Buzios Weekend

Megan, one of my student teaching friends, and I left for Buzios Friday after school. We were not able to catch the bus until 6:15 because there were many other travelers. About four hours later we reached our destination. At first we were a little worried because surrounding the rodoviaria was deserted. Luckily our hot bus buddy, Aaron (sp?) from Chile helped us out. He took a cab with us to find a pousada. Our new friend even ended up staying in the room next door. That night we quick showered and headed out on the beach town. We walked to the main street where there was lots of live music, people, and fun. We walked around for a bit to get a sense of the area and then found a quaint bar at which to have caipirina. After a few drinks Aaron and I walked Megan back to the posudad (she was feeling under the weather) and then the two of us headed out for a night of dancing. We ended up dancing at a Mexican bar that was playing techno and hip-hop… luckily for me there were no dance lessons involved this time. We returned to our pousada around 4. The next morning we woke up and were finished eating breakfast by about 10:30 so we headed to the beach. It was so much different seeing the town by day. It was gorgeous. The main walkway is right along the shoreline. We followed this in the opposite direction of the main street and came across numerous beaches. We finally decided on one and set up camp. Here we ooed and awed at the view and laid in the sun all day. Next to us was a boat full of refreshments (see picture) where they can whip up any type of drink you desire. Also in front of us was a grill where chicken, beef, and cheese were being cooked. People came to the same beach from all directions (by foot or by water taxi!) and soon the beach was quite the place to be. Megan and I also went for a walk to beaches that were further past ours for more stunning views. We headed back around 4, took a nap, showered, and got ready to go out. After walking around the main street and plaza we did some shopping, watched traditional dancing (capoeira), a concert, and finally found a place to eat. After more window gazing and some great ice cream (passion fruit and chocolate) we decided to call it a night. One forgets how much energy the sun takes out of you. We got back to our pousada around 11:30 found a movie playing in English and went to sleep! The next morning we were up early because we had a trolley ride to catch at 9. This gave us a great overview of Buzios and its beaches and neighborhoods. We visited over 12 beaches, all with extraordinary views. We returned to our posada, checked out, Megan headed for the bus station (since she had to catch a flight from Rio) and I stayed another two hours and just sat on the beach and did some quality people watching. On my three hour bus ride back to Rio a man from Santa Teresa (a place in Rio) sat next to me and wanted to have a three-hour English lesson…. So much for my anticipated nap. Overall, it was another outstanding weekend. This is my last week of teaching at EARJ (this week I am just observing in different ES and MS classrooms and interviewing both principals) and then I head out on my travels… the fun and excitement is just about to begin!

Weekend in Paraty

So, first off on Tuesday after school I went hang-gliding with a group of friends. AMAZING! I was pretty scared at the beginning but it all happened so fast and then when I was in the air it was totally relaxing! After, we went to the Cristo Redentor statue, on the summit of Corcovado. The statue and view from the top are quite impressive!
My weekend all began with a four-hour bus ride after school on Friday. I arrived in Paraty, a colonial/beach town around 8:30 pm. When I got off the bus Nolaska (a random tour guideish guy) asked if I had a place to stay... I talked to him for about 20 minutes while I waited for my three other teaching friends to arrive. We ended up staying at the pousada he recommended. He also was going to take us and some other foreigners on a “pub tour” that night. We met two guys from Ireland, two from Brazil, and three Americans. As a group we went to the main plaza of the town. Here everyone was outside eating, drinking, and listening to music. We decided to try out a fruit bar vendor. He whipped up various concoctions and gave us samples of the local cachaca. My favorite drink of the trip ended up being a pineapple, banana, strawberry, and vodka blend. At about 1:30 am we decided to head to a bar with dancing. We danced the night away to American/European music and also some Brazilian. A cute local guy tried to get me to samba—but I think I failed miserably!! However, he did give me the thumbs up ☺ On our walk back to the posada we came across another little plaza. At 4am this small town sure was hopping! There was a small vendor that friend hamburgers, with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and bread for a mere $2.50… and boy did it hit the spot! I also ran into the cute local, who told me we were speaking the language of love since we could not speak one another’s language… haha... I must have impressed him with those dance moves! The next day we woke up around 9 and had breakfast. We met up with the guys from the previous night and went to the pier. Here we rented a big lovely boat for six hours. The boys called it the “booze cruise” boat. We went to various beaches/islands where we snorkeled, drank, jumped off the boat, had chicken fights, laughed, limboed, danced, and a whole lot more! Around 6 we headed back to the pousada, took nap, ate dinner, and hit up the fruit bar! The next morning we woke up ate, packed, did a historical tour and I caught the 11:00 bus to Rio. My friends went their own way 2 hours later. I would have stayed longer but- I actually have work to finish up before I teach- shocking huh!! It was a nice ending to my weekend because I had terrific coastal views instead of complete darkness like I did on the way there. Well this is my last week in 8th grade… I am doing pretty much all the teaching this week so I have my fingers crossed that it goes well. I guess that means I should get to the work and not my blog, huh. Darn…

