to the spot the Capoeira was to be held. Two people who were teaching Capoeira asked our group if we wanted to try some Capoeira moves. Slowly but surely, almost everyone in our group participated. First Randy went up, Annie went up second, and I went up third (even though I had a dress on, which I later borrowed Simon’s large, compared to me, capri jeans). Mostly everyone else in our group ended up joining. We stretched, played musical instruments, did cartwheels, clapped, and attempted to sing. We were all clapping in unison, walking in a circle with instruments being played and had huge goofy smiles plastered on our faces. I felt this overwhelming emotion of spirituality and connection with: the people around me, the world, myself…I’m not sure how to describe it exactly…perhaps it was a uplifting and peaceful feeling if I had to try to describe it. We all ate at a restaurant near by and then our portuguese instructor picked four of us up to go interact in a english with Brazilian doctors who were learning english as a hobby; mostly because they traveled so much. It was an enjoyable experience and I would love to do it again. Boi noite!
Monday, June 8, 2009: Day 26
We had class 9-1pm. We walked to the mall and had lunch at the food court. Then part of the class went with Dr. Pace downtown to a old jail that has now been turned into a market and part museum. We walked a while between buildings with shops set up everywhere selling almost everything. We stopped by a gorgeous Catholic Church (my second time going here) and shopped for about an hour in the Central Market beside the church. We took a taxi home and I was dropped off first. Now I must go eat dinner and finish my studies. Boi noite!
Sunday, June 7, 2009: Day 25
I made breakfast with my roommate. After watching “V” for Vendetta (a movie) a few days ago, we were inspired to make “toad in the hole” for our breakfast meal. I used a slice of flat bread and buttered both sides, then I created a small hole opening in the middle of the slice of bread. I heated up a pan and placed the slice of bread on it. From there I cracked a egg over into the middle of the slice of bread where the hole was. I flipped it over a few times to cook it just enough where the egg was still over easy. It wasn’t perfect looking but it sure was scrumptious! I then hung out with some friends at the mall and beach. After the beach we all went to a restaurant and ordered a kilo of shrimp. We had to de-scale the shrimp ourselves. In Brazil, they seem to never scale the shrimp for you at restaurants. A friend of mine ordered pasta and shrimp for dinner and when he received his meal the shrimp was mixed in with his pasta like an alfredo dish- the shrimp was not de-scaled. The shrimp was seasoned, salted and given a squirt of lime across the pile of shrimp- it was so tasty! We took a taxi home and relaxed the rest of the evening. Boi noite!
