I'm Coming home.

Can you believe, six months have come and gone already! I am currently sitting at the airport at the boarding gate writing to you.  I had money burning in my pocket so I just did a mad shopping dash through the airport to see if it was possible to buy every last thing in Brazil while still bringing home the  same bags in which I arrived ...   Plus one small carry on :)  I spent my last two days, one laying by the pool to get as much sun as I possibly could before I return to the cold... Only to burn sensitive areas in my new Brazilian bikini... And today I went to school and hung out at the laboratory saying good bye to my classmates.    It has been a rough couple days saying goodbye to everyone but I know I will see them again soon... Especially when the World Cup comes to town! I will post again upon my return back to the snow.  Its hard to think it is all over now.

Pre -Going Away Party Post

I am pretty lucky to have met such good people here in Brazil.  You can now count the hours and I will be on a plane back home to Canada but today is my going away party.  My roommate is quite a special one for letting me use her house for the pool party and let people spend the night.  Friends from all the cities I have visited are coming today and I could not be happier.  But I dread tomorrow morning when I must say good bye.  I am sad to leave, and happy to be coming home and so my emotions cancel each other out and I am in this weird limbo stage.  But I am enjoying my last few days the Brazilian way! We have multiple kinds and cuts of meat to put on the BBQ, salads, fruits and cases of beer chilling in the fridge. We were a little nervous this morning when we woke up as the sun decided to stay asleep for the first time in a month, of course on my pool party day, but as I write this, it looks like it may join us in the party! And best of all, my paper that I had been working on for the last two months is finished!! Now I can party care free :)

The Amazon!

I landed in Manaus in the middle of the night and found a cozy corner of the airport to get a little bit of sleep before I headed to the dock to catch my boat.  I fell for the biggest tourist trap the moment I stepped out of the airport doors.  Apparently in Manaus there are two taxi companies, the white taxis and the black taxis.  The plan was to get a taxi to the doc, a simple ten minute journey, no big deal.  I walked out and There was a nice man standing there and he asked if I needed a taxi, I thought wow this was really easy, score one for me! He lead me to his taxi, a nice black one, very clean.  Little did I know, black taxis were for the rich and important and my little ten minute drive ended up costing me $R58 about $35... On the way back at the end of the trip, it was $R17... Anyways I made it to the port a little over two hours before my boat was to depart and I was able to see the tail end of a party going on from the night before ... Yes in they party until after the sun comes up, and even after as you go farther north! When it was time to board the boat I was welcomed with coffee and breakfast, and shown my living quarters for the next four days.  After a tour of the boat, there were only three rooms and I was told it was just going to be me and another traveller! There were more men working on the boat than travellers! There was the captain and the captains mate, our tour guide, and the chef... I felt very special! Once the other traveller, a man from Germany, boarded the boat we disembarked and sailed away along the city's edge to the meeting of the waters.  This place is very cool as two different rivers, the Rio Negro and the Amazon River, both having different pHs, different water temperatures, and different velocities, and different colours, run into each other but stay side by side.  You look to your left and you see the brown water of the Amazon River, you look to your right and you see the black waters of the Rio Negro, a very cool sight.  After lunch, where I ate my first fish as its eyes were staring at me, we headed to our first trek into the forest to see the giant lilly pads that grow within the forest.  Over the next four days I was able to swim with pink dolphins, catch and then eat piranhas, hunt for alligators with my camera then touch them, spend the morning walking through the rainforest where I saw my first tarantula, poison flowers and a tree that looked like an anaconda... My heart stopped in that moment.... I spent the night in a hammock sleeping in the rainforest, and visited a family, a village, and an Indian tribe to see how they all live and adapt within the Amazon forest.  My first night was quite cool as we had to make an emergency stop and find a hiding spot among the rocks to dock the boat as a rainforest thunderstorm, pelted us.  It was intense but I was so happy to be witnessing the storms of the Amazon.  The last stop on the trip was to see a rubber farm to see how rubber was harvested and produced, the lifeblood of Manaus during the last century.  A European would buy the land and hire the Brazilians to work the farm.  Learning about what it took to make rubber and the intense heat and working conditions... It was a rough job. Once we docked the boat, I had a few hours to kill before my flight left later that night and so I travelled downtown to the famous opera theatre in Manaus, known across the country.  It was a beautiful building created by the Europeans but using Brazilian influences.  I walked around the area a little bit more visiting a few more notable buildings in the area, stopped for dinner and ice cream, and took the white taxi to the airport to catch my flight home.

Lençóis Maranhenses, Maranhão, Brazil.