Easter Weekend

Yay for a fantastic three day weekend. My friend Taimi, who is teaching in Belo Horizonte, came to Rio to visit from Weds-Monday. On Thursday night we ran around the Lagoa, showered, and walked back to the Lagoa for a meal outside. We decided on a Middle Eastern restaurant with live music. After our caipirinas (Taimi had a not so delicious pineapple one) we ate mystery meat with cheese, tomatoes, ham, and a tortilla. On Friday we woke up and went on a favela tour. Part of the reason it was interesting was because one of the two favelas we toured was the one that is directly across from my school. I learned lots about favelas and have a much better impression of what life inside is like. From the tour we were dropped off at the beach. We spend the remainder of the day lounging at the beach, playing in the waves, and purchasing cute earrings ☺ That nigh we went out for pizza and beer. Even though we looked at an English menu, we chose the house special pizza… it did have one topping that was not translated.. but we decided to give it a try. The mystery topping ended up being sardines or anchovies… can we say YUCK! So, to make things better we had chocolate ice cream! At 11:30 we headed to the Lap area to dance at Rio Scenarium. In Lapa the streets were overflowing the live music, mini-bars, vendors, and people. At Rio Scenarium we had about an hour wait to get in. Once inside there were three floors and two separate rooms. They had a live band playing samba and other Brazilian style music. We returned home around 4am—only to wake up four hours later for a boat trip. The boat took us around the coastline of the city. Our next adventure was to Santa Teresa. Here they had a celebration with lots of color, music, and dancing. It was very bohemian and like a mini-carnival. Taimi and I went to Melt that night… it was much different from the previous night. This was much more of the club scene that I am use to. The music started with hits from the 80s and then current hip-hop. We returned home at 3 am and slept into the afternoon on Sunday. My favorite pick up line of the weekend came from the beach when a group of guys said, “Hey ladies, wanna get high? Let’s get some marijuana!” Needless to say… we just kept walking. We did manage to get in a trip to the Hippie Fair and the beach on Sunday- although it was cloudy, and a run around the lagoa- which we ended in a rainstorm. Our Easter dinner included Mac & cheese and jellybeans… YUM! Today is Monday and I have two other student teaching friends that are coming to visit because they have spring break this week…. Tomorrow we are going hang-gliding after school… oh how I love this city… ☺

Another week in paradise

I just want to start by saying once again thanks for all the emails ☺ It is so nice to hear that you are enjoying the pics/comments….so I will keep updating! Things here are still going great. This is my last week with 5th graders and then I start teaching in an 8th grade social studies classroom. I am going to be sad to leave the 5th graders because I feel like I have started to really bond with some of them the last week or so. One of the girls who is student teaching in another city in Brazil is coming to visit from tomorrow to Monday. On Monday there are also two other girls who are in another city student teaching who are coming to visit until Thursday. Then, I will meet them in Parati (beach resort kind of place!) on Friday night and will return to Rio on Sunday. I am looking forward to the next few weeks! Last weekend was a very nice and relaxing one. I did not go out too much on the town (due to not feeling well) but I did hit up the beach! And… the tankini (ahem…. Uncle David) has not made an appearance since my first beach outing! I did go to Porcao, which is a buffet place. They have tons of different normal salad bar type things and then waiter after waiter after waiter come around with various meat grilled on skewers. I have never seen so much meat in my life! I liked everything that I tried…I even tried new juices! Watermelon juice and cashew juice (the fruit not the nut!). The pictures I put up are either from my walk to the beach, the beach, walk home from the beach (pink sky and moon!), or of some of my 5th graders! Enjoy…. And thanks again!

Amazing Weekend Trip...

The first thing I want to say is please don't hate me. I want to share all my experiences... this one was truly amazing. I took weekend trip to Angra, which is about 3 hours from Rio de Janeiro. I stayed at a family's beach house... which was three stories... and we each had our own room and bathroom!! (There were four rooms!) And I can't forget to mention that there was a pool, sauna, and hot tub. The view from all of the rooms was of the green/blue/turquoise ocean, tropical islands, and mountains. I felt like I was in a dream. Before we headed out we had a snack on the deck...and guess who at with us? A family of monkeys!! To get to the various islands and beaches we had our own private speedboat, driver included!! The first day we drove around the area just for some amazing scenery. Next, we stopped at a family's house from the school and had drinks, food, and amazing views. The family lives on a peninsula and has two terrific views of ocean, islands, etc from both sides. They family also took me water skiing :) It was funny to think that about two weeks ago I was snow skiing in Minnesota. There also happened to be a boat full of young girls (I am sure for some b-day party) who kept screaming/cheering for me when I was skiing... it was very cute. From there we went snorkeling, had a picnic on our boat and then headed home. The entire day I thought I was living in a movie. The second day we were there we woke up, ate fresh fruit, and headed out for a day in the sun! We went to a lovely beach that only had one other boat at it. We played some games, swam, and just relaxed. By lunch time there were about ten other boats... they even had a "floating bar" set up where someone would come around on a small boat and take orders. We were at that spot pretty much all day because it was just perfect. To end the day we had a nice ice cream treat while floating in the water. One of the most amazing things about the water was how crystal clear it was... I could see the bottom even if it was like 25 feet deep! I hope everyone is doing well... thanks for all the emails... I love reading them :) Miss you....

