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!!

March 8, 2007

March 8, 2007
Bom dia, Boa tarde, or Boa noite (depending on when you read this!),
I just wanted to send out the website on which I am going to post stories/pictures/etc. I arrived in the tropical city of Rio de Janeiro on March 6th and started teaching on March 7th. I was not only trying to get use to the students but also the weather, language, and time schedule. From what I have seen so far Rio is an amazing place. From the school I work at you can see the statue of Christ the Redeemer, favelas, and the ocean. It is stunning. There is not really AC in my house, but to make up for it I have my own room and bathroom, and an extraordinary view. Every morning I wake up and sigh when I turn my head! The house is pretty much kept open since there is no ac, so I have seen some enormous bugs and smaller birds fly into the house. Hopefully a toucan will come in someday! I also have it made pretty easy here. There is someone who does the laundry, cooks, and cleans. To and from school each day there is also a driver. I have not taken a cab yet… but I am sure that will come this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed because my Portuguese is pretty much non-existent!! I have been to the beach twice in my three days here. However, one was to watch the sunset and the other was to go for a run which quickly turned into a walk due to the intense heat and humidity! I hope to make it to the beach this weekend to see the activities and get some sun. Then hopefully, I will not be the whitest thing or person in Rio! I hope everyone is doing well. Please send me an email: kilse01@hamline.edu, or ki_05@hotmail.com when you have a chance. Sending all my love….
Tchau,
Kristen