I am back from my trip and things are really well.  My first stop on the trip took me to North East Brazil   so that I could see Lençóis Maranhenses, a national park filled with sand dunes and lagoons.  I arrived at the airport in Sao Luis and at 5am I took a bus four hours east to get to the little town entering the park.  I checked into my hotel and immediately booked an off road tour to visit the sand dunes later that day.  After exploring the hotel premises, a swim, and lunch it was time to head to the tour! I had been dreaming of this moment for months and now it was finally here! The vehicle that picked us up was a 12 person off-road 4x4 dune buggy.  It was a gigantic truck but where the bed of the truck was supposed to be, we sat.  Although there were no sides just seats and one bar to hold onto and man, did you have to hold on! We travelled 12 km across sand and fields, threw desert brush, by cacti bumping and jumping all along the way though it was all super fun! The drive took about 45 mins and we finally arrived.  The tour guide instructed us to take off our shoes and we climbed the sand dunes in our bare feet! I thought the sand was going to be boiling hot because the sand can get extremely hot in Canada and I am thinking Oh Gosh I am kms away from the equator this is going to be hot but the sand was cold! The wind continuously blows thus the sand on the top never stays still unable to retain the heat.  It was absolutely the coolest thing ever, trekking across the sand dunes, one minute at the bottom looking up, then on top of a sand pile 30m in the air.  Unfortunately, I was there in the height of the dry season so all the lagoons that were supposed to be there, one after every sand dune (if you type Lençóis Maranhenses google images you will see its beauty), were gone but one lonely lagoon so our tour group walked 3km across the sand dunes to the lagoon and went for swim! Though now that I think about it, if I was there during the wet season I would not have been able to be at the sand dunes bottom and scale the side to the top, seeing how high the sand dunes actually are.  After a nice swim we trekked back to the highest sand dune in the area and watched the sunset over the dunes.  I can honestly say, I felt like I was on a movie set.  The place looked computerized and doctored.  It was absolutely beautiful and as the sun set, you could feel the magic of where you were. We arrived back to the hotel, I had dinner at the restaurant again and with a dance lesson included as I was the only one there and the bartender was bored. The next day I was travelling back to the airport ready to fly to Manaus for my Amazon adventure to begin!

Amazon Adventure!

I am writing to you from the airport awaiting for my Amazon adventure to begin!  My flight was supposed to leave an hour ago but a big storm has moved through and delayed my flight but I did have a connection and this has eliminated my layover and apart of me thinks it is better this way.   Before I begin my Amazon adventure, I will be taking a detour to the North East first where I will visit a National Park named Lençóis Maranhenses.  You should Google Image that and you will instantly see why I intend to detour.  This park is all white sand dunes, just like a desert, however after each sand dune in the crevice  there is a blue lagoon.  I do not know why, I do not know how but I intend to conquer them! Then on Friday night I will fly across Brazil to Manaus, a city in the heart of the Amazon where I will catch a boat for my Amazon 4 day adventure! I am running out of internet credits and I have to check one thing before I go so I apologize this is short and sweet. Though if I do not post within seven days I have been eaten by an anaconda and I have loved you all so very much.  Wish me luck!

One Month Left...

So this past week marks a mile stone ... I have one month left .. Less now that I am writing this.  I have such a mix of emotions about this... I am so excited to go home.  I even have another adventure planned three days after I land! My family and friends, I cannot wait to celebrate a holiday with them instead of through Skype.  I missed my Grandpas 96th birthday party and those do not come around every year.  I need to get back to a place where I feel like I have some aspect of control and I am not an invader...  Though leaving is absolutely the last thing I want to do.  How can I leave a place that is full of new experiences, new insights?  How can I leave behind the people that have made my experience so wonderful? I had to say good bye to one of them today... Not good, and I feel like this is just the beginning.  I was once told "All good things come to an end but it is easier to let the things go if you have fully experienced it with all your heart and soul".  I am going to say yes, yes I have experienced this with my heart and soul.  Maybe everything did not go according to plan, there was a time I called home in tears, but I pushed through and did some retail shopping the next day.  I excelled, I struggled, I made great friends.  Leaving them is going to be hard as hell but I can look back with no regrets.  Brazil gave me an opportunity and I rode it like a champ.  So to my last month.... Interviews, the desert, the Amazon, the friends, the goodbyes.... Here I go.

A Week in Brasilia!