March 21, 2007

Right after school today we headed over to Sugar Loaf for the sunset... ahhhhh :) I hope you enjoy the pictures. The cross-like thing you can see in some of the pictures is the statue of Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). From the top of sugar loaf one gets good panoramas over Rio. The last few days here have been nice... a little bit cooler with rain. I did see some monkeys at school and on my walk in the area by my house. It still shocks me when I see them! On Tues I went out for drinks and dinner w/ a guy that was a teacher at ASIJ and a woman went to Hamline and also did the HOST program (which I am on now)... it was very fun!! Today, I managed to beat fifth grade boys in Paredao wearing a dress and heals! Wahooo….

March 18, 2007

First off, thank you for all the emails about the blog. I am glad people are enjoying it :) I will try to update it once a week! This week I stayed very busy with schoolwork. I know it is hard for you to believe… but I do teach! The students need a constant reminder to be quiet and speak in English but besides that have impressed me with their work habits and ability level. I am looking forward to taking over more of the class as well as trying out teaching in the 8th grade. I also started coaching volleyball this week. For any Hamline v-ball girls who read this: Preseason heat is NOTHING compared to what these girls practice in. The gyms here are outside...yikes. I work with the 8th grade team and we practice from 3:30-5 and the sun comes at such a bad angle... yikes. The girls are drenched in sweat (and so am I!!) by the end of practice! I expected their playing level to be better than it is... but I am still enjoying it.. and learning various Portuguese words!! There are two other coaches who are both male. One speaks zero English and the other is Brazilian who has good English. It finally rained here on Friday. I guess it had been about a month. Sadly, the rain does NOT cool things down, it just adds to the humidity! Last night I spent the night on the town. I met a girl who is working in Rio for a community service project. She is originally from NY but went to Harvard. She took me out with some of her friends (that she met at puki (sp?)). We went out the dinner (starting at 9!), went to a bar where some other friends were celebrating a birthday, and then went clubbing at about 1 am. The music was great and the dancing was even better. It was similar to other clubs I have been in… but for a number of reasons also very different! It was a great night, which I ended a little after three (I am sure the place was open past 6am) by successfully taking a cab home by myself!! Yay. When I was with these girls they also introduced me to the public busses…. Not sure how much I will use them but it was an experience in itself! This morning after only a few hours of sleep I got up to attend a Walkathon for Cancer sponsored by a HS group. We walked around the Lagoa (7km I think)… it was a cloudy day which made it for a nice walk. I don’t think I could have done that with the sun shining down on me, I was hot enough as it was! I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you!!

March 12, 2007

Just wanted you to know that as I work on getting this blog online a moneky just crawled across the telephone line in front of me...... only in rio :)

March 11, 2007

March 11, 2007

So Rio gets better by the day. Yesterday I woke up, ate fresh fruit for breakfast, went to the beach, walked in the Botanical garden, and then relaxed all day long. The beach was such a culture shock. I was wearing what I thought was a semi-showy tankini and when I got to the beach I felt like I was in a winter coat compared to the swimsuits I saw on the beach! It was quite the experience!! The botanical garden (about a five-minute walk from my house) is just amazing. The trees and flowers are beautiful. One is also able to see an array of tress/flower, fantastic wild birds, and occasionally monkeys! The sun really takes it out of one, so the rest of the day was well-spent reading and taking short naps… which were a must for my night on the town! Last night I went to a birthday party at someone’s house. First off, it did not begin until 10. When we arrived they had valet parking men to open the doors and basically as I stepped out I was handed a glass of champagne. There was tons of drinking, dancing, and trying all sorts of new food. I met some students who were in their last year of college from Bucknell. It was nice knowing that I was not going to have to be a wallflower with my zero Portuguese! Many of the people were Brazilian however there were also people from all over the world. It was very fun! I left around 2:30 and well to say the least… they had not even cut the cake yet!! Yikes… I hope I get use to the Brazilian lifestyle of keeping the partying going real fast!! Today was a very relaxing day. I slept in ate breakfast, read a book, took a nap, and then headed out for the afternoon. I went to Floresta da Tijuca. It is the second largest urban rainforest. We stopped at a viewpoint for an amazing view of the city. Next we headed down and while we were driving a monkey crossed the street. On our drive down we also stopped at a mini-waterfall where we saw numerous monkeys. They are so cute ☺ We then drove to the beach where we walked all of Leblon Beach and Ipanema Beach. From the intersection of Ipanema and Copacabana we watched the sunset. They close off the street that runs parallel with the beach on Sundays so it is a nice walk. It was amazing how many various activities were going on… volleyball, drumming, dancing, bands playing. People are rollerblading, skateboarding, running, biking, and doing tons of other various activities. On our way back I saw people playing American football as well as volleyball but with their feet… it was great! To end the night we went out to eat. It was buffet style, which was fun because I had the opportunity to try all sorts of foods!! YUMMMMIE!!