This past week I went to visit my second Brazilian friend from Trent University in his hometown of Brasilia, Brazil's capital city.  This city has quite a unique history as it was specifically built to be the capital city not long ago. In what should have taken fifty years, in just five Brasilia was built on barren land though as the locals say - with a debt of fifty years.  Built in the shape of an Egyptian eagle, the government buildings and the Presidents house are located within the head of the eagle, the city, bank headquarters, theatres and cathedrals spread throughout the body of the eagle, while the residential apartments are situated within the wings of the Eagle.  My first day, Mario picked me up at the airport and took me back to his home to meet his mama and have lunch.  After lunch we did a little driving tour and picked fruit from native Brazilian trees.  Later we drove to an ice cream parlour and I got my first taste of acai ice cream, a Brazilian tradition.  That night we watched the Brazilian movie Tropa de Elite (The Elite Squad) based on the Rio drug rings within the favelas with the corrupt police and the Elite Squad that fights to restore order.  It was pretty intense to say the least but a great movie to understand what few see when they see Brazil. The full movie is available on you tube if you would like to watch it too.  Wednesday I got a full, in depth tour of the city travelling to the different landmarks, government buildings, and the famous cathedral.  Mario has connections across the city, and when Robert Plant (lead singer of Led Zeppelin) was playing in Brasilia, we were able to get some great tickets to see a great show! Cooler still, right beside the concert hall was a soccer stadium being constructed for the World Cup! This thing was huge I tell you... And now I almost feel witness to the to the wondrous event. Though this was definitely a fun trip to explore more of Brazil, I was fortunate enough to turn this trip into a working trip, and on Thursday and Friday I was able to conduct a few interviews for my thesis.  One of my interviews had even spent some time in Canada thus it was really great for my research to hear their opinions and comparisons.  My flight was for Saturday evening and before I left we travelled to the last few places within the city left unexplored.  All in all it was a great week.  Relaxing though productive, concurring another region of this large country and great to see an old friend again.  

Sunday Funday.

I have a lot to be thankful for.  This past Sunday, I had the greatest day.  My new roommate made plans with her friends who have a boat to take me out for a day on the lake.  The four of us, early we awoke, went to the grocery store to buy the necessary supplies for snacks and sandwiches then off to the lake we went! It was a manmade lake, about an hour away from Campinas, just North of Sao Paulo.  Being manmade and living on the beach of the Great Lakes, I did not get my hopes up too high, not knowing really what I was getting myself into but wow I was impressed.  The lake was surrounded with mountains, houses amongst gigantic trees, a field of cows, rock walls and waterfalls.  After taking a bit of a tour with the boat and a swim, we busted out the water skis! The boat owners were true professionals doing tricks and going super fast and very, very patient with me, teaching me how to water ski! I have many crash landings and water-up-the-nose videos but I made it up! A thrilling, amazing THREE SECONDS I was up! Now I can say I learnt how to water ski in Brazil!
All being a little sleepy from water skiing we anchored our boat by the waterfall to have our sandwiches.  Others had anchored by the waterfall as well and lets say I saw some pimped out boats :) One boat was so tiny but welled atop was two massive speakers pumping the Brazilian tunes.  We stayed there for awhile enjoying the other boats, watching people jump off the rock walls, and after a swim under the waterfall we headed to a quieter section of the lake.  With the sun beating down, Jack Johnson playing in the background and a nice soft cruising speed we toured the lake, watching the birds swoop into the water and breathing in the experience as we went by.  If that day was not wonderful enough, our friends knew the owners of the marina, and when we arrived back on shore a BBQ was lit.  After a few Brazilian drinks and a nice BBQ we headed home.  A wonderful day I will not soon forget.

Your Next Saturday Brunch Idea.

A twist to the traditional egg breakfast!

The measurements for the ingredients are dependent upon how many people you are feeding thus make as much or as little as you like!

Start with making a pot of brown rice. (This is just a side dish but necessary to complete the meal)

In a fairly deep frying pan (the closer to a wok like pan would be ideal) heat some olive oil on medium low heat and then add a significant amount of nicely chopped tomatoes, onions, green peppers, parsley, and a pinch of salt. Grated garlic is an option too if you like. Heat the mixture until it is warm and a little soft but not yet brown.  Add a cup and a half of water, (I would suggest a cup and a half if you are cooking for three or five eggs).  The water will act as a preventative from turning your veggies brown and will help cook the eggs so judge accordingly. Take an egg and break it over the mixture.  Repeat with as many eggs as you would like but each egg should have its own space to cook.  Replace the lid and wait for the eggs to cook.

Now prepare a salad!

Every few minutes you want to check on the mixture, give it a gentle stir without disrupting the eggs too much.  Once everything is ready spoon the rice onto your plate and add the eggs and tomato mixture on top of the rice.  Fill the rest of your plate with salad and viola! Your brunch Brazilian Style!!

Let me know how it goes!! :)    

Weekend in Ourinhos!

This past weekend I travelled to Ourinhos to support a friends little brother's Regge Festival.  I knew it was going to be a long bus ride as I am at one end of the state and Ourinhos is on the other but I underestimated what an eight hour bus ride is... Let me just say I was proud of myself for downloading some TV episodes to watch on the ride.  I arrived in Ourinhos and we went straight to the party.  It was hosted on a little farm that was meant for parties.  Being 'family' of the host came with a little bit of a perk...  We were able to go behind the line and meet a few of the bands that were playing and take some photos! A couple hundred people showed up and everyone at the party had fun.  After a nice sleep in on Saturday the girls of the house went out for lunch and a little shopping and I finally, with much excitement, bought two Brazilian bathing suits! One full piece covered in Amazon flowers and one orange bikini! Another task complete on the Brazilian To Do list!  After a crazy Friday night we just wanted to do something calm on Saturday night so we went to a pub for some food and beers although little did we know Anderson Silva, the UFC Brazilian Champion, was fighting.  Thus, the place was packed.  Silva won, the place went crazy, and I was happy to have seen it all.  We had a BBQ on Sunday lunch and a Fondue party Sunday night with a few friends.  It was the perfect end to the weekend.  I write this now as I wait to catch the night bus back to Campinas where I will arrive in the morning ready to start another week!

My New Place Has A POOL!!

Well I arrived in the middle of the night in Campinas, the last place on my Brazilian tour! I cannot believe I am here... It was a bit of a crazy last day in Santo Andre with meetings, Skype calls, and an impromptu site tour for my research, and maybe the fact that the girls and I stayed up til the wee hours of the morning having a dance party in the kitchen might have taken away some of the energy that I may have had but it was my last night, so what are you going to do? So far in the first 12 hours, everything has been great! I am staying with a fellow student in my lab and her family... except her parents are working in France until January so it is just us! The place is really nice, AND THERE IS A POOL with lots of sun so I am super excited for the opportunity to continue my tan which is coming along nice I may add :) This weekend is a holiday and I will be heading to the hometown of a friend for  a Regge Festival, so it should be exciting! I hear its getting pretty cold at home... Its really hot here so I will try and send some heat your way! Hope everyone is well!  

School and Shopping.

Well I have to admit, since I have gotten home from Rio not a whole lot is going on... I have been doing a lot of school work... boring I know but I am working on some top secret stuff that I cannot really tell you at this exact moment but come time for me to go home I will let you in on the know... But with all my work I did take last Saturday to explore the bargain shopping district of Sao Paulo.  The neighbourhood of Bras (pronounced bra-ss :) ) is a shopping district with streets lined with shops all clothing and shoes.  There is one section that hosts a market in a permanent covered tent, where hundreds of vendors are packed inside trying to sell you things shipped from China as you navigate your way through.  If you walk around first you can spot the vendors with the same items and compare prices.  After we checked out the market, we hit to the streets.  The experience was different, there was not a moment where my brain thought for a second it was back home but it was not drastically different.  The only thing was, none of the stores allowed you to try the clothes on! You had to put the clothes up to your body, guess, and hope it looked good let alone fit.  Looking back this was probably a good thing as I would have most likely spent much more than I did that day!I have one more week left in this city and then I move again!

Brazilian Music Links!

Here is what I am listening to!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bckOyVNzBxc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M79e5ji-53w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NOWQ4tjiNI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcm55lU9knw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn-7jpGEa9U

Rio Adventures Continued... Buzios, Rio de Janeiro

Apparently there is a set limit of space per blog post... We did not spend the entire week in Rio de Janeiro city, on Tuesday we drove upstate to a small town called Busioz made famous by the French actress Brigitte Bordot.  Here two hours north of Rio, we stayed in a beautiful little hotel sunk in a valley of two mountains that overlooked the ocean. After three intense days of tourism, we stayed by the pool and ocean relaxing in the sun.  While exploring the town on Wednesday we walked by an ocean tour boat sign and we booked ourselves in for the Thursday morning trip.  The boat tour took us by the area beaches and out to an island that was a few kilometres of shore.  At two places, the boat docked and we were able to jump off and swim in the ocean.  With our last night in Buzios we explored the downtown shops and marina and spent a good chunk of time in the Havianahs flip flop store picking out Brazilians sandals for my family! Friday was travel day back to Sao Paulo and the continuation home for mom and man that was hard to watch her go but there is a lot more to explore here and before you know it I'll be back home again with memories of Rio that will last a life time!

Adventures in Rio de Janeiro.

Six days in Rio de Janeiro... it was an unforgettable experience! It began with Mom walking through the doors at the Sao Paulo airport and seeing her in person, instead of a computer screen for three months! In just over an hour we were in the air off to Rio de Janeiro! We arrived at our hotel on Copacabana Beach in late afternoon and after checking out the room and unpacking the immediately went to the rooftop pool and bar! It was pretty awesome! From the roof top we could see all of Copacabana beach, soccer matches in the sane, the Christ Redeemer, Sugar Loaf and the pool side bar had amazing mango daiquiris!  Needless to say, we were there quite a bit! After our mango daiquiris, we got ready for dinner for Mom to meet my professor.  My professor and her friends came and picked us up at the hotel and took us to a restaurant that overlooked a horse race track... It was on the way to the restaurant that mom experienced Brazilian drivers! Dinner was wonderful and I think Mom is resting a little easier at night now that she knows who I am staying with.  Sunday morning we awoke and after breakfast we headed to the beach! We walked up and down Copacabana beach looking at the vendors, watching sand sculptures being built, and soaking up the sun! Sugar Loaf is a ridiculously tall mountain that looks like a loaf of bread turned on its end with the city built up around it.  At the summit, you can see the entire city.  We were told the views were most beautiful at sunset so that afternoon at 3pm we travelled to Sugar Loaf.  We ended up spending three hours at the site, taking our time, soaking it all in and when sunset came we found a secret look out spot that had little crowds to watch one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen.  Monday was the Christ Redeemer.  After spending the morning by the pool we took an organized trip (because this location was more difficult to get to by ourselves) to the statue.  I was excited to see the statue.  Everyone talks about it and you see it in movies but I had no idea I was going to feel the way I did when I was standing beneath it. You feel so little, and that you are surrounded by this power. Its all in the face.  You see it and you cannot help but feel there is something else going on.  There was a lot of distractions and fights for the best spot to take a picture but there moments when you just felt peace and it was good.  We were not able to spend as much time as we would have liked to at the statue due to the organized tour but while we were there Mom and I witnessed a proposal!! It happened right beside us! I was so excited I took photos of the whole thing! I wasn't sure if what I was doing was right or wrong and if I should approach the couple but I knew if that had happened to me I would want someone to send me the photos that had been taken.  Even though I was already late to meet back up with the tour guide I searched and found the couple and before I could even finish telling them I took pictures of the proposal the new bride was asking for me to send them to her! It was a perfect day! Later that night we went to a traditional BBQ steakhouse and a samba show showcasing the traditional dances, music, and carnival costumes!

Three Months In Brazil!

Well I cannot believe it but I have been in Brazil three months! That means I am half way threw my time here. Time is flying by but there is still so much more time ahead of me! School is coming along well, sometimes I feel like its not working out but desperate skype calls home and my professors reassure me it will all be ok.  The people here are great and are the true makers of this trip.  Case in point ... What better way to spend my three month anniversary in Brazil than with my mama in Rio de Janeiro!!! Thats right at this moment my mama is on a plane to me! Tomorrow morning I will meet her at the airport and we will fly together to Rio! Four days in the city of Rio and three days in a secluded spa hotel in the North will be a divine experience I hope.  But what I am most excited for is our first night, Saturday.  Coincidentally (but are there coincidences..) my professor is also going to be in Rio at the same time.  She has asked for mom and I to join her, her husband, and friends Saturday night for dinner and a real Brazilian tour! They could have just smiled at the coincidence and compared notes upon our return but I am so honoured that they want to take the time from their trip to meet my mom and entertain us both.  I am also thrilled at the opportunity for my mom to meet someone I am working with as I know it will make her somewhat at ease while I am away.  I am so very excited for the week ahead and will tell you every detail upon my return!

Fun Adventures with New Friends.

The same friends that I met at USPiTec conference last week took me to 'the Municipal Market' to eat mortadella sandwiches.  The boys raved about them and telling stories of the times when they were able to eat two sandwiches in one sitting and making fun of the times when one was not able to be conquered. I thought a sandwich is a sandwich but no this sandwich is the size of your head they told me.  We all met at the university and took the subway to downtown Sao Paulo.  Before making it to the Municipal Market, we had to walk through Vinte Cinco de Marco (there is a Wikipedia page for it where you can read about the Chinese smuggler who started it all!) a cluster of streets containing stores owned and operated by the Chinese community that sells items at mostly wholesale but you can buy individual items as well.  Though you must be very careful I was told as half the stuff is fake and will most likely break in a few days... After looking at a few shops and navigating the people throwing items into your hands we made it to the Municipal Market.  The market was inside a very old unattractive building but once you were inside the place was beautiful! Organized so very well, the lower level contained all the vendors who beautifully displayed their fresh produce, vegetables, meats, and desserts showcasing all the colours and smells.  We would walk by and vendors would cut pieces of fruit for you to try to entice you to buy more.  The second level contained restaurants overlooking the vendors below and where the Mortadella sandwiches were to be found.  I still had no idea what Mortadella was as my Brazilian friends could not think of how to describe it in English but when we sat down and I looked around at the other sandwiches mortadella is bologna! Only thinly sliced and containing a much stronger taste. And it was true, the sandwich was the size of your head as there was 80g of mortadella in the sandwich! And then add on the bread and all the stuffings of the sandwich.  It was huge and it was good! My friend and I got two different sandwiches and shared halts so I was able to try two styles.  I have great Brazilian friends!  

If You Can See Your Feet Its A Good Ride.

I am trying to take every opportunity I can.  Today I completed Day 1 of 2 at a conference called USP iTec 2012. It is a conference regarding innovation in Brazil at a the University of Sao Paulo Campus.  Today was pretty good although it is all in Portuguese and my Portuguese is not nearly good enough to understand what is being said although I did take my recorder with me and will translate it all next week.  Tomorrow however there is one session in English so I will be there front row, you can count on it.  The day ended at 530 and we discussed for a good ten minutes whether or not to take the train home now during rush hour or wait the two hours around campus or the local restaurant to wait out the rush hour... It was getting dark and we were all tired so we decided to take a chance with the rush hour train.  Everything was fine until we got to our transfer stop... The biggest station in the metro line.  We were sitting at the back of the car and as we were approaching our stop people were squeezing together   at the front set of doors to get off... We thought that was pretty weird as the car was pretty empty and there were three other sets of doors to leave through.  We thought nothing of it until someone sitting farther behind us got up and moved to the front.  Immediately we knew we should do the same thing even if we did not know why.  We moved to the front and glad we did because before the train even stopped, huge muscle men were banging against the doors, people were fighting to get in and the doors had yet to open. I saw the anger and the whites of their eyes and I had no idea what to think. When they did, these men busted onto the train and moved forward sending us forward and out of the train.  I was in complete shock 1/ what if there was an elderly person, a child or a pregnant woman or child  and they were trampled? 2/ the train did not even leave for another five minutes after everyone got on, there was no need to be pushing! Later I did learn that getting a seat on the train is the most important thing for the people if they are travelling from the first to the last stop.  If they cannot get a seat, they prefer to wait for the next train as standing for over an hour is not something they want to do so for these men not willing to wait for the next train, fighting to get a seat is what you have to do.  Our transfer train contained more people than our first but I could still see my feet so my friends told me it was a good rush hour ride.

One Week in Santo Andre

Well I am one week into my new city... It is very different but nice, for my Peterborough folks its like moving from Lakefield to Pickering, and my Lucknow crew like moving from Wingham to London, but then add onto the fact there are a zillion more people here and my Portuguese is still not so good... I have not done too much exploring with setting up my things at the university but I will start soon! I really like the University though, the campus is small in area but contains 4 tours all minimum eight floors high with the top floor on every one open to sit in the sun and do work.  My office is on the 7th floor with a decent view although I have learned to stay away from the middle elevator as that one makes a funny noise when it makes its way down... The BEST PART I discovered dancing classes at the university everyday at 430 and I will definitely be there everyday!
Tonight my dream comes true!! I am going to see a soccer game! Its going to be intense but I am stoked!!

Moving Cities.

I have moved cities! I am now in Santo Andre. Imagine Sao Paulo is Toronto and Santo Andre is Mississauga. They are pretty much attached to each other but are technically different cities.  I am in the 'Greater Sao Paulo Area'.  Moving cities means I am two months into my six month stay. I still have awhile here but man, time is flying by!  I am staying in a house with seven other girls, and my room has three plus me.  I am the youngest in the house, and only a few speak a English so I am hoping my Portuguese skills will kick up a few notches while I am here! The university in Santo Andre is very different compared to that of Botucatu.  Here, the university is only six years old and is three tall towers, a big difference compared to the greenhouses, individual departmental buildings, and trees at my last university.  But on the bright side, I have to walk through a grocery store parking lot to get to and from school so I'll never go hungry!! Another plus, Santo Andre is only 40 mins from the ocean so off I go tomorrow for the first of many trips!!

Adventures in Sao Paulo!

Last weekend was pretty cool! I spent four days in Sao Paulo City! The biggest city in South American and it was beautiful. I stayed with my friend Andressa who I met at Trent in my Molecular Biology class, who is originally from Sao Paulo.  She was home for two weeks visiting her family while on summer vacation and I could not be more thankful to her and her family for taking some time to host me.  I carpooled into the city, where we met and she gave me a driving tour of Sao Paulo seeing the Cathedral, a prestigious law school, museums, statues, and theatre halls.  We did a little bit of shopping where I bought my first (of hopefully many!) brazilian shoes! Andressa took me to her favourite pizzeria for supper where the pizzas were cooked in a stone fire overlooking the city lights of Sao Paulo.  During the weekend we went to pubs, clubs, ate many Brazilian desserts, visited a temple and learned delicious recipes from Andressa's mother.  A highlight of the weekend included a traditional Brazilian BBQ with all the fixings prepared by her dad where he gave me one of his secrets in cooking the melt in your mouth meat.  I could not have asked for a better weekend and it was a true honour to meet her family and friends.

For Kristen... Rice Revolution

A Brazilian Secret Recipe to Spice Up Your Rice...

Use Uncle Ben's rice to mimic Brazilian rice if desired
1) In a pot mix one tablespoon of olive oil, half an onion, and 4 cloves of garlic in cut into nice chunks.
2) Heat and stir until garlic is golden brown.
3) Add desired amount of rice and sear for four minutes... watch and stir so the bottom does not burn
4) If desired sprinkle a teaspoon of salt and mix
5) Add water until it is two fingers above the rice with a quick stir and cover with lid while it is still on the heat (Here you can taste the water to see if you would like to add more salt...).

Once the water has disappeared, test the rice to see if it needs more water and repeat step 5 if necessary.
Bon Appetite!!

Weekend Trip to Maringa.

Last weekend I had the chance to go on a road trip, four hours south to Maringa.  I travelled with a good friend as he was heading back to his hometown for an annual 'Festa July" party with his friends from high school.  We left Friday at 530 and with it getting dark by 6pm, seeing the country side would have to wait until the ride back.  Maringa is known for its beauty and I was not disappointed when I arrived.  The city was mostly settled by the Japanese over one hundred years ago and with the settlement, they planted thousands of the traditional pink flowered trees all throughout the city.  Even more spectacular was in the heart of the city a magnificent park/zoo was being maintained.  Once you walked into the park/zoo you felt like you were not in the middle of the city at all.  You could not hear the traffic, monkeys were running wild in the trees, and beautiful peacocks were following you along the paths hoping for you to drop some bread.
Saturday night brought about the party we had travelled so far for.  It was a traditional culture party celebrating the farm and the end of the harvest so all the men wore funny farming outfits while the girls wore traditional dresses with makeup and braids in our hair.  Another common tradition includes a fake wedding ceremony where a couple that is about to get married in real life becomes the bride and groom for the tradition.  All of the people gather around and  watch the wedding ceremony (as ours was a student party, it was a little more light hearted than one would think of a wedding ceremony).  Once the wedding was over everyone started into the traditional dance to celebrate the newly married couple.  It was pretty cool to see everyone (approx 70ppl) at the party dancing together.  And luckily for me I met a charming brazilian boy to be my partner and teach me the steps!
It was a wonderful weekend and I cannot wait for more adventures to come!

One Month In Brazil!

Well friends, today marks one month here in Brazil!  I cannot believe how fast time flies. There was a time when I thought I would never make it to Brazil and her I am, one month already in.  I have learned a lot doing school thus far and learned a lot about this country.  First, Brazilians are way more adventurous with their food... Mashed potatoes on hot dogs, who believed that could taste good? While uncommon for me, tomatoes and onions, cut up into little pieces, may not be the end of the world.  I have accidentally also ate cow's tail.  Second, driving is what you imagine intense... All cars are standard and with speed bumps that go into the ground with one way streets and three cars sideways in one lane... I will never drive.  That being said, the stoplights have countdowns for both red and green so you know exactly how many seconds you have left.  There are no dryers here so doing your laundry must be timed with the sun as if you get stuck with no under ware in a three day rainstorm ... Inside out or commando it is my friend.    Although there are differences, we are pretty much the same.  All the kids here have big dreams of taking over the world, friends here are getting engaged, whoever does the cooking the rest do the dishes.  Its pretty nice this country.  Hope all is well at home.

My Birthday In Brazil!

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I had quite a good day yesterday!  Interestingly my birthday fell on the championship night of the South American soccer league! In the finals was a team from Sao Paulo and a team from Argentina.  So to celebrate my birthday we had a traditional Brazilian BBQ and watched the game! While you would think everyone would want the Brazilian team to win, apparently this team from Sao Paulo is the most hated team therefore you are either a fan of theirs or you will cheer for anyone in hopes that they never win.  Needless to say there was only one person at the party who was cheering for the Brazilian team and everyone else was hoping that the Argentinian team would win. I could not bring myself to cheer for Argentina, as I am sitting on Brazilian soil for my birthday maybe never getting this opportunity again, therefore it was two vs the party and it was exciting! After the first half it was still 0 - 0.  I have some pretty great friends down here in Brazil, as during half time they surprised me with a cake, singing happy birthday in portuguese and english, and my very own Brazilian soccer jersey! I was very touched and the jersey fit perfectly! In the second half Brazil scored twice to win the game!! It was a great birthday and I am honoured to have met some great people to have shared it with while I was away.

Week in Review...

Ola Amigos!
This has been a pretty good week... For one the weather has been beautiful!  Secondly, I conducted my first interviews on the Brazilian side for my thesis!! ...See Mom I am doing school work :)  I had a phone interview Tuesday that went really well. Once the gentleman I interviewed comes back from holidays I will be able to go to his site to do some more research and interviews.  Friday, I did a half interview with a very important person... I was really nervous, almost sweating while waiting out in the lobby.  It was only half because we just spent ten minutes together, introducing ourselves.  I was told this was customary to get to know each other first, build a relationship, over a few weeks and then I would be able to ask my questions but the phone interview went completely different.  I was able to ask anything after just calling. I thought maybe this interview would be similar.  All in all I think we hit it off well, and one day soon I will be able to ask the questions I need for my research.


To finish off the week, we had an Italian TV crew come into the lab to do a show about us! About our work in the laboratory and the research we are conducting.  For three hours we 'pretended' to do science experiments and we worked with all the equipment in the lab.  It was pretty fun and interesting with all of the different languages shouting different instructions.  The crew is going to send us the link and I will pas it onto you so you can see what we do!


Hope you are all having a wonderful long weekend! I need to figure out how to have a Canada Day party in Brazil...  

My Aussie Friend.

Ola Amigos,
This weekend was a nice and quiet weekend at home with the roomies cooking Brazilian desserts and watching movies but it was a little sad as I had to put my Australian friend on a bus to Argentina on Saturday.  I met my Aussie friend on my first full day in Brazil at the Festa Junina party.  His Brazilian friends and my Brazilian friends were friends and when I was introduced to them, they knew right away that I could not speak Portuguese by the wide eyed smile hello look I had on my face as I was told.  They immediately brought over the Australian, named Dylan, saying "he doesn't speak Portuguese either!" and instantly we became friends.
Dylan is backpacking through most of North and South America, starting in Brazil.

He had been in town a few weeks before me so it was really great to have him to show me around the places he had discovered, introduce me to a new group of people who are really great, and it was just nice to talk to someone who understood this awkward adjusting period.  I think he made the transition a lot easier for me.. A slow adjustment to full out Brazil but now I am ready to dive right in!


While it was sad to see him go, he will be finishing his trip in Canada and hoping to work in Canada for awhile, I am sure I will speak to him again one day.


PS it stopped raining!!!

Little Day Trip to Bauru.

Well it is raining... And it has been raining since Monday and the weather network says it is not going to stop for awhile.  Adding school work on top of this day would have been tremendously gloomy so we decided to travel to Bauru, a town an hour further inland to Brazil, so that I can register with the Federal Police.  I had to deliver some paperwork, pay a tax, and they took my fingerprints ... I don't even think the Canadian Government has my fingerprints... And it was as simple as that!!

It was a nice, straight drive and I saw my first fields of sugar cane! Not what I was expecting, better! They were so tall and planted very densely.  The next step is to see how sugar cane is harvested!

Side step, as I am writing this blog the home team just scored first in a soccer game playing at this moment and there are big cheers coming from the apartment down the hall and fireworks are going off... My bucket list for the trip is to see a live soccer game, I bet it will be crazy awesome.

Another crazy thing I have to tell you about Brazil, is that in the state of Sao Paulo every 50 km there is a toll booth.  Ethanol is $1 a litre and Gasoline is $2 a litre but it is these toll booths that are so close together that get you if you are travelling from town to town. Sao Paulo state put the connecting roads and the rail system up for sale awhile back.  The same company bought both systems then shut down the rail, forcing all transport to be by road and then set up toll booths.  In Canadian dollars its almost $2.50 to pass through one toll.  Luckily the program was paying for us to travel as we passed through three tolls on our way to Bauru.

This soccer game has turned crazy... The other team scored, no fireworks AND a player from the team we are not cheering for just insulted one of our players from the side lines and our player ran over and shoved him down almost starting a fight!

Off to school tomorrow.

72 Hours in Brazil!

Ola Amigos!

I successfully made it to Botucatu, Brazil!!  Apparently, I missed the rain by just a few hours and the weather has been beautiful thus far! Things are going pretty great so far.  My fellow Brazilian classmates are wonderful and have taken really great care of me and made sure I am having a fun time here in Brazil.  They have already taken me to Festa Junina (June celebration party), a BBQ (I am going to learn how they make their meat taste so good and bring it back to Canada for you), a Graduation party, and I am about to go out to a Rib fest!

In the 72 hours I have been here I have had to learn a few things quite quickly... Stop signs in Brazil are only a suggestion, and it is even encouraged that after 11pm you run the red lights. There is no temperature gage on the water, whatever comes out of the shower is what you get.  I must seek out vegetables very soon or else I will get scurvy.

I am trying to figure out how to upload photos to the blog.. Check back tomorrow and they should be up!

Here I Go!!

Well friends the day is finally here and in ten minutes I am walking out my front door to the airport! I have packed my bag three different ways today and only had to make one emergency trip into town for last minute items... I am only slightly in a state of panic and nervousness... but a wise person told me two martinis and a Gravol will make those feelings go away with a wonderful nights sleep on the plane.  

My one last 'check list' move before I get on that plane is to stop at Tim Horton's for a sesame seed bagel toasted with cream cheese and a medium french vanilla!

My flight leaves tonight at 2350 and I will arrive in Sao Paulo at 1100. Next time we chat I'll be in Brazil!
See you on Skype soon!

Setback...

Well friends... Remember how I said I was finally going, nothing could stop me now? Well I got a little ahead of myself... I received an email the other day that my Visa would not be ready in time for me to fly out on Monday.  So my new fly out date is June 12th! But lets look at the positives... More time to learn Portuguese, hang out with friends and family, and I do not get to miss planting 5 acres of strawberries...

My First Post!

Well friends as most of you know, I am going to Brazil!! ... Yes, I was supposed to be gone almost a month ago now but, paperwork and VISA requirements got in the way a little bit HOWEVER tickets are now in hand and my fly out date is MAY 28TH!! May 28th and I will be back December 3rd.  It seems like a long time right now but no sought time will fly by and it will be like I never left.

As I spend my last week in Canada, I am keeping things calm. Hanging out at home, visiting people, seriously starting to pack now and ramping up my Portuguese knowledge.  I have mastered one of my four teaching CDs, kind of know the next two, and I understand the rules of the language but ....keep your fingers crossed for me!